Should he thoroughly investigate this case?

After temporarily focusing the suspicion on the Wei family, Sun Shaozong found it difficult.

There was a saying that pulling out carrots could bring out mud. If the Wei family were to cover up the truth and kill that midwife to silence her, if he stepped forward to thoroughly investigate this case, the conspiracy of the three of them to save that child might also be exposed.

One should know, this was the crime of deceiving the Emperor!

As he was struggling, he saw a few people hurriedly walking through the rain curtain. They hurriedly took a few steps to the corridor and bowed, saying, "I would like to inform you, My Lord, that Wang's husband Liu Changsheng, eldest son Liu Fugui, and daughter Liu Huilan have already arrived."

It turned out that Midwife Wang's family has arrived.

Sun Shaozong's gaze swept back, and he saw a middle-aged man with a simple and honest appearance, leading a pair of children, each curled up in their hats and raincoats, their drooping heads occasionally secretly lifted, their eyes filled with panic and anticipation.

Originally, Sun Shaozong was inclined to give up on this case, but his heart softened by three points when he faced these six anxious yet hopeful eyes.

*Forget it.

*Let's first inquire about the specific situation before proceeding.*

"Bring them inside."

After instructing, Sun Shaozong carefully entered the room and sat down behind the official case in the center. After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, he saw Wang’s family, who had lost their raingear, walking in under the guidance of Lin Delu.

"Greetings to the Governor."

Lin Delu reminded him, and the father and son immediately knelt on both knees, kowtowing like pounding garlic, and mouthing *'Master Qingtian.'*

Sun Shaozong threw the file onto the table and asked calmly, "Liu Changsheng, according to the confession, you once told the official that there was no abnormality before your wife, Wang, went missing, is this true?"

Liu Changsheng quickly lowered his body a bit and exclaimed excitedly, "Report back to Lord Qingtian, my wife was fine before she headed out. She even said she wanted to cut half a pound of dog meat and let her son gain some weight when she went out. But who knew that as soon as she left... for several days, I didn't see anyone alive or dead!"

As Liu Changsheng spoke, there was a hint of sobbing in his voice, and the two children behind him also began to sob.

Seeing this family of three about to cry loudly, Sun Shaozong hurriedly said, "It is precisely to find the trace of Wang-Shi that I want to inquire about some of your insider information. You father and children don't need to panic, just speak slowly."

As he spoke, Lin Delu gave a glance and immediately said, "Liu Changsheng, Lord Sun has personally inquired about this case. Why are you crying so hard? If you want to see that old lady of yours, just answer honestly!"

This one sang red face, and another sang white face. Liu Changsheng was just a normal citizen; how could he withstand it?

Busily wiping away tears with his sleeve, he kowtowed and said, "I understand. Master Qingtian just needs to ask, and I will tell you everything I know!"

"Okay, let me ask you, has your wife ever been to a wealthy family to help give birth in the past two months?"

"Never!"

Without hesitation, Liu Changsheng shook his head and said, "She has never been to a wealthy family for the past two months; only neighbors have invited her to help give birth."

Upon hearing these words, Sun Shaozong immediately became suspicious. Although it was a union of husband and wife, it involved Wang’s two-month journey. Normally, Liu Changsheng should have given some time to recall before answering his questions. But now he blurted it out without any hesitation.

Either he knew Wang's affairs like the back of his hand or he has already arranged the answer in his mind!

Sun Shaozong still asked calmly, "You are so certain that you must have a clear memory of which family Wang has been there to help with childbirth?"

"No, no, no!"

Liu Changsheng shook his head and said, "I rarely ask about such things. It's all from my wife herself. She said that since she helped to give birth to that demon, the wealthy families around here have had taboos and would rather invite other midwives from afar than ask her to give birth!"

"That's why I said she hasn't taken on any business from a wealthy family recently."

Sun Shaozong originally intended to ask a few questions before gradually transitioning to the main topic, but it was Liu Changsheng who took the initiative to mention this matter.

Therefore, Sun Shaozong followed the tide and asked, "What's wrong? Wang once told you about the day when the Heavenly Hound swallowed the sun and gave birth to demons?"

"She said it a few times..."

"Then please repeat to me what she said."

Sun Shaozong spoke and raised his voice, "Lin Delu, take these two young men outside first."

