Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Chapter 71 Zou Niangzi's son has gone missing

Chen Jinhuan noticed that Du Rushuang looked somewhat lost after hearing her words, but it didn't seem like she was sad or happy. So she asked in confusion, "Shuang'er, why did you suddenly ask about Ning Zhanyan's family? Could that mysterious person be Ning Zhanyan's family member? What did that person say to you last night?"

"That mysterious man only told me that he wanted Ning Zhanyan's body to be handed over to his master. I'm not sure if the master the mysterious man mentioned is Ning Zhanyan's family. I was just guessing. Miss Jin'er, you're dressed in white today. Are you going to do something for Ning Zhanyan..." Du Rushuang casually made an excuse to change the subject, while glancing at Chen Jinhuan's clothes as she spoke.

"Sixth Brother was actually very good to me. He died because of me, so I should do something for him. Now I'm going to burn some more paper money for him. You and Shi Niang can chat. I'm tired!" Chen Jinhuan's eyes showed sadness. After speaking to Du Rushuang, she walked out from behind the screen.

Du Rushuang followed her out from behind the screen, gesturing with her eyes for Wu Song to leave with her. Although Wu Song didn't know what Du Rushuang and Chen Jinhuan had discussed, he guessed that Du Rushuang was testing Chen Jinhuan to see if she knew about the relationship between Ning Zhanyan and her. "Shuang'er, I'm a little hungry. How about you come with me to the north to ask Steward Liu for some good pastries?"

"Alright! Shuang'er is hungry too, let's go." Du Rushuang took Wu Song's arm and left the study. Du Shiniang and Lin Chong exchanged a glance, not bothering to ask what Du Rushuang and Chen Jinhuan had discussed in private. However, they both knew that Ning Zhanyan must be related to Du Rushuang's background, but since Du Rushuang was deliberately hiding it, they didn't want to ask any more questions.

"Shi Niang, do you think it was right or wrong for us to save Chen Jinhuan this time? And was Ning Zhanyan really tricked by us or did we fall into his trap?" Lin Chong suddenly asked, staring into Du Shiniang's eyes with a helpless tone.

“I don’t know either. I just feel that Ning Zhanyan seemed to know from the beginning that we would definitely do whatever it takes to take Chen Jinhuan away. He knew that he could no longer cover up his gambling den in Mingfu Cave by using prisoners to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football). So he went along with it and made us kill him, and then entrusted Chen Jinhuan to us.” Du Shiniang said with a frown, and then took Lin Chong’s arm.

“If we analyze it this way, then Ning Zhanyan must have schemed against us. But someone as smart as him, would he really die like that? I always felt he wasn’t that stupid. Even if he loved Chen Jinhuan, he wouldn’t die at the hands of his own woman.” Lin Chong gently squeezed Du Shiniang’s hand, his eyes dark as he stared at her face, his words tinged with regret.

"Perhaps this is what people often call 'even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman.' No matter how clever Ning Zhanyan is, he can't escape the allure of love. I wonder if Instructor Lin is smarter than Ning Zhanyan?" Du Shiniang spoke ambiguously, leaning close to Lin Chong's ear as she spoke. Lin Chong felt Du Shiniang's warm breath on his ear, and his heart pounded wildly. He immediately picked Du Shiniang up and placed her against the desk.

"Lin Chong can't escape the charms of Du Shiniang!" Lin Chong said through gritted teeth, then kissed Du Shiniang's red lips, not giving her a chance to refuse. As if to vent his jealousy of Zhou Chengquan earlier, Lin Chong kissed her deeply and fiercely. Du Shiniang responded by grabbing Lin Chong's clothes tightly.

Just as Lin Chong and Du Shiniang were breathing heavily and whispering sweet nothings, they suddenly heard a maid shouting outside the study: "Du Shiniang, Instructor Lin, something terrible has happened! Madam Zou's son has gone missing. I heard that he was kidnapped by villains while he was telling stories with Mr. Yang at Hongyanfang. Please, both of you, help Madam Zou! Madam Zou has also sent a letter to Lord Gao Yanei, asking him to help find her son."

Lin Chong quickly released Du Shiniang. Du Shiniang straightened her clothes and tied up her disheveled hair. Lin Chong gently patted his face, took a deep breath to suppress his desire, and then went with Du Shiniang to Zou Xiaoyan's room.

At this moment, Zou Xiaoyan was already in tears. When she saw Du Shiniang and Lin Chong arrive, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed Du Shiniang's hand, saying anxiously, "Shiniang, my Cheng'er is missing. Do you think it could be that Xiao Minghao sent someone to kidnap him? If it really is that heartless man, you must help me find my son."

"Don't worry, Madam Zou! I, Du Shiniang, will definitely stand up for you. Besides, isn't there Lord Gao Yanei? He's probably already received your letter for help, and he'll definitely have the city patrol help you find Cheng'er." Du Shiniang gently patted Zou Xiaoyan's slender hand to comfort her.

At this moment, a servant ran up and handed Lin Chong a note. Lin Chong opened the note with a surprised look, and saw several lines of large characters written on it, the ink still wet:

"Wanting to see Cheng'er, I came alone to the octagonal pavilion in Hongyanfang."

Lin Chong quickly handed the note to Zou Xiaoyan to see. How could Zou Xiaoyan not recognize that it was Xiao Minghao's handwriting? She bit her lip and said loudly to Du Shiniang and Lin Chong, "It really was that heartless man Xiao Minghao who kidnapped Cheng'er and threatened me to meet him alone."

