The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Chapter 521 No one from the Guo family came.

"That allows someone to fulfill a wish before they die."

"Oh, am I really going to die? I didn't do anything heinous, I just deceived those rich young men's feelings. I didn't even sleep with them, so it's not like I broke the law, is it?"

Du Mingxian didn't know if the girl in front of her was pretending or genuinely naive, but she was willing to say more, "Do you know that the people you took to stay in the county, pretending to be family, are human traffickers who specialize in buying and selling young girls, and the places they take may not even be good places?"

"So what? They paid for it, and the children were sold by their family members. It was a consensual transaction, and both sides were satisfied. What are you government officials trying to do?"

Guo Miaomiao's words stunned Du Mingxian. It seemed that was true; she had been preoccupied with worrying about whether the children would suffer any bad things these past two days.

Forgot? Even if they catch these people, so what? It's a normal business transaction. The Great Shun Dynasty didn't say that buying and selling people was prohibited. Everything is legal.

What good would it do to catch these people?

"Besides, since those children can be sold, they must not be loved at home, and may even be severely tortured by their families. Now that they are bought, isn't it better? You may dislike them, but I need them. The children will have a good place to go."

"So what if those children object? At least they can be taken away, which proves they have value. If they have value, they will be treated well."

"What good is staying at home? When she gets old, she can just find any man to marry, have children, raise them, and serve the whole family. She'll be exhausted every day, and she won't get to eat anything good. She'll do the hardest work and eat the least amount of food."

“Some families are even worse, selling their wives directly to men with bad tempers who beat their wives as casually as eating. They get beaten three times a day without fail. Such a life is worse than being sold, at least there is a comfortable period in life where you can eat your fill and wear warm clothes.”

Du Mingxian suddenly came to her senses. "You're right, but many of the girls there weren't there voluntarily. Take, for example, the two who died in the Yu family."

“Their biological mother didn’t know about this. Because she couldn’t bear the thought of her children being sold, she killed the woman who had caused trouble in the family and then committed suicide.”

"Did they deserve to die? If these traffickers had offered less money, their families might not have thought of buying their daughters, and their mothers wouldn't have died."

Guo Miaomiao gave a mocking smile, "You're wrong. So what if their mother is dead? If she could become more capable and take charge of the household sooner, would those people dare to sell her children?"

"What's the difference between showing maternal love only after selling the child and breastfeeding after the child has died?"

Du Mingxian was speechless. "Fine, since you're unwilling to reveal the whereabouts of those people, I won't ask. I'll just wait here and see if your family is willing to come."

Guo Miaomiao didn't want to give up such a good opportunity. "Then you just wait and prepare food for me. They definitely won't come."

Du Mingxian remained silent.

Guo Miaomiao then said, "If I honestly tell you where those people went, will you let me go?"

"It depends on the situation. We don't know what role you play in this matter yet. If you have also killed someone or committed other crimes, then naturally you cannot be let go."

Guo Miaomiao spread her hands and said, "I didn't do anything. They gave me money, and I provided them with a place. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"

“You’re not short of money, so why do something like this? If you really need money, your family will definitely give it to you.”

"Forget it, if I go to them, I'll just end up crying again. They'll only give me that little bit of money when they've cried enough."

Du Mingxian didn't know what to say, since everyone thinks the same way. "Let's wait and see."

"Then have your maid bring me some food now, I'm a little hungry."

"Don't push yourself too far."

"I know I should just go with the flow. If you take the pole away, it'll be hard for me to climb up."

Du Mingxian waved her hand, "Xiangyang, go and prepare some food."

"I want to eat roast chicken."

Then the cell fell silent, and Guo Miaomiao stopped talking. Time passed slowly until Xiangyang returned and gave the roast chicken to Guo Miaomiao. Then Xiangyang whispered in Du Mingxian's ear, "Madam Cheng sent word that she won't be coming today."

Du Mingxian was extremely surprised, then glanced at Guo Miaomiao who was eating, and said, "You win. I'll have someone send some more food over."

Okay, thank you.

"There's one more thing to remind you: if you don't tell the truth today, the higher-ups will torture you."

Guo Miaomiao felt a little wronged, "Your man is really heartless."

Du Mingxian waved her hand and left without listening to Guo Miaomiao.

After leaving the cell, Du Mingxian asked Xiang Yang, "What's the situation with Madam Cheng? Didn't she come to me herself to ask for a chance to see Guo Miaomiao? How could she just give up such a good opportunity like that?"

The messenger replied that Madam Guo was ill and could not come to the prison.

“I think she really just finds prison unlucky.” Du Mingxian narrowed her eyes. “Maybe tomorrow Madam Cheng will come to me again to plead for Guo Miaomiao to go back to the Guo family to see the elders.”

"Oh no."

"Then just watch."

Ling Silang came back that evening and said...

"The girl in jail confessed, saying she was only willing to tell the truth because of you."

"Me?" Du Mingxian was surprised. "I was talking to her in prison, but she had more道理 (moral principles) than I did. How could she possibly listen to me?"

“It’s not because she listens to you, it’s because you gave her food, and she said she was happy, so she was willing to talk.”

"Was what she told us useful? Could we find those people?"

"After she confessed, we went to investigate, but the place was deserted and there was nowhere to search. The trail ended there."

Du Mingxian sighed, "So much effort, and it's all cut off like this. It's really heartbreaking. I thought I could save those unwilling children."

"Take your time." Ling Silang knew that rushing wouldn't help.

Du Mingxian thought that this was the only way. "Guo Miaomiao, what do you plan to do?"

"Keep her locked up for now. She's different from the young master of the Zhao family. The young master of the Zhao family doesn't know anything, but Guo Miaomiao has been in contact with those people. Maybe we can use her to lure some people out."

“Then let’s give it a try. But I’ve talked to Guo Miaomiao. She’s not like the average woman. She’s very progressive in her thinking. Even if we use her to fish, it might not be successful.”

"Just give it a try, don't take it seriously."

"Yes, it's just that Xia Yu hasn't come back yet, and I'm worried that something might have happened to her." Du Mingxian was very worried about Xia Yu's disappearance.

Ling Silang reassured him, "The Crown Prince has already sent out all the men. Except for a few who have missions, everyone else has gone to search. They all come from the same secret guard battalion, so it's easy for them to keep in touch. They should be able to find them."