Chapter 56 [VIP]
Three days later, Chen Qingyan finally returned from the manor, accompanied by Qingsong and Qinghuai.
Liang Boqing kicked the three of them out, saying he needed a few days of peace and quiet, which was also a way of giving the children a break.
This was the first time Chen Qingsong had been away from his mother for so long in his life. When he entered the courtyard and saw his older sister and mother, his eyes reddened. Being older, he knew how to save face, so he turned his head and hid behind Chen Qinghuai, too embarrassed to come out.
Once inside, Wang Ying brought out the shaved ice she had prepared in advance. It was freshly made that morning; she had taken some ice from the experimental field, crushed it, drizzled it with honey, and added some diced fruit. It tasted quite nice and refreshing.
The weather was hot, and the children held their bowls and ate, while Mrs. Li watched from the side with a loving expression on her face.
After two months apart, my youngest son looks a bit taller and his cheeks are a little fuller, but he's gotten quite tanned.
"Where is Mr. Liang? You've all left. Can he manage alone on the estate?"
Chen Qingyan said, "Teacher didn't want to travel back and forth because of the hot weather, so he stayed at the estate with Uncle Chen."
Madam Li gestured for Qingsong and Qinghuai to sit down beside her. "Your father has sent a letter. They have been settled in Shanzhou. Don't worry."
Chen Qinghuai nodded. In fact, he had long been used to studying away from home. When he was in Laizhou, he traveled around with his master and could only go home once in a long while.
He knew his parents had high hopes for him, and he lived up to their expectations, learning a lot of skills from Master Liang.
Take poetry and rhyme as an example. Among the three children, he was the best at it. He wrote a lot of poems at a young age, and some of the sentences amazed Liang Boqing.
On the other side, Chen Qingyan and Wang Ying hadn't been apart since they met. They held hands so tightly that they were sweating, but they couldn't bear to let go.
Chen Rong said, "You must be tired and hot from your journey. Go back and take a shower and rest for a while. I'll make you dumplings for lunch."
"Why."
Everyone returned to their respective courtyards. Chen Qingyan walked with a brisk pace, and as soon as he entered the house, he picked up Wang Ying.
"Slow down."
"I miss you so much. Seeing you for only an hour each day in the experimental field is simply not enough."
"Me too."
The two cuddled together for a while until they were covered in sweat, then went to the bathhouse for a shower. Because they were pregnant, they couldn't have sex, so they could only comfort each other with their hands.
Chen Qingyan stroked his lower abdomen and said, "I feel like you've gained a little weight."
Wang Ying leaned on his shoulder, still feeling the afterglow, and said lazily, "How can I not get fat? My mother makes Aunt Chen cook delicious food for me every day, and it's all my favorite food. I don't have any work to do, so I've become lazy."
"If you're really bored, why don't you come back to the estate with me this time?"
"Let's wait a little longer. Qiu Di's wedding is coming up soon. I'll stay home and help out."
"Alright, I'm afraid Auntie might not think things through on her own, so please help her out."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets married in style."
After taking a shower, the two returned to the bedroom and took a nap. It was too hot to be close together, so Chen Qingyan moved a large block of ice from the experimental field and put it in a wooden basin, which made the room a little cooler.
Wang Ying felt incredibly safe nestled in his arms, and slept soundly until almost dark before waking up.
It was a rare occasion for the whole family to get together, so in the evening Wang Ying had the servants bring out the barbecue grill, and everyone gathered in the yard to grill mutton.
Wang Ying, being pregnant, couldn't eat anything too greasy, so she only roasted some vegetables. The children, however, had good appetites and ate most of a lamb.
After finishing their meal, they sat in the courtyard to cool off and started discussing Lin Qiu's marriage.
With more than three months until the wedding, part of the dowry has already been prepared, and the rest of the time will be spent selecting items.
When Chen Rong got married, her parents prepared a generous dowry. Over the years, they have spent a lot of it on subsidies for the Lin family. She divided the remaining dowry into two parts: one part to be used as dowry when Lin Qiu got married, and the other part to be used when her younger son got married in a few years.
Li also prepared a lot of things for Lin Qiu, including four bolts of fine cloth and six eight-pound bedding sets made of new cotton, enough to last him until he was old.
Wang Ying was quite practical; she prepared twenty strings of cash as a dowry gift. Nothing is more practical than giving money, because there will inevitably be expenses in the future, and having money in your pocket gives you more confidence.
Lin Qiu was no longer as shy as before. She sat to the side listening to everyone's discussion, a happy smile on her face.
Lin Sui nudged his shoulder and whispered, "Brother, it's so nice to be at Auntie's house."
Yes, it's so nice to be here!
*
Chen Qingyan and his group only stayed at home for three days before returning home because the shop was out of popsicles, and too many people came to ask when they would be available again.
Delaying even one day costs more than a hundred yuan, and Wang Ying was really distressed by the expense, so she quickly sent him back.
Once they left, the house returned to normal. During the day, the three children went to the shop to sell popsicles, and Wang Ying would occasionally go over to deliver meals to them.
As usual, the three children went to the shop in the morning. Wang Ying got up a little late. After eating, she watered the vegetable garden, picked a tender cucumber, and was munching on it before going to the shop herself.
Halfway there, I ran into a woman selling cherries, so I went over and bought some.
Just as he was taking out his money, the woman suddenly called out. Wang Ying looked up in confusion, but before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and then everything went black and he fainted.
