Yiming hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
"No, I'm afraid my mother will worry, and she won't let me go to Uncle Chen."
“Your mother just told me that the shop is very busy these days, and asked me to take care of you for a few days. How about this, we don’t tell her that we went to see your Uncle Chen, but I will tell her that I will take you to my house to play, since my family also lives in Beijing.”
"Really? Will my mother agree?"
Rouge winked at him mysteriously and whispered:
"They'll definitely agree. You wait here for me while I tell your mother, and then we'll set off."
When Uncle Chen was mentioned, Yiming completely forgot what his mother had told him not to trust strangers, because he couldn't wait to see Uncle Chen.
Rouge went straight to the Luo family clinic. Seeing that he wasn't in line, Widow Xu, who was helping out in the shop, stepped forward to remind him.
"Young master, if you want to get medicine, you'll have to queue at the back."
Rouge stood there, glanced inside, and then nodded as if suddenly understanding.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know the rules. I'll go line up now."
After saying that, she turned around and left the Luo family clinic, looking back every few steps.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she approached Yiming again.
"Alright, now that you've finished talking to your mother, let's go!"
"Did your mother agree?"
"Yes, I told your mother I'd take you to stay at my house temporarily. She said she'll come find you after she's done with these few days. Let's go now!"
After saying that, she took Yiming's hand, but Yiming still hesitated.
"How about I go say goodbye to my mother and take a few more clothes with me?"
Seeing that the duck that was about to be eaten was about to fly away, Rouge suddenly raised her hand and waved it in front of his eyes. The powder in her hand was instantly inhaled by him. Yiming blinked a few times and followed her in a daze, walking in another direction on Caishen Street...
In the evening, after seeing off the last patient, Zhiwan finally had time to stretch. Zhiruo walked over, gently patting her lower back.
"Big sister, you must be tired!"
Zhiwan looked at her and said with heartache:
"I'm not tired, but you are. If you feel tired, go and take a rest."
"I'm not tired. I should help out as much as possible while I'm still feeling light. Once I'm more pregnant and my pregnancy is showing, I won't be able to show up and embarrass myself anymore."
"Silly girl, don't always say things like that. What's so shameful about it? Look at Yiming, everyone likes him now, even the neighbors like him."
Mentioning Yiming, she glanced towards the door.
"I was busy today and didn't see him all afternoon. I don't know where he went to play."
Zhiruo also glanced towards the doorway, and then said:
"I reckon they went to the backyard. It's getting late, let's close up shop. Mom just came to call us for dinner."
As soon as they finished speaking, Jiawang ran out.
"Big sister, second sister, have you seen Yiming?"
Upon hearing this, Zhiwan's heart leaped into her throat.
"Isn't Yiming in the backyard?"
Jiawang shook his head.
"No, I haven't seen him all afternoon. My mother just asked me about him."
Haven't seen you all afternoon?
Zhiwan rushed to the door and looked around, but it was already dusk and the whole street was deserted. There was no sign of Yiming anywhere.
"Yiming..."
"Yiming, where are you?"
"Yiming..."
When Yiming went missing, the Luo family began searching for him on Caishen Street. Neighbors who heard the news also came out to help with the search. They split into several groups and searched every street and alley in Yong'an City, but there was no trace of him.
Seeing that Zhiwan and Zhiruo were already crying, Aunt Zhang from the rouge shop at the east end stepped forward and said:
"After lunch today, I saw a man leading a child out of Caishen Street. I didn't look closely at the time, but could that be Yiming?"
Upon hearing this, Zhiwan couldn't wait to go over and ask further.
"Aunt Zhang, what did that person look like? Which direction did they go?"
Aunt Zhang clicked her tongue in slight embarrassment.
"I didn't look closely at the time, and I'm not sure if it was Yiming! But they headed east."
That's true. Who would have thought that someone would take Yiming away in broad daylight?
Zhiwan immediately slumped to the ground in despair, while Luo Tianhe angrily slapped his thigh.
"Zhiwan, let's report this to the authorities!"
Report it to the authorities? What use are officials? Besides embezzling money, what other use are they?
Moreover, Lord Zhu has already left, so can Zhuang Guoqiang also be called an official?
But right now, they had no other choice. Yiming seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
In the end, Luo Tianhe took Jiawang to report to the authorities. Luo Zhiwan sat blankly at the entrance of the Luo family clinic, praying in her heart that Yiming would come back.
Zhi Ruo wanted to sit with her, but she was persuaded to go back. She was pregnant with twins and couldn't handle the ordeal.
Her mother wanted to stay with her, but she was persuaded to go back. She just wanted to sit alone and quietly wait for Yiming to come back.
But she sat at the door all night, while Jiawang and Luo Tianhe searched all night in Yong'an City with the government officials...
As dawn broke, Jiawang's mother and Zhiruo came out together to persuade her.
"Big sister, go back and have some food!"
I'm not hungry.
"Zhiwan, maybe Yiming ran out to play and will be back soon. You can't just sit there like this!"
“Yiming has never left me before, nor has he ever stayed out all night playing. Something must have happened to him. He must have been taken away. We have never offended anyone. Who would want to take him away?”
At this point, tears suddenly streamed down her face.
That night, she held back her tears because she felt that crying was unlucky, and she believed that Yiming would definitely come back.
But when dawn broke and everything returned to reality, she discovered that Yiming was really gone, just vanished suddenly.
Zhiruo and Jiawang's mother sat beside her, hugged her, and the three of them wept bitterly...
Luo Tianhe and Jiawang returned at this time with their hands hanging down. This time, the government was not inactive; they tried their best to help find the person, but in the end, they still found nothing.
At this moment, the family stood on Caishen Street, looking completely bewildered.
They had just gained a foothold and their good days were just beginning when Yiming was lost. What are they going to do?
Just then, Li Ping and Hu Ke, who had just arrived from the capital, jumped off their horses and curiously stepped forward to ask:
What are you doing here?
Upon seeing the two of them, Luo Tianhe frowned, shook his head, and sighed.
Jiawang pouted, wanting to answer them, but ultimately didn't open his mouth.
No one wanted to admit that Yiming was missing, because deep down they didn't want to accept that fact.
Seeing that the Luo family members were unwilling to speak and their faces were grim, Hu Ke looked around and asked in surprise,
Where is Yiming?
Mentioning Yiming, Zhiwan's tears streamed down her cheeks again, and Jiawang's mother couldn't help but sigh:
"Yiming is missing..."
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