The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: I’ve Got It

At first glance, her words sounded a bit contradictory, but both parties involved knew exactly what was meant.

"Two grown men, and they still let that little monster escape... But with so many people searching for so long without finding him, he must have fallen into a ravine somewhere... In that case... could he still be alive?"

Mrs. Zhu felt a little awkward. She had only wanted to sell the person, not get them killed.

Ji Xiu’e’s expression, however, improved somewhat.

’Her goal was just to make the little monster disappear. As for how, it was all the same to her.’

"Mother, Father wants you to come home," the shorter youth urged impatiently.

The taller youth had already stepped outside. Mrs. Zhu and Ji Xiu’e hadn’t avoided talking in front of him.

"Juncai, the sun’s about to set. If you go back now, you’ll be traveling in the dark. It’s not often you get to visit your grandma’s house, why not stay a few more days?"

It was thanks to the timely help from Huang Juncai and his cousin that Mrs. Zhu had been able to clear herself of suspicion, so her words carried a certain eagerness.

Huang Juncai glanced at her but didn’t deign to reply.

Ji Xiu’e showed no intention of teaching him to respect his elders.

Leading him toward the door, she said, "Say goodbye to your grandpa and grandma before you leave."

Mrs. Zhu pursed her lips behind them.

’That mother-son duo, each one more difficult than the last. Who are they putting on that long face for every day? As if someone owes them money.’

In the courtyard, Ji Qingshan’s expression was just as grim.

The crowd of onlookers had dispersed, but Aunt Kang was still at the main gate, cursing endlessly.

Ji Qingshan fixed his grim, aged eyes on Mrs. Zhu. "Tell me the truth. Were you involved in this or not?"

Mrs. Zhu, of course, denied it, and even turned the tables on him.

"Father, that wretched girl is getting more and more outrageous! She brought people to barge right into our courtyard, and she even threatened to chop me with a knife! You have to do something!"

It would have been better if she hadn’t mentioned it. The moment she did, Ji Qingshan felt a wave of frustration.

"Do something? What am I supposed to do? You all saw her attitude just now. Is that how a junior should behave toward her elders?"

Having been publicly humiliated by his own granddaughter, Ji Qingshan was more furious than anyone.

But he had already learned that Ji Xiu’e had previously tried to test the waters by bringing up filial support, only to be mercilessly rejected by Ji Huan.

It was clear that Ji Huan had come to completely despise the Ji Family.

’If they provoked her and she really caused a scene, it could affect his fourth son...’

Ji Qingshan waved his hand dismissively. "Enough. All of you, keep quiet. We’ll deal with everything after your fourth brother passes the county-level exam. Before that, no one is to cause any trouble."

Mrs. Zhu had expected as much. She muttered a few words under her breath and fell silent.

Ji Xiu’e, however, kept her long face.

As soon as she had returned to her parents’ home, she had complained to Ji Qingshan that splitting Ji Huan off from the family had been a muddle-headed decision.

’Otherwise, wouldn’t her life and death have been for the Ji Family to decide? It wouldn’t have become so troublesome and embarrassing.’

Ji Qingshan probably thought of this as well and felt a bit awkward.

Then, seeing the silent Huang Juncai beside her, he sighed with some emotion.

"You’ve only just come back. Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Tomorrow, take Juncai to see your eldest younger brother. He... holds a grudge against your mother and me right now. As his older sister, you should go and try to mediate. See if things can still be smoothed over..."

Although he knew it was unlikely, Ji Qingshan still held on to a sliver of hope.

It wasn’t entirely out of guilt toward the first branch of the family; his main fear was being laughed at by the villagers for being completely estranged from his eldest son.

Ji Xiu’e had no patience for any of this.

"Big Brother’s mind is clouded with lard. Why are you still bothering with him? With one less burden, you and Mother can just enjoy a comfortable life with Fourth Brother in the future. They’ll have their day of regret."

These words were much to Aunt Kang’s liking, and Ji Qingshan could only sigh helplessly.

After leaving the Ji Family’s home, Ji Huan, Widow Xie, and the others split up to search every nook and cranny of the village once more.

The sky was already growing dark, and night was about to fall.

Every second that passed put Dabao in more danger.

The chances of finding him were also shrinking.

Ji Huan walked and called out almost mechanically, her heart several degrees colder than the early spring night.

