Chapter 72 Missing

Inside the house, Yulan held the child in her arms, her eyes full of heartache. There were broken bowls on the ground that she had not had time to pick up, and the bitter medicine had stained her skirt.

Seeing Xia Mingchuan rushing in, Yulan's eyes were filled with regret: "I accidentally dropped the bowl in my haste, but luckily I've already drunk most of the soup."

The child in her arms was still crying, but the sound gradually became quieter. Even so, if she kept crying, it would hurt her throat.

Yulan was so anxious that she was sweating all over and didn't care at all that Ji Xianyi and Li Qingruo followed in.

Looking at the baby who kept whimpering like a kitten, Ji Xian said, "Why not let me take a look?"

Ji Xianyi's words attracted the attention of the people in the room. Xia Mingchuan then realized that the two of them had followed in. He frowned unconsciously, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

Seeing Xia Mingchuan's unhappy expression, Li Qingruo immediately added: "My senior brother is a leader in pharmacology among his peers. Why not let him take a look? After all, crying like this is not a solution."

Yulan looked at the suffering child in her arms and was a little shaken when she heard this. She looked at Xia Mingchuan with some expectation: "Mingchuan..."

Looking at Yulan's tearful eyes, Xia Mingchuan couldn't say no and could only nod in agreement.

When Ji Xianyi took the baby, he was surprised by the weight in his hand. The child was much thinner than he looked.

Such a thin child is not suitable for overly stimulating treatment methods, so he could only put the child in a cradle beside him, put one hand on the child, and continuously transmit his internal force to the child.

Under the gentle inner strength, the child's crying gradually became smaller and smaller until it disappeared. Looking at the child in the cradle smacking his lips and falling asleep, Yulan beside him almost shed tears.

Xia Mingchuan's expression also eased a lot. He looked at the two people in front of him and whispered, "Let's go out and talk."

After reaching the courtyard, Xia Mingchuan thanked them politely, but soon changed the subject: "As you two distinguished guests have seen, it is really inconvenient for my family to entertain you. If there is nothing else, I will..."

Before he could finish, Ji Xianyi interrupted him directly: "The child's eyebrows and eyes are quite similar to Mr. Xia, but as far as I know, you and Xia Lian have not been married, and it has been less than a year since Xia Lian disappeared. This child is..."

Yulan, who had followed out, happened to hear Ji Xianyi's words and her face suddenly changed. Seeing the two men looking like they were facing a powerful enemy, Ji Xianyi took out a bottle of pills.

"That child seems to have a congenital deficiency. Although there is nothing wrong with the medicine prescribed by the pharmacy, it is not easy to let the child grow up safely. This bottle of Zisheng Pills was refined by the elders of my Taibai Sword Sect. It can not only replenish qi and blood but also nourish the foundation of a person. However, the child is too young. Take it once every five days, and take one-fourth each time."

Ji Xianyi felt that the two of them were somewhat relaxed, so his tone gradually softened: "My junior sister and I don't want to explore your secrets, but the missing case involves many people, and there are many people who hope that their wives and daughters can return home one day. I just hope that you can tell the truth. More clues mean more opportunities."

Yulan looked at the medicine bottle in Ji Xianyi's hand, her eyes full of desire. Ever since her child was born, she has been worried about him leaving. Now that there is a glimmer of hope, she will grab it even if it means giving up everything.

"It's me, I seduced Mingchuan...it's all my fault..."

Yulan was determined. She used her petite body to block Xia Mingchuan, trying to blame all the mistakes on herself.

“That’s enough!”

Xia Mingchuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he took Yulan's hand and pulled her back to his side. His tone was softer than ever before: "It's not your fault. It's never your fault."

Hearing the other party's firm voice, Yulan's pretended strength completely collapsed at this moment, and tears flowed like beads from a broken string.

"I did go to get the bracelet that day, but it was not because of the heavy snow that delayed my return home, but because Yulan accidentally fell and went into premature labor. I accompanied her during the birth, so I returned home late..."

Although the academy teaches gentlemen to be virtuous and treat others with courtesy, it would be naive to really believe this. After Xia Mingchuan entered the school, his excellent grades attracted the jealousy of many people, so the news that he had an ugly fiancée spread quietly in the academy, and some people began to resist contact with him. The reason was ridiculous: they were afraid that the erythema would be contagious.

