Shen Yuning noticed something was wrong. Ignoring the taboo that it was inappropriate for a grown - up young man to have too much physical contact, she grabbed the young man's hand and said softly,
"Xuanzhi, let go. I'm fine."
Xuanzhi then came to his senses and let go of Lord Wan. However, the embroidered screen in his hand was already crumpled into a ball.
Lord Wan covered his neck and was helped by two attendants to sit on a chair beside. Then he quickly asked the villagers for water. But everyone was in a daze, and no one took care of this grand lord for a moment.
It was Shen Jingui who ran to the well at the door, fetched water and scooped a ladleful. At this moment, Lord Wan didn't even care if the ladle was clean or not. He gulped down the water, gasping for breath, and slowly regained consciousness.
When Lord Wan finally calmed down, he immediately stood up, pointed at Xuanzhi and roared, "Who are you? How dare you..."
However, the embroidered screen, which had been taken away by Shen Yuning and carefully unfolded, although wrinkled, could still be restored to its original state by pressing. At Lord Wan's roar, Xuanzhi snatched the embroidered screen back into his hand.
Lord Wan knew Xuanzhi's strength. If he exerted a little more force, the embroidered screen would probably turn into powder in an instant.
He gritted his teeth and hissed, "What do you want?"
Uncle Zhang's broom swept over, "What do we want? We want to send you to the government. Do you think the people in our Xiaoshu Village are dead? You dared to molest a good - family girl. Are you tired of living?"
At his call, the villagers of Xiaoshu Village rushed to find handy tools. Shovels, wooden sticks - whatever they could find - all glared menacingly at Lord Wan and his entourage.
Lord Wan never expected that for a simple peasant girl's family, having their daughter marry into the Wan family should be a great honor. Why was this Xiaoshu Village different? It was as if his Wan family was some kind of infernal abyss.
However, his attendants were good at reading the situation. They stepped forward to mediate, saying that the lord was instigated by Shen Jingui and originally thought that Miss Shen was also willing. Then they coaxed the furious young man to calm down and let go of the precious embroidered screen in his hand.
Zhang Rong snatched the embroidered screen and threw it at Lord Wan, scolding, "Get out! Hurry up!"
Lord Wan and his entourage fled like stray dogs.
After this commotion, the original plan to remove Shen Fugui's name from the Zhang family genealogy was delayed due to the time. They had to come another day.
When Shen Yuning and the others returned to Xitian Town, Uncle Zhang listened to Shen Yuning describe in detail how wealthy the Wan family was. It made Uncle Zhang's heart ache.
"Is that Lord Wan really that rich?"
Shen Yuning nodded, "Yes. The Wan family is the one with boundless wealth."
Uncle Zhang let out a long sigh, leaned back on the reclining chair clutching his heart, and murmured, "So, Yuning girl was just a little bit away from that boundless wealth?"
Zhang Rong couldn't help but smile, "What? Are you regretting it, Dad? Do you want to form an in - law relationship with the Wan family?"
At this moment, Uncle Zhang sat up, shook his head seriously and said, "No. Yuning girl, don't be blinded by money. Although the Wan family is extremely wealthy, judging from Lord Wan's appearance, he looks down on women. Even if you marry into their family, he won't treat you well. Money is a good thing, but when a woman looks for a husband's family, she should look for someone who cares about her. Do you understand?"
Zhang Rong rolled her eyes, "Dad, you were not this careful when looking for a husband for me as you are for Yuning's in - law family."
Uncle Zhang glared at her, "How can you compare? You're just an ordinary village girl and still need to find someone to marry into our family. Which good young man would take a fancy to you? Besides, what's wrong with Fugui? He grew up with you like siblings. What's wrong with him?"
Zhang Rong was teased by him and shrugged helplessly. Then she saw her husband looking at her intently. It was as if he would turn angry if she dared to say something bad about him. She quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, yes. He's the best. With my temper, only Fugui can tolerate me..."
Shen Fugui immediately beamed with joy and happily carried the sleeping Huzi into the inner room.
Seeing Uncle Zhang still clutching his heart with a heart - aching look on his face, Shen Yuning quickly comforted him, "Uncle Zhang, you also said that Lord Wan is not a caring person. Moreover, the Wan family has a large business and there are countless descendants with the surname Wan. The Lord Wan we saw today, although looking a bit imposing, is at most from the direct branch and doesn't hold the family power. The money at his disposal must be greatly reduced."
Uncle Zhang thought that even if it was greatly reduced, it was still much more than the Shen Embroidery Workshop. But he just thought about it in his heart and didn't want to grasp what didn't belong to him.
After a busy day, no one wanted to cook. Shen Yuning simply got up and prepared to go to the embroidery workshop to ask the maid to cook more food for everyone to share.
However, as soon as she opened the door, she saw Xi'er coming over and asking, "Boss, has Yuanbao come back?"
