The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 144 There's Movement in the Villa

"That's as if I sold her out." Shang Wan pouted. "She paid for the ride, I gave her a ride into the city, and we parted ways at the city gate. How would I know where she went?"

Old Mrs. Wei said anxiously, "Why didn't you bring her back?"

Shang Wan was speechless. "I'm not her mother."

Before Old Lady Wei could say anything more, Shang Wan said, "Get out of the way. I have a bad temper, and I'll bump into anyone who gets in my way."

Remembering her near-accident with the oxcart, Liu hurriedly helped Old Lady Wei back away. Old Lady Wei watched resentfully as Shang Wan drove the oxcart away.

She turned her head and scolded Liu, "I told you to keep her locked up, but you insisted on letting her out. Now look what's happened, she's disappeared, let's see where you're going to look for her."

Liu said awkwardly, "I didn't expect Yuzhi to come to the city. I was just worried that she would spoil the child."

She patted Old Lady Wei's back and said, "Mother, don't worry, I'll have the eldest son go to the city tomorrow to bring Yuzhi back."

"No rush, no rush, how can I not rush?"

Old Mrs. Wei wished she could bring Liu Yuzhi back right now. Things were almost done, but if something went wrong, everything would be for nothing.

"She's got legs and can run away. Where are you going to ask Jianshan to look for her tomorrow?"

Liu said, "But it's too late to go into the city now."

Grandma Wei was even angrier, "Now you know it's too late, what were you doing before?"

Liu muttered, "There's so much work to do at home. We can't just leave the work unfinished and go to the city to find someone, can we? Going to the city will cost money."

"Money, money, money! If things are done, how could you be left out?" Old Mrs. Wei pinched Liu's arm twice in anger. Why was she only concerned with what was in front of her?
Liu rubbed her arm, which had been pinched so hard. Seeing her mother was angry, she could only continue to persuade her, "Yuzhi is timid and doesn't have much money on her. She won't run away."

"Besides, Yuzhi is a filial child and would never disappoint you, her grandmother. She might even come back on her own tomorrow."

These words somewhat appeased Old Mrs. Wei, who snorted, "I'll go into town to look for her first thing tomorrow morning. That troublesome little brat, as her grandmother, I only wish her well, would I ever harm her?"

"Yes, yes, Mother, you're doing this all for Yuzhi's sake." Liu Shi followed Wei Laotai's words and helped her walk home.

On the other side, Shang Wan, who was driving an oxcart home, listened intently but was completely confused.

It's related to money. Could it be that the Lin family is planning to sell Liu Yuzhi?
But Liu Yuzhi isn't the Lin family's daughter, so even if she were to be sold, it wouldn't be the Lin family's place to sell her, right?

Shang Wan found it strange, and after returning home, she told Lu Chengjing about it.

However, with so little information, Lu Chengjing couldn't figure it out.

"It has nothing to do with our family anyway, let's just wait and see." Shang Wan put the matter out of her mind and handed the letter and bundle that Qiao Yu'an had given her to Lu Chengjing.

Lu Chengjing opened the bundle and found account books inside. He put the bundle aside, opened the envelope, took out the letter, and unfolded it. A piece of paper fell out with it.

Shang Wan picked up the piece of paper and saw a drawing of a thin, tall man wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt. The man's face looked somewhat familiar.

Lu Chengjing ignored the contents of the note for the time being. After quickly reading the letter, he read it aloud to Shang Wan in a low voice.

The letter only mentioned one thing: there was some activity at the villa that Lu Chengjing had asked Qiao Yu'an to keep an eye on.

Last night, the villa sent someone to escort the two children away; the person responsible for escorting them was the one drawn on the piece of paper.

"Take a look." Shang Wan handed the piece of paper to Lu Chengjing. "It feels like I've seen it somewhere before."

Lu Chengjing took it and examined it carefully, recognizing the person in the painting by looking at their eyebrows and eyes.

He said with certainty, "It's Gao Qi."

