Everyone was worried about Ye Qingcheng's whereabouts, and as if by Murphy's Law, despite their reluctance, they eventually confirmed one thing.
Ye Qingcheng was truly no longer at home. She wasn't hidden in any corner of the house, nor had she gotten lost within its walls. She had genuinely vanished into thin air!
As parents, Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu were restless. Ye Qingcheng was so young to have encountered such an event, and now her whereabouts were unknown. If these two were not people with strong hearts, who knows what state they would be in right now.
Helian Yue was still with Ye Tiancheng and his family, and was even trying to mobilize her family's power to help Ye Tiancheng and his wife find their child.
However, just as Helian Yue was about to take out her phone to contact people to investigate Ye Qingcheng's whereabouts, she suddenly received several messages. After reading them one by one, Helian Yue's expression changed drastically.
"No! You can't do this! How could you…!"
Helian Yue's expression was extremely grim, for there was no longer any need to investigate. She already knew the truth of the matter, a truth that was difficult for Helian Yue to bear.
It turned out that people from the Helian family had kidnapped Ye Tiancheng's daughter, Ye Qingcheng, intending to threaten Ye Tiancheng into voluntarily going to the Helian family and agreeing to their demands, working for them.
Helian Yue rarely lost her composure, but ever since her family elders had issued that order, she had felt helpless and indignant more than once.
How was she supposed to tell Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu this truth?
Hou Mingzhu was her long-time friend, and it was because of this relationship that their family had tolerated her coming along and staying with them here for so long. Now that the Helian family had kidnapped Hou Mingzhu's daughter, what would Hou Mingzhu think of her!
And Ye Tiancheng, although Helian Yue didn't know much about him, as a young lady of high status in the Helian family, she was clearly a perceptive person. She could tell that Ye Tiancheng was by no means a simple character.
Moreover, it was now the Helian family that was asking for Ye Tiancheng's help, and what they were asking for concerned the very survival of the Helian family.
As a result of the Helian family's actions, what good impression could Ye Tiancheng possibly have of them?
Even if they were forced to cooperate now due to their daughter's safety, once Ye Tiancheng found an opportunity, or if something irreversible happened, it would be good enough if Ye Tiancheng didn't add insult to injury, let alone expect him to help. This was courting disaster!
Helian Yue was trembling with anger, but no matter how helpless and grief-stricken she was, she had to admit one fact: she had to proactively find Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu and tell them everything.
She no longer had the face to ask Ye Tiancheng for help. This matter, she absolutely had to speak of.
The Helian family's actions were intended to threaten Ye Tiancheng. If it weren't for Hou Mingzhu's special status, making it difficult to act, they might not have spared Hou Mingzhu either. But kidnapping Ye Qingcheng would not lead to any better outcome.
After they did this, they would definitely let Ye Tiancheng know, otherwise, how would they threaten him?
And given Hou Mingzhu's family background, it was only a matter of time before she found out that the Helian family was responsible. It was impossible to keep it a secret. If Helian Yue remained silent at this critical juncture, perhaps her years of sisterly affection with Hou Mingzhu would truly come to an end.
In fact, with what had happened, Helian Yue didn't know if Hou Mingzhu would still be willing to be her friend in the future.
Helian Yue clenched her phone tightly, made up her mind, and immediately went to find Hou Mingzhu and Ye Tiancheng.
Meanwhile, Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu, while worried and regretful, were also inevitably fearful and uneasy.
However, they also knew that if they couldn't calm down at this moment, it would be even more detrimental to finding Ye Qingcheng. They had to calm down, remain as rational as possible, and find Ye Qingcheng quickly.
They were analyzing how Ye Qingcheng had disappeared.
Hou Mingzhu said to Ye Tiancheng, "Last night, I watched Qingcheng fall asleep before returning to my room to rest. I even got up once in the middle of the night to check if Qingcheng was sleeping well. She was still there then."
The servants and bodyguards responsible for related matters were also present, cooperating by providing clues.
The servants primarily responsible for taking care of Ye Qingcheng told Hou Mingzhu and Ye Tiancheng, "We also change shifts at night and frequently check on Miss Qingcheng. We check on her every hour to see if she's sleeping well and if her blanket is properly tucked in."
"Until the last shift at seven in the morning, which was checked by Xiao Hong, Miss Qingcheng was still in the room."
The servant named Xiao Hong, who was mentioned, immediately stepped forward, "That's right. When I went to check, Miss Qingcheng hadn't woken up yet, but she was indeed still in the room, lying in bed."
"Xiao Min was with me when I went to check. We can both testify that there were no unusual circumstances at the time."
Xiao Min also stepped forward and testified for Xiao Hong.
Since the person was still there at seven in the morning, and it was around eight when Hou Mingzhu went to wake Ye Qingcheng, it meant that Ye Qingcheng must have disappeared within this time frame.
Ye Tiancheng pondered for a moment. Regardless of anything else, the fact that someone had vanished from home into thin air proved only one thing: there must be someone among their own people who was problematic, otherwise, how could someone have done this so silently?
