Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

"Lord Qin, those flower sellers have been caught, but they still need to be interrogated carefully to prevent any from escaping!"

As for these children, please inform their families so they can come and take them home, or you can have your servants take them home.

Xiao Yi glanced at the children who had been rescued and spoke.

Magistrate Qin nodded repeatedly and cupped his hands, saying, "Don't worry, Lord Xiao, this is all within my duty."

"I will certainly send men to escort those children back safely. If anything goes wrong, young master, you will hold me responsible."

Looking at the dark circles under his eyes and the thin layer of sweat on his temples, Xiao Yi felt a genuine sense of admiration and softened his tone: "I have seen Lord Qin's hard work and hands-on approach throughout the night."

To be honest, before we came here, the Pavilion Master had instructed us that if we encountered a corrupt official who was fooling the people, we would have to act on behalf of Heaven.

Having met you today, I find you to be a rare and upright person.

Upon hearing this, Qin Shouzhen felt a slight sweat break out on his back, but he dared not show the slightest hint of pride on his face. He simply bowed and said, "This humble official was merely doing his duty and does not deserve such praise from you, young master."

Xiao Yi waved his hand and said seriously, "After I return, I will report to the Pavilion Master the truth about what happened tonight."

"If Lord Qin ever encounters any difficulties in the future, just send a message to the Seven Kill Pavilion and the Pavilion Master. I can put in a good word for you and make an exception to help you this once."

These words carry immense weight.

Qin Shouzhen knew all too well the status of the Seven Kill Pavilion in the martial arts world.

For ordinary officials, climbing this line is something they can't even hope for by praying to gods and Buddhas.

His heart warmed, and he quickly straightened his clothes and bowed deeply to Xiao Yi with great solemnity: "What virtue or ability do I possess to be treated so kindly by the Pavilion Master and the young master?"

"Rest assured, sir. I will risk my life to thoroughly investigate this case in Ping'an County and bring it to a complete conclusion. I will not let a mere beggar escape justice."

Xiao Yi reached out and helped him up, saying calmly, "Just remember what I said today, sir."

It's almost dawn. I'll head back to the inn first. There are still a few rescued children at the inn. I'll trouble the adults to send someone over to pick them up later.

Then they will be arranged to be sent home together.

Xiao Yi told Qin Shouzhen the name of the inn where they were staying.

"Of course, of course."

"I will arrange for someone to go there shortly."

Qin Shouzhen responded repeatedly and personally escorted Xiao Yi and his party out of the county government gate. Only after their figures disappeared into the morning mist did he turn back and instruct his clerk as he walked: "Go and bring out the best horses in the government office. We'll use them to pick up the children later."

Then we'll have the cook prepare a pot of noodles so the children can eat when they arrive.

The constable hesitated for a moment, then whispered a reminder, "Sir, we're out of noodles..."

"Then let's make porridge!"

Remember to put two eggs in to cook together.

Qin Shouzhen waved his hand without turning his head and strode towards the inner office, his boots making a clattering sound on the blue bricks.

Xiao Yi led Qingfeng and the others through the fading night and returned to the inn. Tao'er and the others were sitting around the outer room of the second-floor guest room, none of them were asleep.

Tao'er leaned against the window, glancing outside every now and then. When she saw Xiao Yi and the others push the door open and come in, she suddenly stood up: "Seventh Brother Shi, Brother A-Chen, Brother Qingfeng, you're back!"

Dongkui also stood up, and seeing them return, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Yi stopped, dusted himself off, and walked over, smiling. "Tao'er, don't panic, the person has been rescued."

Not one was missing.

The children have now been settled in the county government office.

Magistrate Qin is a good official; he even cooked noodles for the children!

Tao'er nodded and continued to ask, "That's good, that's good!"

"Have all those child traffickers been caught?"

She hates human traffickers the most; they are the most despicable people and can really ruin several families.

"We've caught them, but I'll still have the magistrate interrogate them a bit more, in case there are any who slip through the net."

With the magistrate's help and the rest of us, how could we possibly let them escape?

Xiao Yi glanced around the room, not seeing A-Yan, and asked again, "Where's A-Yan?"

"Ayan is asleep, probably because he's tired."

Before going to sleep, she kept saying that she wanted Uncle Shi Qi to catch the flower-shooter!

Tao'er pointed to the inner room.

"What about the other children?"

Are they asleep too?

Xiao Yi asked again.

"Yes, they're all asleep..."

What's wrong?

Xiao Yi shook his head. "It's nothing. Magistrate Qin will send someone to pick them up later, verify the situation, and then send them home."

It's probably not a good idea for the children to be asleep now...

It's so late at night; I should have just had them come pick them up tomorrow.

Xiao Yi was annoyed that he hadn't thought of this.

Tao'er chuckled, "What's so difficult about that? Just send those constables back, and they can come pick them up tomorrow morning."

I'll take them over tonight, but it's the middle of the night, and I'm afraid it won't be until tomorrow morning to verify the children's addresses.

It's better to take it tomorrow.

Moreover, the county government office might not be able to accommodate so many children.

"Brother Shi Qi, Sister Tao'er is right. It's not good to disturb people in the middle of the night."

It would be so inconvenient to wake the children up and take them away!

These children are so pitiful. They are frightened, scared, and hungry. They finally get a good night's sleep.

Let the children sleep!

Achen and Qingfeng nodded in agreement.

"Tao'er is right, I was inconsiderate."

"Qingfeng, you're fast on your feet, why don't you make the trip and go to the county government office to talk to Magistrate Qin and ask them to come and pick up the person tomorrow?"

"Yes, young master, I will go immediately."

Qingfeng turned and left.

Watching Qingfeng's departing figure, Dongkui couldn't help but sigh: Qingfeng must have had a tough time.

He does work that cripples his legs.

"Young Master Chen, you've had a long night, you should get some rest!"

Xiao Yi spoke to Achen, who had been sitting there without saying a word.

Ah Chen nodded and then went to his room.

"Sister Dongkui, you should go and rest too. We'll go home tomorrow."

Don't worry about Qingfeng, he'll be back soon.

Tao'er said to Dongkui, her tone slightly teasing.

"Little Peach, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm not worried about him at all."

I was worried about you. You were so anxious and stressed just now, you didn't get a proper rest...

Winter Mallow offered a shy explanation.

"Okay, okay, I misspoke. Sister Dongkui was worried about me."

"Then you go back to your room and sleep first. I have a few words to say to Brother Shi Qi, and then I'll go rest."

Tao'er said with a smile.

Dongkui nodded and turned to go back into the inner room.

Once only the two of them were left in the room, Tao'er spoke up, "Seventh Brother Shi, do you think A-Yan's capture by the beggars was targeted, or was it accidental?"

"Tao'er, what do you mean by that?"

Do you suspect that Ayan's arrest was not an accident?

"Or was that person specifically targeting Ayan?"

Xiao Yi sensed a hidden meaning in Tao'er's words.

"I don't know, but I just feel like something's not right!"

It might not be simply human trafficking...

Tao'er just had a gut feeling, but she couldn't explain why.

"So who do you suspect is behind this?"