Chapter 151 [VIP]
Inside the ice shop, Wang Ying and Lin Sui stared at Xiao Qing'er.
"May I have your name?"
"..." The little girl tilted her head and looked at the two of them.
"Where are you from? What are your parents' names?"
Qing'er shook her head. The child didn't cry or fuss; she just curiously looked at the two of them.
Lin Sui whispered, "Could this child be mute?"
Wang Ying said, "It shouldn't be. Nine out of ten people are deaf and mute. She can hear what we are saying, but she just can't speak it herself."
Are you hungry?
Xiao Qing'er's eyes lit up, and she nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Wang Ying stood up and said, "Let's take her back first. Judging from her clothes, she doesn't seem to be from a poor family. Perhaps she got lost. The yamen staff are all off duty at this hour. Let's ask tomorrow if anyone has reported it to the authorities."
Lin Sui reached out and took Xiao Qing'er's hand. Xiao Qing'er's soft little hand was nervously clenched into a fist in his palm. Lin Sui looked down and smiled at her. Xiao Qing'er shyly let go of her fist and let him hold her hand.
Wang Ying locked the shop, and the group went home.
As soon as Yuanbao entered the courtyard, he ran out and saw his father and uncle returning with a child. He asked curiously, "Father, who is this?"
"I don't know where this child came from, she's lost. Chunsheng, take her to wash her hands first, then we'll eat together later."
"Hmm." Chunsheng stepped forward to pull the little girl to wash her hands, but the child hid behind Lin Sui and refused to follow him. Perhaps the shadow of being chased by her cousins in the afternoon was still there, and Xiao Qing'er didn't have a good impression of older children.
Chunsheng hesitated for a moment, then Lin Sui said, "I'll take her to wash her hands."
Lin Sui had taken care of Xiaomai back in her hometown, so she was quite adept at taking care of children. After washing Xiaomai's hands and face, she combed her messy hair, which had been covered in straw from hiding in the carriage.
After her hair was styled into two neat buns, the little girl looked even sweeter and cuter.
"Wait here for a moment. I think I have some red silk in my room. I'll bring it out for you to wear."
The little girl clung to his clothes, refusing to let go. Lin Sui's heart softened at her timid appearance. "Let's go, come inside with me and look for her."
After moving to the new house, Lin Sui and Qing Yun's bedrooms were both in the west wing.
When Chen Qingyun saw him bring in a little girl, she asked in surprise, "Sui'er, where did you bring this child back from?"
Lin Sui briefly explained the origin of the child to her, "I don't know whose child she is. She can't speak yet, so my sister-in-law asked me to bring her back."
"She's actually quite good-looking."
The girl was not only pretty, but Lin Sui felt her features were strangely familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before, though she couldn't quite place them. Oh well, she was going to the yamen tomorrow anyway, why think so much?
He took out the red silk ribbon he had worn before from the box and tied it in the little girl's hair. She was already pretty with red lips and white teeth, and this hairstyle made her look like a cute doll in a New Year's painting.
"Are you hungry? Let's go eat."
In the side hall, everyone was already sitting around the table. Li had just heard Qingyun say that Lin Sui and the others had picked up a child. After looking him over carefully, she said, "This child is very handsome. He must have been raised by a wealthy family."
Wang Ying asked, "How did Mother figure that out?"
“Look at her little hands, there’s not even any dirt under her fingernails. Our Yuanbao digs in the sand and mud every day.”
Fang Ling nodded, "A child this big must be very distressed to be lost. Quickly send someone to the yamen to inquire, lest good intentions lead to bad results."
Wang Ying immediately called Ma Qianzi in and told him to go to the yamen and inform him.
Xiao Qing'er was really hungry. She quietly tugged at Lin Sui's sleeve, pointed to the steamed bun next to her, and asked him if she could eat it.
"Eat up, but don't burn your hands."
Qing'er picked up the steamed bun and started eating, her eating posture resembling that of someone about to fight.
