Font Size:
Xiao Ping’er was missing, which caused some concern, especially for Aunt Xiao. She knew her daughter was honest and wouldn’t wander off alone. Now that she hadn’t returned, Aunt Xiao was becoming anxious.
Uncle Xiao remarked from the side, “Why are you so worried? This is our village; nothing serious happens here. Kids wander around all the time. Ping’er is grown up; she couldn’t have gotten lost.”
Aunt Xiao glanced at him and replied, “Ping’er has been gone for two hours, and no one knows where she went…”
She stopped mid-sentence, realizing that arguing wouldn’t change anything. Her daughter wasn’t the type to disappear without telling anyone where she was going and not return for hours. But what could she do now? Her daughter hadn’t said anything and had simply vanished. The Shen family would surely think Ping’er was an unruly girl who didn’t follow rules. This wasn’t good, especially since Ping’er hadn’t even married into their family yet. What worried her more was if the Shen’s started suspecting something worse had happened to Ping’er after all this time.
A young girl coming to her future in-laws’ home and leaving without a word, not returning for two hours—it’s easy for people to speculate when such things happen.
Aunt Xiao was anxious inside but tried not to show it too much. She knew that appearing too worried might escalate the situation.
“Has anyone seen Ping’er?” Shen Zhang Shi asked the people in the house, including those who had been home all along and those who had just returned from outside.
Members of the main and third branches shook their heads. None of them had seen Xiao Ping’er.
Shen Zhu spoke up from the side, “It’s my fault. If only I hadn’t been so tired, Ping’er wouldn’t have been afraid to disturb me and gone out alone. I should have escorted her to you, Aunt and Uncle. If I had known she wanted to go out, I should have gone with her. This is all my fault.”
Shen Zhu’s face was filled with remorse as she spoke to the Xiao family. She was very beautiful, and when she bit her lip, she appeared genuinely regretful. Her words made it impossible to blame her. Instead, people thought she was kind and considerate. After all, feeling tired wasn’t a fault, and Xiao Ping’er, being a grown girl, could have walked the few steps from the adjacent room to the main hall without needing Shen Zhu to accompany her. If there was any blame, it should be on Xiao Ping’er for running out of the yard on her own. Now, it seemed like Shen Zhu was being implicated by Xiao Ping’er’s actions, making others feel she was unfairly wronged.
Aunt Xiao said, “Zhu’er, how can this be your fault? Ping’er left your place and didn’t return to the main hall. Maybe someone called her for something? It’s just a few steps; she wouldn’t run out alone without telling me.”
The third branch family members, seeing Aunt Xiao looking at them, all put on innocent faces.
Sun Shi said, “We’ve been inside the house all the time and haven’t seen Ping’er. It wasn’t us who called her, Aunt. We really can’t help. Think about it, could it be that Ping’er saw something interesting outside and went to check it out? I remember a little girl from the front yard chased a puppy all the way to the village edge once. Maybe Ping’er saw something fun and ran out too.”
Xiao Dalu stared at Sun Shi, his eyes wide with disbelief, and exclaimed loudly, “My sister is not a little child who would run outside just to chase a dog or cat! Whenever she leaves the house, she always says goodbye!”
Uncle and Aunt Xiao were also irked by Sun Shi’s words. They couldn’t understand why Sun Shi seemed to imply that their daughter was like a frivolous child who only knew how to play. If the elders of the Shen family got the wrong idea, it would be troublesome. So when Xiao Dalu spoke up, they all nodded in agreement.
Shen Ziping said, “Right now, the issue is that Xiao family’s girl didn’t say goodbye.”
Upon hearing this, the Xiao family fell silent. Indeed, if Xiao Ping’er had informed them before leaving, would they have been so anxious now? Sun Shi’s remark only added fuel to the fire.
“Ping’er must have been in a hurry to go out at that time,” Sun Shi added. “The distance from Zhu’er’s room to the main hall is less than ten steps, and she didn’t even say a word. She must have been very urgent.”
Wulang said, “When I’m going out to play, I always tell Mom loudly.”
“Oh, my son is so good!” Sun Shi bent down and kissed Wulang on the forehead. She thought to herself, “Although this little one doesn’t talk much, he’s quite smart. This really puts the Xiao family in a difficult position. Even a young child knows to inform adults before leaving. Xiao Ping’er, who is old enough to marry, went out without saying a word to her future in-laws. She’s been gone for two hours. Can this be considered responsible behavior? If this gets out, no one will dare to marry such a girl. When a prospective daughter-in-law visits her future in-laws’ home, she should sit obediently next to her parents and behave properly, not disappear without a trace. This is simply disrespectful to the in-laws.”
The faces of the Xiao family turned even more grim. They realized that the Shen family must be quite displeased with their daughter now, but they were at a loss as to what to do. It was clear that their daughter was in the wrong this time. They needed to find her first and figure out what happened. If they could prove that she didn’t leave without reason, they might salvage some respect in the eyes of the Shen family. Otherwise, if she were to marry into their family, it would be a tough road ahead if the in-laws looked down upon her.
Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an had been listening attentively nearby. Su Zhi couldn’t help but wonder about Xiao Ping’er. She seemed like a sincere girl, so why would she leave without informing anyone and not return for two hours? Could something have happened? She couldn’t help but speculate. While others might think highly of the Shen family’s integrity, believing they wouldn’t break off the engagement just because Shen Ziju had passed the imperial examination, Su Zhi knew better. The Shen family must be displeased with this match. Shen Youfu had high hopes for his son, hoping he would marry into a wealthy and influential family. So, with Xiao Ping’er’s unexpected behavior, Su Zhi couldn’t help but suspect the Shen family.
“Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, where are Sanlang and Silang? Could they have enthusiastically taken Xiao Ping’er out to play? Those two mischievous boys, once they start playing, they lose track of time,” Su Zhi remarked, noticing that Sanlang and Silang were not in the courtyard.
“Yeah, Sanlang and Silang are not here!” Shen Zi’an affirmed.
Xiao Dalu scanned around but didn’t spot Sanlang and Silang. He couldn’t help but suspect that these two troublemakers might have been the ones who lured his sister out. His dislike for them flared up instantly.
“Sun Shi,” he exclaimed, “What business do those two boys have calling a girl out to play? Even if they did take her out, they should have taken her to find Chunlan and the others, right? Ping’er’s temperament shows she’s not the type to play with my the brothers. If she wanted to find Chunlan and the others, she would have found them by now. If she wanted to come back, she would have come back! This has nothing to do with my sons!”
Shen Zi’an intervened calmly, “Enough, let’s not argue. Let’s go and search for her.”
Shen Ziping nodded immediately, “Yes, let’s search for her.”
With that, he took Sun Shi’s hand and hurried outside to search for Xiao Ping’er.
“Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, wait for us!”
Su Zhi called out to the two, realizing she couldn’t let them go searching for Xiao Ping’er so openly. If they caused a commotion, Xiao Ping’er’s reputation would suffer. But her call came too late; the two had already left.
The Xiao couple observed Shen Ziju, who had remained silent the whole time. Though his face showed little expression, they could sense his worry. Both wondered if their prospective son-in-law was also displeased with their daughter’s behavior. They were anxious; their daughter was already somewhat mismatched with him, and now with this incident, would he think even less of her? They both realized slowly, a bit slower than Su Zhi, that if they went searching for Xiao Ping’er like this, the entire village would soon know that the future Mrs. Shen/Madam Shen had gone missing for two hours.
It seemed like Shen Youfu and Shen Zhang Shi were pleased with how things were unfolding. Everyone was starting to think negatively about Xiao Ping’er, but they also knew this was just the beginning. The real drama was yet to come, and after it passed, they could withdraw the engagement with solid and undeniable reasons.
In the end, besides Shen Youfu and Shen Zhang Shi, only Xiao’s parents and Shen Zhu and Shen Ziju remained. Everyone else had gone out to search for Xiao Ping’er.
Riverside Village wasn’t small, but news spread quickly. In just half an hour, everyone in the village knew that Shen Ziju’s future bride, Xiao Ping’er, couldn’t be found. It was a major event, and those who knew joined in the search together. Most were curious to see what had happened and where Xiao Ping’er had gone.
After searching for more than an hour, they still hadn’t found her.
Now everyone was growing anxious, wondering if she was truly lost.
Aunt Xiao finally cried out in anxiety, and Uncle Xiao could no longer care about anything else but to find his daughter back as soon as possible. Shen Zi’an finally helped arrange some people and then searched around the village.
It’s a tense situation in Riverside Village, with nearly half the villagers mobilized in a state of worry. Some are concerned about the proximity to the nearby Daqing Mountain, fearing the presence of wolves, reasoning that if there are sacred beasts, wolves could also roam. However, they also consider that while wolves might bite, it’s unlikely they’d take someone deep into the mountains. Therefore, search efforts focus on thickets, ditches, and heavily wooded areas, hoping to find Xiao Ping’er there.
As the sun begins to set in the west, Xiao Ping’er is finally discovered.
But along with finding Xiao Ping’er, they also find Song Dashan, and the place they’re in is not a good one.
It’s a grove not far from the village cemetery, where a pit has been dug. Xiao Ping’er and Song Dashan have fallen into this pit.
“Seeing the two of them, both were unconscious.
It was only because Song Dashan hadn’t lost consciousness yet that they found them. He heard a sound and called out a few times. But the voice was too weak and he fainted after a few calls. Fortunately, it was enough to alert someone.
“Oh my, they’ve been bitten by a snake!”
Someone leaned over the edge of the pit and saw the situation inside. They also noticed a dead snake beside the two, black with yellow spots—a venomous snake at first glance.”