Before even entering the house, they heard a man's screams coming from inside.
"Spare me, spare me! It wasn't my fault, Manager Qin made us do it! Ouch!"
"Ouch! Stop hitting us! Stop hitting us! He gave us ten taels of silver to do it!"
………
Yang Cui and Cen Xiao pushed open the door and entered. Three men were lying on the ground, their faces bruised and swollen from being beaten by Su Yutang.
Su Yutang stepped forward and reported, "Master Xiao, Miss Yang."
"Is there any news about my two children?" Yang Cui asked anxiously.
"They did not kidnap the children."
"No? Are you sure?" Yang Cui was a little skeptical, after all, she had searched the whole village but couldn't find the two children.
“If Miss Yang doesn’t believe me, I can question her again.”
Upon hearing the word "retrial," the horribly gruesome shopkeeper Qin, lying on the ground, hurriedly cried out, "No, no, no! We really didn't kidnap the children! I just had someone trick them into leaving so you wouldn't see them, to make you believe the children were truly in my hands. The children will come home as soon as it gets dark, really!"
He was terrified of being beaten during interrogation, and he spoke with unwavering conviction.
Yang Cui really wanted to call back to verify this, but that's the downside of this era—without telephones, information feedback was too inconvenient!
She could only wait until the city gates opened the next morning before returning to see if the children were safe and sound.
Yang Cui punched and kicked the man who had spoken, yelling, "You bastard! What have I ever done to you? Why are you trying to hurt me!"
After venting her anger, Yang Cui calmed down a bit and asked, "Who are you? Why did you do this? I don't know you! Did someone instruct you to do this?"
After Yang Cui finished speaking, Cen Xiao stomped hard on the back of the man's hand and said coldly, "Speak!"
"Ah~ I'll tell you, I'll tell you. It was Qiu Yan's daughter. She came to me and said that Yang Cui was pretty, which is why I was so obsessed with Yang Cui. She was the one who gave me this idea."
"Who is Qiu Yan?" Yang Cui didn't remember knowing this person.
"Her husband's name is Lin Mingcai, and her daughter's name is Lin Chunmei."
Yang Cui's eyes widened in disbelief!
It took Yang Cui a while to react, and she said, "How is this possible? How old is Lin Chunmei? How could she give you advice? You better tell me the truth! Otherwise, I'll... I'll castrate you and make sure you can't be a man anymore!"
The man's lower body tensed, and he immediately clamped his legs together, saying, "What I said is all true! Don't let that girl's young age fool you; she's cunning and selfish. Originally, I had my eye on Qiu Yan, but since you got Lin Mingcai into jail, I tricked that girl into persuading her mother to marry me, so she would become my stepdaughter and take my surname. She agreed without a second thought. But who knew that one day she would suddenly come to me and say that you're beautiful and can make money, and that she knows you have the Star Gazing Tower as your backer, so I was thinking... thinking..."
He thought that if he slept with Yang Cui, she wouldn't tell anyone to save face, and in the end, she would have no choice but to marry him. In this way, he could not only win the heart of the beauty, but also gain access to the connections and resources of the Star Gazing Tower from Yang Cui, achieving the best of both worlds!
Although Qin Fengming didn't say it aloud, Yang Cui and Cen Xiao could guess his thoughts from his expression and tone.
Then he added, "It was her idea to threaten you into coming to the City God Temple with the child. It was her who tricked the child and caused the kidnapping. Miss Yang, everything I said is true. Please forgive me this time! I promise I will never dare to do it again and will never provoke you!"
After saying that, Cen Xiao ordered, "Drag them all away."
"Spare me! Spare me..."
After the man was taken away, Yang Cui couldn't help but ask Cen Xiao, "Do you think his words are credible?"
Cen Xiao has interrogated many people over the years, and he can usually tell whether a person's testimony is true or false at a glance.
Faced with Yang Cui's question, he nodded honestly: "It should be true."
Yang Cui still found it hard to accept. In her teens, she would be a junior high school student in modern times. How could she have so many thoughts and bad ideas?
"How do you plan to resolve this matter?"
Yang Cui sighed: "Let's report it to the authorities."
Cen Xiao nodded and said, "Get a good rest tonight. I'll take you back on horseback as soon as it's light tomorrow."
After a long day, Yang Cui was exhausted, both physically and mentally.
Since coming into this world, there have always been various troubles, making me physically and mentally exhausted.
Yang Cui didn't sleep well all night. Early the next morning, Cen Xiao led a horse and rode Yang Cui back to Anjia Village. Afterwards, the government officials went straight to Lin'an Village to arrest Lin Chunmei.
The villagers of Anjia Village were surprised and envious when they saw that Cen Xiao and Yang Cui had returned on horseback.
Zhang Chuntao and her daughter An Xiuping, who were about to leave for Haoyunlai to wash dishes, were extremely displeased when they saw this scene. If she had money to buy horses, why didn't she lend them money to pay off her debts? Zhang Chuntao cursed Yang Cui in her heart as a heartless and inhuman slut!
As soon as Yang Cui arrived at her doorstep, she shouted, "Er Ya, San Ya!"
At this moment, Yuan Qiu and Dao Ba Dao San rushed over upon hearing the commotion: "Miss Yang (godmother)."
"Are Er Ya and San Ya back?"
Dao Ba shook his head, and Yang Cui was horrified: "You mean he hasn't come back?"
"Not only did Er Ya and San Ya not come back, but Pu Xiangjuan didn't go back either. The Pu family searched all over Baoshan Village but couldn't find her. They even ran to Lin'an Village to look for her overnight, but they couldn't find her either. The Lin family and the Pu family even came here to look for her. When they learned that you weren't here, they thought you had kidnapped the children. They had a fight with your uncle and aunt here and said they would report you to the authorities to be arrested as soon as it was light today." Dao San briefly recounted what happened after they left yesterday.
"That's a classic case of the thief crying 'stop thief!' Shameless!" Yang Cui shouted angrily. "We're going to the Lin family now!"
...
At this moment, the yamen officials arrived in Lin'an Village in a large entourage, specifically looking for Lin Chunmei and wanting to arrest her. As soon as this news came out, the entire Lin'an Village was in an uproar and extremely lively.
"Sir, may I ask what mistake this child has made? Could there be a misunderstanding?" Lin Sanjin walked over and secretly slipped a red envelope to Constable Tan.
Officer Tan naturally put away the red envelope and said, "Child trafficking."
Lin Qiu exclaimed in shock: "Could there be a mistake? How could my daughter be involved in trafficking women and children? She's still a child herself!"
"This child stays at home all day long and has never left the village. How could he be abducted? There must be a misunderstanding, sir. Please investigate thoroughly!"
"Whether or not there was child trafficking, the county magistrate will decide for you at the yamen. Let's go!"
"No! No! I didn't, I won't go!"
"You have no choice but to go! Cuff her!" After saying this, the two constables beside Captain Tan immediately put handcuffs and shackles on Lin Chunmei.
!
Lin Chunmei was so frightened that tears welled up in her eyes. Last night, the Pu family came looking for Pu Xiangjuan, and she learned that Pu Xiangjuan hadn't gone back either. Facing the Pu family, Lin Chunmei felt guilty, but even more afraid. She never intended to harm Pu Xiangjuan; it was all an accident!
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