Lin Delu knew that he was worried about the Liu family's father and children colluding to confess. Although he didn't understand what Sun Shaozong had personally experienced and asked the Liu family's father and children about their significance, he obediently took Liu Fugui and Liu Huilan outside.

Because it was raining heavily outside, there was no need to hide too far, just ordered their siblings to wait in the corridor.

When Lin Delu returned to the hall, Liu Changsheng was being induced by Sun Shaozong, recalling and retelling his wife's words.

Lin Delu listened for a long time, and besides talking about the child's blue face and fangs, the great monks were all protected by Buddha's light; there was nothing new or unusual about it.

However, Sun Shaozong took it seriously and repeatedly asked many details, such as Wang's tone at the time, or whether there were any pauses or stutters.

Until Lin Delu was about to memorize that kind of rhetoric, Sun Shaozong finally let Liu Changsheng go, and then called Liu Fugui and his siblings in, making sure they told Wang's remarks.

These two siblings have much less courage than their father. When they talk, they stuttered. It took more than three times the duration to finish what Liu Changsheng could finish in one!

Lin Delu wished he could pull out their tongues and straighten them with an iron before continuing to let them speak.

Sun Shaozong, however, was extremely patient. After listening, he asked Liu Changsheng the question he had just asked and asked his siblings one by one—by the time they finished answering the questions, the heavy rain outside had already stopped.

Seeing a red sun break through the clouds, Sun Shaozong's heart also dissipated most of the gloom.

Although it was not entirely certain at the moment, according to the testimony of the father and son, Wang’s disappearance should have no connection with the Wei family.

The content of their father's and children's retelling was roughly the same, and some details that were not easy to fabricate could also be matched, so it could be concluded that these words were indeed from the mouth of Wang.

These words were coherent and sound without any flaws.

The three of them coincidentally expressed that Wang had always been eloquent and vivid in the process of telling these stories, without any obstacles in between.

If Wang could hide secrets in front of her family, Sun Shaozong would barely believe it, but if she spoke eloquently about the events of that day, yet her words remained impeccable, it was truly unbelievable.

Besides, if there were such schemes, she wouldn't end up missing!

But if she wasn't killed and silenced, why did she disappear?

"Lin Delu."

"Yes, My Lord."

"On my orders, this case will be personally led by Zhao Wuwei to investigate. Don't miss any possible clues!"

It has been five or six days since this case was reported, but there has been little progress so far.

This was mainly because there were only two ordinary government officials and a few white-collar workers responsible for investigating the case. After all, although this disappearance case was also a matter of life and death, it was far less important than a murder case.

Human resources were already insufficient, and if the attitude toward handling cases was not correct, no clues could be found!

Now, with the order of Sun Shaozong, the human resources in the Office suddenly tilted. Zhao Wuwei, along with dozens of subordinates, almost trampled the road from the Wang family to the vegetable market.

The residents and buyers on both sides of the road, whether a suspect or not, were questioned at least twice, one by one. Under this carpet-like search, some relevant information quickly surfaced.

Firstly, there was Zhao Mazi, the sugar blower, who said he once saw two people wearing cloaks walking far behind Wang.

Then came Xu Erniu, who bought Yangchun noodles, stating that she had also seen two people with bamboo hats, but did not know that they were following the Wang family.

Next was the nine-year-old son of Qian Laowei's family in Xixiang. He said that while playing with his local dog, Ah Huang, on the street, Ah Huang suddenly chased two people wearing hats and started barking. One of them stopped and cursed a few times, but it didn't sound like a local accent.

Furthermore, according to Qian Laowei's confession, his local dog liked humans and had always been raised outside, never causing trouble for neighbors. This was the first time he had been barking at someone.

"Outsiders wearing hats?"

After listening to these reports, Lin Delu sucked his teeth and said, "My Lord, it sounds like a group of human traffickers. If Midwife Wang was really taken by them, after several days of hard work, she might have been sent out of the city long ago."

"Human traffickers?"

Sun Shaozong gave him a white glance and said, "If you were a human trafficker, would you choose Wang?"

Without waiting for Lin Delu to reply, he raised his hand and said, "Go, send someone to bring Qian Laowei's son and his local dog over."

Lin Delu was already accustomed to the strange actions of Sun Shaozong when he was solving the case, so he didn't ask much and was ready to go out and convey orders.

"Come back!"

