Chapter 23: Brother The Delicate Beauty Is Taken Away

Over the years, Gu Chengyong had managed to accumulate some savings while living away from home. When they left Suzhou, the family divided their money into several portions—Madam Feng, Gu Chengyong, and even Wenxiu and his younger brother, along with Jiaoyan, each carried some with them. This was out of caution, so that if anything went wrong, they would not lose all their money at once.

Gu Chengyong and Madam Feng carried the most, and inside Madam Feng’s purse, besides a few loose taels of silver, there was also a banknote worth a hundred taels. Now, reaching for her purse and finding it missing, Madam Feng grew anxious and immediately ran after the thief who’d fled ahead.

Seeing this, Miao Suwen turned and quickly instructed Shaoyuan, “Watch Jiaoniang—I’ll go help.” With that, she hurried after Madam Feng.

But unexpectedly, not far from where they’d started running, one of the two women chasing the thief suddenly collapsed beside Miao Suwen, foaming at the mouth and convulsing violently.

Miao Suwen, a physician by trade and a kind-hearted one at that, could not help but stop at the sight. “Auntie, what’s wrong?” she asked urgently, reaching out to take the woman’s pulse.

The woman on the ground said nothing, her body still wracked with spasms. Miao Suwen glanced up. Madam Feng had already chased far ahead, but the thief was clearly familiar with the area and, with a few quick turns, ducked into an alley, with Madam Feng in hot pursuit.

“Sister-in-law, don’t go after them—it’s too dangerous!” Miao Suwen called after her.

Jiaoyan and Shaoyuan dared not move, remaining where they stood, about a hundred and fifty paces from Miao Suwen. They could see what was happening from there and were considering moving forward to check, when suddenly, someone came up behind them and clamped hands over their mouths and noses.

A strange scent invaded Jiaoyan’s senses, flooding her mind and plunging her into darkness in a heartbeat—she knew nothing more. The same fate befell Shaoyuan, who lost consciousness almost instantly.

Several people quickly hoisted the two children onto their shoulders, tossed them into a waiting carriage, and drove it out of the city at speed.

Meanwhile, Madam Feng, after twisting and turning through the alleys, lost track of the thief. Distraught and unable to find them, she had no choice but to return, dejected. When she got back to the spot where she had left the others, she found Miao Suwen running about in a frenzy, calling out desperately.

“What’s happened? Where are Jiaoniang and Shaoyuan?” Not seeing her daughter or the Miao family’s boy, Madam Feng’s heart skipped a beat as she hastened to ask.

Miao Suwen was crying by then. “Sister-in-law, I don’t know what happened. I turned around for a moment and both children were gone.”

She had been checking the pulse of the woman on the ground and, looking up, suddenly realized the children had vanished. She ignored the convulsing woman, bolted upright, and searched all around for her son and Jiaoyan, but found not a trace of them.

“Just now someone collapsed beside me with a seizure, and I…” Miao Suwen trailed off, looking in the direction where the woman had lain, only to discover the spot was now empty.

It was only then that Miao Suwen realized they had walked into a trap. “Sister-in-law, it’s bad—we’ve fallen into someone’s snare. They were all in on it!” She broke down in sobs.

Madam Feng now understood as well. It must have been because they were wandering about with the children, searching for Lin Hongtao, that they were targeted. The plot had been to lure the two women away and then abduct Jiaoyan and Shaoyuan.

“Come on, let’s find Dayong and report this to the authorities,” Madam Feng wept bitterly, but she knew they had to act quickly and not lose themselves in grief.

The two women, weeping all the way, hurried back to the inn. Just then, Gu Chengyong and the others returned from their own errands. As soon as she saw her husband, Madam Feng burst into uncontrollable sobs. “Dayong, Jiaoyan is gone—she’s gone!”

At the news, Gu Chengyong felt a roaring in his ears and staggered. “Ziyu, tell me clearly—what happened?” He gripped his wife’s shoulders.

Amid tears, Madam Feng recounted what had happened. “It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t chased the thief, Jiaoyan wouldn’t have been taken.” Her heart ached unbearably, and her tears fell without end.

