Shen Caishen’s tone was rather arrogant: "Wait a few months, when this situation blows over, soone is bound to co looking for to ransom back their daughter!"
"You’re dreaming!"
Although Xia Hongyao was mocking him, she felt this possibility was quite high.
"I don’t believe it!"
Gu Qingqiu squinted her eyes: "Fellow students, change to a different torture thod, continue the interrogation!"
Lin Baici and Xia Hongyao switched to two different torture thods. After an hour of tornt, the result was still the sa.
Lin Baici knocked Shen Caishen unconscious and tossed him onto the bed.
"There are two possibilities now: first, he really doesn’t know his daughter’s whereabouts; second, he knows but loves his daughter so much that he’d rather die than give her up!"
Gu Qingqiu analyzed: "I think the first possibility is more likely!"
"Then what should we do?"
Li Yintong couldn’t think of a solution: "We can’t just wait for a few months for the mysterious person to contact this wealthy man, by then the flowers would have withered!"
Nobody knew how long this rule contamination would last, but a few months was enough ti for them to die twice.
"Fellow students, Hongyao, please make a trip to that brothel where the courtesan works and bring the madam here!"
Gu Qingqiu arranged: "Yintong, take this guy and dump him outside the city!"
With Lin Baici and Xia Hongyao, two experts taking action, nothing could go wrong. An hour later, Lin Baici was carrying an old madam back to the small courtyard.
The old madam, wearing a head cover, woke up and wanted to scream for help, but her mouth was already stuffed.
"I ask, you answer. If you lie, I’ll cut off one of your fingers!"
Gu Qingqiu’s voice was icy: "Did you hear clearly?"
"Mmm mmm!"
The madam nodded hastily.
"About the courtesan in your house, has any mysterious person co to you, claiming to have a way to save her?"
As Gu Qingqiu asked, she pulled out the rag stuffed in the madam’s mouth.
"No! No!"
After speaking, the madam began pleading, crying with snot and tears: "I know nothing, please let go?"
After asking what needed to be asked, Gu Qingqiu had Lin Baici apply torture.
The madam didn’t have Shen Caishen’s strong will; even before Lin Baici started the torture, she confessed. However, to ensure the truthfulness of her answer, ’torture’ was still employed.
The madam was so frightened that she fainted on the spot.
"No mysterious person contacted the madam, so it seems the courtesan is innocent!"
Xia Hongyao analyzed.
"Wrong, even though the madam claid she had a good relationship with the courtesan, they are not family after all, and likely not in a shared interest group either."
Gu Qingqiu corrected: "If the mysterious person ca, they should look for the courtesan. However, a courtesan has no value beyond her beauty!"
"These selected won are all to be presented to the Emperor, and their appearance should not be lacking."
Hua Yue Yu interjected.
"If the mysterious person contacted the courtesan, it would be hard to investigate, because a prostitute ets so many people every day!"
Kim Myungjin frowned.
"The only thing certain is that the newly appointed Punishnt Officer must have a problem!"
Gu Qingqiu analyzed.
She had just asked the madam about who among the guests entertained by the courtesan before the fire went the most and who went the least?
What special reactions did the courtesan have after receiving these guests?
This Punishnt Officer went twice, not much in terms of frequency, but as a newly appointed official, knowing the Emperor’s selection was ongoing, why would he still want to see the courtesan, doesn’t that seem unreasonable?
Moreover, this Punishnt Officer is currently in charge of the case.
The Lord of the Prefecture wanted to solve the arson case by claiming a selected woman accidentally knocked over an oil lamp, resulting in tragedy, but this Punishnt Officer insisted there were hidden truths.
He is determined to set up a batch of people.
"This madam seems to know nothing."
Gu Qingqiu arranged: "Hongyao, Small Fish, Yintong, keep an eye on Shen Caishen’s family. Find out who his confidants are, then follow them when they go out!"
"Hongyao, collect information on the Punishnt Officer and the courtesan, not just the surface, but also from the records. Walk the streets and alleys, and find out what their ancestors did for three generations!"