At this time, the family did not know that Wang Ying had an accident. After the popsicles in the shop were sold out, the three of them closed the door and walked back.
Suddenly, a woman stopped Chen Qingyun on the way, grabbed her arm, and said, "Girl, you're the one who bought my cherries last time, right?"
Chen Qingyun was startled and quickly shook off her hand, taking a few steps back. "What are you doing?"
"Oh dear, your husband has been kidnapped by a madman!"
"What?!"
The woman stammered as she recounted what had just happened. Hearing her description of the appearance, the three of them felt a chill run down their spines, and tears welled up instantly.
"Did you see where that madman dragged the person?"
The woman shook her head, "I was terrified, how could I dare to chase after them..."
Upon hearing this, the three of them took off running home. Once home, they asked if Wang Ying was there.
Li said, "Didn't he go to the shop this morning?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingyun stamped her feet in panic and burst into tears, "It's over, it's over! My sister-in-law has been kidnapped!"
"What?!" Li's ears rang, and she felt dizzy and almost fell over.
Chen Rong was also startled and quickly helped her sister-in-law up, saying, "Could it be a mistake? Quickly go and ask the servants to help look for her. Maybe she's alright."
Lin Qiu and Lin Sui took off running to the backyard, while Er Shun, Lin Zai, and the other servants went out to search. After searching around but finding no one, they quickly reported it to the authorities.
When Huang San arrived with his constables, two hours had passed since Wang Ying disappeared.
The cherry-selling woman was questioned repeatedly until it was confirmed that the kidnapper was the mad scholar Zhang. The constables rushed to Zhang's house.
When they arrived at Zhang's house, they found no one there. After asking around among the neighbors, they learned that Zhang Xiucai's parents had suddenly passed away a few months earlier, and the neighbors had helped with the funeral arrangements.
"So he's all alone at home now?"
"Yes, I heard that kid went to the county town to report to the authorities, but he didn't have any money and couldn't get into the yamen. He banged on the grievance drum and was beaten dozens of times and thrown out. He went crazy when he came back. He doesn't go home anymore and begs for food on the street. I haven't seen him for a long time."
Huang San recalled what had happened before and was surprised that Zhang Xiucai had actually gone to the county town to report to the authorities.
"If you see him, let us know immediately."
"Okay, I got it."
Qingshui Town isn't very big, but it's not easy to find someone hiding there. They searched until late afternoon but still couldn't find anyone. As it got dark, it became even more difficult to find them.
The constables returned empty-handed, but the Chen family continued their search, even calling on relatives and friends to help, asking from house to house, afraid of missing anyone.
Li and Chen Rong waited anxiously, their tears never stopping since they received the news. "If anything happens to Ying'er, how can I face Qingyan..."
“Ah Ying is such a good kid, he’ll be fine, don’t worry, he’s so clever…” Chen Rong covered her mouth and couldn’t continue, she was also suffering in her heart.
No one expected that such a thing would happen in broad daylight.
*
Wang Ying was awakened by the sound of a knife being sharpened.
When he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness, and a foul, pungent odor filled his nostrils, making him gag.
He struggled to get up, only to find that his hands and feet were tied up with ropes and he couldn't move. He instantly realized that he must have been tied up.
Who exactly tied him up?
Wang Ying originally planned to hide directly in the experimental field, but after thinking about it, she decided against it.
Time is shared in the experimental field. He doesn't know if Chen Qingyan is waiting for him inside. Besides, even if he has enough time, he can only hide inside for an hour at most. What if the other party doesn't leave? Wouldn't he be sitting there waiting to die when he comes out?
He tentatively called out, "Help! Someone help me!"
The sound of sharpening knives outside stopped, and an unusual footstep was heard. Soon after, the firewood blocking the door was moved aside, revealing Zhang Xiucai, whom they had met on the street a few days ago!
Wang Ying's heart pounded wildly with fear. "How could it be you? Are you not crazy?! Someone help me!!"
Zhang Xiucai tilted his head to look at him, and after a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Don't waste your energy. Nobody lives around here. How can I go crazy if you and Chen Qingyan don't die?"
Wang Ying broke out in a cold sweat. She never expected that he had been pretending to be crazy for so long. It was really terrifying.
Forcing himself to remain calm, he asked, "Why did you tie me up?"
"Of course I'll kill you, but killing you is too easy. I should cut off pieces of your flesh and send them to the Chen family, so that Chen Qingyan will live in fear every day. That would be more interesting!" He then chuckled.
Wang Ying was chilled by his laughter; even if this man wasn't insane, he was definitely not mentally sound.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhang Xiucai assumed he was frightened and began sharpening his knife beside him. "Chen Qingyan deserves to die, you deserve to die, and all those who look down on me deserve to die, my father deserves to die, my mother deserves to die... Just kill you all, that would be enough..."
"You were the one who did the wrong thing first..."
"I didn't mean to hurt him."
"What about the copy in that pen?"
"That pen was originally something I prepared for myself... but I was so scared during the body search that I stuffed it into Chen Qingyan's exam basket."
"Isn't that all because of you..."
Suddenly, Zhang Xiucai grabbed Wang Ying's hair and shouted, "So what! His family is so rich that they can live well even without taking the imperial examinations. I have nothing, I have nothing at all!"
Wang Ying was so frightened that she didn't care about anything else and quickly started the experimental field!
A flash of white light appeared before her eyes, and she found herself lying on familiar ground. She heard Chen Qingyan's shocked voice beside her, "Aying, what happened to you?!"
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