The evil mother-in-law does not whitewash, she only abuses her children

"Duo'er, look at that guy's breathing fire so high."

Maner held Duoer tightly and pointed at the people on the stage with excitement on her face.

This is even more exciting than the circus I saw in the capital city a few years ago.

"The fire is spraying so high, it's great." Although Duo'er lives in Heilongtan Town, this is the first time that she has been taken by adults to a lantern festival. She is more excited than Man'er to see the fire-breathing acrobatics.

"I'm going to go back and tell my mother."

Another ball of flame shot into the air, and Duoer clapped her hands happily.

Xiaolong and Yaozu stood on tiptoe close to Maner, keeping in mind Tong Huaqiong's instructions that Maner and Duoer were girls, and as men in the family, they had the obligation to protect the two girls.

Especially in crowded places like this, you have to be careful of people taking pictures of beggars.

"Xiaolong, look, they're starting to walk the tightrope over there."

Yaozu pointed into the air.

I saw a thin steel wire pulled in the air above the stage, and the acrobat, as light as a swallow, jumped onto the wire with ease.

Walking on a tightrope while breathing fire from his mouth.

"it is good!"

"it is good!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

The crowd was attracted and their eyes shifted from the lanterns to the jugglers in the air.

Tong Huaqiong and Old Lady Huang were standing in the crowd, and she was also shocked.

In later life, she only watched acrobats through the screen on the Spring Festival Gala. The real immersive experience was a shock that could not be felt through the screen.

If Tong Huaqiong had not been constrained by her status as a widow with children and grandchildren, she would have wanted to squeeze in at the front to watch and cheer for the actors loudly, just like people in later generations do at concerts.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at the four children, Maner, Xiaolong, Yaozu and Duoer.

The four children jumped and danced with joy.

Tong Huaqiong was afraid that it would be unsafe to be surrounded by so many people, so she wanted Su Chengmin to bring the four children to her side. But when she saw the children's happy faces, she couldn't bear it.

At the same time, I thought of so many adults and so many eyes watching over four children, they couldn’t get lost.

There was another cheer, and a puff of smoke rose from the fire in the tightrope juggler's mouth.

Tong Huaqiong looked up to admire the performance on the tightrope.

When I looked down again, I found that the four children were gone.

"Laifu, Laifu." Tong Huaqiong shouted.

Su Chengmin was right next to them, bragging to Gu Taohua that he could walk on a tightrope. When he heard Tong Huaqiong shouting, he quickly turned around.

"Maner, Xiaolong and the others are missing." Tong Huaqiong pointed ahead.

Su Chengmin's mind buzzed with excitement. Xiaolong must not be lost.

Su Chengmin rushed into the crowd.

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingzhe rushed over and squeezed forward with Su Chengmin.

Old Mrs. Huang's heart skipped a beat with fear. She comforted Tong Huaqiong, "Don't worry, Shopkeeper Tong. They were just there. They must have been squeezed in. They are small and we can't see them from the outside."

These words did not comfort Tong Huaqiong. She felt anxious and did not bother to respond to Mrs. Huang as she moved forward.

None of these four children can be lost.

Tong Huaqiong prayed in her heart, hoping that Man'er and the others were just pushed into a corner just as Old Lady Huang said.

She was looking forward to Su Chengmin and Gu Jingzhe bringing all the children out.

But soon, Tong Huaqiong was disappointed.

Su Chengmin and Gu Jingzhe searched the crowd but couldn't find the four children.

"Let's split up and look for it." Tong Huaqiong made a prompt decision and said to Gu Jingzhe and Su Chengmin, "Taohua and I will look for it in the crowd, and you two will look for it in the secluded alleys."

Gu Jingzhe and Su Chengmin went to the dark alley next to them.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua blended into the crowd.

Lu Zhaozhao wanted to join the search, but was held down by Tong Huaqiong. She was a delicate girl from the provincial capital and was also a target of the kidnapper.

Old Mrs. Huang sent her maid to go look for her, while she loudly called her son to come and discuss the matter.

Here, Mr. Huang, Lu Zhaoyang and Huang Jingshan were terrified when they learned that several children of the Gu family were missing.

Mr. Huang was very upset. The reason why Manager Tong came to appreciate the lanterns tonight was for Lu Zhaoyang and Huang Jingshan.

Now that the child of Shopkeeper Tong is lost, if he cannot be found, there is no hope for a peaceful marriage.

Lu Zhaoyang looked calm. He grabbed the patrolling officer in the crowd and described what had happened.

When the constable heard that the child was missing, he gathered all the constables on the street. Some of them controlled the circus troupe, while the others went out to look for the child.

This year, Magistrate Liu issued a strict order, requiring the safety of those who come to watch the lanterns to be guaranteed.

They patrolled all night and thought nothing had happened so they could go back to collect the reward, but when they were about to leave, the child was lost.

And lost four more.

It was obvious at first glance that it was a kidnapper who committed the crime.

All the constables were eager to catch the kidnapper and bring him to justice.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua searched the crowd but didn't see any children. When they arrived at the meeting place, they found that Gu Jingzhe and Su Chengmin had not returned. Tong Huaqiong had a bad feeling.

Tong Huaqiong was unwilling to give up, so she came again to the place where Maner and the other children had just stood, squatted down and looked for something carefully.

Suddenly she picked up the velvet flower on Maner's head from the ground.

Tong Huaqiong took the velvet flower in her hand and guessed that the four children might have been taken away by the beggar.

Maner has always been smart, and this flower was dropped by Maner on purpose.

Tong Huaqiong squeezed out of the crowd with flowers in her hand, and heard the police telling everyone not to move around freely. Lu Zhaoyang and Huang Yuanwai came over and told Tong Huaqiong that the police from Yanguan Town had already guarded all the intersections and searched them one by one.

......

"Uncle Fat, where are you taking us in the carriage? To the capital city? That's great. It would be great if you could take us to the capital city to play. I begged my father several times but he was unwilling to take me there."

The four children were carried into the carriage at once by the fat and thin cripples.

Maner hugged Duoer, who was frightened and crying, with an innocent look on her face and eyes full of longing.

As happy as a pigeon that has escaped from a cage.

The fat and thin cripple in the carriage and Jiang's mother looked at each other.

This girl is so naive, so naive that she's a little silly.

I thought they were good people.

Simple is good.

What the old woman said was right. From the way these four children were dressed, it was obvious that they came from wealthy families.

Especially older girls and boys who are fair and pretty can be sold for a good price at first glance.

It was precisely because the four children were so delicate that they did not tie their hands or gag their mouths, for fear that they would be disfigured and could not be sold at a good price.

However, the older and extremely handsome boy did not look as innocent as the little girl. He stared at her with his eyes wide open from beginning to end, struggled hard without saying a word, but bit the thin man's hand.

The thin man's hand was bitten and bleeding. Seeing Xiaolong glaring at him fiercely, he became furious and reached out to hit Xiaolong.

Maner stood in front of Xiaolong and said obediently: "Uncle, don't hit me. My brother is mute and he is afraid, but he listens to me the most."

After that, he squeezed Xiaolong's hand and said, "Uncle will take us to the city to play, you have to be good."

Xiaolong, who was labeled as mute, turned pale with anger.

When the three heard that Xiaolong was mute, they thought it was a pity, otherwise a boy of such good looks would be scrambled for by all the playwrights in Shengjing.

But being dumb also has its advantages. At least he won’t shout for help.

There are four abducted children now. The older girl is innocent and silly, the remaining girl is timid and can't speak, and the slightly younger boy takes out the candy from his pocket and sucks it while sobbing. His hands are covered with syrup and he doesn't look smart.