“Madam Zou, since we know it’s your ex-husband who wants to meet you, I’m afraid he has ill intentions. Why don’t I secretly go with you? This octagonal pavilion has just been repaired, and I can secretly hide there to protect you. I think no one will notice anything unusual.” Lin Chong said to Zou Xiaoyan with a frown, and then glanced at Du Shiniang, wanting to ask for her opinion.

Unexpectedly, both Du Shiniang and Zou Xiaoyan waved their hands slightly to Lin Chong, indicating that he didn't need to secretly follow them. Lin Chong was puzzled, so he asked Zou Xiaoyan in confusion, "Madam Zou, aren't you afraid that Xiao Minghao will take the opportunity to force you to rekindle your old relationship with him? After all, the guards of Zixiang Pavilion have reported to me many times that Xiao has tried to force his way into the pavilion and has even bribed a guard to find out about your whereabouts."

“Of course I know that Xiao Minghao still has feelings for me. After all, we’ve been husband and wife for so many years. I believe that no matter what, he wouldn’t do anything out of line to Cheng’er or me. Maybe he’s just jealous because Lord Gao has been getting along well with me lately and wanted to give me a warning. I’m not afraid! I can handle it all by myself,” Zou Xiaoyan said confidently to Lin Chong and Du Shiniang.

Seeing Zou Xiaoyan's calm and composed demeanor, Du Shiniang felt it inappropriate for her to interfere in the complex love-hate relationship between Zou Xiaoyan and Xiao Minghao, and decided to let Zou Xiaoyan handle it herself for now. However, she still gave Zou Xiaoyan a word of advice: "That Xiao fellow is cunning and treacherous, so you must be careful in everything you do. Fortunately, Hongyanfang is a business I run, and only a few people usually know about this, which is why Xiao Minghao invited you there to talk. I will have the manager of Hongyanfang secretly set up an ambush outside the octagonal pavilion to prevent that Xiao fellow from forcibly abducting you."

"Thank you, Shi Niang!" Zou Xiaoyan bowed to Du Shiniang and then hurriedly left. Du Shiniang watched Zou Xiaoyan's departing figure and sighed deeply. Then she said to Lin Chong, "Brother Lin, this Zou Niangzi is really unfortunate. She actually met a heartless man like Xiao Minghao. I hope that man won't make things difficult for her."

Lin Chong quickly grabbed Du Shiniang's hand and said, "Don't worry, Shiniang! Lin Chong will never let you down. No matter what difficulties we encounter in the future, we will stay together."

Du Shiniang withdrew her hand, giving Lin Chong a doubtful look, before turning to find Xu Gui and instructing him to arrange things at Hongyanfang. Seeing this, Lin Chong felt a pang of helplessness and bitterness. He knew Du Shiniang didn't fully trust him yet; after all, he had always been an indecisive person, and changing others' perceptions of him would take time.

When Zou Xiaoyan arrived at the octagonal pavilion in Hongyanfang, she found two figures inside, one tall and one short. The taller one was Xiao Minghao, and the shorter one was their son, Xiao Cheng. The father and son were playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) inside the pavilion, and the Cuju ball was the very one Zou Xiaoyan had personally made for Xiao Cheng.

Seeing the heartwarming scene of the father and son playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) together in the distance, Zou Xiaoyan suddenly felt lost in thought, and a wave of sadness washed over her. If Xiao Minghao hadn't gone to the capital to take the imperial examination and become the top scholar, how wonderful it would have been! The three of them would still be living a sweet and ordinary life in the countryside, with a loving husband and wife, and a kind father and filial son. Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on them!

Zou Xiaoyan suppressed her inner turmoil and quickened her pace to the octagonal pavilion. Just then, a football was kicked into her arms. She covered her chest with one hand, caught the ball with the other, and tossed it to Cheng'er, saying, "Cheng'er, why didn't you tell Uncle Yang Bingnan that you left with Father today? You scared your mother to death!"

When Xiao Cheng saw that it was his mother, he rushed to Zou Xiaoyan's knees and said in his sweet, clear voice, "Mother, Father insisted on taking Cheng'er away today. Cheng'er knows he wronged you before! But today Father told me that he didn't abandon me and Mother. He wants to take us to live somewhere else. He also promised that he would treat Cheng'er and Mother well in the future, buy us lots of beautiful clothes, play Cuju (an ancient Chinese football game) with Cheng'er, and teach Cheng'er to read. Please forgive Father, okay?"

Seeing her son getting more and more agitated as he spoke, Zou Xiaoyan quickly knelt down, picked him up, and took out a silk handkerchief to wipe away his tears while gently coaxing him, "Cheng'er, be good. What your mother and father have to do is an adult matter. You're just a child and won't understand. Why don't you go to the main hall and find Uncle Yang? He bought you some candied hawthorns."

"Candied hawthorn? I want to eat it, I want to eat it!" Xiao Cheng was obviously attracted by the candied hawthorn. He also wanted his mother and father to have a good talk, so he struggled to get out of Zou Xiaoyan's arms and ran to Xiao Minghao. He whispered to him, "Father, you should coax Mother in a little while. She will definitely forgive you."

Xiao Minghao looked at his son with loving eyes, gently touched Xiao Cheng's head, and said to him softly, "Cheng'er, don't worry! Your father is a handsome and dashing top scholar, your mother will definitely agree to come home with me. Go and play with Uncle Yang first."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cheng glanced at Xiao Minghao, then at Zou Xiaoyan, before firmly pulling his parents' hands together. Before leaving, he reminded them, "Father, Mother, you must have a good talk. Cheng'er wants you two to be together again!"