"We went to Maojiaping together, but we parted ways when we got there."
With the children's stories all consistent, Chen Lili became even more uneasy.
So the couple gathered a few more people from their clan and went to Maojiaping with torches to look for the person.
Maojiaping was quite far away. They walked and called Xiaolian's name, but still couldn't find her.
In this day and age, there is no nightlife, no lights, and everyone goes to bed early. They can't even find anyone to ask if they've seen their child.
Chen Lili was already crying her eyes out, and she couldn't care less about anything else. She went from house to house, knocking on doors and asking if anyone had seen her daughter digging for earthworms.
But almost no one paid attention to this, and they gained nothing.
Chen Lili cried and shouted, while also stubbornly knocking on other people's doors.
"Who is it? What are you doing crying at my door so late at night?" An old woman opened the door, cursing.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I disturbed you. My niece is missing. She was digging for earthworms in your village today."
"Yes, that's true. A girl with braided pigtails stole two of my persimmons."
Braids! Lin Xiaolian is the only one among these children with braids!
"And then what happened?"
"Later I chased her away, took the persimmons back, and then I saw her get into a carriage."
"Get in the carriage? Whose carriage?"
How would I know?
"You didn't know and you didn't stop me!" Chen Lili snapped.
The old lady was furious: "Why should I stop them? Just because I know them doesn't mean I can stop them! Get out, get out!"
With a "bang," the old lady slammed the door shut!
"Oh... God! My little Lian! Waaaaah..."
"The child has probably been scammed. Let's go back first and talk to Shikang about something tomorrow morning," the clansman advised.
Actually, even if they managed to get it back, their reputation would be ruined, but they only thought this to themselves and didn't say it aloud.
Chen Lili was unwilling to give up. She went back home and searched inside and out again, but the child was still not there. Chen Lili cried her eyes out, and her eyes were swollen.
Lin Xiaolian didn't come back all night.
The next day, everyone knew that Lin Xiaolian had an accident and that she hadn't returned home all night, so they all guessed that the worst was to happen to her.
The women of the clan surrounded Chen Lili, offering kind words of comfort.
Madam Lin cursed viciously, "That bitch Yang Cui is a menace! If it weren't for her buying earthworms, Xiao Lian wouldn't have been lost! That scoundrel deserves to die! A son who's born without a mother!"
Fan agreed, "That's right. If it weren't for her, why would Xiaolian have gone to dig for earthworms? She has such a deep grudge against our Lin clan, how could she possibly collect our Lin clan's earthworms? I think she did it on purpose. Xiaolian is the one who harmed her!"
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