"Fellow students, investigate Shen Caishen’s enterprises, primarily his farm outside the city, and any temples or Taoist temples nearby... Check any places where people can be hidden!"
In ancient tis, with inconvenient transportation and the need for travel permits to go far, it was impossible for a group of won to escape to faraway places, so there was a high probability they were hidden sowhere in the suburbs.
At daylight, after changing to a new hideout, they began their actions.
The next two days, everyone was very busy.
Shen Caishen got sick after returning ho and was bedridden.
Shen Family is a wealthy household, with many people coming and going daily. Perhaps the kidnapping this ti heightened his vigilance. In the past three days, none of his close associates have gone out.
Lin Baici rode his horse, ran outside the city for two days, visited a few temples and Taoist shrines, and went to several of Shen Caishen’s farms, but he didn’t gather much useful information.
Xia Hongyao was trying her best to gather intelligence.
On the second night, Fishball Man returned from gathering clues. After reuniting with Li Yintong, he learned Lin Baici was here, and he was overjoyed.
Finally, he didn’t have to rack his brains anymore.
Fishball Man isn’t afraid to fight to the death, but what he fears most are rules that pollute the mind.
After so simple pleasantries, everyone got down to business.
"Brother Fish, any findings?"
Lin Baici brewed a cup of coffee for Fishball Man.
Honestly speaking, drinking this stuff in ancient tis feels a bit out of place.
"The grandfather of the Punishnt Officer and the grandfather of the Qing Guan Ren were scholars in the sa year."
Fishball Man spent quite so effort these days: "The father of the Qing Guan Ren committed a cri, causing the family to fall into ruin; that girl ended up in a brothel!"
"I think it must have been that Punishnt Officer who unexpectedly saw his old acquaintance’s daughter at Xiaoxiang building and thus planned this arson for her!"
"Isn’t that unlikely?"
Kim Myungjin was not quite convinced: "Their relationship was from their grandfather’s generation; is it worth risking everything for a prostitute from a brothel?"
If discovered, not only losing his position, but his entire family would be executed.
"Actually, we don’t need to figure out all the details, just one point!"
Lin Baici raised his index finger: "Even if not all those girls survived, the Qing Guan Ren and Shen Caishen’s daughter should be alive. Once we find them, the answer will naturally erge!"
"The problem is how to find them?"
Xia Hongyao racked her brains.
"If you ask , just kidnap that Punishnt Officer and directly interrogate him harshly!"
Fishball Man clenched his fists: "I don’t believe he won’t confess!"
"Doing that lacks refinent!"
Gu Qingqiu shook her head.
"Focus on the Shen Family!"
Gu Qingqiu arranged: "Also, go and bring the Prefect here!"
That night, Fishball Man made a move and brought the Prefect to the courtyard.
The first thing the Prefect did after waking up was to scold loudly: "Who are you people? Kidnapping a court official is a capital cri!"
"I have a grudge against that Punishnt Officer, and I want to see him dead!"
Gu Qingqiu’s opening statent made the Prefect calm down.
The enemy of your enemy is your friend.
"What do you want to do?"
The Prefect asked.
"Deploy all the constables and soldiers, conduct a city-wide search, make a big splash."
Gu Qingqiu explained.
"You want to startle them into disorder, make them reveal themselves voluntarily?"
The Prefect was not foolish and imdiately guessed Gu Qingqiu’s intent.
"Isn’t it possible?"
Hua Yue Yu saw the Prefect seed conflicted.
"If I do that and don’t find any evidence, I will be impeached!"
The Prefect smiled bitterly: "Moreover, I don’t have the authority to search those wealthy mansions!"
A search by the Prefect would directly offend the local wealthy and gentry, making future work difficult.
Of course, this wasn’t sothing Gu Qingqiu and the others cared about.
"Either do it or die!"
Gu Qingqiu’s voice was icy.
A stagnant pool of water only reveals sothing when it’s stirred.
Perhaps those girls are also waiting for an opportunity, and doing this gives them a chance to fight for survival!
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