Zhou Wan was so anxious that she couldn't even keep up with her business. She grabbed Jiang Qianqian and started asking, "Qianqian, tell your sister-in-law the truth, when was the last time you saw Chen Ge'er? Why didn't he go to school today?"
"Sister-in-law, I don't know, I really don't know." Jiang Qianqian was still young and didn't know how to handle things when faced with a problem, so she panicked.
Zhou Wan didn't care about any of that and still reached out to pull the person, determined to get an answer.
San Niang had already sent all the diners away. Seeing this scene, she immediately pulled Jiang Qianqian into her arms and scolded, "Qianqian is still so young, how can she care about everything? Why are you arguing with her? You should hurry up and find Chen Ge'er."
“Yes, yes…” Zhou Wan said, turning around to go out and look for it.
But as soon as she turned around, her thigh bumped into something, and she looked like she was about to fall down.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Qianqian disregarded the way she had been pulled earlier and rushed forward to cushion the fall, thus preventing anyone from getting hurt.
Therefore, when Xu Yuehuai entered the room, she witnessed this farce.
She immediately threw her cumbersome luggage on the ground and hurriedly went over to help the people on the ground up, scolding them as she did so: "I've only been gone for a few days, and you've all made such a mess of things. Zhou Wan, you're pregnant, you should always be more careful."
“A-Yue…” Zhou Wan’s eyes were just red, but when she saw her, she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore and hugged her tightly. “Chen-ge’er is missing…”
"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Xu Yuehuai was completely confused.
Zhou Wan was already crying her eyes out and couldn't hear what she was saying at all. She was so upset that she couldn't even speak properly.
As Xu Yuehuai stroked her back, he cast a questioning look at the third sister.
After checking Jiang Qianqian over and finding nothing seriously wrong, Third Sister quickly said, "I saw Chen-ge'er at dinner last night, but when we finished and were about to go to bed, we couldn't find him. At first, we thought he had gone back to his room by himself, so we didn't think much of it. When we woke up this morning and he was still gone, we thought he had gone to the academy. I didn't expect that only Qianqian came back by herself last night..."
"Qianqian said she hadn't seen Chen Ge'er all day and thought he was at Tianxianglou."
"Tie Xiong and the shop assistants have already gone out to look for her. I'm here watching Zhou Wan. A Yue, what should we do?" Her heart was in turmoil, and she even stomped her feet a couple of times in her anxiety.
Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai quickly tried to calm them down: "There's no use in being anxious now..."
"Third Sister, do you still remember what clothes Chen-ge'er wore last night?"
Although she was anxious, she remained calm and understood that finding the right person was the most important thing right now.
Third Sister hurriedly began to recall, but the more anxious she became, the less she could remember.
Fortunately, there's still the quick-witted Jiang Qianqian.
“It was a gray robe with green bamboo embroidered by my sister-in-law herself,” she quickly said.
Xu Yuehua nodded and gave instructions: "Third Sister, take Zhou Wan upstairs to the room first. Qianqian, wait in the main hall. If someone brings back news, don't let him go out to look for people, so as not to run around and make mistakes... I will go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to borrow some manpower first, and then go to the city gate to inquire. Remember, none of you must go out again."
After making these arrangements, she immediately went out, her hurried steps revealing her anxiety.
Xu Yuehuai wasn't worried about Jiang Shichen causing trouble outside and not coming home; she was afraid he would be captured by Ningyuan Marquis's men. That would be equivalent to taking away the root of Zhou Wan's illness. Not to mention, how could such a young child like Jiang Shichen possibly withstand Ningyuan Marquis's torture?
Therefore, she hurried towards the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, keeping an eye out for any clues along the way.
When she arrived at the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the servant was preparing to close the gate to refuse guests, but stopped what he was doing when he saw Xu Yuehuai in the distance.
Having worked at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion for many years, he knew how much the Duke and his wife longed to find their daughter. Xu Yuehuai happened to fill the void in their hearts, so he naturally valued this person more.
"Princess, why are you in such a hurry? Is something wrong?" The servant said as he ushered her in. "The Duke and his wife are in their bedroom. If you go now, they should not be asleep yet."
"Thank you." Xu Yuehua nodded and then instructed, "Have the steward find me a few suitable young men. Come with me to look for some in a bit."
Although the servant didn't understand who she was looking for, he immediately agreed.
Xu Yuehuai hurried into the backyard and began calling out, "Godfather, Godmother..."
When the Duchess of Zhenguo first heard Xu Yuehuai's voice, she was stunned and thought she had misheard. But when she heard the second voice, she immediately stood up and nudged the Duke of Zhenguo, who was engrossed in reading a book, saying, "My lord, listen, it sounds like Yuehuai's voice outside."
"Stop making things up. A-Yue is still in the palace right now, how could she possibly..." His words trailed off.
He pricked up his ears and confirmed, "It really does sound like A-Yue's voice outside."
The two hurried out to see what was happening and happened to see Xu Yuehuai.
"Ah Yue, why did you leave the palace?" the Duchess of Zhenguo asked immediately.
Fearing something strange might have happened in the palace, she quickly reached out to pull the person into the room.
Xu Yuehuai waved her hand in refusal and got down to business: "Godmother, I'll explain about my leaving the palace tomorrow. I've come here today to ask for your help..."
She quickly explained the situation in detail, and just then, the steward brought over several servants.
"Princess, the person has been found. Who would you like us to find?" he asked hurriedly.
Xu Yuehuai gave a brief description of Jiang Shichen's appearance and clothing, and then sent people to search for him separately.
The Duke of Zhenguo quickly added, "I'll go and inform the Prefect of the Capital and have him post notices throughout the city. A-Yue, don't worry, we'll definitely find it."
Xu Yuehuai nodded.
She knew now was not the time to rush.
"Godfather, I'll go to the city gate and ask. As long as Brother Chen hasn't left the city, everything will be fine." With that, she turned and headed outside.
...
That said, Jiang Shichen, who had left home, was already starving by the early morning of the next day.
He felt that Zhang Ting was deliberately trying to sow discord, so he thought about going home. Just then, the fragrant steamed buns attracted him, and coincidentally, someone even offered him a bun.
Jiang Shichen just followed the person and left.
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