Chapter 33: What kind of heartless person would do such a thing...
Outside, dark clouds gathered, a flash of lightning passed by, and thunder roared.
Jiang Xueyi sat up from the bed.
She slept very uneasily that night, and for some reason, she kept having nightmares.
Another thunder roared, lighting up half the sky.
Jiang Xueyi quickly patted Baozi in the crib and coaxed him softly, "Don't be afraid, little Baozi. It's just thunder and lightning. It will pass in a moment."
As soon as she touched the clothes on Baozi's body, she realized something was wrong and her hands froze.
This is not a bun.
Newborn babies have not grown up yet and look similar. Except for the facial features, which may be different if you look closely, everything else is similar. They all have small round heads and short, thick necks.
But Baozi's eyebrows and eyes were drawn by her over and over again with her hands. He inherited her fair skin and big eyes, as well as He Chengze's high nose bridge and sword-like eyebrows.
It is definitely not like the little baby in front of him, with slightly dark skin, flat nose, thick lips and short eyebrows.
Jiang Xueyi's heart sank, and she reached out for the clothes on the baby with trembling hands.
That’s right, it was a small piece of cotton clothing that she had sewn for Baozi. Even the blue whale pattern on the clothing was sewn by her stitch by stitch.
By the way, look for the birthmark.
She remembered that Baozi had a mole on his earlobe.
Jiang Xueyi quickly checked the baby's earlobes, but there wasn't a single mole or even a tiny black spot on them.
Her eyes went dark and she almost fainted.
But a force supported her from fainting. If she fell, what would happen to Baozi?
Jiang Xueyi's lips turned pale and she forced herself to stand up.
She stumbled out of the house in her slippers.
He Chengze just happened to come over. He pushed open the door and laughed loudly, "I made your favorite tangerine peel and mung bean paste for breakfast today. After you finish eating, we will go to complete the discharge procedures--"
Jiang Xueyi bumped into him. He Chengze helped her steady herself. Seeing her panicked look, he quickly asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Jiang Xueyi's tears fell like beads from a broken string: "Baozi... He An... our child is missing..."
He Chengze's heart skipped a beat, and his hand loosened, spilling the tangerine peel and mung bean paste all over the floor.
He hurried to the crib and took a quick look. He saw a baby lying in the bed, wearing the same clothes as yesterday.
He breathed a sigh of relief: "What are you talking about? Did you have a nightmare? Baozi is still lying in bed--"
Before he could finish his words, he realized something was wrong.
This is definitely not his little bun.
He Chengze finally understood that when people are furious, they will never yell at the top of their lungs.
Instead, his heartbeat quickened, veins in his neck bulged, his fingers went numb, and he could even feel the blood vessels in his solar plexus throbbing.
Jiang Xueyi covered her face with her hands, tears streaming down her face from between her fingers: "I didn't lie to you, Baozi is really gone."
There seemed to be two flames dancing in He Chengze's eyes. As the pillar of the family, he had to shoulder the burden at this time and must not make any mistakes.
He suppressed his anger and helped Jiang Xueyi sit down on the bed: "Calm down and tell me how Baozi disappeared and where did this baby on the bed come from."
He added, "By the way, maybe the nurse accidentally took the wrong one when she took him to take a bath."
Jiang Xueyi took a deep breath and calmed herself down: "Five minutes before you came, I just woke up, and when I woke up, I found that the child in the crib was not our Baozi, but another child."
She added, "As for what you said about the nurse taking him to take a bath, that's even more impossible. I didn't tell the nurse to take Baozi to take a bath."
After listening to the whole story, He Chengze nodded and said, "Anyway, let's inform the hospital about this first."
He walked quickly to the nurse's station and said succinctly, "Nurse, our son is missing and has been swapped. Please report this to your supervisor and see what's going on."
The nurse was stunned for a moment, thinking she had misheard: "What, your child was switched?"
He Chengze nodded with a cold face: "The child who was switched is still lying in the crib in our room. If you don't believe me, go and take a look."
He urged, "Hurry up and inform your leaders. Time waits for no one."
The nurse quickly stood up and said, "Family member, please calm down. I know you're very excited, but we have to wait until we're sure your child has really been switched before we can take any action, right?"
This baby swap is a big deal and has never happened in the hospital before.
The nurse needs to do this out of an abundance of caution.
He Chengze also understood and urged: "Then come with me quickly."
He returned to the ward with the nurse and pointed at the baby in the crib and said, "This is the baby. He is not my or my wife's child at all."
When the nurse saw that it was a single room, her expression became a little serious.
She glanced at the medical record on the bed: "Let me see, the mother's name is Jiang Xueyi, department, obstetrics and gynecology, hospital number 961382..."
