Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

The term "harvesting and dismembering" originally referred to the evil practices of cults that captured living people and removed their internal organs for use in witchcraft rituals or medicine.

Later, it came to refer more broadly to the cruel acts of malicious people who abduct young children, gouge out their eyes, cut off their ears, and mutilate their limbs.

The Beggars' Sect has always been a major target of these crimes. They not only cruelly harm children, but they also raise infants in earthenware jars to deform them, thereby gaining the compassion of others and profiting from it!

Such beastly behavior is intolerable and would be an unforgivable crime in any dynasty!

Gao Zhao glanced at the disabled child again, his eyes filled with pity, and frowned as he asked, "Doesn't the government care about this kind of thing?"

"Of course they'll manage it! They'll definitely manage it! If they catch someone, they'll be beheaded, and in severe cases, they might even be subjected to slow slicing."

Fu An still wore a smiling face, as if he was used to this kind of thing. He raised an eyebrow and then said, "However, it's easy to arrest people in this kind of case, but difficult to convict them! Those children can't speak clearly, and even if they could, there's no evidence..."

Gao Zhao interrupted him, saying pointedly, "Do we really need evidence against this kind of person?"

Fu An smiled knowingly and said, "It is necessary. Young master, don't be fooled by the poverty of these beggars. The Beggar Gang behind them is not poor at all! In the eighth year of Xining, the thirteenth son of the Wang family was abducted by them, but in the end, nothing came of it."

Gao Zhao knew this story. The Wang family referred to was Wang Shao, who had once opened up two thousand li of border in the Hehuang region. At the time, he was the Deputy Privy Councilor, a truly powerful figure.

To put it simply, given Gao Qiu's current status, even when meeting the Vice Privy Councilor, he must stand below the steps and obey orders, uttering "I obey Your Majesty's decree!"

Moreover, the person who saved Shisanlang was Emperor Shenzong Zhao Xu, who personally ordered the Kaifeng Prefecture to thoroughly investigate the case. In the end, they only arrested two scapegoats and hastily concluded the matter.

Gao Zhao immediately concluded that the Beggars' Clan was a big problem. It was hard to say how powerful they were, but they were definitely not easy to deal with.

If I can get rid of them in the future, I will definitely gain a huge amount of gratitude points!

But for now, all I can do is think about it. There are too many injustices in this world, and I have no ability to deal with them, nor is it something I should be concerned with!

The most urgent thing is to find another place to earn gratitude points.

"Let's go!" Gao Zhao turned his horse around, and the other three quickly followed.

The horse had only taken a few steps when Gao Zhao turned back to look at the child's broken arm and gouged-out eyes. After a few more steps, he suddenly pulled on the reins, pointed at the beggars by the roadside, and shouted, "Go, rob them all of their money!"

"Ah!" The three of them were immediately stunned!

Robbing a beggar? What an obscure term!

No one would do something like that!

Gao Zhao offered no explanation, merely glancing at the three of them before coldly saying, "If you don't want to go, then don't follow me anymore!"

Lu Qian's expression changed. He had paid too high a price to curry favor with Gao Lian, and there was no way out. He gritted his teeth and rushed forward first, kicking a beggar to the ground. Ignoring the beggar's cries and the astonishment of the passersby, he snatched the beggar's money.

"They're hitting us! They're robbing us! These people are even bullying us beggars!"

Seeing this, the other beggars swarmed forward, shouting as they rushed toward Lu Qian.

Pedestrians on the street stopped to watch, pointing and gossiping about Lu Qian.

Fu An stared in astonishment at Lu Qian, who was fighting with a beggar. He turned his head and met Gao Zhao's cold gaze. He trembled and immediately realized that this seemingly absurd act was actually a test from Gao Zhao for them!

This is an opportunity, a good chance to show loyalty and climb up the social ladder to the Gao family!

He steeled his resolve and lunged forward, pulling aside one of the beggars who was ganging up on Lu Qian, and then punching another one.

When the servant saw that the two had already started fighting, he felt it wouldn't be right for him not to, but he didn't dare to fight either. So, with a quick thought, he ran over and snatched all the money from the beggars' bowls.

"Robbery! He's even robbing beggars! Everyone, catch this beast!" A beggar saw his actions, cursed angrily, and turned to chase after him.

The servant immediately pulled a dagger from his pocket and shouted, his voice trembling with fear, "Who dares to stop me!"

The restless people immediately stopped in their tracks.

He was about to walk towards Gao Zhao when he suddenly heard Gao Zhao shout, "Beasts! The world is going to the dogs, people's hearts have lost their way, they even steal money from beggars, it's utterly inhuman!"

Servant: "..."

I can't say whether I'm a beast or not, but you're really inhuman!

However, she quickly understood Gao Zhao's meaning: he didn't want to get involved with them.

So he ducked down, turned into the crowd, and hurriedly ran away.

Meanwhile, Lu Qian and Fu An had also beaten several beggars to the ground. Seeing that the servant had run away and Gao Zhao was cursing them with the onlookers, they immediately understood what was happening. They pushed through the crowd and left.

The beggars, on the verge of tears, helped each other to their feet to get a better look, hoping to capitalize on their misery and make some money off him.

However, one of the beggars glanced around the crowd and suddenly spotted Gao Zhao. He pointed at him and shouted, "It's him! He's with those other guys!"

Gao Zhao was already on horseback, and when the beggar pointed him out, everyone turned their attention to him, and some even echoed:

"Yes, I just saw him with those three people! The ones he was directing!"

"Oh dear, he was the one who was yelling the most when we were hurling insults earlier. Turns out he was the one crying 'stop thief!'"

"Pah! Shameless! You're all dressed up, you don't look like someone who's short of money, yet you're even robbing a beggar!"

"He's the son of Grand Commandant Gao!"

……

Some of the people who had initially wanted to pull him away immediately stopped after hearing his identity and began to criticize Gao Zhao, turning their criticism into a verbal attack.

To be honest, Gao Zhao was a little flustered. This feeling was even stronger than when he was in the same room with his girlfriend whom he had just met and happened to be caught in a room check!

However, he quickly calmed down. So what if he knew it was me?

The Beggars' Sect? In the end, they're nothing but a bunch of rats in the gutter!

So what if I bully you guys today?

As long as it doesn't involve the Beggars' Sect's fundamental interests, I don't believe they would dare to touch me!

If they were really that arrogant, this gang wouldn't have lasted this long!

"Quiet!" Gao Zhao shouted at the top of his lungs, and the surroundings fell silent.

Gao Zhao took a couple of deep breaths before continuing, "I robbed them because I gave them the money..."

Before he could finish speaking, someone shouted, "There's no reason to ask for money back after it's been given away as charity!"

Gao Zhao dismissed it, saying, "I gave them to them out of pity, and took them back because they were subjected to forced abduction and mutilation. I refuse to aid and abet evil! If they profit today, even more children will suffer in the future!"

"Whoosh!"

The crowd erupted in uproar, all turning to look at the disabled child with expressions of astonishment and disbelief.

The beggars panicked immediately, not expecting Gao Zhao's words to turn the tide. They hurriedly shouted, "He's talking nonsense! Don't believe him!"

However, the crowd was not easily persuaded and kept pressing them for answers.

Gao Zhao looked at the beggars who were speechless and smiled slightly. The human heart is most fond of conspiracy theories!

The more bizarre and sinister the story, the more people will believe it!

Just then, a beggar suddenly shouted, "That little beggar is my son!"

Everyone fell silent instantly, and Gao Zhao's face turned extremely gloomy.