Chapter 177 [VIP]

The Li family didn't come directly; they went to the Marquis's residence first to request the person.

For some reason, the usually weak-willed Mrs. Luo suddenly showed signs of resistance and refused to let them in.

She initially considered having her servants force their way in, but then she reconsidered. She was Li Qing'er's nominal grandmother, so why should she need the consent of one of her concubines?

She turned around and went straight to the Chen family to demand the person back when the smallpox incident happened. She had already found out everything about the Chen family and knew that Qing'er had been following Lin Sui. She thought that she could handle a widow even more easily than Luo Shi.

When she arrived at the Chen family's house, she didn't even get out of the car. She immediately ordered her old woman and two servants to go in and demand the child. Unexpectedly, Lin Sui was ungrateful and blocked them from letting the servants take the child away.

Left with no other option, Madam Li got out of the car herself. She angrily pointed at Lin Sui and said, "Who do you think you are, daring to stop me from picking up people?"

"Madam, please have some self-respect. I am Qing'er's godfather. The Marquis entrusted the child to me personally, so I have the right to keep her!"

Madam Li sneered, "Ha, godfather, I am still her biological grandmother. Even if Li Mu came, he would have to listen to me, let alone you, a nameless widow."

Lin Sui's cheeks flushed red, but she couldn't refute her, so she could only stand there and block the group from going in.

"Go, bring Qing'er out!" Madam Li waved for the servants to go in.

Lin Sui was extremely anxious. "Last time you took Qing'er there, she contracted smallpox in just one day. If it weren't for Master Qingxu saving her, she probably wouldn't be alive. Don't even think about taking her away again!"

"Let's see who dares?!" Wang Ying's voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

Hearing the voice, Lin Sui seemed to have suddenly found her pillar of support, "Sister-in-law!"

Wang Ying hurried to the front gate. "Chen Fang, where are Tian Ju and Er Shun? Where did they all go? Let them cause such a scene in front of our house!"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. Ershun went to take Qingyun home. Xiaofang and Tianju went to the street to buy things and haven't come back yet."

Wang Ying turned her head and glared angrily at Madam Li and her servants, "Who do you think you are, daring to make such a scene in broad daylight at my doorstep?"

"I've come to pick up my granddaughter, why are you stopping me from coming in?"

"You say your granddaughter is here? We sent her back to the Marquis's residence yesterday. Go and get her yourself!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Li was so angry she nearly fainted. "We just came from the Marquis's residence; the child is in your house."

"Then go report it to the authorities and have them search the house. Anyone who dares to break into a private residence, I'll chop them up with a knife!"

Madam Li was intimidated by his aggressive demeanor. She had long heard that Wang Lang was not one to fight, but she hadn't expected him to be so ruthless and reckless. Although her son was a sixth-rank official, the Chen family also had a Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and a fourth-rank prefect. If things really escalated, she might not necessarily come out on top.

He could only force himself to remain calm and said, "Let's go to the yamen and report to the authorities. I refuse to believe we can't get our granddaughter back!"

Wang Ying spat, "Shameless old hag, she can even harm a child, she'll get her comeuppance sooner or later!"

These words hit her sore spot. Thinking of her grandson who had passed away yesterday, Madam Li trembled with anger. She turned around and glared fiercely at Wang Ying, her eyes filled with venom!

After everyone had gone far away, Wang Ying pulled Lin Sui into the courtyard, saying, "Be careful these days. Judging from her appearance, she won't let this go easily."

"well……"

During dinner, Mrs. Li asked, "I heard someone talking at the door just now, who came?"

Wang Ying said, "The Li family has come to ask for Qing'er again."

Upon hearing this, Qing'er was so frightened that she put down her chopsticks and hugged Lin Sui's arm.

"Don't be afraid, Father has already chased them away and won't send you there."

Qing'er gestured with her hands to indicate that the Li family was bad and that she didn't want to go.

Li said with heartache, "This family is really something. Qing'er didn't do anything to them, so why are they so fixated on such a young child?"

“If she wants the Marquis’s inheritance, she naturally has to get Qing’er into her hands. Otherwise, how would she dare to openly seize the property?” Wang Ying realized that her words were inappropriate after she finished speaking, and quickly looked at Qing’er. Fortunately, the child was too young to understand the meaning behind her words.

"Sui'er, you don't need to go to the shop these few days. You're not busy anyway. You stay home and keep Qing'er company. If the Li family comes again, have Er Shun and the others go to the military camp to find General Zheng."

"Oh, I understand."

*

For the next seven or eight days, there was no word from the Li family, so Wang Ying assumed they had been turned away and gave up on the matter.

Taking advantage of the nice weather these past few days, I plan to make up for the regret of not being able to go out for a spring outing last time, otherwise it will be inconvenient to go out when it gets hotter in a while.

When Lin Sui told everyone about it at dinner that evening, the children were overjoyed and danced with excitement. Although Lin Sui was a little worried, she didn't want to spoil the fun and nodded with a smile.

Wang Ying picked some fresh fruit from the experimental field, and asked Aunt Chen to cook some chicken and make some soup dumplings, which she would take out to eat tomorrow.

The next morning, Yuanbao got up even earlier than him, and woke him up to get up together, saying, "Father, get up quickly, it'll be late if we don't leave now!"

Wang Ying couldn't resist teasing him, so she deliberately closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Yuanbao was so anxious that he scratched his head and finally leaned close to his father's ear and shouted, "Father, wake up!"

"Ouch, keep your voice down, you're making my ears go deaf."

"Didn't we agree to go on a picnic today?"

Wang Ying pinched his nose. "You brat, you can't get up when I call you normally, but as soon as I say we're going out to play, you get up earlier than the roosters in the yard."