She gently picked up the baby's wrist. Normally, all newborn babies in their hospital would have a wristband with the same maternal information recorded on it to distinguish them so that no one would take the wrong baby away.
After comparing them one by one, the nurse breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, this is your baby."
Jiang Xueyi frowned and shook her head. "Listen to me, nurse! Even though he's wearing clothes I made for him and has a wristband with my ID on it, I swear he's definitely not my son or my lover's."
She spoke clearly and logically, "My son has fair skin, big eyes, and a high nose bridge. Look at this little baby on the bed; he looks completely different from my son. Most importantly, my son was born with a small black mole on his right earlobe. Everyone who has visited me knows this, but this baby on the bed has nothing on his earlobe."
"You're right about the wristband as evidence, but look at it, it's so loose, it looks like it's been pulled off. It's very likely that the wristband on the baby on the bed has been swapped."
Seeing that Jiang Xueyi's words were well-reasoned, the nurse couldn't help but believe it a little: "I understand. Wait a minute, I'll go inform our leader."
When the young nurse's leader heard that such a big thing had happened, he rushed over.
He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi repeated it to them again, focusing on the mole on the earlobe.
He Chengze calmed down now and pointed at the baby boy in the crib and said, "Comrades, now the matter is very clear. Since this baby boy is here, it means that my son is not missing, but has been switched."
He said, "I don't understand why my son disappeared in your hospital, nor do I understand what kind of heartless person would do such a thing. Now that it has happened, I hope you will fully cooperate with me to find my son."
Several hospital leaders looked at each other in confusion.
He couldn't help but admire He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi even more.
The two looked very young, like new parents.
Even when something happened, he remained quite calm and didn't lose his composure at all.
If it were anyone else, they would have been extremely panicked.
An old man with a white beard stood up and spoke on behalf of the others. He coughed and said, "Don't worry, we will definitely cooperate with you."
He Chengze nodded: "Then I'll trouble you."
Ideas raced through his mind, and at this moment, his clever brain came into play: "Since my son was switched, the person who took him away is very likely also in this hospital. She could be a woman who just gave birth, a family member of a woman who just gave birth, or someone who came to visit her. In short, it could be anything."
"But it's unlikely that he is a child-stealing human trafficker, because no human trafficker would take your child away and replace it with someone else's child." Jiang Xueyi continued.
The white-bearded old man, Director Huang of the military hospital, nodded. "I understand. We have a registration system for everyone entering and leaving our hospital. I'll arrange for someone to investigate right away."
Jiang Xueyi added: "I fell asleep at 10 o'clock last night. I remember it very clearly. I woke up at 8:15 this morning and found that my son had been switched. The total time in between was 10 hours and 15 minutes. In other words, my son was switched during this time."
She said, "You can check if anyone left their ward during this time." She added, "The baby was most likely switched at night... between midnight and 4:00. The rest of the time, there are still many people walking around the hospital. If someone was holding a baby, it would definitely attract attention."
She pointed at the baby boy in the crib whose origins were unknown. "This child wouldn't appear out of thin air. If another mother found out her child was missing, she would definitely make a fuss, but there has been no movement until now."
She gritted her teeth and said, "I tend to believe that there was another mother who switched her own child with my son."
Only a person like this would keep the secret, because the whole thing was planned by her!
As if sensing something, the baby boy let out a cry and burst into tears.
Seeing him crying pitifully, the young nurse couldn't help but ask, "Could it be a mistake? Who would be willing to swap their own child with someone else's? It's not their own child, so why raise it?"
After all, she was young and hadn't experienced much, so she naturally couldn't imagine that some people were so twisted.
Dean Huang tutted his words and gave her a disapproving look: "Xiao Yang, you are still too inexperienced."
He pointed at the baby boy on the bed and said, "Look at this child. His limbs are as thin as sticks, and he's just skin and bones. His hair is sparse, dry, yellow, and curly, and his cry is very weak. I guess his family wasn't well off, and the mother didn't get enough nutrition during pregnancy, so the child looks malnourished."
What Dean Huang didn't say was that Jiang Xueyi lived in a single room, had a rosy complexion, and had so many nutritional supplements on her bedside table. The couple was well-dressed and had a good temperament. They didn't look like ordinary people. The child she gave birth to, not to mention being fat, would definitely not be malnourished.
This child was 100% definitely switched.
The person who switched the things has a low IQ.
If you want to change, just get something similar.
If you swap a dark and skinny baby with a white and chubby baby, even a fool can see that something is wrong.
Dean Huang succinctly concluded, "I guess it was a woman who had just given birth or her family, seeing your family's well-off situation, who wanted to send their child to live with you and enjoy a better life. So they took advantage of the situation and did this."
I have to say, the old ones are still the best, and they have guessed it almost right.
