After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Zuo Yi stared at the child for a long time before asking, "Does Your Highness find this child somewhat familiar?"

Upon hearing this, the crown prince examined it carefully.

"Like the grandson of the old man who runs the tea stall next to the Treasure Pavilion, his name is something like Tiger."

“Erhu, the old man’s surname is Chai, Chai Erhu.” Zuo Yi remembered and said urgently, “Chai Erhu’s father was a soldier, working under General Xie. He died on the battlefield. When Chai Erhu’s father died, he was still in his mother’s womb. When the news of his death came home, his mother couldn’t bear the shock and was in pain for three days and three nights before she gave birth to him.”

The prince remembered.

Because Erhu was born prematurely, there were many rumors circulating. The father-in-law, worried that his daughter-in-law might do something foolish, wrote a divorce agreement for her on behalf of his son. Learning that his daughter-in-law was still being gossiped about after returning to her parents' home, the father-in-law, acting as her father, asked a matchmaker to find her another husband, prepared a generous dowry, and sent her off.

Having no parents, Chai Erhu was often placed in the cat and dog kennels by his grandfather during his infancy, essentially raised by the family's cats and dogs. Calling him Er Mao (Second Cat) was a bit strange, and Er Gou (Second Dog) didn't sound quite right either. Since cats and tigers are similar, his grandfather named his poor grandson Erhu (Second Tiger).

Erhu is both sensible and clever. Even before he could walk, he knew to use his smile to help his grandfather attract customers. When he was learning to walk, he knew to help his grandfather set up stools. He was small and weak, but he pushed the stools forward little by little, with cats and dogs helping him on both sides.

The Crown Prince and Zuo Yi were tripped up by this adorable scene.

Once they got to know each other, whenever they had a spare moment outside the palace, they would visit Chai Erhu and his grandfather at the tea stall.

"Grandpa Erhu's tea stall is open all year round, no matter if it's windy, rainy, or snowy. Erhu and his grandpa are inseparable, so how could he be taken away by human traffickers?"

Lu Zhiyuan opened Chai Erhu's hand and looked at the scar on his right palm. The scar had faded considerably, but it was still visible because something was inside the wound, preventing it from healing completely. Even after healing, the foreign object caused inflammation and slight hyperplasia.

Use the blade attached to the bracelet to pry open any areas that cannot heal or have grown excessively, and place the foreign object on a white handkerchief.

Zuo Yi leaned closer, puzzled, and asked, "What's this?"

"The rope, the kind commonly used in pharmacies to tie medicine packets."

Zuo Yi slapped his face: "Medicine, it's medicine. Erhu was kidnapped on his way to buy medicine for his grandfather. His grandfather is old and can't leave the tea stall. Erhu is sensible and went to buy medicine for his grandfather. Damn Duke Rui, damn human traffickers, I will kill them."

Erhu grew up with his grandfather and knew that his grandfather worked hard to earn money. He knew that those medicines must have cost a lot of money, so when he was kidnapped by human traffickers, he was still desperately protecting his grandfather's medicines.

He was worried about his grandfather. He wanted to go back. He had defended himself against all the human traffickers' tricks, but he never expected to be crushed to death by a child just like him.

"How could they cramm more than a dozen children into such a small sedan chair? What were they thinking?"

"The children were transported in batches, and if nothing unexpected happened, they should have been sent to the Duke of Rui's mansion. But the Duke of Rui had an accident, and they were afraid that the investigation would implicate them, so they hurriedly tried to move the children elsewhere. They discovered that the children were dead during the transport, so they emptied a sedan chair and threw all the children inside."

Lu Zhiyuan analyzed with her eyes closed: "Chai Erhu didn't drink the medicine, or rather, he only drank a little bit. He knew very well that the slave traders' ultimate goal in kidnapping them was to sell them. Staying conscious was for a better escape. He overheard what the slave traders were saying and knew that the children with him were all dead. Afraid of being discovered, he could only pretend to be dead. He was still young, and he thought he could leave after the slave traders left. He never expected that they would stuff these children one by one into the sedan chair like a human pyramid."

After the slave trader left, Chai Erhu tried to crawl out from among the children, but he was too weak, and with his chest and back compressed, he couldn't move. He must have been desperate and worried about his grandfather during those final moments.

They searched Chai Erhu's body and found an old amulet.

"Give this to Chai Erhu's grandfather!"

"Let's take Erhu back with the peace charm." Zuo Yi's nose tingled with tears. "His grandfather should at least see him one last time."

Lu Zhiyuan shook her head: "That would kill his grandfather! If you can't see him, you'll have hope; if you see him, that hope will be gone."

Zuo Yi said with difficulty, "Then how am I supposed to explain this to Grandpa Erhu?"

Lu Zhiyuan took a deep breath: "It's simple. Just say that they found this peace charm on the ground when they were capturing the human traffickers. Ask the children who were kidnapped by the human traffickers, and they said they had seen Chai Erhu. The human trafficker leader died in the melee, and the remaining ones couldn't say where they sold Erhu. Tell the old man to rest assured that the government will continue to investigate Erhu's case, and that they will inform him as soon as they find out Erhu's whereabouts."

Zuo Yi tentatively asked, "Would Erhu's grandfather believe that?"

“No!” Lu Zhiyuan said without hesitation, “He raised Erhu, and he knows very well the significance of the amulet to Erhu. When he sees the amulet, he knows that something has happened to Erhu. Rationally, he can accept the fact that Erhu is gone. Emotionally, he hopes that his Erhu is still alive, that what we told him is true, and that one day we can find a living Erhu and bring him back. As long as there is hope, even if it is false, it can sustain him to live.”

Zuo Yi couldn't bear it: "Are we just going to keep waiting like this, never telling him that Erhu is gone?"

Lu Zhiyuan straightened Erhu's clothes: "Wait a few years, until Erhu grows up, until Erhu's grandfather's eyesight is not so good anymore, find someone about the same age as Erhu and tell him that Erhu has returned. If that person is willing, he can accompany Erhu's grandfather for the rest of his life."

Zuo Yi said urgently, "No matter how similar they are, they are not Erhu. Grandpa only needs to ask about the details of their relationship to tell the truth."

“Believe me, Grandpa Erhu won’t ask. Even if he can tell at a glance that the grandson is fake, he won’t ask.” Lu Zhiyuan said firmly, “First, he can’t bear to disappoint the kind people. Second, he knows better than anyone that his Erhu can’t come back. He knew something had happened to Erhu the moment he saw the peace charm. Even if he asked, it wouldn’t be surprising if he couldn’t answer. It’s understandable that a child would forget some things after being kidnapped by human traffickers and suffering all kinds of abuse. Besides, several years have passed, so it’s normal for him not to remember things from his childhood.”

Lu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow at Zuo Yi: "Do you remember what happened when you were three years old?"

I don't remember. I've forgotten everything from when I was seven or eight, let alone when I was three.

By analyzing the children's clothing, appearance, and living habits, we have roughly determined their growth and living environment. The next step is to draw portraits to help them find their families.

Two hours later, Lu Zhiyuan appeared in the county jail. Duke Ruiguo sat there with his eyes closed, completely ignoring the sudden visit of the Crown Prince and Lu Zhiyuan.