Chu Nanzhi then asked County Deputy Sun to fetch the records of all the major criminal cases in the county over the past few years.
After browsing through the files, other than the tax case a few days ago, there were no records of large gangs committing crimes. Most of them were homicides caused by neighborhood disputes.
The last major case of banditry dated back to more than ten years ago, when Lin Jinxiao's father was in office.
At that time, the Dongsang Pirates had repeatedly breached the borders. Later on, the Imperial Court had sent troops to attack them. The Dongsang Pirates had been quiescent for many years.
Over the years, the coastal defense had been stable. The county was well governed, all was peaceful, and the people were safe. There were a few villagers from various villages who had fallen into banditry, but there were no large bands of bandits around Luyan Harbor.
After Chu Nanzhi finished reading all the files, County Deputy Sun suddenly said,
"For the past two days, I've been wondering if a human trafficker had broken into the residence and kidnapped Young Master Zhao and sold him elsewhere."
After some thought, he was actually grew proud of his deduction. He nodded and smiled.
"After all, he's the child of a wealthy family. He's handsome and has a fair complexion. He might fetch a good price."
"You pig brain, do you think those guards of the Zhao Mansion are all pushovers?"
Magistrate Hu rejected this idea without waiting for Chu Nanzhi to speak.
"If it was a human trafficker, why would they risk their lives to go to the Zhao Mansion to kidnap the Young Master? There are many good-looking children in the county. It must be someone with an ulterior motive who holds a deep grudge against them."
He paused, looking disappointed. He pointed at County Deputy Sun and scolded, "You, you're destined not to be promoted."
After being criticized, County Deputy Sun shut his mouth resentfully and did not dare to make anymore wild guesses.
Chu Nanzhi watched with interest as the two of them argued. She could not help but laugh secretly.
Judging by his appearance, County Deputy Sun was at least ten years older than County Magistrate Hu, but he was still being scolded by the county magistrate. That showed that he was not very competent in his job in the county office.
He had always been repressed by higher ranking officials.
However, just as the county magistrate had said, County Deputy Sun's deduction seemed a little ridiculous. No wonder the county magistrate was so disappointed in him.
If the child was lost on the streets, a human trafficker was a plausible suspicion.
A rich family like the Zhaos probably hired many guards. If a human trafficker could sneak into someone's house at night and kidnap a child without raising the alarm, these guards must be useless.
It was probably time to fire him.
So she was more inclined towards Magistrate Hu's hypothesis.
However, after careful consideration, this hypothesis also did not hold water.
After all, he was 10 years old. It was a little ridiculous for him to disappear silently from the residence.
For now, she could only treat it as a hypothesis.
She carefully flipped through the file as she thought about what the county magistrate had said. Chu Nanzhi suddenly asked,
"According to this dossier, when the Zhao Family reported the case, they only said that the Young Master was missing. Why did Elder Zhao make another report two days ago and say that the Young Master was kidnapped by bandits?"
"It's all because that old fellow was worried that I wouldn't do my best to find the child. He deliberately made up such nonsense to fool people and pressure me."
Magistrate Hu smiled bitterly.
County Deputy Sun seemed to have thought of something and suddenly said, "I heard that Elder Zhao was not at home on the day of the incident. He only rushed back two days ago. When he saw that the Young Master was missing, he personally came to the county office to reopen the case."
"Why isn't such important information in the file?"
Chu Nanzhi was speechless.
It seemed that there had been many omissions.
But when she thought about it, she realized that this was inevitable. After all, not everyone in the county office was dutiful. There were always a few black sheep who neglected their duty.
County Magistrate Hu looked puzzled. "What does Elder Zhao's absence have to do with the Young Master's disappearance? I've heard that his second wife is a shrewd and capable person. Even though Elder Zhao was not at home, she has always managed the residence well. Even Governor Wu has praised this woman's shrewdness and ability."
"In that case, no one would dare to enter the residence and kidnap the Young Master."
Chu Nanzhi stared at the file, her thoughts in disarray.
After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "Does everyone in the Zhao family get along well?"