The entire communication was extremely efficient and took less than half an hour.
With a direction in mind, He Chengze quickly finalized the investigation plan with several leaders of the hospital, and several leaders immediately went out to arrange personnel.
Jiang Xueyi stood up and said anxiously, "No, I have to go find Baozi too."
No matter how reliable others are, it is not as good as going there yourself.
"Alas." He Chengze wanted to persuade her, but he also understood that they were both anxious at the same time. "I understand. I'll help you walk. Go slowly."
Jiang Xueyi nodded randomly.
She let He Chengze support her as she walked, searching everywhere for traces of the buns. Whenever she saw someone holding a swaddling baby, she would stop them to see if the buns were hers.
Images of steamed buns flashed through her mind one by one.
I remember when Baozi was just born, his little face was wrinkled, like a red-skinned little monkey.
When sleeping, the little hands are clenched into fists and placed next to the ears.
It was his first time feeding, and his little pink mouth opened and closed, looking so adorable.
The first time she spoke, the first time she wore the little clothes she made herself...
Jiang Xueyi's eyes went dark, she staggered and almost fell.
Fortunately, He Chengze supported her in time: "It's okay, it's okay, we will definitely find the buns back."
He gestured for Jiang Xueyi to look in the direction of the hospital entrance: "Look, the hospital has already arranged personnel to help us investigate. We will be able to get the buns back soon."
Jiang Xueyi followed his gaze and saw that there were indeed hospital staff members blocking the door for inspection.
She perked up and went to each ward one by one. "Hello, have you seen my son?" She gestured, "He has very fair skin and big eyes. Oh, and there's a very small black mole on his right earlobe..."
"Hello, may I ask..."
"I want to ask..."
She grabbed the hand of a passing nurse, her voice hoarse with anxiety.
The nurse was startled by her and shook her head and said, "I didn't see it. Why don't you look somewhere else?"
Jiang Xueyi let go of her hand and ran towards the stairs again, almost dropping her slippers off her feet.
She searched the nursery, the ward, and even the bathroom, but there was no sign of Baozi.
Despair surged into her heart like a tide. She squatted in the hall. People were coming and going around her, and the voices were noisy, but she felt lonely as if she was the only one left in the world.
He Chengze turned his head quietly, his eyes red.
Men don't shed tears easily, but they do when they are sad.
Dean Huang and his men came over, and He Chengze hurriedly went to meet them and asked anxiously, "Did you find it?"
Dean Huang looked embarrassed and shook his head.
He Chengze took a deep breath: "Keep looking, there must be hope."
"Don't worry, we've already notified the police," one of the doctors said. "No matter where you end up, we'll definitely help you find your child."
He gritted his teeth, obviously hating such "human traffickers" very much.
Suddenly, a familiar cry was heard in the hall.
Jiang Xueyi's whole body trembled, and she raised her head as if she had been electrocuted.
She tightly grasped He Chengze's arm and said blankly: "I heard Baozi crying, did you hear it?"
He Chengze frowned and shook his head: "I didn't hear it. Maybe you heard it wrong? Children's crying sounds are all the same."
Jiang Xueyi didn't know where the strength came from, she pushed He Chengze's hand away and stood up: "I definitely didn't hear it wrong, it was Baozi crying."
For more than half a month, she and Baozi stayed together almost 24 hours a day.
How could she not recognize Baozi's crying?
Jiang Xueyi stumbled and ran towards the sound of the baby's crying. People were coming and going in the hall, and her eyes searched the crowd.
Finally, sitting on a bench in the corner, I saw a woman wearing a floral top, black pants, and with her head and face covered tightly.
She was holding a blue homespun swaddling cloth in her arms, and the crying sound came from inside.
The woman in flowered clothes was frantically coaxing the baby in the cradle.
The closer she got, the more certain Jiang Xueyi became.
The baby in the cradle is definitely her darling!
"Give my child back to me!" Her voice was filled with excitement, anger and grievance, and tears fell like beads from a broken string.
She rushed over without stopping and snatched the blue swaddling clothes from the woman in flowered clothes.
Looking down, with those big eyes, that high nose bridge, and that little mole on the right earlobe, who else could it be but her Baozi?!
Baozi cried so hard that he almost passed out, and his little face turned red.
Jiang Xueyi quickly hugged him, rocked him gently, and coaxed him repeatedly: "Baozi, be good, Baozi, don't cry, mommy is here."
The little boy seemed to sense Jiang Xueyi's presence. He shook his clenched fists and actually stopped crying and fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Xueyi hugged the swaddling clothes tightly, as if it were a treasure that had been lost and found again.
She looked coldly at the woman in flowered clothes in front of her. If the anger in her eyes could kill, this woman would have died a hundred times already.
She bit her back teeth tightly, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth: "Why did you switch my son?"
