77 Truth
In the solemn county office, Chen Dagou, Chen Ergou, and Master Li were trembling as they knelt on the ground.
Ming Zhiyan Yan was sitting above them. He said coldly, “Criminals Chen Dagou, Chen Ergou, and Li Yong, quickly tell us the truth about the matter of you kidnapping the Jian Brothers.”
Li Yong’s heart trembled. He shrank back for a moment. He was someone who knew how to adapt to the situation, he immediately said, “Sir, there’s been a mistake! I didn’t kidnap those two boys! Chen Daguo was the one who came to me. He said that his family had two boys to sell. I’ve been married for many years and haven’t had any children. The doctor said that I couldn’t have children, so I thought of raising them. At least, in the future, when I die, at least, I have family who would visit me at my grave.”
“Chen Dagou also said that those two children are their children. That’s why I bought them. If I knew that they were kidnapped, I would definitely report it to the authorities!”
Chen Dagou was furious when he saw Li Yong push all the blame onto him. He cursed, “You son of a b*tch! You are a human trafficker, to begin with. Why are you pretending to be a good person?! When did I say that those two boys are my children?! Yes, you and your wife indeed don’t have children, but those concubines you raised outside must have had at least ten children! Didn’t you buy those two children just to sell them off?!”
Chen Dagou often went to the casino, so he recognized ‘Big shots’ like Li Yong, but Li Yong did not know them.
His biggest goal was to raise a few concubines outside like Li Yong, drink a little wine every day, and play gambling.
Li Yong did not expect Chen Dagou to know so many things about him. He said angrily, “Nonsense! I bought them because they were smart. Who knows that you kidnapped them?”
Ming Zhiyan was sitting at the head of the table and listening to them fight. He had already investigated their situation. The things they had done could not be covered up with just a few words.
When they were done arguing, he snapped out of his daze. “That’s enough. I’m not here to listen to your argument.”
He looked at Chen Ergou, who was kneeling at the side, and said, “Chen Ergou, tell me. Don’t you know these things the best? If you don’t tell me… Well, it has been a long time since the torture instruments in my office saw blood.”
Chen Ergou was shocked when his name was called by that unfathomable man. The expression on his face changed several times before he finally said with a trembling face, “If I tell you, will you give me a light sentence?”
Ming Zhiyan snorted coldly. “This is not a place where you can bargain.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Ergou’s face quickly turned ashen. He knew that he could not escape this time. At least, if he confessed earlier, he might escape the torture.
He said in despair, “I saw that b*tch… Miss Jian. She is very good at the stewed meat business, so I learned from her to make stewed meat. However, I never expected that the taste of the stewed meat we made was completely different from hers. Other than the first day when many people bought it from us, there was basically no one else who bought it. Now that we have a gambling debt and need a large sum of money to pay it off, we thought of kidnapping her brothers and asking her to hand over the recipe for the stewed meat.”
He glanced at Li Yong and said sinisterly, “That Li Yong is the casino owner’s brother-in-law. He is in the human trafficking business. Not only will he kidnap those children, he will also buy them from us.”
When Li Yong saw Chen Ergou dragging him down, he cursed, “Chen Ergou, you bastard! Stop spewing nonsense! When did I become the casino owner’s brother-in-law? I’m innocent…”
Ming Zhiyan looked at their guilty plea on the paper. Everything was basically the same as what he had found. He did not know the motive behind Chen Ergou’s kidnapping of the Jian Brothers.
He handed the guilty plea to County Wei. “Get their signatures.”
Then, he patted his head and said in a dignified manner, “Chen Dagou, Chen Ergou, kidnapped a child and is sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. Li Yong, convicted for multiple human trafficking cases!”