Qin Wenjun overheard this outside and chuckled to herself.

The way the girl and her future son-in-law get along is so funny.

She's even starting to think about finding a simple-minded husband.

However, seeing Tianci actually see the persimmon tree and want to go down and pick the fruit, she shook her head again.

Forget it, her son is enough of a hassle for her; she doesn't have the energy to deal with her silly husband.

After the Cold Clothes Festival, seeing that the weather was getting colder, Xiao Qingyin invited a tailor to come and add several sets of winter clothes for everyone in the mansion.

A few days later, the tailor delivered the finished garment.

Yi Shuihan's dark blue robe was designed by Xiao Qingyin, who drew a pattern for the tailor and had him make it accordingly.

It looks even better than the currently popular styles.

He loved it to bits.

Once you put it on, you don't want to take it off.

Even when eating barbecue, they have to wear protective clothing, regardless of the barbecue smell that might get on them.

As a result, while adding charcoal, a piece of charcoal accidentally splashed onto his chest, burning a hole in it.

He was so upset that he couldn't eat.

Xiao Qingyin suggested having someone make him a new one, but he refused.

"I want this one. It's the first piece of clothing my wife ever gave me."

Xiao Qingyin had no choice but to ask Qin Wenjun to fix it.

Do some embroidery there to cover it up.

This task was not difficult for Qin Wenjun.

However, she didn't have enough embroidery thread of the right color, and the two comic books she had recently bought for Tianci were already worn out from being read so many times.

Then he took Tianci out to pick out embroidery thread and buy books.

We went to a familiar embroidery shop.

The shopkeeper and she were old acquaintances; upon seeing the mother and child, he greeted them with a smile.

“You two haven’t been here for a long time. Yesterday, a regular customer asked me why there were no more embroidery pieces by Madam Qin.”

Qin Wenjun said apologetically, "I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had time for embroidery. I've come to buy embroidery thread today."

“You’ve come at the right time. I just got a new batch of embroidery thread, with several new colors, including some you wanted before but were out of stock.”

"That's such a coincidence. Where is it? Let me see."

The shopkeeper took out a plate of pastries, placed it on a low table and stools, and said to Qin Wenjun, "You'll probably take a while to choose, so the child can sit here and I'll watch over him for you."

Qin Wenjun shook her head: "How could I accept this? You still have to entertain your guests."

"It's alright," the shopkeeper said with a smile. "He just sits there eating and doesn't bother me."

Qin Wenjun had no choice but to agree.

But she didn't want to take advantage of the shopkeeper, so she took out two pieces of candy for Tianci and whispered, "You can have the candy, but don't eat the other people's pastries, okay?"

Tianci nodded obediently.

Qin Wenjun patted his little head and turned to pick out embroidery thread.

Fearing that Tianci might not be able to sit still, she would occasionally turn around to look at him. Only when she saw him sitting there obediently, watching the shopkeeper serve the guests, did she feel at ease.

After she had made her selections, she went to the shopkeeper to settle the accounts.

In the short time it took to pay the bill, she turned around and saw that the stool was empty.

The child is missing.

A quick scan of the shop revealed that Tianci was nowhere to be found.

She panicked immediately.

"A gift from heaven!"

She shouted.

No one responded in the store.

The shopkeeper's expression changed.

"The child was sitting here just a moment ago, how could he disappear in the blink of an eye?"

She helped Qin Wenjun search, looking everywhere – behind the embroidery rack, under the counter, inside and outside the shop – but they still couldn't find the child.

Qin Wenjun rushed out of the house and asked people in the nearby shops if they had seen the child.

Everyone says no.

She hurriedly went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to report the case.

However, the Jingzhao Prefecture did not immediately help in the search, saying that they could only track down the person after twelve hours of disappearance.

She emerged from the capital's residence, bewildered and lost, looking at the bustling crowds on the streets, wishing she could go find them herself.

But where do we even begin?

She had no idea who had taken the child or where they were hiding.

Even if you ask a girl for help, you might not be able to find one.

A strong sense of self-blame and regret welled up inside me.

She shouldn't have brought the child out; if she had left him at home, he would surely be fine now.

Why not just spend a little more money to buy more books for the child to choose from? Why did she insist on bringing him out?

It's all her fault.

She lost the child.

She walked aimlessly down the street, accidentally bumping into someone's stall and nearly knocking it over.

The stall owner pointed at her nose and started cursing.

"Don't you have eyes?! This road is so wide, why do you have to crash into my stall? My stall is full of ancient antiques, can you afford to pay for the damage if you break it?!"

She hurriedly apologized, her heart numb and unable to hear anything.

Bai Yanzhang happened to be in the capital city on business. He rode his horse past the stall and saw her standing there blankly, letting people scold her. He couldn't help but rein in his horse.

"What happened?"

He asked the stall owner.

Upon seeing that it was an official, the stall owner, fearing that the other party would pursue his business, bowed and scraped, saying, "This young lady accidentally bumped into my stall and almost damaged my things. I was just reminding her."

Bai Yanzhang said expressionlessly, "You didn't seem like you were giving a warning just now."

His spittle almost landed on Qin Wenjun's face.

The stall owner looked ashamed and said, "I am a crude man, please forgive me, sir."

After asking the question, Bai Yanzhang looked at Qin Wenjun and frowned when he saw that she seemed absent-minded.

He dismounted, led the horse to her, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Tianci has disappeared—"

Qin Wenjun replied.

His voice was filled with anxiety and fear.

"Don't panic," Bai Yanzhang reassured him. "Tell me in detail, and maybe I can think of a solution."

If it were anything else, Qin Wenjun certainly wouldn't bother Bai Yanzhang.

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