The officer's tone was heavy and solemn, causing Hong Xinyuan's heart to skip a beat. He closed his eyes for a long time before calming down: "Have these people been caught now?"
He still held on to a glimmer of hope. Since Yingtian Prefecture already knew the clues and the identities of those people, then logically, they should know where these people were going. Should they have figured out their background
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn. The official shook his head in embarrassment, "Sir, please forgive us for our incompetence... On the night of the incident, these people fled from Jinling Wharf by boat. They must have boarded a cargo ship and avoided being caught. If we had delayed them for a few days, they would have disappeared and nowhere to be found... We have already issued arrest warrants, but these desperate criminals have seen these warrants so many times that they are probably of no use..."
He sighed.
Hong Xinyuan held on to the handle of the chair and almost couldn't stand up for a moment. It took him a while to exhale. He looked at the person in front of him, as if he was digesting this bad news.
After a while, he asked the officers, "How do you know they are selling people outside the Great Wall?"
"They are engaged in this kind of business. This is not the first time they have kidnapped people. In the past, they were sold outside the Great Wall. These young and beautiful girls are well-educated and well-mannered. They are very popular among the Tatars outside the Great Wall, and the silver they offer is also very considerable." The official coughed and looked at him. Seeing that he was so anxious that his veins were exposed, he knew that this gentleman was now furious. After a pause, he said, "Sir, our master said that he is a close friend of Eunuch Yan and also respects the superior Xu Ge Lao. Therefore, we advise you... Otherwise, you should not look for a young lady..."
Facing Hong Xinyuan's murderous gaze, the official swallowed his saliva and said with a stiff upper lip: "Even though we found her, she is no longer the same person. I'm afraid it's not a good thing for the family... There are many families who have lost their daughters in the past, including the retired Lord Ma. His daughter was his only child. It was lost, and there was a big fuss at the time, but they couldn't find her... She can be so arrogant, she must have a powerful backer, I'm afraid she will be difficult to deal with..."
Hong Xinyuan could no longer control his temper. He slammed the table heavily, shocking everyone in the room. He then scanned everyone in the room and said slowly, "That's not true! I'm not some Lord Ma. I'm a father first! I don't believe that in broad daylight, a daughter of an official family was kidnapped and can't be found! If that's the case, even an official like me can't do anything to those people, then how rampant and domineering must they be in private, and how many decent women must they have harmed?! Aren't the lives of these people lives?!"
The local authorities knew about what those people were doing, but they pretended to be ignorant and watched these girls fall into the abyss!
Hong Xinyuan felt a surge of anger in his heart, but more than that, his spine felt tingling.
These people are so arrogant and rampant, how come no one can do anything to them
Who is backing them up? Who gave them the courage to even attack an official's daughter
He just doesn't believe it.
He was going to find out who was backing these bastards behind the scenes!
The officer was speechless after hearing what he said. After a while, he smiled and nodded: "We all know that the master loves his daughter very much... but there is only so much we can do now. Although the girl was lost in our territory, but... but she was no longer with us that day. We don't know where she went, and there is only so much we can do to help..."
This means shirking responsibility.
Hong Xinyuan became furious when he heard this, but he didn't say anything else.
Yingtian Prefecture was shirking their responsibilities with such an attitude that no matter how much he forced them, they would not continue to help him pursue the case.
He can only rely on himself for this matter.
Therefore, he raised his eyebrows and finally said nothing more but just wrote a letter of thanks and asked the official to go back and pass it to the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture.
After sending away the officials from Yingtian Prefecture, he thought for a while before asking his housekeeper to prepare pen and ink, and wrote a long letter, which he had sent to the capital to Lord Xu.
If one has to swallow his anger even when the granddaughter of the cabinet minister is lost, then other people in this world will probably be powerless to do anything if they encounter such a thing.
He wanted those people to pay the price!
After sending the letter, he thought it over carefully, then went to the backyard and told Mrs. Hong about the matter without hiding anything. After Mrs. Hong calmed down, he slowly told her: "Madam, don't worry. No matter what happens, I will definitely find Ah He back. I will not let any of those who harmed Ah He go!"
Mrs. Hong was already terrified and worried about her daughter. After hearing what her daughter might encounter, she almost fainted. She finally calmed down, covered her chest for a long time, and then gritted her teeth and cursed: "I curse these people to die a horrible death! God, may they be struck by lightning!"
After she finished speaking, she grabbed Hong Xinyuan's sleeve again and asked calmly: "Master, have you written to father? ... ..Father will always help us..."
Mrs. Hong was a person who did not put on airs as a young lady. Although she was a lady of a noble family, she never relied on her status after marrying Hong Xinyuan, and she never used her father's power to seek anything.
This was the first time she thought of writing to her father for help.
Hong Xinyuan held her hand, knowing that he was furious, nodded and said to her: "Don't worry, I have already written a letter to my father-in-law to explain this matter. Ah He has been very much loved by my father-in-law and mother-in-law since he was a child. Knowing this, my father-in-law will definitely not ignore it..."
Others may not be able to dig deeper and may not be able to find their daughter back, but his father-in-law Xu Anying is the Minister of War and a cabinet elder, so he will always find a way.
Mrs. Hong hummed, her face still bleak, but her expression was much better: "I don't like to use power to oppress others, but now I don't know whether Ah He is alive or dead, I don't know what to do. If Ah He really has any misfortune, I can't live anymore..."
As long as she can find her daughter, she is willing to do anything.
Hong Xinyuan knew what his wife meant, so he held her hand and comforted her softly, "Don't worry, I will do my best to find Ah He. Relax, you still have to take care of Ah He when she comes back. You can't collapse first, otherwise, what will happen to Ah He when the time comes..."