Li Chunxia was startled by Jiang Xueyi's gaze and couldn't help but take a step back, but she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
She never thought that Jiang Xueyi would come to her.
After she switched her son with Jiang Xueyi's son, she wanted to be discharged from the hospital as soon as possible to avoid any further complications and being discovered.
So when her husband came to see her the next day, she told him that she wanted to be discharged from the hospital.
Li Chunxia's family conditions were not good to begin with. If she had not been unwell during her pregnancy and had almost had a miscarriage, her husband would not have been willing to let her give birth in a military hospital.
Although they stayed in an eight-person ward after giving birth, the cost of fifty cents a day was already a sky-high price for their family.
So when Li Chunxia's husband heard that she wanted to be discharged from the hospital, he agreed almost impatiently.
The two brought their child to the hospital lobby to go through the discharge procedures.
At this moment, Jiang Xueyi discovered that her son had been switched. She and He Chengze urgently contacted the hospital leaders, and the hospital also sent personnel to check on the people entering and leaving.
Li Chunxia was afraid of being discovered, so she could only hide in the corner with her baby in her arms.
There were a lot of people coming to the hospital today. Her husband went to handle the discharge procedures, but he had to wait in line and was not discharged.
Just at this moment, Baozi suddenly burst into tears.
She was worried that Baozi's crying would attract other people, so she hurried to coax him, and was in a panic.
But unexpectedly, Baozi's crying still attracted Jiang Xueyi.
What should I say? Is mother and child connected by heart?
Li Chunxia now has ten thousand regrets and ten thousand annoyances.
If she had known this earlier, she would have been discharged from the hospital immediately after switching the baby yesterday, and she could have explained it to her husband later.
Even if the hospital has a list of people entering and leaving, she has already left. The emperor is far away and she doesn't believe that the hospital staff and the child's biological parents can find her. At worst, she can just move to another place.
Why am I trapped here now? I can't get any help from heaven or earth, and even my own mother is here to find me.
If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have stayed for half a day longer just to feel bad about the fifty cents hospital fee and think about making sure I could get my money back.
Who would have thought that Jiang Xueyi would discover so quickly that her son had been switched?
Li Chunxia gritted her teeth, she was so regretful that her intestines turned green.
Jiang Xueyi hugged the swaddling clothes tightly, her pretty face as cold as ice, and she scolded sternly: "I ask you again, why did you switch my son!"
Li Chunxia looks simple and honest, but she has some ulterior motives, otherwise she would not have done such a thing as switching the baby.
She gritted her teeth and refused to answer even if she was beaten to death.
He is well aware of the principle that those who confess will be treated leniently, while those who remain in prison will be sentenced to life imp
He Chengze rushed over with a group of hospital leaders and asked anxiously, "Have you found Baozi?"
Jiang Xueyi handed him the baby in the cradle. She lowered her voice to avoid waking Baozi up, saying, "Look, it's our son."
He Chengze took the swaddling clothes lightly, his eyes carefully scanning the baby's eyebrows, right earlobe...
He breathed a sigh of relief, the energy in his body finally dissipating: "Yes, it's our son, our Baozi."
He Chengze frowned and looked at Li Chunxia: "Who is this woman?"
Jiang Xueyi pointed at her and said, "The bun was found in her arms."
Jiang Xueyi rummaged through Baozi's clothes. "Look, the clothes Baozi was wearing yesterday weren't made of homespun cloth like this at all. She must have changed them. And this wristband... Li Chunxia, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, hospital number 961422. Baozi's biological mother is me, so how could it be her name?"
Li Chunxia broke out in a cold sweat.
He Chengze's eyes flashed like lightning: "Tell me quickly, did you switch my son, or were you instructed by someone? Tell me quickly!"
If it was just Jiang Xueyi alone, Li Chunxia wouldn't be too afraid.
Jiang Xueyi was young and beautiful, and she spoke in a gentle and soft voice even when she was angry. Li Chunxia naturally looked down on such women and couldn't help but look down on her a little.
So when facing Jiang Xueyi, even though she was nervous, she managed to hold back and not speak.
But when facing He Chengze, the man who had fought on the battlefield, her calves trembled like sieves: "I... I..."
Can't speak a complete sentence.
Dean Huang stepped forward and exchanged glances with the police officer in charge of the case: "Are you sure it's her?"
Jiang Xueyi stated objectively: "I don't know if she did it, but the bun was found in her arms. This is an indisputable fact."
With such a big scene, a crowd quickly gathered in the hospital lobby to watch the fun.
The young obstetrics nurse who had come to watch the fun also recognized Li Chunxia's background and pointed at her and said, "Aren't you the woman named Li Chunxia who lives in Ward 405? I remember you just gave birth not long ago."
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