The little guy smiled shyly, and the father and son laughed and joked for a while before changing their clothes and going to wash up.

In the west courtyard, Qing'er woke up early as well. The thoughtful girl didn't wake Lin Sui. She put on the clothes she had picked out yesterday, washed her face, and sat obediently on the stool waiting for Lin Sui to get up.

Lin Sui had another nightmare. In the dream, he couldn't find Qing'er. He was so anxious that he suddenly opened his eyes in a cold sweat. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar bed curtains. It was just a dream.

He reached out and touched his side but didn't find anyone, which startled him so much that he sat up abruptly. "Qing'er?!"

Hearing the sound, Qing'er quickly ran over and took his hand.

"Why are you up so early?" Lin Suixin finally felt relieved.

Qing'er tugged at her clothes and then picked up a bamboo basket.

"In a hurry to go on a picnic?"

Qing'er nodded vigorously.

Lin Sui smiled and said, "Father, I'll get up now!"

After everything was packed and breakfast was finished, Li Shi was called, and the group got into a carriage driven by Uncle Chen and headed towards the outskirts of the city.

There is a moat outside the city, and on the riverbank there is a natural lawn where women and men from the city often bring their children to play and relax.

Wang Ying brought them out to ease everyone's anxiety, especially since Lin Sui had lost a lot of weight recently because of the Marquis and the Li family.

My mother-in-law often talks about Qingyan, but I can't tell her the news that he passed the imperial examination, so I thought of bringing everyone out to play.

Once outside the city, the carriage headed straight for the moat. Along the way, we encountered several families with children who had come to play. The weather was sunny today, with large, fluffy clouds floating in the azure sky, a sight that was truly delightful.

Once they reached the shore, they found a shady spot. Wang Ying laid out a mat that she had prepared in the car on the ground, securing it to the four corners with nails. The two children took off their shoes and sat on it to play.

Lin Sui unloaded the food from the car; the fruit was all washed and ready to eat.

Li was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling as she coaxed her two children. Playing outside was definitely different from being at home.

Seeing that the two children were having a good time, Wang Ying invited Lin Sui to take a walk by the river with her to clear her head. He wasn't good at saying comforting words; these kinds of things could only be resolved by oneself, and others couldn't persuade one.

Lin Sui walked along the stones, saying, "I'm thinking of hiring a tutor for Qing'er to teach her to read in a while. Otherwise, if the child can't speak or write, she won't be able to communicate with people for the rest of her life."

Master Lang was a teacher who specialized in instructing women and young men in the inner quarters of their homes to read and write; wealthy families would hire him.

Wang Ying said, "That's fine. Qing'er is at the age where she should start learning. Once she learns to write, she can write down what she wants to say and read books to pass the time in her spare time."

Lin Sui smiled and nodded, "That's what I think too. That child is smart and quick-witted, so he should be able to learn it very quickly."

The two stopped and looked at the shimmering river. "When she grows up, I'll find her a husband in the city so I can take care of her. That way I can feel at ease."

Wang Ying turned to look at her cousin. The boy seemed to have suddenly grown up, and he was loving his daughter selflessly like a real father.

"Help! Help! Someone's snatching a child!"

A shout suddenly came from not far away. Wang Ying and Lin Sui were stunned for a moment, then turned around and ran back. Not far away, Li Shi was holding Yuanbao and stamping her feet anxiously.

Where is Qing'er?

"They were just carried away by two masked men, and Uncle Chen chased after them!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ying knew it must have been the Li family who did it. Before she could regret it, she quickly had Li Shi take Yuanbao into the carriage, while she and Lin Sui hurriedly pulled the carriage towards the main road.

On the way, they encountered Uncle Chen, who was panting heavily. Wang Ying quickly called out to him, "How are you?"

"This old servant is incompetent and failed to catch up with those two bandits."

"Drive quickly, let's see if we can catch up with them!"

Uncle Chen took the reins, and Wang Ying and Lin Sui sat back in the carriage. "It's all my fault. I should have known better than to come out."

Lin Sui said, "How can you blame yourself? It's obvious that the Li family had been plotting this for a long time. There's only the kind of person who acts like a thief every day, not someone who guards against thieves every day."

There's no point in saying anything now, the most important thing is to get the child there as soon as possible!

Uncle Chen whipped the cart and drove it very fast, but he couldn't find any trace of the two men along the way. He figured it must have been planned that someone above them would meet them in advance.

Upon entering the city, they first sent Li Shi and Yuanbao home. Yuanbao was so frightened that he cried, and Li Shi, holding her grandson, was also quite shocked.

Upon returning home, Wang Ying quickly instructed Er Shun to take them to the military camp to find General Zheng, as reporting this matter to the authorities would be useless and the government could not handle it.

They rushed to the military camp and told Zheng Guang about the matter. Without saying a word, Zheng Guang immediately summoned two people.

“Young Master Lin, these two were left behind by the Marquis when he left. If news of his misfortune spreads, they will stay by your and Miss Qing’er’s side to take care of him.”

The two men knelt down and kowtowed, but Lin Sui quickly pulled them up, saying, "Forget those formalities, just help us find Qing'er!"

The two men cupped their hands in greeting, then mounted their horses and rode away.

Wang Ying asked, "Where are they going?"

Zheng Guang explained, "These two are not ordinary people. They are loyal bodyguards raised by the Marquis. They are only loyal to the Marquis and those entrusted by him. With their help, we should be able to find Miss Qing'er soon."

"What if we can't find her? What if the Li family harms Qing'er?"

"Don't worry, Young Master Lin. If they dare to harm Miss Qing'er, the assassins will not let them get away with it."

A note from the author:

The story of the Li family will end in one more chapter.

Let's start their careers right away!