Huo Yan silently drank his tea without saying a word, leaving Jin Yu with no choice but to shut up.
My brother is really strange; he's not happy that the item was found.
"Boss, someone committed suicide by jumping into a well in the west of the city. The clerk wants us to go there."
Just then, someone rushed over in a hurry.
Jin Yu frowned, looked at the newcomer, and questioned, "Why is it our team? This kind of trivial matter is not our responsibility."
The man spat, "That's true, but that bastard Zhao Sheng said their team has been dismissed and is no longer under their jurisdiction, so the advisor can only contact us."
Niu Mang's eyes lit up. "Brother, can I take some men and beat that bastard Zhao Sheng up?"
“We’ve only been here a short time, and he’s already been causing us trouble.”
Huo Yan scoffed, "Why are you getting angry with such a petty person? You're really bored. Sitting here is pointless anyway, let's go see what's going on."
The group went to the west of the city and found a group of people surrounding a well.
From within the encirclement came the heart-wrenching wails of a woman.
"My poor daughter, you died such a terrible death!"
"If you leave like this, how will your mother go on living! My daughter!"
"Make way, make way! This is an official business; all bystanders must step aside."
Huo Yan pushed through the crowd and took a look.
A woman was lying on the ground, completely soaked, with pale lips and no color in her face.
It had long since stopped breathing.
Jin Yu squatted down and asked the coroner, who was packing up his things, "Did he jump into the well and commit suicide?"
The coroner sighed, "She did indeed jump into the well before she died. She was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl. What a pity."
Since there was no doubt about the cause of death, the constables decided not to interfere.
They were only allowed to dispose of the body themselves, and then someone was sent to the yamen to sign and seal the document, and that would be the end of the matter.
The group turned and left. Jin Yu stroked his chin and said, "Those girls we rescued yesterday will probably have their lives ruined. Those despicable flower thieves."
Niu Mang ate the meat bun he had bought on the spur of the moment and mumbled, "Yes, yes, women are most afraid of their reputation being damaged. Although we saved them, I reckon some of them will still not escape the same fate."
Huo Yan glanced at him. "What do you mean?"
Niu Mang swallowed the bun in his mouth. "They were originally meant to be sold to brothels by flower thieves or to be defiled by them."
"Although they were rescued, their families would definitely feel it was bad luck. Keeping them at home would bring shame to their reputation, and no one would take them in if they got married. In the end, they would have no choice but to sell them off."
"The lucky ones are bought to be lowly maids, while the unlucky ones become prostitutes in Chunfeng Lane, eventually ending up back where they started."
For some reason, Huo Yan was extremely agitated, and the image of the woman named Su Ruanruan and the conspicuous bloodstains on her middle finger flashed through his mind again.
Throughout his life, he had witnessed countless acts of bloodshed. Even when the warm blood spurted from his enemies splashed all over his face, he did not blink an eye.
At this moment, after hearing Niu Mang's words, the restlessness in his heart intensified.
"Give me back my daughter's life."
A sound came from behind them, and the group immediately stopped.
The woman who had been kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly, slapped the handsome man next to her across the face and grabbed his hair with one hand.
The man stood motionless, letting her hit him.
Before long, an old woman rushed out and started fighting with the woman, shouting, "Your daughter has been kidnapped by that thief and has already lost her chastity. Why does my son want to marry her? Why can't he break off the engagement with her?"
Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she saw several constables ahead and shouted, "Officers, this woman is beating a scholar! Arrest her quickly!"
But when she saw the scarred man in the lead, the shouting old woman was startled and shrank back.
What a powerful and imposing man! The chilling aura emanating from his eyes is terrifying.
Huo Yan looked at her coldly, "Say it again!"
The old woman didn't dare look at him, but her son had been beaten for no reason, and she couldn't just let it go like that. She had to at least ask for some money for his medical expenses.
I had no choice but to say it again, albeit in a much lower voice.
"Sir... Your Honor, the one who was beaten is my son. He is a scholar with official rank. The Zhou family's daughter was kidnapped by a lecherous thief. Who knows if anything happened to her?"
"It was perfectly reasonable for us to break off the engagement with her daughter. Her daughter herself couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide by jumping into a well. What does that have to do with my son?"
"That Zhou woman assaulted a scholar; I urge Your Honor to punish her severely!"
Huo Yan turned his gaze to the frail man, whose hair was disheveled and who exuded a sense of dejection.
Huo Yan asked sternly, "Are you going to report this to the authorities?"
The man's sorrowful gaze struggled to leave the deceased, and he shook his head. "No, I won't report it to the authorities, no one will beat me."
Huo Yan glanced at the crowd and then prepared to leave with his men.
The old woman forgot about being scared; she hadn't been paid for her medicine yet.
"Sir, this woman is hitting someone, why aren't you doing anything about it?"
Huo Yan turned around, his cold eyes sweeping over him. "Without a victim, how can you claim to have assaulted someone?"
He then asked everyone, "Did any of you see this woman hitting someone?"
After a moment of silence, everyone shook their heads.
"No……"
"I haven't seen it."
Because the other party was an official, they dared not tell the truth.
It's better to avoid trouble, and besides, the Zhou family's loss of their daughter has saddened their neighbors as well.
They had watched that child grow up; he was well-behaved and clever.
Besides, this old woman is usually domineering and unpopular, so naturally they won't help her.
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