Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2719 Still Vigorous in Old Age 103.0
“That’s what they thought, and that’s what they did.” Xiao Fengqi nodded. “The families they suspected were caught completely off guard and wiped out.”

"Catch them all in one fell swoop?" Jin Miaomiao was taken aback. "Not a single word got out?"

“Yes, they kept it a very good secret.” Xiao Fengqi looked at Chu Han. “This is all thanks to our benefactor, who has been covering for them all along.”

"Grand Uncle?" Shen Cha and Shen Haolin exchanged a glance. "Actually, I was just about to ask you, what is your impression of these two?"

"What a coincidence, that's exactly what I was just about to say." Chu Han smiled, took a sip of tea, and said, "Lord Qi." He saw Qi Zhifeng looking at him, "I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about your father."

"Oh!" Qi Zhifeng touched his nose sheepishly. "What does my benefactor think of my father?"

“He’s a good man and a good father.” Chu Han looked at Qi Zhifeng. “He was afraid we would do something sloppy, so he specifically came to see me and told me that we must catch the culprit.” He sighed. “Only then did I realize that the child we rescued outside Linhuang Prefecture was you two.”

“That’s not right!” Shen Cha interrupted Chu Han. “Isn’t there something wrong with this order? Shouldn’t the investigation into Mian have come first, followed by the abduction case of Young Master Xiao and Little Qi? Shouldn’t it be a coordinated effort from the inside out?”

"You've got it wrong, that's not the order." Chu Han shook his head slightly, glanced at the paper and pen on the table, and said, "In the second year of the late emperor's reign, several cases of missing children from official families suddenly appeared in Xijing City. At first, they didn't contact me; I was investigating other cases elsewhere. While investigating those other cases, I happened to be near Linhuang Prefecture, and the case I was handling at the time was somewhat related to the abduction cases of the Xiao and Qi families. Someone from the Xiao family secretly sent me a message, saying that they had discovered someone trying to abduct their child and asked me to help rescue him." "If I'm not mistaken, it was your great-aunt who delivered the message to me, wasn't it?" He said, glancing at Xiao Fengqi. Seeing the latter nod, he continued, "Then I ambushed them outside Linhuang Prefecture and successfully rescued those two children. Actually, the traitor in the Xiao family only wanted to kidnap Xiao Xiao back then; Xiao Qi was just an afterthought. Since the two were together, they decided to kidnap them both. After all, this little guy is the Qi family's only child. If the Xiao family didn't fall for it, they could use him to threaten the Qi family."

"Is this what they confessed later?"

“Yes!” Chu Han nodded. “After investigating this case, I learned that the case from several years ago was not completely over. In fact, what we called the end was just the other side sacrificing a pawn to save the king and cutting their losses. My secret letter was sent back to Xijing City by express courier. Coincidentally, a similar case occurred in Xijing City, and at the same time, the same situation occurred in Yiqing Prefecture. This made us take it seriously. The late emperor urgently summoned me back to the capital to preside over the case, and Liao and Jin also sent special envoys. We arrived in Xijing City almost at the same time.”

“That’s right, the order is correct. It’s because a major case broke out at the same time that everyone paid so much attention to it. Otherwise…” Xiao Fengqi shook his head helplessly, “it would be quite difficult for the three countries to work together to crack down on an organization.”

"That's true."

Xiao Fengqi smiled and was about to say something when he saw Qi Zhifeng beside him. Noticing his blank expression, he couldn't help but reach out and pat him. This little guy probably doesn't remember anything, after all, he was still young at that time.

"We stayed in Beijing for about half a month, and during that time, another human trafficking case occurred." Chu Han gestured with his chin towards Shen Cha. "It was you, but..."

"I know." Shen Cha said coldly, her words devoid of warmth. "It's them again!" Everyone present, including Xiao Fengqi who already knew the inside story, sighed in unison. These scumbags truly deserved to die, but death was the simplest punishment for them. They should live to atone for their sins.

Xiao Fengqi glanced at Shen Cha, then at Shen Haolin who had turned to look at him. The two stared at each other for a moment, conveying their meaning in that exchange. He nodded to Shen Haolin, indicating that he would live up to expectations and give those two scumbags a good welcome when they returned.

Chu Han took in the silent exchange between the two, then looked at Shen Cha's indifferent face and sighed silently.

“That’s right, it’s them again. However, they have powerful backers. This time we didn’t find any evidence against them, so we can’t bring them to justice.” He spread his hands helplessly. “But their good days didn’t last long before they were caught with even bigger evidence and exiled to the border. You all know what happened after that, so I won’t go into details.”

"At that time, they were still useful to the little prince, probably because the little prince and the late Empress Dowager helped them."

"It's not impossible."

"Given their abilities, they don't have many people they can rely on. Their families certainly can't help them, so it's probably outsiders," Shen Cha sneered. "And then what?"

“If they’re going to cause trouble right under our noses, then we’ll have to investigate them thoroughly. That’s why we formed an investigation team with the Liao and Jin envoys and went to Jiangnan following a few clues.” Chu Han paused here, looking at Shen Cha, “I was wondering why he was so kind as to give us clues.”

"Make amends for your sins!" Shen Cha raised an eyebrow slightly. "The little prince probably learned about Mian's general situation from those two, which is why..."

"I couldn't understand it before, but now I understand it all at once." Chu Han nodded. "This is when the Liao and Jin envoys return to their country to investigate their internal traitors."

"The sequence of events is as follows," Xiao Fengqi nodded. "The people in Linhuang Prefecture thought the special envoy was still in Daxia and had no idea they had returned, which is why they launched a surprise attack. They were completely unprepared. The entire household, regardless of age or gender, master or servant, was arrested, and their mansions, shops, and estates were seized overnight. It was because of this that their incriminating evidence was not destroyed in time, and their crimes are now irrefutable, with no room for negotiation."

"Does Young Master Xiao mean that the families being targeted are all involved in this case?"

“No, not really. We arrested about eight families that time, but only two were completely clean. They were suspected because they had business dealings with the other families. The rest were all involved, and some were even the masterminds on our side.” Xiao Fengqi sighed. “Most importantly, they were not only connected to Mian, but also to the Tanuki Project.”