Not to be outdone, Yuanbao sat next to Qing'er and started eating as well, but accidentally choked.
Wang Ying quickly fed her son water and patted his back, "Why are you eating so fast?"
"She eats so fast."
"That's because she's hungry. You're not hungry, so eat slowly."
This little girl has an enormous appetite. She ate two fist-sized steamed buns and was still not full. Lin Sui was so scared that she dared not let her eat any more, for fear that she would upset her stomach.
Xiao Qing'er felt a little wronged. She could eat three steamed buns in one sitting at home...
After finishing his meal, Ma Qianzi returned from outside. At this time, the yamen was already closed for the day, with only a minor official guarding the gate remaining. He told the official about the incident and left his home address.
*
On the other side, Li Mu was going crazy searching for his children. More than twenty servants searched every room, but they still couldn't find a single child.
Madam Li was still making sarcastic remarks from the side, "Why are they suddenly searching the house? She has legs of her own, she might have run away on her own."
Li Mu squinted and said, "My daughter was lost at your house. If she can't be found, nobody will have a good time!"
His words carried a chilling undertone, startling Madam Li so much that she clutched her chest and took two steps back. "Quickly, go and call the master over."
Before long, Li's father rushed over, and before they even met, his curses were already escalating: "You unfilial son, what are you doing? Are you going to beat us to death for some wild girl?"
(Li Mu's wife gave birth to Li Qing'er eight months after their marriage, but she later had an affair, so rumors have been circulating that the child was not Li Mu's.)
Li Mu's rationality had already reached its limit, but these words provoked him to snap instantly. He grabbed his father by the collar and lifted him up, saying, "Kill you? If anything happens to Qing'er, I'll make your entire Li family pay for it with their lives!"
"Third brother, third brother, let's talk this out. Let Dad go first." Li Chen was so frightened that he quickly stepped forward to break up the fight, but Li Mu was a head taller than him and his arms were thicker than his legs, so he couldn't pry them apart at all.
The women nearby were so frightened by his fierce appearance that their legs went weak. Master Li was also frightened and struggled to grab his hand, saying, "Who would harm a child for no reason? What are you trying to prove with us?"
"Back then, I was just a child too, and you pushed me onto the battlefield just like that, didn't you?" He hadn't even developed his strength yet, and he couldn't even hold a spear properly before being sent to the battlefield without really understanding what was happening. If it weren't for good luck and ruthlessness, he would have died countless times already!
Mr. Li dared not look his son in the eye, and turned his head to call the butler beside him, "Keep searching, search carefully..."
Li Mu released his grip. His subordinates had already returned to the military camp to mobilize troops. If they still couldn't find her, he planned to search the entire Jizhou Prefecture overnight, no matter the cost, to find Qing'er!
After a while, the butler trotted over and said, "A maid found a hairpin in the ice room. Could you please tell me if it belongs to Miss?"
Li Mu took the hairpin and examined it closely. Sure enough, it was the one his daughter wore. "It's hers. She used to work at the icehouse!"
"That should be it. An ice shop worker came to deliver ice this afternoon. Could it be them who took the young lady away..."
Li Mu asked urgently, "Which ice shop?!"
"It's the Wang family's ice shop in the city."
Without saying a word, Li Mu immediately led his men to the ice shop.
After everyone had disappeared from sight, Madam Li spat and said, "That damned plague-ridden man, how come he didn't die on the battlefield!"
Li Chen disagreed, saying, "Mother, don't say that about Third Brother..."
"Third brother, my foot! Look at him, he looks like he could kill our whole family. Only you think he's a good person!"
"After all, the child got lost at home, so it's understandable that he was anxious."
Madam Li was so angry she almost fell over. "How could I have given birth to such a traitorous scoundrel like you?"
Mr. Li's face was also long. "Never mind those things, go to the mourning hall to keep vigil."
