Qin Yubao was stunned. Li Chang'an's image in his mind suddenly became much more impressive.
He had never seen anyone so skilled at catching crickets before. Holding the heavy cricket cage in his hand, he felt immense admiration for Li Chang'an.
"Come on, you catch it."
Li Chang'an squatted in front of a clump of grass and waved to Qin Yubao. The little dumpling quickly came over and looked at the several large, black crickets crawling in the grass, their antennae twitching.
Qin Yubao was eager to try, but his hands were too small. After gesturing for a long time, he still didn't know which one to grab, and he couldn't help but get a little anxious.
"Catch the one in the corner, it's bigger and easier to catch it because it's in a better spot."
Seeing the little guy looking completely lost, Li Chang'an began to act as his mentor, offering guidance from the side.
After receiving guidance from the master, Qin Yubao seemed to be full of confidence. He leaned forward slightly, clasped his hands together, and quickly pounced on the cricket that Li Chang'an had mentioned.
"We've got him!"
Because of her excitement, Qin Yubao's face was slightly flushed, making her look extremely cute.
"That's amazing!"
Li Chang'an couldn't help but give a thumbs up.
Repeating this process, under Li Chang'an's careful guidance, Qin Yubao caught several more crickets on his own, and the two of them were so happy that they forgot the time.
"Brother Bao, Brother Bao..."
The two were happily playing with the crickets in the cage when Li Chang'an suddenly heard someone calling anxiously outside. Qin Yubao naturally heard it too, and the smile on his face froze instantly, replaced by an uneasy expression.
Qin Yubao instinctively hid behind Li Chang'an, because he had run away alone, which could only mean that his operation had been discovered.
When the sound came closer, Li Chang'an recognized it as Qin Xiashi's voice, which was mixed with the calls of the wet nurse and others.
"Don't be afraid, you came here to find me anyway, it's okay."
Seemingly sensing that the little boy beside him was trembling, Li Chang'an patted his head comfortingly, thinking that since Qin Xiashi loved this child so much, she would definitely not scold him too much. He would just say a few nice words and the matter would be over.
However, she did not know that what Qin Yubao feared most was that Qin Xia would find out that he had secretly come to Li Chang'an's courtyard and that the two of them had caught crickets together.
Because Qin Xia had warned him long ago not to associate too much with his sister-in-law who disregarded the general. She even threatened Qin Yubao, saying that Li Chang'an's temper had become very bad in the military camp and that he would hit people at the drop of a hat, so that Yubao should stay away from her.
It was precisely because of this instigation that Qin Yubao had always maintained a cautious and distant attitude towards Li Chang'an.
Meanwhile, Qin Xia was frantically searching for her child.
She usually sleeps with Bao Ge, but today she had something come up and entrusted the child to the wet nurse. However, she was worried that Bao Ge would be scared without her by his side, so she only did a quick calculation of the accounts before handing them over to her subordinates for verification.
When she got back, the bed was still warm, but the person was gone.
Qin Xia originally thought that the child had drunk too much water and went to the toilet at night, but after waiting and waiting, Bao Ge did not return. So she felt that something was wrong and asked the wet nurse. The wet nurse said that Bao Ge fell asleep quickly and then she left. As for why he was missing now, the wet nurse was also confused.
"Useless thing!"
Qin Xia was so angry that her face turned green. She couldn't help but worry. It was so late. Where could Bao Ge have run off to all by himself?
The wet nurse was trembling with fear. If anything happened to the young master, Aunt Qin would definitely make her suffer. So she decided to make amends by going to find Qin Yubao first.
Qin Xia was also worried, so she went out to search with a group of maids and servants, searching every corner where Qin Yubao might have gone, but they still couldn't find him.
"Brother Bao, my Brother Bao..."
Everyone was as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Qin Xiashi, disregarding everything else, held a handkerchief and cried out Qin Yubao's name.
As the group passed by the small pond, Qin Xia's personal maid, Xing'er, hesitated for a moment before gritting her teeth and, as if she had made a great decision, finally voiced her guess.
"Brother Bao, what if he accidentally falls into the water?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked, and Qin Xia almost fainted.
Although she didn't believe it at all, just in case, Qin Xiashi still had several servants jump into the pond to look for the person.
With a few soft splashes, several servants leaped into the small pond, creating ripples that slowly spread outwards, like the anxious beating of each person's heart.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, ripples appeared on the calm water again, and several heads popped out.
"No, there's nothing underwater!"
Several servants climbed out of the small pond, shook off the water, and reported to Qin Xia Shi.
Qin Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Bao Ge hadn't fallen into the pond. But she was still worried. There was no sign of the child anywhere. What should she do?
"Have you looked into everything?"
At this moment, Qin Xia's face had turned ashen, and she even thought of reporting it to the authorities, but it was so late, the yamen was probably already closed.
"My dear Bao-ge, where have you gone..."
Qin Xia's cries sounded particularly desolate in the night, and all the servants lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.
"Could Brother Bao have gone to Madam's courtyard? That's the only place we haven't searched yet..."
Xing'er hesitated for a moment before offering a reminder.
"Impossible, how could Brother Bao have gone over there?"
Qin Xiashi decisively rejected this guess. Not long ago, she had told Qin Yubao to stay away from that woman Li Chang'an. Her Bao-ge was always very obedient, so how could he go to see Li Chang'an so late at night?
"Why don't we still look for it?"
The steward was also alarmed. He realized that things couldn't continue like this. If they couldn't find the young master soon, the entire general's mansion would probably be in chaos.
Although she was very reluctant, Qin Xiashi still went to Li Chang'an's courtyard with the last glimmer of hope.
There's a saying that goes, "After eliminating all possible factors, what remains, however inconceivable, is the truth."
"Brother Bao!"
Upon seeing that familiar little figure, Qin Xia rushed towards Qin Yubao as if she had gone mad, and hugged him tightly in her arms, as if she were holding a lost treasure that had been found again.
Tears began to stream down her face. Qin Xia hugged Qin Yubao and sobbed, "Are you trying to drive your mother crazy with worry in the middle of the night?"
Now that the child has been found, everyone's worries have been relieved.
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