If I were born again, I would marry a strong but short-lived husband.

Chapter 507 Admit your mistake

Fu Jinyuan handed the interrogation over to Guan Jin. He was not in a hurry to announce his identity as the regent because he wanted to wait for more fish to jump out and take the bait.

Not all of the forty-nine virgins were found from the homes of the people in Salt Lake City. Some were bought from kidnappers, and it was not possible to find their parents for the time being.

As the prefect and the salt commissioner were all wanted, Fu Jinyuan could only select officials from Salt Lake City who could temporarily manage the affairs of the city.

The prefect had two deputies, Tongzhi and Tongpan. The Tongzhi was in cahoots with the prefect and had been imprisoned. Fu Jinyuan then promoted Tongpan to take over the prefect's position temporarily.

The Tongpan's surname was Lin, and his single character was Linye.

Lin Ye is a dull person who doesn't know how to adapt. He just arrived in Salt Lake City last year and has not yet been valued by the governor.

Fu Jinyuan investigated him and found him to be a loyal and honest man, but in the eyes of others, he was a stubborn person.

He had never been involved in smuggling salt, but he was not completely ignorant of the situation in Salt Lake City. It was just that he was in a low position and his words were not taken seriously, so he did not dare to resist. He quietly collected evidence, thinking of leaving Salt Lake City and reporting it later.

Before the report was made, someone had destroyed the mirage.

Lin Ye was excited and admired the garrison commander Lu very much.

When he heard that he was asked to temporarily take over as prefect, his face suddenly changed, "No, no, the prefect needs the seal of the cabinet and the imperial court. How can a lowly official like me, a magistrate, go over the line?"

"If the king asks you to take over temporarily, then you can do so." Fu Jinyuan said in a deep voice, "You will assist the king in placing the girls first, find out where their parents are from, and have their parents take them back."

Lin Ye was stunned.

The king?

He looked up at Fu Jinyuan, dazed and confused, "You are... the Regent?"

Wu Yang took out the token of the Pacification Bureau and said, "This is the token of the commander of the Pacification Bureau. The Regent King passed by here and noticed something was wrong. Now I am transferring your position, and I am not skipping your level."

Lin Ye looked at the token, then looked at Fu Jinyuan again, and his eyes instantly turned red.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty."

Fu Jinyuan said, "You don't have to worry about the prefect coming out to take revenge. His crimes are too numerous to list."

Lin Ye kowtowed, "Your Majesty, please save the people of Salt Lake City..."

He handed over the evidence he had collected during this period to Fu Jinyuan.

"Your Highness, the head of the Lu family never contacts the salt merchants personally. He relies on one person to act on his behalf. I heard from the co-magistrate that the man's surname is Gan, and everyone calls him Mr. Gan." Lin Ye said.

Fu Jinyuan raised his eyes and looked towards Wu Yang.

Wu Yang immediately said, "Your Majesty, I will ask the salt merchant to identify the man immediately."

"President Lin, have you ever met Mr. Gan?" Fu Jinyuan asked.

Lin Ye shook his head. "The prefect doesn't trust me and never lets me come into contact with salt merchants."

"You go and settle the girl first. If you have any other news, report to me immediately." Fu Jinyuan said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Lin Ye was excited. With the Regent here, he had no fear anymore, no matter whether it was the Lu family or the Hong family.

……

Shen Sui'an looked at the two people who had lost weight and looked darker.

Ruan Zhaoxia and Zhao Jiuling stood there obediently, both looking guilty, not daring to even look at Shen Sui'an.

The Empress Dowager was as steady as a rock, teasing Chao Ge'er beside her, oblivious to the subtle atmosphere here.

"Tell me first, why are you here?" Shen Suian asked Ruan Zhaoxia.

Ruan Zhaoxia giggled and wanted to act coquettishly first, but when she saw Shen Suian's stern eyes, she retracted her smile.

"Sister-in-law, I... I was just out studying and happened to pass by here and found out that someone was trafficking child girls..." Ruan Zhaoxia said as her voice tapered off.

