Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

Cizhou is a county under the jurisdiction of Handan. Although it is a county town, it is a water and land transportation hub connecting the western plateau and the North China Plain, and a logistics and trade transit station between the Central Plains, North China, and Shanxi.

The intersection of north-south trade routes and east-west military routes here determined its important economic and military significance.

If the Yi family were to extend their reach here, it would undoubtedly pose a great threat to Dayong.

An hour later, the group that had dispersed to gather information returned to the inn and regrouped in the room with the deer to compile the information.

"I learned that of the three missing girls, one was a rich girl and the other two were ordinary people. The three of them had no contact with each other, and their families were all honest and upright, so we can rule out the possibility that it was the work of enemies. Moreover, the three of them have one thing in common: they are all famous beauties in the city."

There were quite a few people listening to storytelling at the teahouse at that time, and Xu Ruohuai didn't have to put in much effort to find out a lot of information, including the backgrounds of the three families.

You Lu nodded, his expression grave, and said, "What I've heard is similar to what Brother Xu has. But I've also heard something else. Not only in the city, but also in the nearby villages, people have gone missing, and they're all teenagers. And this isn't something that just happened this year; it's happened every year, but strangely, the government hasn't reported it despite so many people going missing."

Everyone's hearts sank.

Su Yan'an pondered for a moment before speaking: "I went to the largest brothel in the city, but I didn't find out much about the missing persons case. However, I discovered something very strange."

He paused, coughed awkwardly, and then continued, "I ordered a few girls to keep me company in the brothel, hoping to get some information out of them, but I found that they all had different accents. One of them even had a Suzhou accent, and her manners and demeanor were quite refined, like a daughter of an official. Her overall temperament and cultivation could not have been cultivated in a brothel."

"Perhaps she was a courtesan? Or perhaps her family fell into poverty and she was forced to end up like this?" Xu Ruohuai said.

It was not uncommon for noble ladies who committed serious crimes to have their property confiscated and be forced into prostitution.

Su Yan'an shook his head. "I thought so at first too, but it is extremely difficult to redeem a prostitute from her official position. It requires a gentry as guarantor and government approval. When I pretended to redeem that girl, the madam in the brothel immediately brought out the indenture, which shows that the girl was not a prostitute from the official position."

"Moreover, I tested her, and whenever the past was mentioned, the girl became extremely cautious, and there was a hint of panic and fear in her eyes, which was very unusual."

The eldest prince grew increasingly alarmed as he listened. "Could she have been forcibly abducted and brought here?"

No one spoke, but they all clearly considered this possibility. Considering the innocent young men and women who had disappeared in Shengjing and Cizhou, the answer became obvious.

Those missing young men and women, like the girl in the brothel, were likely forcibly taken from their hometowns to distant lands, where they were either oppressed or sold into slavery.

This is not a few simple missing persons cases, but a shocking case! It is a large-scale human trafficking case that spans multiple regions, and the forces involved may even include the government.

The person behind this is undoubtedly the Yi clan.

I'm afraid this kind of situation isn't limited to just these few places.

"You scoundrels!" The First Prince roared in fury. "I thought the Yi family was just ambitious wolves in sheep's clothing, but I never imagined they would do something so utterly depraved!"

"Now is not the time to be angry." Youlu patted the eldest prince's shoulder reassuringly. "From the information we have so far, the Yi family has been doing this for more than a year or two, but they just haven't been discovered until recently. It's probably because they failed to obtain the dowry from Princess Jiahe that they've become more aggressive, which is why we've noticed their activities."

"Damn it! Over the years, countless innocent people have been harmed. The Yi family has truly resorted to any means to amass wealth! The glory of the Yi family is built on the blood and tears of young men and women. Don't they feel any remorse when they enjoy these benefits?!" Xu Ruohuai slammed his fist on the table.

Su Yan'an, however, thought further, "The Yi family's frequent actions, yet riddled with flaws, do they indicate that they are outwardly strong but inwardly weak?"

Compared to Xu Ruohuai, Su Yan'an was much calmer. It wasn't that he was cold-blooded and ruthless, but rather that he came from a noble family. Even though he had the world in his heart, he couldn't fully put himself in the shoes of the common people. Naturally, his empathy was weaker than that of Xu Ruohuai, who came from a poor family.

After all, it's difficult for those in positions of power to truly empathize with those in positions of power.

But this is also his advantage; when dealing with certain matters, he is not easily swayed by personal emotions and can be more rational and calm.

Youlu took in everyone's reactions. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. If they could work together and make up for each other's shortcomings, they would be a great help.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "If it is indeed a large-scale human trafficking case, the forces behind it must be deeply entrenched and cannot be easily eliminated in a short time. We cannot alert them now."

"Now that we've already run into each other, are we just going to stand by and do nothing?" Xu Ruohuai said, clearly already emotional.

Su Yan'an said, "We don't have much time, and we won't be able to find anything out. It would also be easy for us to be exposed. If the Yi family becomes more cautious because of this and hides the forces behind them, then it would be a greater loss than a gain. We can't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture."

Su Yan'an's idea was either to uproot the enemy completely or to remain inactive.

Youlu looked at the eldest prince, deliberately asking for his opinion: "What does eldest brother think?"

Su Yan'an and Xu Ruohuai also looked at him.

The eldest prince frowned, pondered for a long time, and then said, "Ruohuai and I still need to return to the capital to report on our duties and cannot stay here for long. However, Cizhou is undoubtedly a breakthrough point. I think we can let the seventh brother and Yan'an stay and continue the investigation, while Ruohuai and I return to the capital first and then cooperate with Lord Xu to secretly investigate the disappearance case in Shengjing. By taking a two-pronged approach and proceeding gradually, we will surely achieve results."

Having said that, he looked earnestly at Cang Shuyue, "Uncle, what do you think?"

Cang Shuyue nodded slightly, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes, "Very good."

These two simple words were the greatest affirmation and encouragement the eldest prince had ever received since childhood, and he couldn't help but blush with excitement.

Youlu nudged Cang Shuyue's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "See? Your harsh teaching method is outdated. My encouragement method works much better. Look how excited the eldest prince is."

Cang Shuyue's gaze softened, and he said with a smile, "You're right about everything."

Xu Ruohuai calmed down a bit and said with embarrassment, "What the Crown Prince said is absolutely right. I acted impulsively."

Su Yan'an was utterly shocked. Was the Ali in front of him still the Ali he knew?

In the past, Ali would have stayed without hesitation and rescued the people of Cizhou without regard for anything else.

But now he is so determined to leave, and has made meticulous arrangements.

In just two months, he has grown so much.

On second thought, it wasn't that Ali was progressing too fast, but that I was standing still. As the saying goes, "If you don't learn, you will fall behind." He had already fallen behind.

Thinking of this, Su Yan'an couldn't help but feel full of energy.