"Let’s go."

Duo’er was so frightened just now that she sat on the ground. Man’er helped her up, ready to leave.

The four children reached the door and found it locked.

Xiao Long went back to search for the key on the fat kidnapper. He had seen clearly when the fat kidnapper locked the door.

Before finding the key, the door was crashed open from the outside.

"Grandma."

"Mom."

"Boo hoo hoo..."

Tong Huaqiong and the others arrived at the kidnappers’ hideout and heard wailing inside. Tong Huaqiong’s heart pounded with fear that Man’er and the other children had suffered.

Now seeing the four children standing safely at the door, she rushed to embrace them.

Man’er, Duo’er, and Yaozu saw Tong Huaqiong, and, as if surviving a disaster, threw themselves into her arms, crying uncontrollably.

"My son," Liu Yueer held Gu Yaozu and sat on the ground, weeping.

Xiao Long remained calm, pursed his lips, and smiled at Su Chengmin.

Tong Huaqiong sighed inwardly. No wonder he was such a formidable person who ascended the throne in his previous life. He was so steady even at a young age.

"Let’s go inside and rescue the others first," the government officer said, relieved to see the four children unharmed.

These were children from a noble family. If anything happened, County Magistrate Liu would be in trouble.

Hearing the wailing inside, the official thought other children had been abducted. They had heard of the kidnappers’ cruelty.

"There are no others inside," Xiao Long said.

The rushing officers stopped in surprise.

"The howling is from the kidnappers," Xiao Long continued.

"They..." Lu Zhaoyang looked puzzled.

Man’er stopped sobbing, looked up, and said, "We sprayed their eyes with pepper spray..."

Everyone opened their eyes wide, sizing up the four children.

They couldn’t believe these four kids managed to subdue the two kidnappers.

The two howling inside, one fat and one thin, were the kidnappers mentioned by Aunt Luo.

These four kids were impressive, even making the kidnappers suffer such a loss.

Those who followed along, like Tong Huaqiong, looked at the four children with newfound respect.

Lu Zhaoyang and Gu Jingzhe led the officers inside, pinning the two kidnappers to the ground.

"Officer, officer, please give us some water," the kidnappers pleaded, unaware of what had been sprayed on their faces, burning them painfully.

They nearly knelt before the officers.

Would their eyes be ruined permanently?

Thinking of this, the kidnappers painfully considered banging their heads against the wall.

The government officers ignored their pleas, directly tying them up and dragging them outside.

Outside, the kidnappers fiercely broke free from the officers, thrusting their heads into the snow, astonishing everyone.

Tong Huaqiong understood, realizing it was thanks to the pepper spray.

This pepper spray could only have come from Man’er. This granddaughter was truly brave and clever, deserving of her reputation as a formidable person in her previous life who rose from an orphaned farm girl to a noblewoman, defeating Gu Jingzhe.

Xiao Long and Man’er, as the protagonists of their past life, still carried their prominent auras in Tong Huaqiong’s world.

"Where’s my grandson, where’s my grandson?"

Aunt Luo, hair disheveled, rushed in but only saw the four children, not Chun Wang, and intended to beat the two kidnappers.

The kidnappers, seeing Aunt Luo with her bloodshot eyes, cursed her. If not for Aunt Luo pointing them out, how could they have gotten involved with these troublesome four?

"That cursed woman..."

Aunt Luo, fearing they would reveal the truth in front of Tong Huaqiong and the officers, picked up a stick and knocked the two out.

The act of child trafficking was too heinous, so the officers did not stop Aunt Luo.

Aunt Luo knocked the kidnappers out, rushed inside, and saw Chun Wang tied and unconscious on the ground, crying loudly as she sat on the ground.

At the same time, she was frustrated that the kidnappers were incompetent; she had handed the Gu family’s little ones to them on a platter, but they couldn’t succeed.

"This person is an accomplice," Xiao Long pointed to Mrs. Jiang in the courtyard.

Man’er, Yaozu, and Duo’er all nodded in unison to support Xiao Long.

The officers initially thought Mrs. Jiang on the ground was also kidnapped by the two, but didn’t expect her to be an accomplice and tied her up as well.

With the three kidnappers caught, they could now claim a reward.

In previous years in Ning City, children went missing in various counties during the Lantern Festival, and the kidnappers were never caught.

This time, capturing them in Yan Guan Town would allow for a thorough investigation, potentially uncovering larger criminals behind the scenes.

...

Sitting in the carriage returning to Qinghe Bay.

Tong Huaqiong remained fearful.

The successful resolution of this child abduction was largely due to the powerful auras of Xiao Long and Man’er as protagonists of their past life.

Fortunately, Duo’er and Yaozu were not mere side characters in their world; otherwise, Tong Huaqiong couldn’t face Tong Pandi and the second branch couple.

Tong Huaqiong wondered if only by being sincere to Man’er and Xiao Long would their protagonist halos benefit others around them.

Like today, all the antagonists faced misfortune, and everyone on the protagonists’ side was saved.

"Aunt Tong, it was my fault for not watching the children properly this time," Su Chengmin said guiltily to Tong Huaqiong in the carriage.

He shouldn’t have been distracted, shouldn’t have been dazzled by Gu Taohua’s smile.

Liu Yueer held Yaozu, venting her dissatisfaction with Su Chengmin after the fear subsided.

"Lai Fu, I thought you were reliable, so I entrusted the children to you. Didn’t we agree that you’d primarily watch the kids this time? How could you make such a big mistake?"

"Luckily nothing happened. If something had, could you compensate? Not just my Yaozu; if Man’er got lost and my sister-in-law had a miscarriage, what would we do? And Duo’er, the Wu family is already unhappy with the divorce, and losing the child would give them a handle."

Liu Yueer spoke the truth.

The incident with the children causing such a commotion likely had news reaching Qinghe Bay already. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Tong Huaqiong worried about Chen Sufen and Tong Pandi’s concerns, so after the children were found, she sent the swift-footed Nie Xiaofeng to Qinghe Bay to relay the news.

Su Chengmin was too ashamed to retort after Liu Yueer’s scolding.

Xiao Long leaned in his arms, and he held Xiao Long, filled with regret.

"Enough, though Lai Fu was negligent, it wasn’t intentional. The kidnappers were really cunning. Due to Lai Fu’s negligence this time, deduct three months’ salary, but don’t let it happen again," Tong Huaqiong said.

Su Chengmin accepted this punishment.

"I find it peculiar. Out of all the children, why only abduct our four and Chun Wang?" Tong Huaqiong was quite puzzled.

Su Chengmin tightly clenched his fingers, tense all over.

He feared this wasn’t just a simple abduction case.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at Su Chengmin and said, "I suspect someone pointed out our four children to the kidnappers. If they had a specific purpose, there’d be no need to send a ransom note to the Nie Family."

But all this was just Tong Huaqiong’s speculation; the specifics would depend on the follow-up investigation.