He said to Hou Mingzhu, "The disappearance should have occurred between seven and eight in the morning, and she was kidnapped and taken away."
"And undoubtedly…" Ye Tiancheng paused slightly at this point.
However, Hou Mingzhu and Ye Tiancheng had great chemistry, and she was very intelligent. There were some obvious points that Hou Mingzhu couldn't fail to understand.
Therefore, Hou Mingzhu almost immediately continued Ye Tiancheng's words, saying, "There's someone problematic among our people, an inside informant."
Hou Mingzhu's tone was very certain. This was already a very obvious conclusion. Without an inside informant's cooperation, even if there were any demons or ghosts, they couldn't have done it without alerting Ye Tiancheng. At the very least, Ye Tiancheng was carrying the Nuwa Stone, so how could he not have sensed anything?
Thus, the most likely scenario was that it was done by humans, and not through any special means, but through things that ordinary people could accomplish.
With an inside informant among their servants, how could Hou Mingzhu's expression be good? And she had caused her daughter to go missing. Once Hou Mingzhu found out who that person was, that person could only be grateful that Hou Mingzhu's current behavior had improved so much compared to the past.
Hou Mingzhu used to be a spoiled young lady from a prominent family who dared to take lives. Even now, with her desire to repent, her temper wouldn't be that good when encountering such a situation.
As for Ye Tiancheng, while he might not like to disregard human lives, when it came to his bottom line, kidnapping his daughter, regardless of the other party's purpose, once he discovered who was behind it, even Ye Tiancheng himself would absolutely not let them go.
The servants and bodyguards below were trembling. They really wouldn't get away with anything good this time. The best course of action was to obediently provide various clues and prove their innocence, preferably by helping to find the inside informant.
In this way, given the special time frame of Ye Qingcheng's disappearance, they wouldn't receive more severe punishment, and their guilt would be much lighter.
Under these circumstances, the servants and bodyguards began to accuse each other and prove their own innocence, trying to find the most suspicious individuals who couldn't prove their whereabouts.
Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu also cooperated by reviewing the surveillance footage in the room, attempting to find clues.
Unfortunately, it was very regrettable. Since the other party dared to act so brazenly, they must have been well-prepared in advance. Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu temporarily had no good leads. Even after staring at the monitors until their eyes ached, there were no clues.
Just as the couple was in a state of distress and extreme anxiety, Helian Yue appeared.
The first thing Helian Yue said to them was, "I know where Qingcheng is."
Instantly, Hou Mingzhu and Ye Tiancheng's gazes fell upon her.
Helian Yue's expression carried a hint of apology, and her tone easily conveyed that she was indeed an insider.
Ye Tiancheng seemed to have guessed something, and his expression gradually darkened.
"You really know?"
Helian Yue could understand the meaning behind Ye Tiancheng's changing expression. She knew Ye Tiancheng had figured it out, but she was helpless. As a member of the Helian family, she couldn't escape responsibility for this matter, no matter how innocent she was.
Hou Mingzhu was not foolish either. She quickly connected the events and said with a grim expression, "A Yue, you know what you're saying, right?"
Helian Yue could only smile bitterly and nod. She didn't know if she could still be friends with Hou Mingzhu after this incident.
"I do know. Although I am very sorry and very unwilling for something like this to happen, at this moment, saying more is useless, and it cannot change this fact."
"It was people from my family who kidnapped Qingcheng."
She handed her phone to Hou Mingzhu and Ye Tiancheng to see.
Neither of them reacted with anger on the spot. Instead, they calmly accepted the phone handed over by Helian Yue, which roughly explained the entire situation.
[Miss Yue, your actions are too slow, and the higher-ups are very dissatisfied. So, we apologize, but given how things have progressed, it's impossible not to use coercive means. We have taken the apple of Mr. Ye and Ms. Hou's eyes. Please inform them that if they wish to bring their precious daughter back, they should cooperate and voluntarily return to the family with you.]
After reading this message, Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu's expressions did not improve at all. This was clearly a threat, but they had no choice. Now, under the threat of Ye Qingcheng being in their hands, they had no choice but to comply.
Ye Tiancheng put down his phone and let out a cold laugh. "I was originally planning to cooperate and make a trip. If I could help, I wouldn't mind lending a hand. But since it has come to this…"
Helian Yue took back her phone, pursed her lips, and didn't know what to say. The Helian family was in the wrong, and she couldn't find any reason to defend her own people. She truly couldn't imagine that those people would do such a thing. She really didn't know what was going on in their minds.
Ye Tiancheng spoke, "You can go, but first, tell me one thing. Who was it that cooperated and kidnapped my daughter?"
Helian Yue let out a bitter smile again. She knew this explanation was necessary. The one who betrayed Ye Tiancheng and the others would certainly be one of Hou Mingzhu's own people. The Helian family would definitely betray the other party. For Ye Tiancheng to cooperate, that person would have no good end, absolutely no good end.