“It’s my fault too! I never should have cared about that woman’s life or death—what did it have to do with me?” Miao Suwen cried out in a frenzy. Shaoyuan was her son, her very lifeblood. To lose him before her eyes was more than she could bear.

Wenxiu and the others, upon hearing that their sister was missing, grew frantic. “Father, let’s go search—if we’re late, who knows where she’ll be?”

Gu Chengyong nodded. “Axi, Alu, take some men and search. Ziyu, Miao, you stay at the inn with Wenzhi and Wenping. We’ve lost three already—we can’t lose these two. Wenxiu, Wenqi, you come with me—we’ll report to the county office. This must go through the magistrate.”

Gu Chengyong had served as a constable in Suzhou for five years and knew people at the local magistrate’s office. None of that mattered now—finding the children was all-important.

Axi and Alu accompanied Ruyue and Ruyun to the scene to ask around. Gu Chengyong and his sons went to the county office to report the case.

It was not yet the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, so the office was not officially open—only a few yamen runners were on duty. By luck, the head constable was on shift. He and Gu Chengyong were old friends, and, learning of Gu’s arrival, came at once to meet him.

There was no time for pleasantries. Gu Chengyong explained the situation directly. “Brother, I must trouble you—please help find my three children.”

The head constable, surnamed Liu, listened and immediately ordered his men to gather any available officers in the county. “Brother Gu, I’ll take men to search at once. But I must tell you, recently four or five children have gone missing in the county, all without a trace. You must be prepared—it may be hard to find them.”

Hearing this, Gu Chengyong’s eyes burned with unshed tears. “Brother Liu, please, do everything you can.”

Constable Liu nodded. Once his men arrived, he sent some to search everywhere, while others went to find Madam Feng and Miao Suwen to hear their account and descriptions of the thief and the convulsing woman.

Given the chaos, neither Madam Feng nor Miao Suwen had paid careful attention to their faces—it was good enough they could offer a general description. Constable Liu then went to the scene to ask the locals.

Fortunately, someone had witnessed several people carrying two children onto a carriage and leaving the city through the southern gate. The thief and the woman chasing him were also described, and someone made sketches. The whole city was put on alert.

Gu Chengyong, with Axi and Alu, chased toward the southern gate, while Madam Feng and the others stayed at the inn, awaiting news. Inside, Madam Feng and Miao Suwen paced back and forth, weeping. Every so often, they caught each other’s eye and collapsed together in grief.

Ruyun and Ruyue were just as distraught. They wanted to go search but dared not leave, fearing Madam Feng might do something reckless. So, they stayed close, watching over her and the remaining children.

No one in the family had eaten since morning, but none of them felt hunger—not even Wenzhi and Wenping. Each waited anxiously, hoping their father would return with good news.

The innkeeper, hearing of the situation, also sighed. He had run his inn for decades and never seen such a thing. “Wife, go make something for them to eat. Grown-ups might bear it, but the children can’t go hungry. They have so many children already—three are missing, they can’t let the other four starve too.”

His wife, full of sympathy for Madam Feng, cooked a large meal herself and brought it to the family. “Ladies, you must eat something. Who knows when the children will be found? You can’t go without food—you still have four boys here. You can’t lose three and then let the other four fall ill.”

Madam Feng looked at her sons, guilt filling her heart. “Wenxiu, take your brothers and eat something—don’t let yourselves go hungry.” As she spoke, her tears flowed again.

Wenxiu and the others sobbed. “Mother, we can’t eat. Jiaoyan is missing—we can’t think of food,” Wenxiu cried.

“It’s all Lin Hongtao’s fault! If he hadn’t disappeared, we wouldn’t have been searching all over. If not for him, Jiaoyan wouldn’t have been taken,” Wenzhi wailed between sobs.

Hearing this, Madam Feng’s tears flowed even harder. Lin Hongtao had been entrusted to them by the Lin family; she had cared for him dutifully, but even her anxiety over his disappearance could not compare to the agony she now felt. After all, Jiaoyan was her own flesh and blood, carried for ten months and cherished for five or six years. That bond was incomparable.

Wenxiu wanted to defend Lin Hongtao, but found no words. Ever since Lin Hongtao had come into their home, their family had known no peace. Now, with their beloved sister missing, even the sensible Wenxiu could not help but resent him.