"Young master, what do you think of this..." The servant was undecided for a moment.
Chen Gu, fanning himself with a fan, asked someone behind him, "Where is Lord Lin now?"
“It’s right on the main street next door.” A man in black appeared behind Chen Gu without him noticing and said respectfully.
Chen Gu snapped his fan shut and said, “Let’s go meet up with City Lord Lin and see how things are going on her end.”
It was past noon, and the people who had come to the market gradually dispersed. Lin Yinan led Qianwu as they walked on the dusty street.
Yun Shiyi jogged over with his guards. "Madam, take a look at this. Is it Yun Que's?"
Lin Yinan took the item handed to him by Yun Shiyi and, upon closer inspection, discovered that it was the small bow and arrow that Yun Que was most proud of and always carried with her.
Where was it found?
"It was on the street where Sparrow Lady said she got lost. The bow and arrow had been kicked under a vendor's shelf by a passerby. I found it by looking at the reflective arrowhead."
“Lan Que always carries this thing on his back with great care except when he’s sleeping, but now it’s been kicked to the ground…” Lin Yinan said suddenly, “Oh no, something must have happened to them.”
Qianwu frowned, staring intently at the bow and arrow in Lin Yinan's hand, muttering to herself, "What happened to them?"
Just as Lin Yinan was about to lead her men to split up and continue the search, she saw Chen Gu leading his men hurriedly coming from the direction of the restaurant.
"Lord Lin, it's been a long time! How have you been?"
"I never expected that Young Master Chen would also be in Changyi County. Unfortunately, it's not a good day. I have important business to attend to. I'll invite Young Master Chen for a meal another day."
Upon hearing this, Chen Gu said solemnly, "I think City Lord Lin seems to be looking for something. Could it be that he has lost face?"
"How do you know?" Remembering that Changyi County was within the Chen family's territory, Lin Yinan added, "Young Master Chen is very resourceful. Have any of your men seen the two boys and girls who are twelve or thirteen years old?"
"No, but many people have reported to the county government that they have lost their children."
"Young Master Chen, do you think there's something fishy about this?"
"Why doesn't Lord Lin go and see for himself?" Chen Gu casually closed his folding fan.
Inside the county government office, a dozen or so people surrounded the yamen runners and the county magistrate, weeping and pleading their case.
When the magistrate saw Chen Gu from afar, it was as if he had seen a savior. "Young Master Chen, you've finally arrived!"
"What's the situation right now?"
The magistrate wiped the sweat from his brow. "Nine children have gone missing, ranging in age from three to twelve. We don't have enough constables, so I'd like to ask Young Master Chen to allocate some manpower to help with the search."
"Young Master Chen, please save my child! He's only five years old."
“My poor grandson, he is unlucky. His parents died early, and he is the only son left in the family.”
"..."
Faced with the pleas of many people, Chen Gu hurriedly turned to give instructions to his subordinates.
The magistrate breathed a sigh of relief. With the Chen family's help, even if he couldn't find the child and the higher-ups blamed him, he wouldn't have to bear all the responsibility.
Unaware of the magistrate's ulterior motives, the crowd, seeing that Chen Gu was willing to help find the child, stopped surrounding the magistrate and instead dispersed to sit quietly on both sides of the county office.
"Huh, who are those two people?"
Everyone looked in the direction the man pointed, and sure enough, two men in black were running quickly toward them, arriving in the blink of an eye.
"Greetings, Madam!" Two bodyguards stopped in front of Lin Yinan.
Lin Yinan: "How is the situation?"
“We found carriage tracks on the official road leading to Nanzhou Prefecture outside the city. After careful examination, we determined that there were two carriages in total.”
The magistrate saw that Lin Yinan and his companions were all wealthy and noble, and they were unfamiliar faces. He had been an official in Changyi County for decades and had never seen them before.
He winked at Chen Gu and asked in a low voice, "Young Master Chen, are they relatives of your family?"
"They are also families who have lost their children."
Lin Yinan glanced at the county magistrate, ignoring his flirtatious exchange with Chen Gu, and said to Yun Shiyi, "Shiyi, you personally lead men to pursue them."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Yun Shiyi gave Qianwu a deep look, and Qianwu nodded slightly. He then turned and left with two guards.
How could Chen Gu let go of such a great opportunity to get closer to Longtan? He gave a wink to the guards around him, and they immediately chased after Yun Shiyi and the others in the direction they had left.
"Young Master Chen, the yamen runners and the Chen family are searching house to house in the city. What do you think?" the magistrate asked Chen Gu cautiously.
"That's excellent!"
Chen Gu invited Lin Yinan to wait inside the county government office, but she refused.
"No need, that's unreasonable. Let's wait here with the others."
This is a normal government office, not her Longtan County Government Office.
Seeing that Chen Gu valued Lin Yinan so much, the county magistrate dared not neglect him. He had tables and chairs brought out and placed in a shady spot, and also prepared tea.
Chen Gu and Lin Yinan chatted idly, and time passed quickly.
Half an hour later, Yun Shiyi, who had gone out of the city to chase after the carriage, returned.
"Eleventh Brother, have you caught that thief?" Qianwu asked excitedly.
Upon hearing this, the other people stood up, their eyes filled with anticipation as they all looked at Yun Shiyi.
Yun Shiyi bowed to Lin Yinan and said, “Madam, that thief is extremely cunning. We were tricked. We chased him for twenty or thirty miles, and when we caught up with the carriage, we found that there was no one in it. The coachman told us that a stranger had hired their carriage to go to Nanzhou Prefecture, and that they should go and return empty. The reward was quite high.”
"Damn it, the thieves have put on a good show of feinting to the east while attacking from the west!!" Chen Gu suddenly felt something was wrong.
The magistrate was immediately alarmed. "Could the thief still be in the county town?"
Lin Yinan quickly sorted out the clues. A total of nine children had gone missing. Including Yun Que and Shi Tu, there were eleven people in total. The thieves rented two empty cars to return to Nanzhou Prefecture to cover their tracks and divert everyone's attention.
"The thief is inside the city!"
The magistrate immediately ordered his yamen runners, "Quickly send men to guard the city gates and carefully check everyone entering and leaving. Anyone with any doubts should not be allowed to leave the city!"
The constables acted swiftly, leading a dozen or so men to the city gate.
The constables and Chen family members responsible for searching the city have not yet returned.
Lin Yinan stood up. "Let's go look for it too."
The longer the delay, the more dangerous it will be for the missing tits.
“I will go with you.”
Chen Gu and his men followed, and the group crossed the long street and turned into a secluded alley.
The alley was narrow, probably only wide enough for two people to pass at a time. It was quiet on both sides, and there was a lot of animal excrement on the alley, emitting a foul stench.
Lin Yinan glanced at Chen Gu, who was looking around, and then casually started chatting with him.
"Young Master Chen, do you come to Changyi County every market day?"
"I usually come here unless there's something important to do."
"Have you noticed anything different about today's market compared to previous ones?"
Chen Gu frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "No, it's always this lively except during the busy farming season."
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