Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

Chapter 702 Xiao Dang is not a suspect

She opened her mouth, wanting to remind Qin Huairu that "there's no such thing as a free lunch," but the words stuck in her throat. In this family, no one took her words seriously; it was pointless, and she might even be scolded by Jia Zhangshi as a "meddlesome little hussy." Xiao Dang lowered her head, looking at her hands, calloused from years of hard work, and felt a heavy weight in her heart—this family was likely to become increasingly chaotic.

Xiao Dang huddled at the very back of the crowd, her back pressed tightly against the mottled wall. Her heart pounded like a startled rabbit, the pounding so hard it made her ribs ache. Her eyes were lowered, but her peripheral vision was fixed on He Feng's figure, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes—this was her worst fear: He Feng arriving with the police to investigate. Although she hadn't done anything heinous, in her panic, she'd carelessly stuffed the glass marble Jia Cai had played with into a crack in the wall. If it were found during the search, she might be interrogated for ages, and a single wrong word could give her away.

Lost in thought, He Feng entered the courtyard with several men in dark blue uniforms. His face was grave, and his army green trousers were dusty, indicating he had rushed there. His gaze swept over the surprised and suspicious neighbors in the courtyard, and he said in a deep voice, "Huang Jing, take two men and search every house carefully, especially the woodsheds and storage rooms. The child has only been missing for a short time; the crying hasn't reached outside the courtyard, so he's likely still inside."

He was also having doubts: most of the residents in the courtyard were old neighbors who had lived there for decades. They would see each other all the time, and if any of their children cried, they would go over and comfort them. Who would do something as despicable as stealing a child and causing them to have no descendants? But at the moment, he had no other clues, so he could only start by investigating the courtyard and not let go of any possibility. Even if it was his own family, he had to go through the motions to put Qin Huairu at ease.

Huang Jing nodded in agreement and immediately pointed to two colleagues. One of them held a flashlight, its beam sweeping across the dim corners as they moved towards the various rooms. With a bang, the door to the east wing was pushed open, startling the sparrows under the eaves into a flurry of flight.

He Feng pointed to Qin Huairu, who was still sobbing under the locust tree, and said to Huang Jing, "This is the child's mother. Ask her carefully about the situation. From the time the child went to sleep until he was discovered missing, who came to the yard? Did they hear any unusual noises, even the meowing of cats or the barking of dogs? Don't miss anything."

Huang Jing stepped forward, took out a manila notebook from his pocket, and paused the pen on the paper: "Comrade, please don't rush, speak slowly. When was the last time you saw the child? What were you doing at the time?"

Qin Huairu wiped away her tears with her sleeve as she recounted what had happened in fits and starts: "I...I went to the street corner to buy soy sauce this afternoon. When I left, I saw him playing with a rattle on the kang (a heated brick bed), and I asked my aunt to watch him...it was only half an hour. When I came back, I...I saw that the kang was empty. My aunt said that she turned around to pour a glass of water, and the child was gone..." Her voice choked with sobs, and she could barely finish a sentence.

He Feng stood to the side listening, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. His gaze inadvertently swept across the crowd, noticing Xiao Dang with her head down, eyes darting around, hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, knuckles white, her feet constantly grinding against the pebbles on the ground, looking extremely restless. A thought flickered in his mind—this girl was usually quite composed, why was she acting so strangely today? He walked over and said, "Xiao Dang, can I ask you something?"

Xiao Dang's heart skipped a beat. She knew it was coming, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She took a deep breath, forced herself to remain calm, and raised her head, forcing a look of confusion on her face: "Director He... please ask. I will tell you everything I know."

"Where did you go today? What did you do?" He Feng's gaze was calm, yet it carried a scrutinizing quality, as if he could see through people's hearts.

Xiao Dang composed herself and spoke the words she had prepared in her mind, her pace neither too fast nor too slow, trying to sound natural: "This morning I helped my mom pick vegetables, then I went to my master's house to learn embroidery. He taught me how to embroider peony petals. I ate lunch outside, and then stayed home sewing shoe soles, preparing to make a new pair of shoes for my dad. Aunt Zhang and Aunt Li from the neighborhood can testify to that." She spoke clearly and logically, even mentioning what color thread Grandpa Wang had taught her to use for outlining, and she remembered the exact dates.

He Feng listened without finding any flaws. This girl had always been sensible, and it was common knowledge in the courtyard that she was learning a trade from a teacher. He nodded, didn't ask any further questions, and turned to look elsewhere.

Just then, a young policeman strode over and reported, "Chief, we've searched every house in the compound. We've turned over the woodshed, the cellar, and even the coal pile, but we haven't found any trace of the child or any suspicious items. We did find a few marbles that the children used to play with, but they don't look like they were just stolen."

He Feng hummed in agreement. In fact, he had guessed that this was probably the case. The search was just to put his mind at ease and to clear the names of his neighbors in the courtyard, so as to avoid future suspicions between them.

As soon as he finished speaking, another colleague ran over, holding a transparent evidence bag containing some white powder: "Chief, we found something strange by the kang (heated brick bed) where the child sleeps. This was scraped off the pillow, and it initially smells like sedative residue. We estimate that the child was drugged and taken away, which is why he didn't cry."

He Feng's brows furrowed even more. This was a different matter altogether—it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; it was premeditated. He followed his colleague to the base of the courtyard wall and crouched down to examine the dog hole that had been identified. The opening wasn't large, only slightly wider than a basketball. The soil around the edge was loose, with a few withered blades of grass clinging to it, clearly indicating it had just been disturbed. An adult couldn't possibly squeeze through; it seemed only a young child or someone of small build could manage it.

He stood up, dusted off his hands, and turned his gaze back to Qin Huairu, his tone becoming more serious: "Think carefully again, have you offended anyone recently? Especially... anyone related to the children. Judging from this dog hole, the one who did it was likely a child, or someone familiar with the situation in the yard."

Qin Huairu was stunned, her face filled with confusion and fear, her lips trembling: "Offended someone? I didn't... I usually get along well with the neighbors in the courtyard, and I'm happy to help anyone in need. I haven't made any enemies outside, so how could... how could it be a child who did it?" She really couldn't understand who she had offended to do such a thing to a three-year-old child, even using a sleeping potion. Their intentions were too vicious.

In the crowd, Xiao Dang's back was already soaked with cold sweat. She bit her lower lip tightly, not daring to look up again—the sleeping pills were ground from a few sleeping pills she had stolen from her master's medicine chest; the dog hole was one she had secretly widened a few days ago. She thought she had done it flawlessly, but she never expected…