Shen Xiaomei sobbed and finally managed a watery smile, coaxed by Su Xiaoqi.
But her smile had barely bloomed when it was shattered by an urgent voice.
"Yun ge'er, it's bad! Xiao Zhu is gone." The speaker was Zhao Liushun, who hobbled along, surprisingly fast despite his limp.
"Uncle, don't rush, have some water and tell me slowly." Shen Yun stepped forward to help Zhao Liushun, who almost fell from his haste.
Su Xiaoqi's mind buzzed.
When had Shen Yun arrived in the courtyard?
Had he heard everything she had just said?
Would he think she was a monster and burn her with the villagers?
Her heart sank halfway, and her mind lagged. She didn't react to Zhao Xiaozhu's disappearance.
By the time Shen Yun left with Zhao Liushun, her delayed reflexes kicked in, and she remembered something. She chased after them, grabbing Shen Yun's sleeve.
"Do you remember what we heard at the city gate last time?"
Su Xiaoqi's words were rather nonsensical, but Shen Yun quickly caught on.
"You mean, Xiao Zhu was snatched by the kidnappers?"
"Yes, exactly that. Report it to the officials quickly."
Su Xiaoqi's first reaction was to find the officials. If it was this serious, the officials had to intervene.
Shen Yun thought the same, but a group of Zhao family members came forward. Some of them said they saw the person being taken towards Yujia Village.
They were going to intercept them immediately. By the time they reported to the officials, the person would have likely been sold far away.
Su Xiaoqi told them it wasn't like that.
She suggested they should follow the official road towards Mianzhou City if they were going to chase.
Kidnappers like that would definitely have a mule cart.
The road to Yujia Village was narrow and bad. After the rain, the cart wouldn't be able to get through at all.
And there was another crucial reason.
In the book, Zhao Xiaozhu was also captured and never found again.
At the same time, Shen Xiaomei was also captured by kidnappers, quickly sold to a brothel, and beaten to death.
Thus, Shen Yun in the book, after losing his mother and Shen Erdan, lost the last of his kin in this world.
Su Xiaoqi grabbed Shen Yun's sleeve and said anxiously, "Let them go look, we'll go home first."
She was panicking immensely.
She had a vague feeling that something was about to happen.
Shen Yun shook his head and told her that his maternal uncles and their families were all here.
He had to go with them to find their third cousin, Xiao Zhu.
"They are not in Yujia Village, you won't find them if you go there," Su Xiaoqi urged.
Unfortunately, she was just a woman, and no one believed what she said.
Shen Yun merely instructed her that the village was not safe either and told her to go home quickly.
Su Xiaoqi stood there and watched them leave, her heart suddenly aching for no reason.
Thinking of Shen Yun's instructions, she immediately got up and ran home like the wind, heading straight for the kitchen.
She usually liked to hide there when she had nothing to do.
But no one was there now.
"Xiaomei..." Su Xiaoqi's heart fluttered, and she searched everywhere.
"Xiaomei went out," Zhao shi said, embroidering on the veranda.
Her eyesight was already poor, and she held the embroidery hoop very close.
"Where did she go?" Su Xiaoqi clasped her hands tightly, her palms sweating.
Zhao shi, not understanding, replied, "With Xiaohua, to wash clothes."
Su Xiaoqi didn't have time to say more. She turned and chased after them, running as fast as the wind.
Zhao shi looked on with suspicion.
Old Yu shi tapped her knees with her palms, her face full of disdain.
"What kind of pampered young lady is she? Look at her behavior, she's not even as good as a village girl from our farming families."
Zhao shi didn't say anything, but she also felt that what Old Yu shi said made sense.
But soon, it was her turn to be anxious.
Because Su Xiaoqi returned from the river with a bucket of clothes and told her that the clothes were still there, but Xiaomei was gone.
"Ah, what happened? What's going on?" Zhao shi flustered, not knowing what to do.
Old Yu shi told her not to worry for now and to go ask Xiaohua and Zhao Hai'e at their homes.
What if she was playing and went to their house to have fun?
This possibility was almost zero.
So Su Xiaoqi just listened and didn't do as she was told, but directly chased towards the county town.
Her intuition told her that going this way was correct.
Shen Xiaomei was definitely captured by kidnappers according to the plot of the book.
She didn't want Shen Xiaomei to die.
Although she was a crybaby who often cried her eyes out,
She was the first ray of warmth Su Xiaoqi felt after coming to the Shen family.
Su Xiaoqi ran very fast.
There were quite a few carts on this road, but she quickly spotted a potential target.
A mule cart that looked ordinary on the outside.
Red silk was tied to the cart, decorated in a festive manner.
Su Xiaoqi noticed it for two reasons: first, its speed was very slow,
As if to allow people inside the cart to observe something.
Second, the person driving the cart saw her, slowed down even more, until she caught up.
"Is this young lady heading to the county town?" the dark-skinned middle-aged man driving the cart greeted Su Xiaoqi proactively.
Su Xiaoqi stopped. She listened intently.
Something was not right with the mule cart.
If her guess was correct, this person was likely the legendary kidnapper.
She smiled sweetly, her peach blossom eyes sparkling with starlight, "Yes. I wonder if uncle is going to the county town? Would it be convenient to give me a ride?"
The driver immediately took a liking to the beautiful Su Xiaoqi.
Although there were already two bound in his cart, neither of them was as beautiful as her.
He had been racking his brain on how to lure her into the cart.
Unexpectedly, she spoke up on her own.
If it's delivered to your doorstep, why not take it?
The mule cart stopped. Su Xiaoqi steadied her nerves and glanced at the driver.
He smiled kindly, but the shrewdness in his eyes could not be hidden.
Su Xiaoqi suppressed the urge to slap him across the face.
She sneezed and slowly climbed onto the mule cart.
As soon as she entered, she was embraced around the waist.
Su Xiaoqi cried out in alarm, "Ah, help..."
Her voice disappeared into a gag. She was sandwiched, blocked inside the mule cart.
At the same time, she saw the situation inside the cart.
As she had heard from outside, there were three people in total.
Two unconscious women and a burly man.
She looked eagerly at the woman slumped in the corner.
She saw a familiar figure – Shen Xiaomei.
She was really here.
Su Xiaoqi breathed a sigh of relief, but then her face was slapped, the pain burning hot.
"Damn it, Er Gouzi, be gentler.
This girl is prettier than them. What if she's ruined and can't be sold?"
"What if she runs away if you don't knock her out?" the burly man Er Gouzi grunted.
"Your mom, don't you know to use medicine..."
Su Xiaoqi suddenly smelled a faint fragrance, and her head felt dizzy.
She very decisively closed her eyes and fainted.