This morning when they went back to Xiaoshu Village, they were afraid that Shen Jingui would take Yuanbao away if he didn't see her. So they sent Yuanbao to the embroidery workshop and asked Aunt Cen and Xi'er to take care of her.
Hearing Xi'er's question, Shen Yuning was stunned. She looked back into the house and thought that if Yuanbao was at home, she would have come out to ask about the situation after they had been back for so long.
Uncle Zhang said unhurriedly, "That child likes to run around. Maybe she's playing in some corner now."
Shen Yuning's heart sank. She felt something was wrong, "When did Yuanbao go missing?"
The anxiety on Xi'er's face was obvious, "Just now. Yuanbao was originally in the backyard with us. While we were embroidering, she was writing at the table and didn't go anywhere. Later, some guests came. Many of them asked a lot of questions and even placed orders. So we all went to attend to them... When I finished my work and went back to the backyard, Yuanbao was gone."
Seeing her nervous look, Uncle Zhang comforted her again, "Maybe she saw you were busy and got bored by herself, so she went out to play. Don't worry. She has a good appetite. When it's mealtime, she'll come back by herself."
But Xi'er didn't look relieved at all. She quickly shook her head, "No. The more I think about it, the more wrong it seems. Those people asked a lot of questions and then all found excuses to leave. Usually, those who boast at the beginning, even if they're not satisfied, will still buy some small items as a courtesy. But today, they seemed to have made an appointment. Boss, I'm worried..."
She had lost a child before, so she was very sensitive about this. That's why she rushed back in a hurry.
Shen Yuning shouted into the house, "Xuanzhi, Xuanzhi."
Xuanzhi poked his head out and saw the panicked look on Shen Yuning's face. Shen Yuning was a person who didn't show her emotions easily. Usually, even when she was worried or scared, she was always afraid of worrying others and rarely showed her feelings.
He immediately put down the handkerchief in his hand, put on his clothes and walked over, "Sister, what happened?"
"Yuanbao is missing."
"Missing?" Xuanzhi looked at Xi'er in surprise.
Seeing Shen Yuning's panicked appearance, Uncle Zhang didn't want the whole family to be worried. He said again, "It's not necessarily so. Maybe she went to the dye - workshop to play. We just haven't seen her for the moment."
Shen Yuning still shook her head, "No. The more I think about it, the more wrong it seems. Although we forced Lord Wan away today, since he comes from the Wan family, he won't be so weak - willed. The commotion of ordinary villagers wouldn't have scared him away. Moreover, Shen Jingui left in a hurry without showing any sign of unwillingness. There must be a follow - up plan. Now that I think about it, that plan is about Yuanbao."
Xuanzhi asked, "If so, what do they want Yuanbao for? Lord Wan's target is you. Yuanbao is only seven years old. She shouldn't... catch his eye."
Uncle Zhang got angry again and couldn't help scolding, "This Shen Jingui! Yuanbao is his own daughter. He's clearly trying to coerce you by doing this!"
Shen Yuning thought carefully, "If it's Shen Jingui, he doesn't need to kidnap Yuanbao. Yuanbao is his own daughter. If he asks for her openly, we can't do anything to him. Anyway, no matter what the reason is, Lord Wan is not a careful person and always looks down on others, while Shen Jingui probably doesn't care about his daughter Yuanbao at all. I'm afraid they've abducted Yuanbao and made her suffer."
Yuanbao had a big appetite and could eat as much as Shen Fugui. Even when Uncle Zhang didn't have much money before, he never let the little girl go hungry, let alone now that he had some money. Without restraint, Yuanbao's appetite had been increasing. If she was away from home without careful care, she might really go hungry.
Hearing this, Xuanzhi went straight into the house. No one knew what he took. He said to Shen Yuning, "Sister, don't worry. I'll go find her now. No matter where she is, I'll definitely bring her back."
Uncle Zhang chased after him, "Xuanzhi, go to the dye - workshop first and then ask around on the street. Maybe..."
But Xi'er looked extremely anxious, "Oh, sir, we can do those inquiries. Xuanzhi, you go find her quickly. I guess they've already left the town."
Xuanzhi turned around and waved his hand, indicating them to be at ease, then was about to leave.
"Xuanzhi."
Shen Yuning still looked worried. She hesitated to speak. This young man had been with her for two years. Although he called her sister and seemed careless on a daily basis, relying on her to arrange everything, now when she thought about it carefully, it seemed that she had always been relying on him. He had grown up, become capable, and could support a sky on his own.
Just like today, when something happened, her first reaction was to turn around and call him.
The young man stopped in his tracks, turned around and smiled at her, "I'm here."
Shen Yuning took a deep breath, "Xuanzhi, there are many of them. You... must be more careful."
A smile spread across Xuanzhi's face. There was a hint of pride in his eyebrows, but it quickly disappeared. He nodded seriously, "Sister, don't worry. I know my limits."