Lian Yeye chatted with Lian Manman for a while longer, and seeing that it was almost mealtime, stood up to say goodbye and head home. Just as Lian Yeye got up, someone came in to report that Lady Chiang had arrived.

"Did she say what it was about?" Lady Zhang asked.

"...She seemed anxious, was drenched in sweat, her face had changed color, she said Lian Duoduo is missing..."

"What, Lian Duoduo is missing?" Lady Zhang was taken aback.

Lian Yeye, who was about to leave, also paused and stood still.

"Is she dead or what?" Lian Yeye asked.

"She’s missing."

Having just finished with Old Master Lian’s funeral and the family separation, thinking things would calm down, now Lian Duoduo is missing!

Lian Yeye decided not to leave and sat back down next to Lian Manman.

"Bring her in, I’ll ask her properly." Lady Zhang frowned and instructed.

Soon, Lady Chiang was brought in. Just as the person reported, Lady Chiang looked panicked. As she entered, she knelt in front of Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang.

"What are you doing, get up and speak," Lady Zhang quickly had someone help Lady Chiang up. Supported by others, her legs were weak, and only when she was seated did she start crying.

"Stop crying and speak clearly. What happened?" Lady Zhang asked.

Lady Chiang wiped her tears and explained what happened to Lady Zhang. It turned out that at mealtime, Lian Duoduo was not at the table. They searched everywhere inside and out, but couldn’t find her. Lady Chiang raised the alarm, and the family members searched again thoroughly, but still no sign of Lian Duoduo. Then, Lady Chiang remembered that she hadn’t seen Lian Duoduo for the entire afternoon. After verifying among the family, they had to conclude that Lian Duoduo had disappeared.

"When was the last time Lian Duoduo was seen, and who saw her?" Lian Manman asked Lady Chiang.

Lady Chiang hesitated for a long time but couldn’t say clearly.

"...In the morning during the funeral, Niuniu stayed home with her. We were busy with the feast and entertaining guests. I vaguely thought I saw her nearby. Later, when tidying up, it got chaotic, and the elders called everyone together, then Second Uncle started an argument..."

In summary, the day was overwhelmingly busy, everyone was stressed, and preoccupied. Lady Chiang couldn’t even be sure when exactly Lian Duoduo went missing. As for others in the old family residence, Lady Chiang said she had asked them all, and no one was clearer than her. At least Lady Chiang could confirm that Lian Duoduo was present during Old Master Lian’s funeral in the morning.

At the old family residence, for a long time, Lian Duoduo was nearly a transparent person. Sometimes she wouldn’t say a few words all day. People intentionally or unintentionally ignored her. Adding to the crowd and mess at Old Master Lian’s funeral, it was indeed easy for a transparent person like Lian Duoduo to go missing unnoticed.

Upon hearing Lian Duoduo was missing, Lian Manman thought of running away rather than kidnapping first.

Because Lian Duoduo had a history of running away, everyone else shared the same thought with Lian Manman. Compared to last time, now that Lian Duoduo was two years older, it was even more worrying for her to run away at this age.

Lady Chiang was so anxious and knelt immediately at the door because she realized the severity of the situation. In the old family residence, she was responsible for watching over Lian Duoduo, and since Lian Duoduo ran away again and she didn’t discover it in time, she bore a heavy responsibility.

"Has Duoduo had any contact with people outside lately, anyone she’s particularly close to?" Lian Manman asked Lady Chiang. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"No, no," Lady Chiang waved her hand quickly, "Just today, things were so busy, oversight happened. Usually, I keep an eye on her, and it’s just family; she doesn’t talk, and there are no outsiders."

The oversight today was due to the busyness, and besides that, because of things on their minds. With Old Master Lian gone, she wondered what would become of them.

"Are you sure?" Lian Manman pressed.

"I’m sure, absolutely sure," Lady Chiang hurriedly replied.

"So it’s likely she ran away again," Lian Manman concluded, then asked Lady Chiang, "Sister-in-law, do you know if there’s anywhere she could have gone to?"

"What place could she possibly have, nowhere," Lady Chiang replied.

"Has Duoduo been close to any relatives in town lately?" Wu Lang thought for a moment and asked.

"Not close, her aunt and the others also have things on their minds these days, I haven’t seen them talk," Lady Chiang thought carefully and answered.

"Maybe there are parts you didn’t see," Lian Shouxin added.

"That, well, maybe," Lady Chiang hesitated, in these busy days, she really couldn’t guarantee it.

"Duoduo perhaps didn’t contact outsiders, but didn’t she see Si Lang that day?" someone asked.

"This..." Lady Chiang didn’t dare to say anything more, ultimately, it was her oversight.

The Lian Manman family quickly discussed among themselves, realizing they couldn’t get any accurate clue from Lady Chiang. Lian Duoduo’s disappearance was definitely voluntary, maybe aided, maybe not. Right now, the only thing to do was to send someone to search.

It surely couldn’t rely on the two factions at the old family residence.

However, before searching...

"Did the elder say anything when you came here?" Lian Shouxin asked Lady Chiang.

"The elder... didn’t say much, just said, ’if she’s lost, she’s lost; better off lost.’" Lady Chiang answered truthfully, but quickly added, "That must be angry words. Father-in-law and Niuniu’s dad went out to search, but Second Uncle’s side, they wanted to ask for help too, yet Second Uncle had a headache, and Second Aunt said she twisted her ankle..."

As expected, Lady Zhou wouldn’t care, and Lian Shouyi’s faction wouldn’t help. With Lian Shouren and Lian Jizu apparently being of little use, it was Lady Chiang’s decision to come seek them out.

...

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