When they gathered again at the Hu Family’s home, everyone’s face was incredibly grim.

"Where’s Hu Liang?" Shi Yong realized he hadn’t seen Hu Liang for a while.

"Liangzi guessed the traffickers might have used the chaos to slip out of the village, so he borrowed an ox cart to chase them toward town. He was also going to the bookstore to inform Wuan, so I guess they must have just missed each other."

Speak of the devil. Widow Xie had barely finished speaking when Hu Liang returned.

Just one look at his solemn expression was enough to know he hadn’t caught up to the traffickers.

"Elder Sister Wan..."

Returning with him was Hu Dacheng, his cheek swollen high.

It was unclear whether Widow Xie had hit him or if Hu Liang had.

When Hu Dacheng saw her, he lowered his head, tears streaming down his face.

Hu Liang moved to kick him again, but Ji Huan waved her hand. "Finding him is what’s important."

It wasn’t that she wasn’t angry at Hu Dacheng in her heart; she was even angrier at herself.

’She was the one who was truly responsible for Dabao, yet she had let something like this happen again and again... She was a terrible sister.’

"Where else can we look?" Widow Xie’s brow was tightly furrowed.

Aunt Wang sighed as well. "We’ve searched the whole village, north, south, east, and west, every nook and cranny, four or five times already. We even scoured the nearby mountains..."

"Do you think maybe..."

Sixth Sister-in-law Feng tugged on Second Sister-in-law Xu, who had been speaking, and shot her a look.

Second Sister-in-law Xu glanced at the silent Ji Huan and belatedly covered her mouth.

However, even if she didn’t say it, nearly everyone present could guess what she meant.

’If we’ve searched high and low and still can’t find him, it probably means he’s no longer in the village.’

’Could the traffickers have taken him with them when they fled?’

’If that’s what happened, it’ll be impossible to ever find him.’

Ji Huan shook her head. "They didn’t."

She said the two words with certainty, though it was unclear if she was answering the others or trying to convince herself.

She looked toward the father and son pair, Ji Liansong and Ji Mingfang, who were standing on the outer edge of the group.

"Cousin, are you sure those two traffickers weren’t carrying anything when they left the village?"

Many pairs of eyes followed her gaze, settling on the same spot.

Ji Mingfang’s body instantly stiffened. He subconsciously straightened his back, clearly unused to the attention and uncomfortable.

Ji Liansong reached out and patted his shoulder, offering a look of both apology and silent encouragement.

Sensing his father’s predicament, Ji Mingfang took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep his voice from sounding too tense.

"Yes. At the time, my father and my sister went to chase the traffickers. I was worried they’d get away, so I planned to head to the village entrance to block them off. But I... I’m a slow walker. Before I even got there, I saw the two of them hurry out of the village."

Ji Liansong sounded regretful. "That’s right. At first, Xuelan and I chased them all the way to the area around Wuan’s house. They spotted us and took off running. We couldn’t stop them... If I’d known, I wouldn’t have startled them. I should have gathered more people..."

"Don’t say that, Uncle," Widow Xie said, the thought alone making her shudder. "If it weren’t for you, the traffickers might have succeeded. And Ming Fang was smart, too, thinking ahead to block them at the village entrance."

Ji Huan thought so, too. This time, it was all thanks to Ji Liansong’s family.

Besides, if Ji Mingfang hadn’t caught up to her just now to tell her this crucial piece of information, she would have most likely assumed that Dabao had already been abducted.

The problem now was, since the traffickers left empty-handed, Dabao should still be somewhere in the village.

’So why can’t we find him? Why...?’

Ji Huan cradled one arm with the other, sinking into thought as she unconsciously bit her nails.

The crowd exchanged glances, not daring to disturb her at a time like this.

Until Ji Huan exclaimed, "I’ve got it!"

"What did you think of?"

Her previous composure gone, Ji Huan’s eyes lit up as she looked at Ji Liansong. "Uncle, you just said you spotted the traffickers near my house?"

Ji Liansong nodded honestly. "That’s right. When we went looking for them, they were wandering around over there!"

"They went back to catch the escaped Dabao, but they were wandering around near my house..."

Ji Huan trailed off, then suddenly stopped. She pushed through the crowd and ran off without looking back.

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