CH 81

Standing in front, Song Shi was immediately grabbed by Xin Rui, who rushed towards her, and she could clearly feel her urgency when looking at Xin Rui’s beautiful face just a short distance away.

She began to speak, “They went that way, but…”

Before Song Shi could finish her sentence, Xin Rui released her arm and turned to look at Qi Wenqin, who was approaching from behind.

“Wenqin, she said that our daughter was taken there by that thief. We need to go quickly, or Zhu Zhu will be scared,” Xin Rui exclaimed.

Qi Wenqin embraced his flustered wife, comforting her first, and then turned to Song Shi and asked, “What did this lady want to say just now?”

Song Shi replied, “The thief you mentioned injured our youngest Sister-in-Law. My son and daughter have already followed them, so your daughter should be safe.”

Just as they were speaking, Shen Dalang’s voice came over.

“Mother, we’re back.”

Shen Dalang and Shen Erlang walked ahead, with Shen Yu’an carrying a little girl behind them.

The little girl held a candy in her hand, using her chubby little hands to diligently unwrap the candy wrapper, and then she handed the candy to Shen Yu’an’s mouth.

“Sister, have some candy.”

Shen Yu’an accepted the candy that was handed to her mouth and happily thanked, “Zhu Zhu is so well-behaved. Thank you, Zhu Zhu, for giving candy to sister. But if you eat too much candy, it will damage your teeth. Zhu Zhu, can you promise sister to only have one candy per day?”

“Okay~” the little girl exclaimed in a sweet voice.

The little girl had been startled, crying and whimpering when they had just brought her back.

Shen Yu’an then took some candy cubes from her space and used them to appease her.

Of course, the effect was remarkable. The little girl put all the candy into the small purse she carried with her, and instantly stopped crying.

The four of them appeared within the sight of the crowd, sensing that something was wrong, Shen Yu’an looked in that direction.

They noticed a group of people standing opposite the Shen family’s house.

Did they encounter them when they left?

She took two quick steps, completely walking out from behind Shen Dalang and Shen Erlang.

“Zhu Zhu, it’s Zhu Zhu!” Xin Rui exclaimed excitedly in Qi Wenqin’s embrace.

The little girl, upon hearing her mother’s voice, also looked over. When she saw that it was indeed her own mother and father, her eyes, which were just moments ago filled with joy, instantly welled up with tears.

“Mother, father, wuwuwu!” The little girl extended her hands, wanting to go towards her parents.

Shen Yu’an quickly held her tightly to prevent her from falling.

However, she still walked towards the two people whom the little girl called out to.

“Zhu Zhu, my Zhu Zhu,” Xin Rui and Qi Wenqin walked over together.

Shen Yu’an handed the little girl over to Xin Rui’s embrace.

Qi Wenqin first glanced at his regained daughter and then looked at Shen Yu’an and the others with a solemn expression as he expressed his gratitude.

“I am General Qi Wenqin of the Xiangnan General’s Mansion. Thank you, three young friends, for bringing my child back safely.”

Upon hearing that this person was from the general’s mansion, both Bai Wu and Ji Xun were stunned.

Miss Shen is really lucky. She actually saved the daughter of the General’s Mansion, which means that the General’s Mansion owes her a favor.

In the Xiangnan region, the General’s Mansion directly governs everything, but it is unknown which branch of the General’s Mansion these two belong to.

Then Qi Wenqin waved his hand towards the guards behind him and instructed, “Bring the two boxes from the carriage.”

The elderly woman who had been following closely beside their carriage was taken aback when she heard that Qi Wenqin wanted to bring those two boxes. Her expression changed.

But the thing in one of those boxes… was supposed to be the precious pearl that Second Young Master promised to give to Third Miss.

If they return to the mansion without the pearl being given to Third Miss, she wouldn’t dare confront Second Young Master directly, but she would surely be blamed for it.

The elderly woman bowed her body and approached, saying, “Second Young Master, the things in that box were supposed to be given to Third Miss, right?”

“If it turns out that you gave this precious item to an outsider… they’re just a bunch of commoners. And Third Miss, she…”

Qi Wenqin held the two boxes in his hands and said ambiguously, “I don’t know when my daughter’s nanny became so devoted to Third Miss!”

The elderly woman, Qian Mama, was frightened and fell to her knees, her face filled with fear as she tried to defend herself, “Second Young Master, please see the truth. I have always been loyal to Miss Zhu, never having any ulterior motives.”

Qi Wenqin had no mercy whatsoever. His daughter’s close call this time was definitely connected to Qian Mama.

He said, “Whether you are truly loyal or not, we will find out through a thorough interrogation. Take Qian Mama away for questioning.”

“Yes!”

The two guards stepped forward, grabbing Qian Mama’s arms and dragging her away.

“Second Young Master, you can’t treat me like this. I was with the master when he was alive… wuwuwu…” Qian Mama sobbed.

The guards found her to be too noisy, so they tore off a portion of Qian Mama’s clothing and stuffed it into her mouth.

Finally, the world became quiet.

When Qi Wenqin looked at Shen Yu’an and the Shen family again, he regained his gentle demeanor. Xin Rui also walked over, holding the little girl in her arms.

Qi Wenqin handed the two boxes to Shen Yu’an.

“While traveling, we don’t have many valuable items. Please accept this small token of appreciation. Inside this box are some pearls, which I present to the young lady,” he said.

Shen Yu’an wasn’t being pretentious. She did save their daughter’s life; otherwise, they wouldn’t even know where she might be now.

She took the box and replied, “There’s no need to be so polite. It was just a natural thing to do.”

Qi Wenqin’s mouth twitched slightly. “If you hadn’t taken the item so quickly, I might have believed you,” he thought.

However, he didn’t perceive Shen Yu’an as greedy. On the contrary, he found her to be natural and having a genuine temperament which made him develop a slight fondness for her.

Xin Rui also added, “If your family is heading south, we reside in the Xiangnan General’s Mansion. If you ever need anything, feel free to seek us out. We will do our best to assist you.”

Afterwards, Qi Wenqin handed a jade pendant to Shen Yu’an as a token of trust.

Shen Yu’an replied, “Thank you in advance.”

“You’re too kind, Miss. You helped us bring our daughter back, so we should be the ones expressing gratitude,” Xin Rui said gratefully.

Qi Wenqin looked up and glanced at the crowd of Shen family members, suddenly noticing two figures that looked very familiar.

One of them was Ji Xun. Qi Wenqin had seen him before when he accompanied his elder brother on an official duty to the capital. They had met the National Teacher and his disciple, Ji Xun.

He had heard that the National Teacher resigned from his position at the beginning of the year, so how could his disciple appear here?

The other familiar figure was Fei Yanchen. However, no matter how much he pondered, Qi Wenqin couldn’t recall when he had seen this person before, so he let the thought go.

Upon being recognized, Ji Xun walked over and exchanged a few pleasantries.

As Qi Wenqin was in a hurry to return, he soon departed with his group.