Divorced woman with child travels through time

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I arrived in Nanshi, which is located at the intersection of Lijia Town and Xiangyang County, separated by water. The bustling and clean streets of Lijia Town stand in stark contrast to the dilapidated state of Xiangyang County. No matter how capable Ouyang Junyan is, he cannot manage Xiangyang County.

After crossing a small bridge, you arrive at Baiyun Town in Xiangyang County. The dilapidated wooden houses and tiled houses are crammed together, the roads are extremely narrow, and the ground is filthy and dirty, occasionally dotted with a pale yellow unidentified liquid. People from all walks of life, the elderly, the young, the sick, and the disabled live there.

Chu Yi knocked on the door of an old tile-roofed house. With a trembling "Who is it!" the wooden door creaked open. Chu Yi went inside and saw a one-eyed old man with disheveled hair sitting on the bed in the dimly lit room. The room was decorated very exquisitely. The old man was holding a wine pot and drinking with some side dishes. The wine was very fragrant and was not an ordinary wine.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after careful consideration, I found that the snacks to accompany the drinks were Chen Ji's famous "Drunken Peanuts" and "Orchid Beans," accompanied by some spicy and sour small fish.

"What is it?" the old man asked, drunkenly.

"Old Gao, may I ask who caused the disappearance of Madam Chen's two children?" Chu Yi asked.

The old man held up his index finger, flattened his palm, and placed ten taels of silver on the ground. He peeked through a crack in the window, put the money in his pocket, and said slowly, "Liu Sanlang and his sworn brother haven't come home all day. I wonder where they've been gallivanting off to."

"Thank you, Elder Gao, farewell!" Chu Yi carefully closed the door and went out, running back as fast as he could.

Wang Erniu's side was the same, but in the opposite direction from Chu Yi. At the most magnificent restaurant in Nanshi, Zui Xiang Lou, two burly men at the entrance respectfully bowed to Wang Erniu and said, "Brother Wang, it's been a long time. What brings you here?"

Wang Erniu smiled and said, "I need to speak with your boss Qi about something. Should I inform him first?"

"No need, no need. Boss Qi said you can come anytime. Boss Qi is in room number one. You can go upstairs and find him."

"Okay." Wang Erniu led Dazhuang upstairs, and before they even reached the third floor, Qi Heng came down to greet them.

"Brother Wang, what brings you here? Come quickly, take a seat of honor." Qi Heng smiled warmly and behaved with elegance, not at all like a rough and uncouth man who had served in the army.

"I won't go up. I have something to ask you. I'll just ask and then leave. Fourth brother, can you help me with this?" Wang Erniu was anxious, but he didn't show it on his face. He just spoke quickly.

Qi Heng saw through it and said directly, "Second Brother Wang, just say what you need to say?"

“I have two children. I was busy opening the shop today when someone disappeared. Does Fourth Brother know who did it?” Wang Erniu asked seriously.

Qi Heng's expression hardened. "Yesterday, the Li family sent the Liu brothers, supposedly to help, but it turns out they were there to cause you trouble. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have let them go."

Wang Erniu looked at Qi Heng, a flash of anger crossing his eyes, and said softly, "Could you please help me send a message to bring him back? Otherwise, if I find him first, things might get complicated."

Qi Heng clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "Second Brother, don't worry, I will definitely pass on the message."

Wang Erniu returned the greeting and took his leave. As he left the entrance of Zuixianglou, he said, "Hanyang, go to Liu Sanlang's house. I know he has a lover. I'll go to his lover's house. Dazhuang reported it to the authorities, so he'll definitely run away. Take some men and see where he goes first. We'll split up and inquire about it."

"Okay!" Wang Hanyang didn't say much, and the two went their separate ways to find the person.

After Da Zhuang reported the incident to the authorities, he led Ma Liu and the others to Chen's Teahouse. After recounting what had happened, Ma Liu immediately instructed everyone to disperse to the three city gates. He also asked someone to draw portraits of the children and to take one of the children with them to the city gates to avoid mistaking the children and having them taken away by others.

It was the time of the market's dispersal, and there were a lot of people. Ma Liu led his men through the crowd with difficulty to the city gate, notified the guards, and posted their portraits. Then, he stood guard at the city gate, checking each person who passed by.

Just as Chen Wenfang ran back to Chen's restaurant, Ah Li arrived with his men. It was getting late, and most of the guests had already left, leaving only a few innkeepers eating downstairs.

“Madam Chen, the magistrate already knows. He specifically ordered us to send more people over. He said there’s no need to close the city gates, so as not to alert the enemy. Just check everyone passing by carefully,” Ah Li said.

"Okay, please thank you for me, sir!" Chen Wenfang replied eagerly.

“No need to be so polite, it’s what we should do. How is the situation now?” Ah Li asked.

"Chunlan, tell me!" Chen Wenfang was still panting heavily.

Chunlan, who was standing nearby, said, "Lord Ma Liu came by earlier and drew a portrait. Brother Dazhuang led the officers to the city gates to help identify the people."

"That's good!" Chen Wenfang murmured to herself.

Seeing that Chen Wenfang was pale and looked exhausted, Ma Liu said, "Madam Chen, you stay here in the shop. I'll take some people to search the surrounding area. Don't worry, we'll definitely find them."

Chen Wenfang nodded. She had run too fast and was too exhausted, so she really couldn't run around anymore and needed to rest so as not to hold the team back.

"Everyone, spread out and go door-to-door, asking each household and searching everywhere." Ah Li's arrangement was very prudent. Apart from Uncle Liu Hai, Chef Wang, and Xiao Er, everyone else in the shop went out to look for people. Shi Tou and Shi Wu stayed obediently in the kitchen, somewhat frightened.

After resting for a while, Chen Wenfang also went out.

Not long after, Wang Erniu and Wang Hanyang returned. They couldn't find Liu Sanlang. After Wang Erniu told Chen Wenfang what had happened, he asked Chuyi to inform Ma Liu to arrest the Liu brothers immediately.

As night fell and darkness approached, Chen Wenfang grew increasingly agitated, tears streaming down her face as she forced herself to continue searching. A group of people searched everywhere, their voices hoarse from shouting. Chef Wang and his team also joined the search. Eventually, even the merchants upstairs couldn't bear to watch any longer and came out to help.

Shi Tou rushed out of the kitchen, "Dad, Xuanzi and the others are back."

Uncle Liu Hai was shocked and grabbed him, asking, "Where is he? Where is he?"

"They're eating steamed buns in the back."

"Let's go!" Carrying the stone, they went to the back, where Chen Xuanyu and Xiao Hao, their faces covered in soot, sat by the stove eating steamed buns.

Uncle Liu suddenly burst into tears, ran forward and carefully examined the two of them, touching them up and down, and asked, "Where did you two run off to? You scared me to death."

Chen Xuanyu was still a little dizzy and just kept eating steamed buns. Xiao Hao patted his back with concern and said while chewing his bun, "When the two of us were fetching water by the river, two people came out and used a handkerchief to knock him out. My dad taught me how to use sleeping pills, so as soon as I smelled it, I held my breath and didn't inhale it, pretending to faint."

"Then we were put into a bamboo basket and put into some yard." Xiao Hao ate another bite of steamed bun, he was starving. "After we got there, they went out. I quietly crawled out, woke Xuanzai up with water, and put the radish next to me into the basket. Then we ran out together and hid in a house. After they left, we ran out and ran away. I don't know how we ran into the street, and then we came back."

Xiao Ahao said with a serious expression.