If I tell others that I came here for study tour, no one would believe me.

"Let me tell you the truth." Ruan Zhaoxia knew that she would be discovered if she lied.

"My mother always wanted me to go and see her, but I didn't want to get engaged so early, so I lied to her and said I was going to my grandparents' house, and secretly came to Suzhou halfway."

"I met Xue Jingshu in Salt Lake City. Both her parents died, and she was going to seek refuge with her brother and sister-in-law, but they sold her to the Lu family and turned her into some kind of holy maiden. I had no choice but to ask Zhao Jiuling for help and ask Zhao Jiuling to help me save her."

"We have been trying to get the gunpowder in from the suburbs these days. I wonder if you and the prince..." Ruan Zhaoxia glanced at the Empress Dowager secretly, "The Empress Dowager has also come to Salt Lake City."

If she knew about this, she would definitely not act alone and would come to Fu Jinyuan first.

Zhao Jiuling pursed her lips. It was not that they could not find out, but Fu Jinyuan had been hiding his true identity in Salt Lake City, so he didn't know about it overnight.

Shen Sui'an asked coldly, "If the prince wasn't here today, how would you have saved those dozens of girls?"

"Do you know how many of them there are?"

"You are capable of performing murderous rituals. Do you think they will still be afraid of your identity as the eldest daughter of the Ruan family? Do you think that if you are discovered, you will reveal your identity so that they will not dare to hurt you?"

"Have you ever thought about how the Ruan family would find out what they did if they killed you and covered up the truth?"

"You almost died here because you didn't think about the consequences of your actions."

When Ruan Zhaoxia saw the melee, she was already frightened.

She didn't know that the Lu family was so lawless.

"Sister, it's my fault." Zhao Jiuling said in a low voice.

"You are wrong. It's not your turn yet. I'll scold you later." Shen Suian glared at him unhappily.

“…” Zhao Jiuling lowered his head guiltily.

Shen Sui'an took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

"Sister Xia is ignorant, aren't you ignorant too? Why are you following her in making trouble?" She asked Zhao Jiuling.

"Sister-in-law, don't scold him. I forced him to help." Ruan Zhaoxia stood in front of Zhao Jiuling.

Zhao Jiuling whispered, "Sister, I underestimated the Lu family and acted rashly. I won't do it again next time."

Shen Sui'an pursed his lips and said, "Let's go down and heal our wounds first."

Ruan Zhaoxia's eyes moved cunningly, knowing that Shen Suian was finally no longer angry.

"Sister-in-law, what about Xue Jingshu..."

"You've brought the person back. How can I drive her away? The doctor is waiting. You all go and heal your wounds." Shen Sui'an snorted.

She would come back to settle accounts with them after their injuries were healed.

Zhao Jiuling whispered, "Those dozens of virgin girls..."

"The prince has already asked people to settle them down, and they are now temporarily housed in the government office." Shen Sui'an said.

Finally, both of them were sent away to heal their wounds, and Shen Sui'an sighed.

The Empress Dowager said, "This girl from the Ruan family looks a lot like the Empress Dowager when she was young."

"How could my mother be so reckless as her?" Shen Suian chuckled.

"Before Danyang entered the palace, he was also so unrestrained and free." The Empress Dowager looked a little dazed, as if she was recalling some beautiful scene.

"She knew the late emperor when they were young, and she stood in front of him to protect him when he was punished."

"..." Shen Suian forced a smile.

Wouldn't that make the late emperor seem even less of a human being? The Empress Dowager Ruan had been so good to him, but he actually repaid her with evil and even tried to conspire with outsiders to frame the Empress Dowager, forcing her to send Fu Jinyuan away.

It turns out that dying early is retribution.

"The lawlessness in Salt Lake City did not happen overnight. Now that the powerful families have joined forces, it will not be easy for the imperial court to eradicate it." The Empress Dowager has changed the subject.

Shen Sui'an frowned slightly, and was worried about Fu Jinyuan in his heart.