The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 310 An Autumn Adventure

Tong Huaqiong said, "Since Man'er said there was crying coming from that pine forest, let's go and see what's going on."

Tong Huaqiong called for a halt, got off the carriage, and casually grabbed a stick and held it in her hand.

“Mother, I’ll go with you,” Gu Taohua and Chen Sufeng said in unison.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Taohua can come with me. Sufen, you and Yue'e keep an eye on the injured young man."

Qin Qingyou wanted to go with them, but Tong Huaqiong told him to stay where he was.

She was afraid that if Qin Qingyou left, the horse would be startled and Chen Sufeng, Man'er, and the others would get hurt.

Tong Huaqiong instructed Qin Qingyou that if she and Taohua encountered danger, he should not linger, but instead drive the carriage to take Chen Sufeng, Man'er, and the others away first.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua walked towards the pine forest under the moonlight.

The mother and daughter were not without concern for the dangers in the pine forest, but they still went anyway. This was not because they were reckless, but because they knew that if there were any risks, only the two of them could avoid them.

Because they can hide in a space to avoid danger at any time.

The whistling wind passed by her ears, and Tong Huaqiong felt a slight chill.

"Grandma, there really is crying."

A soft, childlike voice startled Tong Huaqiong; Man'er had somehow followed behind her.

"Why are you here?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

“I was afraid you and your aunt wouldn’t be able to find where the crying was coming from, so I sneaked over here,” Man’er said.

“The crying is ahead,” Man’er pointed ahead.

Tong Huaqiong listened intently and indeed heard a faint sobbing sound in the wind.

Like a cat, like a child.

Tong Huaqiong held Man'er's hand, while Gu Taohua followed behind, holding a stick and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

The further they walked, the clearer the crying became.

Tong Huaqiong stood in the dense forest, but couldn't find the source of the crying.

Suddenly, Man'er let go of Tong Huaqiong's hand and disappeared into a patch of grass to Tong Huaqiong's left front, with Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua following closely behind.

Man'er parted the grass and discovered a stone cave inside.

“The crying is over here,” Man’er said. “She was crying just now, why has she stopped now?”

Before Tong Huaqiong could even speak, Man'er had already peered into the cave from the entrance.

Under the clear moonlight, Man'er met a pair of bright, wet eyes.

"who are you?"

Were you crying just now?

"Come out now."

Man'er started calling out into the cave.

He shouted as he reached out to pull her.

Soon, Man'er grabbed a pair of small hands, pulled hard, and pulled out a child.

A child was pulled out of the tree hole.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua were startled.

"Were you crying just now?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

The child nodded.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "Is there anyone still inside?"

The child shook his head.

Well, I saved two people in one night.

It was practically an autumn adventure.

"Peach blossoms. Delicious pastries." The child was excited when he saw Gu Taohua.

He had seen this woman beat people up in the alley, and the pastries she sold were even better than those in Shengjing.

This woman has a bad temper, but she's a good person.

"Do you know Tao Hua?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

The child nodded and then shook his head.

Gu Taohua frowned; she was completely unfamiliar with this child.

“It’s not surprising that he knows me. Children from all around Yanguan Town come to Taohua Dessert Shop to buy pastries whenever they go to the market with their parents,” Gu Taohua said.

Gu Taohua is right.

However, the child's accent was clearly not that of a local.

It's also possible that the child came here with his parents to visit relatives or do business.

Tong Huaqiong asked the child, "Where are you from?"

The child remained silent. Tong Huaqiong asked again, "Where are your parents? Who put you in the hole?"

The child shook his head.

Gu Taohua asked, "Could it be that you were kidnapped by a kidnapper?"

No matter how I asked, the child wouldn't say a word.

Tong Huaqiong could only sigh, then led Man'er and the child toward the carriage.

The child suddenly stopped halfway and refused to go any further.

"My feet hurt, I can't walk."

Gu Taohua, cursing and swearing, had no choice but to carry the child on her shoulders.

"Man'er, where did you run off to? You scared me to death!" Chen Sufeng was so frightened when she realized Man'er was gone that tears were about to well up in her eyes.

Qin Qingyou accompanied Chen Sufeng to find Man'er. Chen Sufeng was relieved to see that Man'er was in Tong Huaqiong's hands.

“Man’er is right, there really was someone crying in the woods.” Tong Huaqiong pointed to the child on Gu Taohua’s back and said, “We found a child.”

When Chen Su-fen, the mother, saw her child's muddy little face under the moonlight, her heart softened.

Who would abandon a child in the mountains in the middle of the night?

That's incredibly malicious.

Tong Huaqiong climbed into the carriage and took the child from Gu Taohua's arms.

Looking at the injured young man lying in the carriage and the child in her arms, Tong Huaqiong felt a pang of heartache.

This could turn out to be a real problem!

"Mother, why did you bring a child up here?" Liu Yue'e asked.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I don't know whose child he was, but I saw him crying pitifully, so I brought him here."

The child clung tightly to Man'er, staring at the pastries Yaozu held in his hand in the lamplight, swallowing hard.

"Here are some pork floss cakes, have some." Man'er opened the food box, took out the pork floss cakes, and handed them to the child.

The child took it and wolfed it down into his mouth.

"Wait, there's more."

As Chen Sufeng spoke, she gave the child water to drink, and then took a handkerchief, dipped it in water, and wiped the child's face clean.

A small face with red lips and white teeth appeared under the lantern.

“It’s a girl,” Yaozu said.

“You’re the girl.” The child’s face turned bright red.

The child's voice drew everyone's attention.

It turns out that such a beautiful child is actually a boy.

By the light of the lantern, Tong Huaqiong carefully examined the little boy. His skin was delicate, his hair was black and shiny, and although his clothes were torn, they were made of silk with shimmering gold threads.

He looks like a child carefully raised by a wealthy family.

In this day and age, some people may abandon their daughters, but absolutely no one will abandon their sons.

Tong Huaqiong guessed that the boy's parents had probably met with some misfortune.

To protect him, they stuffed him into a cave in the grass.

Just like how Hong's parents protected Hong back then.

No wonder he didn't answer when I asked him where his parents were.

“Mother, the person on the ground just woke up, groaned a couple of times, and then passed out again,” Liu Yue’e said, pointing to the person on the blanket.

Tong Huaqiong had a sudden inspiration. The fabric of the boy's clothes was very similar to that of the young man on the ground. Could they be together?

The older brother was the elder brother, and the younger brother was the younger brother. When they encountered enemies, the elder brother hid his younger brother in a cave to avoid them, while he himself lured away the enemies and was slashed and shot.

Tong Huaqiong asked the boy in a gentle manner, "Do you know any people on the ground?"

The child saw the person on the ground as soon as they came in.

He was having an internal struggle.

My uncle said that he should say he doesn't know anyone if anyone asks him.

But this family wasn't bad people; they gave him pastries and water, and even bandaged his wounds.

My uncle suffered a head injury and a leg injury.

It was all to cover for him.

A misty cloud covered the boy's eyes, and his lips were pressed tightly together.

"Is he your brother?" Tong Huaqiong asked with certainty.

The boy's expression betrayed him; it meant they were brothers.

"He's my cousin."