County Magistrate Hu pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "It's said that they're extremely harmonious. The second wife has no children and is extremely protective of this first wife's son. I'm afraid everyone in Luyan Harbor knows that."
Chu Nanzhi frowned when she heard that.
Often, the more peaceful things were on the surface, the deeper the conflicts within.
This was not based on her professional knowledge, but on her many years of reading novels and a woman's sixth sense. She fell into a reverie.
A wealthy family often had many rifts and the second wife had no children. They would do anything to gain wealth and property.
However, men tended to ignore these things.
However, this was all theoretical and without evidence, they were all nonsense. She did not dare to spout nonsense.
A police officer had to behave professionally.
Seeing that it was getting late, she was worried about the children at home. She was also afraid that Lin Jinxiao would worry himself sick, so she said to the county magistrate and the deputy,
"I have a general understanding of this case. The children are waiting for me to at home. I will take my leave first."
Looking at the dossier on the table, she was afraid that the county magistrate would grow suspicious, so she deliberately said,
"Can I take these files home and study them carefully?"
Of course, she knew that she would not be able to bring such files out of the government office.
It was just to reassure the county magistrate.
Unexpectedly, Magistrate Hu handed them to her without hesitation. "I made a copy of the dossier last night. Madam Chu, feel free to bring them home."
He paused, then nodded and added, "But Madam Chu, remember to bring them back to the county office tomorrow. Don't lose them."
"Tomorrow?"
Chu Nanzhi was shocked.
Did he really think of she as a temporary employee?
County Magistrate Hu smiled leisurely. "Of course, didn't I say that you're investigating this case on my behalf? Moreover, I will cover all the expenses incurred. Have you forgotten? Or can you solve this case just by looking at the dossier?"
D*mn it, he was dragging her into this.
However, she was willing to help.
After all, this was her job in her previous life.
She was not from this era to begin with. The rules and regulations about not leaving the house meant nothing to her.
Moreover, she was just a peasant woman, not a young lady from a wealthy family.
Since she did not have such a good life, she would have to earn money. She could not possibly rely on the Host's mother to support her all the time.
Seeing her hesitate for a long time, County Magistrate Hu suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said,
"I've been negligent. I heard that Lin Jinxiao's leg injury is still serious and you have children at home that need to be taken care of. I've been inconsiderate in asking you to run around on my behalf. I'll ask my wife to send two of the more thoughtful maids to your house to help out. In that way, you won't have to worry…"
"Ahem, ahem."
County Deputy Sun coughed and interrupted County Magistrate Hu before he could finish his earnest speech.
Magistrate Hu reacted quickly and immediately realized that he had said something wrong.
This woman's relationship with Lin Jinxiao was not harmonious to begin with. Even if he sent a maid over to wait on Lin Jinxiao, it would probably be difficult for her set aside her worries and work on the case. He thought for a moment and quickly changed his words.
"Oh, oh, oh. Isn't Third Master Li, who works in this country office, from the same village as your husband? Why look any further? That man idles around all day and doesn't do anything. He's always trying to gain a profit from someone's troubles. It doesn't matter if he's away for a few days. He only cares about getting my money."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze on Deputy Sun and instructed,
"County Deputy Sun, go and tell Third Master Li not to come to the county office tomorrow, but reflect on his mistakes at home. Also, his punishment is to take care of Lin Jinxiao. When the case is solved, he can return to the county office again."
After hearing this, County Deputy Sun nodded in satisfaction and even secretly gave the county magistrate a thumbs up.
But it was hard on Chu Nanzhi.
She had finally resolves her conflict with Li Ce, but this trip to the county office had caused him to lose his job.
If she went back like this, not only would Li Ce's family hate her, even Lin Jinxiao would hate her even more.
She was about to protest by glaring at County Magistrate Hu resentfully when she saw him smiling at her.
"But Madam Chu, you don't have to worry. Although Third Master Li is reflecting at home, he will get the same salary."
With that, Chu Nanzhi's temper turned into helplessness.
He was not punishing Li Ce. He was obviously putting pressure on her.
However, in the county office, other than the high-ranking officials, the other low-ranking officials were all hired by the county magistrate. It was up to him to decide if they could stay or not.
What choice did she have?