flstandardbreds Chapter 165 Do you know me?
Chapter 165 Do you know me?
Lu Yangyang was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.
"So that group knew it would be difficult to kidnap me directly, so they kidnapped Jiao Jiao first, and then took advantage of me going to find Jiao Jiao and being alone to make their move. They didn't expect me to suspect that juggling troupe directly, so they didn't have time to make arrangements. And those extra children were just in case they were discovered, so they simply disguised themselves as human traffickers?"
Lu Yangyang's mind raced as she recounted what had happened last night.
First of all, the fact that the juggling troupe was involved shows that the other party must have some understanding of her.
Knowing that she was strong and ruthless, it wouldn't be easy to abduct her in public, so he gave up on the idea of directly abducting her.
Then start with Sheng Yunjiao. In other words, the other party also knows that she has a good relationship with Sheng Yunjiao. If Sheng Yunjiao goes missing, she will definitely do her best to find her. At this time, if she is alone, she will be the easiest to deal with.
If their plan fails, they will pretend to be human traffickers and treat the case as an ordinary human trafficking case.
Having some understanding of her, and considering her roundabout methods, Lu Yangyang's first thought was Sheng Yunzhu.
Lu Yangyang hurriedly asked the Crown Prince, "Did they confess who ordered them?"
"Was it related to the other children going missing last night?"
"The person who ordered them was a man named Uncle Cheng... He usually helps brothels in the capital select people. These acrobatic troupes are from out of town and are used to committing crimes while traveling around. After abducting children, they sell them to brothels through various channels. Their leader knows Uncle Cheng. Originally, he went to see Uncle Cheng to try and pull off a heist during the festival at Dafosi Temple, but Uncle Cheng offered them a high price and asked them to abduct you according to the plan. After I got the confession last night, I sent people to arrest Uncle Cheng. Judging by the time, he should be here soon," the Crown Prince said to Lu Yangyang carefully.
"As for the abduction of other children, we haven't had any further contact with them yet. I've already instructed people to go to the government and tell them to investigate as soon as possible. If there is any connection, we might be able to find some clues after interrogating Uncle Liang."
Lu Yangyang's eyes widened, and she said angrily, "Those who select people for brothels, aren't they just pimps? It seems they've done quite a few despicable things."
"Ahem," the Crown Prince coughed lightly, somewhat embarrassed to say these things to Lu Yangyang.
From a young age, Lu Yangyang spent a lot of time in the streets to make a living. The brothel madams in the county liked her very much. Every time she went, she could have a good meal. Because the girls in the brothel often had various injuries and illnesses, they would go to her to buy medicine and treat their illnesses. It was cheap and effective. And since she was just a young girl, it wasn't awkward for her. So whenever she went to the county town, the pimps from the brothels would be waiting at the city gate to take her there.
Lu Yangyang looked at the Crown Prince. In fact, if the Crown Prince hadn't happened to be here last night, and she hadn't caught the person after discovering something was wrong and handed him over, it would probably have been treated as an ordinary human trafficking case in the end.
The Crown Prince's men must have had exceptional interrogation skills to uncover secrets beyond human trafficking!
If they hadn't met the prince last night, they probably wouldn't have stayed overnight at the Great Buddha Temple, and they wouldn't have encountered the villagers causing trouble this morning because their child was missing!
Lu Yangyang clasped her hands together and gave the Crown Prince a somewhat awkward bow of thanks: "Your Highness, if it weren't for your help last night, we definitely wouldn't have been able to uncover the true purpose of these people!"
The Crown Prince looked at her gently: "If you don't catch them in time, I can't help you. Go and tell the villagers that I will have the government do its best to handle this case. If there aren't enough people, we'll transfer people from the military camp to help. We must find those abducted children."
"Wait until they bring Uncle Cheng over. I'll have him interrogated, and then I'll tell you."
“Your Highness,” Lu Yangyang thought for a moment and said, “I feel that the abduction of those villagers’ children is not so simple. When I went to see the county magistrate before, I went to a family’s house in the village by chance. I heard that children often go missing in that area. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to it, but now that I think about it, I feel that something is unusual. I suspect that the children who went missing before and the ones who went missing last night may be related. It is very likely that the same group of people did it.”
“But this is just a guess. I just feel that something is unusual. When I lived in the countryside before, similar things happened. But there were fewer people in the village, and they were more vigilant. Usually, after something like this happened, they would pay extra attention to outsiders and it wouldn’t be so easy for them to take action. But children in the village are still going missing one after another, and the case has not been solved yet. Could it be that there is some kind of complete gang behind them?” Lu Yangyang was not sure, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that something was wrong, so she still told the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince's expression changed slightly after hearing this. "Although human trafficking happens frequently, if what you say is true, this is no small case. In such a vital area as the capital, how can someone be so brazen? What are the local magistrates doing?"
"Pei Ji, have someone bring the county magistrate over," the Crown Prince said, then raised his hand again: "Wait a moment, have him bring over the files of all the missing persons cases from the past few years as well."
"Yes." Pei Ji accepted the order and immediately went to find the person.
At this moment, another guard came in and reported: "Your Highness, Uncle Cheng has been brought here."
The Crown Prince said calmly, "Take him away for questioning."
"Your Highness, may I come with you to watch the interrogation?" Lu Yangyang asked.
The Crown Prince looked at Lu Yangyang with slight surprise, seemingly hesitant, but when he met Lu Yangyang's eager eyes, he nodded again: "Then let's go together."
After Pei Ji returned with his instructions, the Crown Prince had him push him along to the temporary interrogation site with Lu Yangyang.
A forbidden room in the Great Buddha Temple used to punish monks who made mistakes.
It was the kind of empty room where there was nothing inside except for a few tattered cushions.
At this moment, the four people who had been brought in earlier were huddled together, showing no visible signs of injury, but their faces were pale, clearly indicating that they had been interrogated.
Uncle Cheng had already been brought in by two guards. He was a thin old man in his forties or fifties, with a slightly hunched back, a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, and a very mean appearance.
Uncle Cheng panicked when he saw the group of people in front of him, but he still tried to be tough: "Who are you people? Let me tell you, I am a law-abiding citizen. What you are doing is illegal!"
"Breaking the law?" Pei Ji walked up to him with a cold smile, lowered his head, grabbed his chin, and gently twisted it. "Look closely, you know those people, right? Last night, you instructed them to abduct the eldest daughter of the Duke of Sheng's family. For that crime, I can hand you over to the Dali Temple right now and prosecute you accordingly."
"I...I don't know him..." As soon as Uncle Cheng finished speaking, Pei Ji lowered his eyes, pressed his fingers upwards with force, knocking out several of Uncle Cheng's teeth. Then he released his grip, and Uncle Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with teeth.
Pei Ji asked calmly, "Do you know them?"