Li Chen sighed helplessly. The slight improvement in his relationship with his third brother had vanished like smoke after this incident.
*
It was late at night, and there wasn't a single pedestrian on the street.
Suddenly, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves rang out, waking up the people living on both sides of the street.
An old man lit an oil lamp and asked, "Is it thundering outside?"
"I don't know, it didn't sound like thunder."
As the sound of horses' hooves gradually faded into the distance, people realized that an army had just passed by, and that another battle had broken out.
Li Mu sat on his horse with a frosty expression. His heart had been in suspense ever since he learned that his daughter might have run away from the Li family.
He had no other relatives, only an elderly mother and a daughter, Qing'er, who was the apple of his eye.
The child is four years old and can't speak yet. What if he gets sold or killed by bad people? He doesn't dare to think about it. Just thinking about it makes his heart ache so much that he can't breathe.
He finally arrived at Wang's Ice Shop, but it was already closed at this hour. He knocked on the doors of the nearby residents to wake them up and asked the ice shop owner where he lived.
Someone recognized Wang Ying and gave her directions. Before long, the group arrived at Xizi Hutong.
"Knock knock knock!" A series of urgent knocks woke Chen Fang up. He rubbed his eyes and opened the side door, but before he could even ask anything, someone pushed the door open and knocked him aside.
"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you breaking into a house?! Someone, come quick..."
Upon hearing the noise, Uncle Chen, Ma Qianzi, and Tian Ju, who lived in the outer courtyard, quickly put on their clothes and went out of the house. They saw seven or eight strong and powerful men standing in the courtyard, holding torches and wearing swords at their waists. The leader was eight feet tall, and just his presence alone was enough to make people tremble.
Uncle Chen quickly stepped forward and asked, "May I ask what brings you here in the middle of the night, esteemed guest?"
Li Mu cut to the chase: "Have you ever seen a four or five-year-old girl who can't speak?"
Upon seeing this, Ma Qianzi knew that this person must have come looking for a child, so he immediately stepped forward and said, "I've met you before. Today we went to the Li family to deliver ice, and when we came back we found an extra child in the cart. She wouldn't answer when we asked her. We wanted to take her to the yamen, but it was too late and the yamen staff had already finished their shifts."
Upon hearing this, Li Mu exclaimed excitedly, "Where is she now?"
"They were taken to the backyard by our young master and settled there."
Without a second thought, Li Mu strode toward the hanging flower gate, but Uncle Chen hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, "You mustn't!"
"You dare stop me?!"
Chen Bo was so frightened by his imposing aura that he collapsed to the ground. "In our backyard... there are still unmarried young ladies and gentlemen. If you go in like this... how can they face the world?"
Li Mu paused, took a deep breath, and said, "I was being presumptuous. Please trouble you, sir, to go in and inform them so they can bring my daughter out."
"Yes, yes, yes, this old servant will go right away." Uncle Chen trembled as he got up and hurriedly walked towards the backyard.
A short while later, the lights came on in the backyard. Li Qing'er was woken up by Lin Sui, still half asleep. "Get up quickly, your father is looking for you."
The child seemed to have taken a liking to Lin Sui, as she clung to him ever since they arrived home, even sleeping with him every night. Lin Sui helped the little girl get dressed and carried her out of the house.
Li Mu had been waiting anxiously in the front yard for a long time. Just as he was about to go in to find the person himself, he saw his daughter being carried out by a young man. His daughter was dozing off on his shoulder, with her arms wrapped around his neck. The intimate posture made this old father feel a little jealous.
"Qing'er?"
Xiao Qing'er turned around when she heard the voice, and immediately perked up when she saw Li Mu, waving her little hand to greet him.
Lin Sui was surprised to find that the person who came was Marquis Wuping. After handing over the child, she bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."
Marquis Wuping was taken aback. After carefully examining the young man, he realized that he was actually an acquaintance. What a coincidence!
A note from the author:
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