Second Son Gao’s wife, Chang Taohua, was indeed snatched away, but Chang Taohua was from a very poor family. After living a good life at the Gao family, she became devoted to Second Son Gao.

Not only that, Chang Taohua is a very ambitious person. To make her own family wealthy, she involved her whole family in working with the Gao family, helping them commit many evil deeds, accumulating quite a bit of silver.

However, Chang Taohua was clever. She knew that making money through shady ways would eventually lead to trouble, so she didn’t let her family show any signs of wealth. Instead, she hid the silver she earned and had Mrs. Chang take the silver to her maternal grandfather’s house in neighboring Hukang County, using it to buy fields and land.

But all of that silver was earned by Chang Taohua and her family. As for Gao family’s gold, the Chang family couldn’t touch it.

Look, this is the kind of people the Chang family are. So even when caught red-handed, Mrs. Chang still pleaded innocence, crying out, "Military Officer, Military Officer, you’ve wronged us, this isn’t Gao family’s gold, it’s my family’s... My family in Hukang County discovered a cave while hunting in the mountains and found this gold. My family in Hukang County is powerless and feared the gold being stolen, so we secretly transported it here for me to hide."

"We planned to dig up the gold tonight and transport it because we were afraid of being implicated by the Gao family." Mrs. Chang said in tears, refusing to admit the gold belonged to the Gao family.

Old Chang also swore, "Military Officer, I swear on my life, this gold truly isn’t Gao’s, but my wife’s family’s. You can’t take it for Gao family, or I wouldn’t be able to explain to my wife’s family even in death."

The two sons of the Chang family also cried out, "Military Officer, this is truly my grandfather’s gold, it has nothing to do with Gao family."

Section Leader Jiang was dumbfounded: "What? You can still deny it at this point? Do you really think Hukang County’s mountains are gold mines, where you can casually dig out three barrels of gold from any cave?!"

He pointed at Third and Fourth Son Gao’s wife’s families and asked, "What’s going on with those two families? What does your family’s property have to do with them?"

Section Leader Jiang was furious. Even though all three families acted together and were caught together, Mrs. Chang could still fabricate such lies. Did she really believe that being unruly and unreasonable could absolve them?

"Military Officer, Old Chang wasn’t lying, this gold truly isn’t Gao family’s... We helped Mrs. Chang because our own daughter and Taohua are sisters-in-law, both pathetic people suffering together, and Old Chang promised us that if we helped transport the gold, we’d receive a gold ingot as reward. That’s why we agreed."

"This truly is Mrs. Chang’s family’s gold, it has no relation to Gao family." The father of Third Son Gao’s wife, Old Man Wu, spoke fluently, as if he’d said it dozens of times before.

Beside them, Section Leader Hong listened with a frown, looking at the people from Old Chang’s, Old Wu’s, and Old Hong’s families.

Uncle Hong was Fourth Son Gao’s wife’s father. His daughter wasn’t snatched, but tricked by Fourth Son Gao, ending up pregnant with no options, forcing him to pay silver to ask Gao family to marry his daughter.

Luckily, Uncle Hong’s youngest daughter was quite beautiful, and Fourth Son Gao fancied her. Being a bastard son, Mrs. Gao Huang feared the bastard son’s marriage might overshadow her own two daughters-in-law, so she convinced Gao Sanxiong to agree to the marriage.

Uncle Hong and his son remained silent, with their heads down.

Section Leader Hong suggested to Brother Jiang, "Jiang, they’re being very stubborn. We should use the punishment."

Section Leader Jiang nodded: "Alright, use the punishment. I wanted to beat them up long ago; these dogs commit crimes, get caught red-handed, yet refuse to admit it. Truly infuriating."

Punishment?

Mrs. Chang’s face changed upon hearing this, but she shouted, "We’re innocent, the gold is my family’s, and we’re not afraid of the punishment!"

She was conveying to the other two families that no one should admit, must insist that the gold is her family’s. Only then can everyone survive, allow the gold to go through the established path, and keep it safe.

Section Leader Hong frowned, Mrs. Chang indeed knew how to handle tough situations with bold words.

However, this idea probably wasn’t Mrs. Chang’s; it was instructed by Mrs. Gao Huang from early on.

Section Leader Hong guessed correctly. When Mrs. Gao Huang entrusted the gold to the three families for safekeeping, she had already strategized defense if the gold was discovered by the government office, instructing the three families to not admit it, insisting the gold wasn’t Gao family’s.

Even Mrs. Chang’s family was dealt with by Mrs. Gao Huang, so if the government office went to query Mrs. Chang’s family, the answer would be: This gold was an accidental treasure discovered inside the mountain and had nothing to do with Gao family.

As long as the three families denied the gold was Gao family’s, not only could the gold be saved, but they could also remain innocent. Otherwise, they would perish together with Gao family.

"That’s right, this gold is indeed Mrs. Chang’s family’s, not Gao family’s." Old Wu Family was very cooperative, yelling while being dragged off by soldiers from the Military Office.

Section Leader Hong ordered his men to take Uncle Hong and his son to a distant forest.

In the forest, a campfire burned. Section Leader Hong gripped the long blade at his waist, addressing Uncle Hong, "My name is Hong Dao. We share the same surname and are of the same clan."

Traditionally, people regard clansmen with the same surname as important. Uncle Hong and his son finally lifted their heads to look at Section Leader Hong.

Section Leader Hong continued, "Let me speak frankly. Gao family’s crime is confirmed, even their patron, Chief Commander Liu, was apprehended for thorough investigation by the Prefecture City Camp’s generals. Gao family is doomed. Uncle Hong, I know your daughter was tricked by Fourth Son Gao back then. Your family is the victim; now you have a chance for vindication and revenge, will you take it?"

Hong Dao is the promising recruit Qin San Lang mentioned to Gu Jinli when he recently joined the Military Office.

He joined the Military Office last year. His grandfather had been an Escort Master, traveling far and wide. Hong Dao learned martial arts from him and listened to stories from across the world, gaining some skills and insights.

He was favored by Qin San Lang even before joining the Military Office, being personally taught and mentored, quickly becoming a Section Leader within a year.

Hong Dao was naturally talented and had been nurtured by Qin San Lang for about a year, gaining strategic skills, knowing how to persuade Uncle Hong and his son.

Uncle Hong and his son were convinced.

Hong Wen wanted to speak but was restrained by Uncle Hong, who asked Hong Dao, "Can you really protect us?"

Section Leader Hong nodded, "Yes, although you’ve committed a crime, according to Great Chu Criminal Law, it is possible to absolve your crimes through merits."

Uncle Hong pondered and said, "We are willing to testify against Old Chang, Old Wu, and Gao families, but can you save my daughter and grandson?"

"My daughter was tricked, and my grandson is so young, he doesn’t understand right from wrong. Let him go, and my family will educate him properly."