Sun Shaozong stopped him again and ordered, "Go and notify Zhou Da to pick a few prisoners from the prison..."

About two-quarters of an hour later, Qian Laowei's son and the yellow dog were taken to the Criminal Investigation Department, along with the anxious Qian Laowei couple.

As soon as they saw Sun Shaozong wearing a light red official robe, the couple knelt with a thud. It was the child named Ah Bao, who had a tiger-like head and tiger-like brain, and was in awe. He was pinned down by his father, but still looked up at Sun Shaozong with all his might.

Sun Shaozong gave him a warm smile and pointed to the yellow dog shaking its head and tail, saying, "Is this Ah Huang who chased the bad guys all the way? He is indeed a good dog!"

Upon hearing Sun Shaozong praising his pet and saying that Ah Huang was chasing two bad guys, Ah Bao immediately became proud and said with a small chest, "I've been chasing them too. Their cursing looks are really scary, but Ah Huang and I are not afraid at all!"

"So, you are also a brave and good child."

Sun Shaozong reached out and pulled Ah Bao up from the ground, rubbing his prickly hair and laughing, "When Uncle asks you and Ah Huang for help later, you can't be afraid."

Ah Bao looked up and said happily, "Do you want me and Ah Huang to help you catch the bad guys?"

Although this child was a newborn calf and not afraid of tigers, he had already developed a concept of social status, so he did not climb up the pole and shout Uncle Sun Shaozong.

"Haha, you got it right, little hero."

Sun Shaozong laughed heartily and saw that Qian Laonian and his wife's frightened desire had stopped. He then took the opportunity to comfort them and said, "Don't worry, with me here, there won't be any danger."

Speaking, he gave a signal to Lin Delu.

Lin Delu immediately raised his hand to the east courtyard and said, "Someone, let those guys come over one by one!"

Just as the iron chains clattered behind the moonlit door, a prisoner wearing a prison uniform and a hat slowly emerged from inside. He had a displeased expression on his face, but when he saw Sun Shaozong present, he collapsed and walked step by step with a bent body.

Not far from the Qian family, he suddenly stopped and turned around, cursing angrily or in fear, before bowing his head and walking forward.

He walked to the bottom of the west wall before the yamen came forward to stop him.

"How's it going?"

Sun Shaozong squatted beside Ah Bao and asked, "Does this person's insults look like the bad guy wearing a hat that day?"

"Not at all, not at all!"

Ah Bao immediately shook his head like a tambourine.

At this moment, after the moonlit door, a second prisoner walked out. This prisoner's face was full of bad luck as soon as he came out because someone had poured out a lot of leftover food and vegetables on him. He walked all the way, dripping profusely, with truly indescribable embarrassment.

Before he could get closer this time, the local dog Ah Huang bit its tail and greeted him. He first let out two cheerful barks, then lowered his head to lick the food off his pants.

The prisoner was a bit nervous at first. Seeing that Ah Huang had no intention of hurting anyone, he gritted his teeth and continued walking forward.

Sun Shaozong asked again, "Did Ah Huang pursue him that day?"

"No, no!"

Ah Bao shook his head like a tambourine and said, "That day, Ah Huang screamed much more than that!"

At this moment, the prisoner also approached, stopped, and turned his head, weakly cursing a few words.

"This accent..."

"No, no, not even like that one just now!"

After the criminal who had contributed a lot to the mess walked to the west wall, the third criminal did not rush out; instead, several Yamen runners came out from behind the door.

It was not until the Yamen officials cleaned up the traces on the ground that the third prisoner appeared again.

There was nothing special about this person, but his expression was very nervous. He kept staring at Ah Huang and waited until he got closer. Seeing that Ah Huang did not react, he breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and cursed a few times in a tone.

"Almost!"

Without waiting for Sun Shaozong to ask again, Ah Bao jumped and said, "He and those two bad people with bamboo hats seem to curse almost the same!"

But immediately, the child was puzzled and said, "But why doesn't Ah Huang pursue him?"

Sun Shaozong smiled without explaining anything.

When the third prisoner walked to the bottom of the west wall, the fourth prisoner walked out immediately. This prisoner looked a bit more cautious than the one who had just left.

However, this time Ah Huang reacted. He first sniffed with his nose raised, then lowered his body and started barking loudly. When the prisoner forced himself to turn around and curse a few words, and continued walking towards the west wall, Ah Huang continued to bark along the way.