bookrebus Chapter 744 Missing Woman Case
Chapter 744 Missing Woman Case
According to Shi Wu, in the past two months, women have been missing in villages and towns near the imperial city, and all of them are unmarried young women.
At first, when the county government received the report, they treated it as an ordinary loss and sent out bailiffs to look for the person.
But the missing woman has not been found yet, and more women disappeared soon after.
Especially in the past half month, five or six incidents have occurred in succession. The government has searched for the women in vain, and the families of those women are all worried.
On his way back to the imperial city, Shi Wu happened to meet the family of a missing woman who were begging the county government for help. After learning about this, he stayed to help find her, which delayed his whereabouts.
"So many people have gone missing, and they are all unmarried young women. Didn't the government report this matter?" Shen Yanxi asked with a frown.
"The government office is probably worried that they will be seen as failing to do their job, so they have been hiding the matter and not reporting it. But before I left, I warned them not to try to suppress the matter. If they don't report it, I will also go to the Dali Temple to inform them." Shi Wu said.
Jiang Suining remembered that Pei Zhaozhi had left in a hurry just now, "Could this be the case that the Dali Temple wanted Pei Zhaozhi to help with?"
Shen Yanxi nodded, "It's possible."
He then asked Shi Wu, "Since it has been two months, has the county government found out anything?"
"I don't know if that group of people didn't try their best or if they were really incapable of doing anything. Anyway, judging from their appearance, I guess they didn't find out anything."
Speaking of this, Shi Wu couldn't help but frown.
"No matter whether the Dali Temple has already known about it or not, I still have to go there. Before coming to the Imperial City, I promised those people that I would definitely help tell the Imperial City government about their affairs."
Shi Wu stood up and said goodbye, and soon left the Jiang family.
The disappearance of so many people at once was no small matter, so Shen Yanxi also left to look for Pei Zhaozhi.
Ministry of Justice, Pei Zhaozhi’s face was gloomy.
"So many women have gone missing, and the cases have not been thoroughly investigated yet, but they have only just reported it now. How can the local government be so irresponsible?"
"I have already reprimanded them severely, but the most urgent task now is to investigate the case and find the person." Standing opposite Pei Zhaozhi was Feng Li, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. He was promoted by Pei Zhaozhi. After Pei Zhaozhi was transferred to the Ministry of Justice, he was promoted to Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. Now many cases in the Dali Temple are under his charge. After the missing case was reported the day before yesterday, it was also handed over to him.
Feng Li's face was solemn. "A total of thirteen women are missing, and the local county government has not found any useful clues. I have been confused since I took over. I always feel that this matter is really unusual, so I want to discuss it with you, sir."
"This incident is indeed unusual. Although there are human traffickers who abduct young women, thirteen cases in such a short period of time do not seem like simple human trafficking. Moreover..." Pei Zhaozhi took a deep breath, "Once this incident spreads, it will inevitably cause panic among the people. By then, I am afraid that even the imperial city will not be at peace."
"Don't worry, sir. I will order the news to be suppressed to avoid causing panic." Feng Li spoke immediately.
“No.” Pei Zhaozhi shook his head. “Although suppressing the news can avoid panic, it will also reduce everyone’s vigilance.”
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Not only can this matter not be suppressed, but the court must also post a notice to remind the people to take precautions. I will go to the palace to see the emperor and ask him to issue an order to strengthen patrols in the imperial city."
"Sir, this will inevitably cause panic among the people. Will it be detrimental to the stability of the imperial city? Moreover, if more people know about it, the pressure on the government to solve the case will also increase. At that time..."
"What's more important now is the safety of those women. Is the reputation of the government more important than human life?" Pei Zhaozhi interrupted Feng Li, "And..."
"grown ups!"
Pei Zhaozhi was interrupted by a bailiff from the Dali Temple who came in from outside.
"What's the matter?" Feng Li asked.
"Sir, someone just reported that their daughter is missing."
"Where does the missing woman live?" Feng Li asked immediately.
"It's inside the Imperial City, in the Lantern Alley in the south of the city."
"It has actually started in the imperial city." Feng Li's heart skipped a beat.
The previous cases involved women going missing in the villages and towns outside the imperial city, but now that the case has spread to the imperial city, it means that the murderer is very likely already in the imperial city.
If women continue to disappear under the emperor's feet like in those villages and towns, then all the people in the Dali Temple and the Imperial City government would have nothing to do in their jobs!
"Sir, I will go meet the missing woman's family first, post notices and patrol..."
"Don't worry, I will go to the palace to see the emperor now."
Feng Li left with the Dali Temple official who brought the news. Pei Zhaozhi also had someone prepare a carriage to enter the palace, but as soon as he arrived at the door of the Ministry of Justice, he saw Shen Yanxi coming over.
After explaining the whole story, the two of them went into the palace together to meet Emperor Xiao.
Upon learning that so many women had disappeared in just two months, Emperor Xiao was furious. He ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to jointly investigate the case, with Pei Zhaozhi as the leader, and to make sure the disappearances were solved within half a month.
After the notice was posted, people in the imperial city suddenly started talking about it.
However, for the time being, there is only one woman missing in the imperial city, so everyone is not panicking yet.
But what was unexpected was that two more women disappeared in the next three days, and there was a lot of blood in the alley where one of the women disappeared.
After the news spread, the atmosphere in the imperial city suddenly became tense.
In the academy, when Jiang Suining, Wei Yao and others arrived, Lu Yan and Zhong Yixiu were already waiting there.
"Sui Ning, A Yao, there has been a missing case in the imperial city. Almost all the students in our girls' academy are unmarried young women. Everyone is talking about it and is very scared. I'm worried that if this continues, they will choose to leave the girls' academy and never go out again." Lu Yan said worriedly.
"With so many women missing one after another, it's natural for them to worry. I've already hired a group of guards, and the protection of the Women's Academy will be strengthened from now on. In addition, if someone is very scared and doesn't want to go out, they can be given a temporary leave, but..." Jiang Suining frowned, worry in his eyes.
"Are you worried that once they are sent back home because of this incident, it will not be easy to get them to study in the academy again?" Zhong Yixiu asked Jiang Suining.
Jiang Suining nodded, "Yes, but the safety of these female students is still the first priority. Moreover, under the current circumstances, if we keep them in the academy, they may not be able to learn."
Wei Yao was more optimistic in comparison. "Don't worry. Didn't the emperor order the case to be solved within half a month? I heard that Lord Pei solved many cases when he was in the Dali Temple before. As long as he catches the murderer this time, everyone will be relieved."