"Gao Qi?" Shang Wan stared at the person on the piece of paper. How did this person resemble Gao Qi at all?
The person on the paper had a sunken face, making his cheekbones appear even higher. His eyes were sinister, and he exuded a gloomy aura. He was completely different from the Gao Qi that Shang Wan knew.

Moreover, the person on the paper has a beard.

As everyone knows, it's impossible for a father-in-law to grow a beard.

So Shang Wan didn't even consider Gao Qi. "This beard must have been pasted on." Lu Chenjing raised his hand to cover the lower half of the face in the painting, then picked up his brush and drew two strokes around the eyebrows and eyes, gesturing for Shang Wan to look closely.

This time, Shang Wan finally matched the painting with Gao Qi himself.

It's no wonder she's not good at it; people who are used to seeing sketches and life drawings find it hard to equate the two when they suddenly see figures in ink wash paintings.

Shang Wan frowned and asked, "Gao Qi has been staying in the villa the whole time, so why haven't the authorities found him?"

“The government’s wanted poster was drawn based on Gao Qi’s previous appearance.” Lu Chengjing stared at the person on the paper. “Now that Gao Qi looks like this, even if he himself appeared in front of the officials, they might not be able to recognize him.”

Shang Wan nodded, vaguely sensing that something was amiss.

A major upheaval can indeed change a person, but a person is merely changed, not replaced. You can always see some trace of the original person in them. Gao Qi, however, is completely different.

Judging from the drawing on the paper alone, whether it's the image, temperament, or eyes, it's completely unrelated to Gao Qi; it's as if he were a completely different person.

If this person is really Gao Qi, Shang Wan even suspects that the previous Gao Qi was a deliberate disguise to deceive people.

She raised her hand and pinched the space between her eyebrows, realizing she had overlooked something.

Lu Chengjing poured a cup of herbal tea and pushed it to her side, saying gently, "Whether this person is Gao Qi or not is not important; what matters is their purpose."

Qiao Yu'an's men have already followed him; let's see where he goes.

"Troublesome." Shang Wan sighed softly, picked up the herbal tea and took two sips.

"Thank you for your hard work, my lady." Lu Chengjing smiled slightly. "There's already some activity at the villa. Once Lu Chengyuan arrives in the capital, this matter will be resolved quickly."

Shang Wan reached out and touched the corner of his lips, "Smile again."

Lu Chengjing did as he was told, raising the corners of his lips, his eyes rippling with a smile.

"It looks good." Shang Wan leaned over and kissed the corner of his lips. "I'm going to check the fields. You take care of the accounts."

Lu Chengjing gave a soft "hmm".

Shang Wan drank the herbal tea in her cup in one gulp, then got up and left.

"Hey!" Chu Xu saw Shang Wan walk past and reached out to grab the hem of her skirt. "Can't you do something about her?"

The "she" here naturally refers to Yuanyuan.

Shang Wan glanced at the two children on the cushion and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yuanyuan obediently placed her little hands in front of her, while Chu Xu pointed at Yuanyuan and angrily complained, "She let the turtle crawl all over me."

Shang Wan asked, "Did you touch any wounds?"

Chu Xu: "No, but I don't like it."

Shang Wan: "Did you tell Yuanyuan that you don't like it anymore?"

Chu Xu pouted, "I told her, but she wouldn't listen."

Shang Wan squatted down and patted his head. "You can reason with her. You're six years old, how can you not argue with a one-year-old toddler?"

Chu Xu glanced at the little girl playing with the turtle next to him, "But she can't speak human language."

Shang Wan patted him, "That's called not speaking fluently, having too little vocabulary. She's only one year old, so be patient with her."

"But……"

"No buts." Shang Wan didn't want to be a kindergarten teacher, so she said, "Don't be a spoiled child and complain to adults about everything. Handle things yourself."

"I'm not a spoiled brat." Chu Xu blushed and snorted. "If you want to say it, then say it yourself. I'll convince her."