Magistrate Cao immediately wrote an urgent memorial and sent it to Qing'an Prefecture by messenger.
Prefect Shen, who was handling official business in the prefectural office, did not dare to delay when he saw the urgent report sent by Zhengyang County. He immediately reviewed it and was greatly surprised when he learned about the matter reported by Magistrate Cao.
After a moment's thought, he wrote his comments on the memorial and ordered the messenger to take it back immediately.
Magistrate Cao was surprised that Prefect Shen responded so quickly, which showed that he was very concerned about the matter.
Prefect Shen told him not to act rashly. Qing'an Prefecture urgently discussed countermeasures, and he would bring people to Zhengyang County the next morning to handle the matter personally.
Zhao Xian and the others did not return to Shuixian Village. Instead, they stayed at the county government office that night, waiting for Prefect Shen to come to Zhengyang County the next day.
The next morning, Prefect Shen arrived as scheduled with his entourage, indicating that he had set off before dawn.
Sun hadn't expected this matter to alarm so many people, even the prefect had come specifically to handle it, feeling that Yang Hong might be saved.
When everyone arrived at the council hall, Prefect Shen first had Magistrate Cao give another detailed report on the case, and also announced the matters that had been discussed in the prefectural office the previous afternoon.
Next, Prefect Shen arranged for people to go to Yingkou Town to find out Xiao Kui's whereabouts and to make a secret arrest that night. This matter had to be handled with care and no word had to be leaked.
Then, Xiao Kui was interrogated to reveal the truth and to understand the inside story of this slave trading organization. Through Xiao Kui, they were able to capture Tiao Ye, who was crucial as he was likely the local smuggler.
Within the territory of Qing'an Prefecture, hundreds of slaves could be traded at once, which must have been a considerable scale, yet the government failed to discover it.
No information is known about how long this organization existed or how many slaves they trafficked.
It seems that only by bringing Xiao Kui and Tiao Ye to justice can we find out the truth.
As evening fell, the men sent out finally returned. They told Prefect Shen that Xiao Kui lived in three places: one was the Xiao residence in Yangjiawan, and another was an inn in Yingkou Town.
Another location is a mansion in Yingkou Town, which is Xiao Kui's secret residence. He keeps mistresses there, and only a few of his confidants know about it.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Xiao Kui will be staying here tonight, making it the perfect time to arrest him.
Prefect Shen nodded and immediately arranged for several experts to make a meticulous plan to make the arrest that night.
This matter must be carried out in secret, and no one should know about it. After Xiao Kui was arrested, he was immediately taken to the county government office, where Prefect Shen wanted to interrogate him personally.
After the arrangements were made, there was only anxious waiting. It wasn't until after midnight that the arresting officers returned, and Xiao Kui and a woman were brought back.
Prefect Shen immediately convened the court session, but since the woman was not involved in the case, she was not brought to the court.
When Xiao Kui was brought to the hall, his head was covered with a black cloth. When the cloth was lifted, he was still a little dizzy.
He was woken up from his sleep and suddenly realized that so many people were around him. He felt something was wrong and was about to resist when he was hit hard on the head. When he woke up, he had already been taken to the county government office.
The surrounding area was brightly lit, and just by looking at the scene, one could tell that this was the main hall of the county government office, and immediately felt that something was very wrong.
Despite his tall and imposing stature and his swaggering presence in Yingkou Town, Xiao Kui immediately backed down when he arrived at the government office.
Prefect Shen slammed his gavel, startling Xiao Kui so much that his legs went weak and he immediately knelt down.
"Who are you here? State your name."
"This humble citizen, Xiao Kui, greets Your Excellency."
Do you know why you were arrested?
"This humble subject is unaware."
"Perhaps you've done too many bad things and can't remember them all. I'll let you see someone first. After you see her, you might remember something. Someone, bring Sun up here."
Soon, Madam Sun was brought up. Upon arriving at the hall, she immediately knelt down.
"This humble woman greets Your Excellency the Prefect and begs Your Excellency to grant justice for this woman."
“No need for formalities, Madam Sun. Please rise and speak.”
"Thank you, Master Zhi."
Only then did Xiao Kui realize that the person sitting in the hall was the prefect. Since he had alarmed the prefect, his matter must be quite serious.
"Madam Sun, do you know this person?" Prefect Shen asked.
"I know him, he is Xiao Kui."
"What is the matter you are suing Xiao Kui for?"
“My son Yang Hong has gone missing. I have found out that he was sold into slavery by him. I want him back.”
"Xiao Kui, this official asks you, is this true?"
Xiao Kui was shocked. His mind went blank, and he almost fainted. How could Sun Shi have found out about what he had done so discreetly? Who told her?
Human trafficking is a capital offense. Since the government has arrested him, they must have found evidence.
"Your Honor, I'm innocent! I wasn't the one who sold Yang Hong, it was Master Tiao."
Prefect Shen was secretly delighted. Before he even asked, Xiao Kui had already implicated the master. It seemed that he wouldn't have to spend much time tonight to solve the case.
"Let's put aside Master Tiao's matter for now and talk about your own. I'd like to ask you how you found Yang Hong," Prefect Shen asked.
"Finding Yang Hong was also an accident. One of my men was visiting a brothel in Qing'an Prefecture when he happened to run into Yang Hong."
If someone can afford to go to a brothel, they must have a lot of money in their pocket. So my men asked around about Yang Hong and found out that he had booked a prostitute at a brothel and had been staying there for many days, and that he was very generous with his money.
Yang Hong owes me thirty taels of silver and refuses to pay it back, yet he's living a carefree life in a brothel. My men are furious and demand he pay back the money, but he claims he's already spent all his money and still owes the brothel more than ten taels of silver.
After confirming the truth, the madam of the brothel found that Yang Hong was indeed out of money. She beat him up and then kicked him out of the brothel.
Finding Yang Hong wasn't easy either. To complete our mission, my men took him back to Yingkou Town.
When Yang Hong was brought to the scene that day, Master Tiao happened to be there as well. After understanding the situation, Master Tiao asked Yang Hong to work for him and promised to help Yang Hong pay off the thirty taels of silver. Fearing a beating, Yang Hong agreed.
After Master Tiao paid me thirty taels of silver, Yang Hong left with him, and I don't know what happened after that.
Zhao Xian was also listening nearby. His initial guess was correct. After receiving fifty taels of silver from Manager Lu, Yang Hong did not leave Qing'an Prefecture, but unexpectedly, he went to a brothel and was spotted by Xiao Kui's men.
"You took thirty taels of silver from Master Tiao and then handed Yang Hong over to him to take away. Did you know that Master Tiao was a human trafficker?" Prefect Shen asked.
“Well… Yang Hong has already agreed to this.” Xiao Kui was stunned and dared not answer.
“Yang Hong owes you thirty taels of silver, which is a debt between you. But you knew that Master Tiao was a human trafficker, yet you still accepted thirty taels of silver from him and let Master Tiao take Yang Hong away.”
Yang Hong didn't know who "Brother Tiao" was. Why didn't you explain it to Yang Hong clearly? In fact, Yang Hong was sold out by you without even knowing it. Don't you admit that?
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