"Brother Li, you are not mistaken, he is really the second brother of Cheng Minggui's family."
Then, Hua Qingcheng briefly recounted how she, Han Yichen, and Yu Xiaotian went to Xiangyang to see the red roses this morning, and how Yu Xiaotian discovered something strange about the red roses.
"After discovering the secret of the red roses at Xiangyang Temple, we left the temple to avoid alerting the enemy. As we were about to take a carriage back to the palace, Feng Wu unexpectedly reported that a child had climbed into the carriage and fallen asleep while he was urinating."
"Brother Li, when I saw that the person sleeping on the couch was Ermao, I was as shocked as you."
"Qingqing, this matter is probably not simple..."
Although Mu Lige had never personally seen the gorgeous red roses at Xiangyang Temple on Qifeng Mountain, just north of the city, he had obviously heard about them. Now that he suddenly knew how those red roses were cultivated, Mu Lige felt not only disgust, but also anger and pity for the children.
How much blood was needed to cultivate such a vast field of red roses? And where did the bodies of those children go after their bloodletting? What was the purpose of the person behind this?
If they said that they had captured so many young girls and boys just to use their extremely spiritual and vital blood to grow flowers, Mu Lige didn't believe it. Perhaps there was some deeper meaning...
Seeing Ermao standing in front of him, craning his neck to look at him, Mu Lige felt a pang of pity. But he raised his hand and gently rubbed Ermao's head, his eyes full of loving care.
Although Mu Lige and Hua Qingcheng had quarreled over Cheng Minggui, the child was innocent after all, not to mention that there was nothing wrong between Hua Qingcheng and Cheng Minggui.
His young wife was the future ruler of Laifeng State, and he, as her husband, was also the future male ruler of Laifeng State. Not only Cheng Minggui's son, but also the missing children were their people.
"Qingqing, have you asked Ermao what he went through?"
"No. Ermao must be exhausted. He fell asleep in the carriage just now and could not be woken. After returning to the palace, I will have him washed and given food."
"Um."
Mu Lige nodded slightly. After all, Ermao was still young, so there was nothing wrong with calming him down first and then asking about other matters.
"Ermao, are you still hungry?"
Mu Lige squeezed Ermao's two small hands, and his fatherly heart suddenly ached. The already thin and small child, wearing clothes that were much larger than his own, looked even more fragile and petite, looking quite pitiful.
"Uncle Li, Ermao is full."
Ermao, who had not been able to eat or sleep well for several days, felt uneasy when he woke up and saw that he was being hugged by a noble woman.
It wasn't until Ermao saw the familiar face of Hua Qingcheng, and Han Yichen and Yu Xiaotian beside her, that his hesitant and helpless heart finally settled down. Now, seeing Mu Lige in this unfamiliar place, Ermao's nervousness and anxiety were instantly relieved.
Although Ermao doesn't understand now that Hua Qingcheng and her husbands' identities have changed a lot, in Ermao's cognition, these people are all from Huaqiao Village. When he sees them, Ermao knows that he is safe.
"Ermao is so good!"
"From now on, every time Uncle Li asks you a question, you answer it, okay?"
Mu Lige was a handsome man, his words gentle and his voice magnetic, possessing an inexplicable power to soothe people's souls. Stunned, Ermao nodded immediately.
"Why aren't you with your father in Huaqiao Village?"
Given Ermao's young age and limited verbal organization, if he were to be asked directly what happened, he would likely speak incoherently. Therefore, Mu Lige decisively chose to ask him in sections to extract useful information from him.
"Dad went to town and asked Ermao to stay home and wait for him to come back. Ermao didn't want to stay at home, he wanted to go out and play. There was a very ugly woman at the door of the land temple, but she had a string of very sweet candied haws, and Ermao wanted to eat it..."
Hua Qingcheng: ...
"So, it was the woman with the candied haws who kidnapped you?" Mu Lige asked directly.
"Yeah." Ermao nodded, and said with lingering fear, "They not only tied Ermao up, but also blocked his mouth with rags, not allowing him to cry or speak."
"Did they give you anything to eat?"
"The day before yesterday and yesterday at noon, the bad woman gave us a steamed bun on the road, and this morning the fat Taoist priest gave us a bowl of porridge." Ermao answered truthfully.
"You guys?" Mu Lige grasped the key point of the words and asked back.
"Well, there were more than a dozen carriages, all loaded with brothers and sisters like Ermao, packed in sacks. Ermao was scared..."
"Don't be afraid, Ermao. Uncle Li and Sister Qingcheng are here. Do you know where the other brothers and sisters who were captured are?"
(Mu Lige: I feel so depressed. I am inexplicably a generation older than my wife...)
"Um."
Ermao nodded and continued, "They are all in the Taoist temple."
"really……"
Yu Xiaotian, who was standing by, frowned slightly when he heard this.
"Ermao, do you know where they are being held?" Hua Qingcheng couldn't help but ask.
"In the cave." Ermao opened his bright dark eyes and looked at Hua Qingcheng with an innocent face.
"A cave?" Hua Qingcheng looked puzzled.
"Qingqing, it's probably an underground secret room or something like that." Mu Lige said after thinking for a while.
"One sister said the fat Taoist priest had gone to poop, so she pushed Ermao out through the crack in the stone door and told him to run quickly."
"Oh no!" Ermao exclaimed when he suddenly remembered the little girl's instructions.
"Ermao forgot what my sister said: after we escape, we must remember to find someone to rescue them..."
"Ermao, don't worry, Uncle Li and Sister Qingcheng will find someone to rescue them. Do you remember where the cave is?" Mu Lige asked again after calming Ermao down.
"Ermao only knew that after coming out of the cave, there was a stove with firewood. Ermao also smelled the aroma of food..."
Ermao recalled carefully and suddenly added: "There should still be steaming buns in the pot."
Hua Qingcheng: ...
(Children are children. When it comes to life and death, they still think about food...)
"Brother Li, it seems that the place where Ermao was imprisoned before should be under the big kitchen of Xiangyang Temple's dining hall." Hua Qingcheng asserted.
"Well, Qingqing, I agree with you. The most important thing now is to rescue the trapped children. However, in this way..."
Mu Lige's expression was solemn. He couldn't bear not to rescue the trapped children. However, if he alerted the enemy, it would surely attract the attention of the person behind the scenes. Then, the other children who had not yet been sent to Xiangyang Temple would either be transferred or massacred on the spot...
"Qingqing, it seems that we have to think of a foolproof plan..."
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