Books would be damaged inexplicably, and lunch would sometimes be "accidentally" knocked away by others. Xia Mingchuan could tolerate being isolated, but could not tolerate his studies being interrupted, so he "coincidentally" helped a powerful student in the college, and then naturally became friends with the other person.

But every class has fixed groups, and making friends is not an easy thing. The advantage is that no one will disturb Xia Mingchuan's studies, but at the same time he cannot refuse when a small group wants to do something or go to certain places.

Brothels were a must-go place for these playboys. Even if Xia Mingchuan was cautious, he was inevitably persuaded to drink a few more glasses of wine. The smell of cigarettes and incense mixed together in the room, and Xia Mingchuan inevitably felt dizzy. When he made an excuse to go out for some fresh air, he happened to meet Yulan, who was on the run after being drugged by her adoptive father and sold to the brothel.

When two dry-mouthed people met, it was like nectar to each other. What happened afterwards was self-evident. After waking up, Xia Mingchuan decided to redeem Yulan, who was hiding in the corner in a mess but didn't even dare to cry. Fortunately, Yulan had been treated as a loser by her adoptive father since she was a child, and she was pale and thin. After paying three times the price of the sale, he successfully redeemed Yulan.

The funny thing is that after the small group knew this, their relationship became closer. Perhaps when a white crane is trapped in a mire and covered in mud and unable to fly, it is no different from the big geese who can't fly far.

Xia Mingchuan rented a house for Yulan and secretly raised her there. The two had no close contact since the accident, but as time passed, Yulan's belly grew bigger. The doctor who came to take her pulse said that Yulan was in poor health and it would be difficult for her to get pregnant again if she had an abortion. Looking at Yulan, who was obviously reluctant to give up the baby in her belly but was afraid of ruining her future and took the initiative to have an abortion, Xia Mingchuan remembered how she didn't even dare to cry that day. So he told Yulan to rest assured and take care of the baby and not to think too much, but if she is soft-hearted once, she will do it countless times.

Yulan suffered too much in her childhood, and even though she tried hard to recuperate, she still showed signs of premature birth. On the day of the birth, Xia Mingchuan stayed with her until she gave birth successfully, which delayed his return home.

"After realizing that Xia Lian had met with an accident, I was indeed anxious and panicked, but there was no news about Xia Lian after I reported it to the police. It was as if she had disappeared out of thin air. Apart from the open window, there were no footprints even on the snow. Ordinary people could never do such a thing. Therefore, after realizing that there was almost no possibility of finding Xia Lian, the sadness was followed by great joy. I finally don't have to bear the groundless rumors because of her. What's the use of me being a good student? People can send me to hell with just a few words!" Xia Mingchuan no longer called Lian'er hypocritically, because the panic and regret he had for her disappearance had long since vanished in the face of huge benefits. He seemed to hate everything, but at the same time enjoy everything.

Li Qingruo looked at the agitated man in front of her and asked sharply, "Since you want to get rid of it, why did you agree to marry Xia Lian?!"

Xia Mingchuan looked at Li Qingruo as if he was looking at an innocent child, with a hint of mockery on his face: "If I don't agree, can they still adopt me?"

He spoke indifferently, judging the character of his adoptive parents with just one sentence. But if it was really as he said, why did they pick him up and raise him, and why did they work so hard to earn money to buy medicinal herbs for his health and ended up ruining their bodies.

Li Qingruo stopped talking. For this kind of person who doesn't know how to be grateful and makes malicious assumptions about others, even if she continues to argue, the other party will still stick to his own way.

However, it is now certain that Xia Mingchuan was not involved in Xia Lian's disappearance, so there is no need for them to stay here any longer: "Brother, let's go."

Ji Xianyi nodded and put the medicine bottle in his hand on the stone table when he left.

The moment she stepped out of the yard, Li Qing glanced at the two people hugging each other in the yard and said sarcastically, "It is true that a friend in need is a friend indeed. I wonder if this beautiful moon will ever shine on the ditch again."

Xia Mingchuan in the courtyard looked a little embarrassed, perhaps because he had heard what Li Qingruo said. However, looking at the crying Yulan in his arms, he still patted her back tenderly. However, his expression was terrifyingly cold at that moment.