“She was brought to the village as a child bride over twenty years ago.”

“When she was in her teens, they married her to the eldest son. But shortly after the wedding, her husband died in a mountain accident. The family, not wanting to waste their purchased bride and needing someone to continue the family line, tried to marry her to the younger brother.”

“She seemed so docile, but she deceived the whole family, fled into the mountains, and was never found again.”

“Must have been eaten by wild beasts…”

“Or fallen off a cliff somewhere.”

The villagers explained to Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan felt her heart tighten. “Why couldn’t she have escaped successfully!”

If she had escaped successfully, of course, she wouldn’t return.

The people around immediately fell silent – Xia Xiaolan seemed truly intimidating, on the verge of exploding.

Only Zhou Cheng could calm her.

“Let’s meet that family first.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded.

The family originally had two sons. After the elder son died, they wanted to marry the child bride to the younger son to continue the family line, but she ran away. Now, twenty years later, the younger son remained unmarried.

Mentioning the runaway bride naturally stirred up their anger.

Seeing people inquiring about the child bride, the old woman’s cloudy eyes scanned Xia Xiaolan repeatedly, actually asking if she was related to their “daughter-in-law” and demanding compensation for the money they spent buying her – truly vicious people from harsh lands. While Xia Xiaolan often drove others to near explosions with anger, now the tables had turned, and she felt like exploding herself!

“Let me handle the questions!”

Zhou Cheng squeezed her hand, and Xia Xiaolan took several deep breaths: “Alright, you ask!”

The villains thought young women were easy to bully.

When Zhou Cheng took over, not hiding the intimidating aura cultivated over the years, the villains shrank back.

Their child bride indeed had two dimples!

They bought her believing she would bring prosperity to the family.

“…Who knew she’d be such a curse, didn’t even lay an egg before getting her husband killed!”

Oh, please – looking at your family, you’re the cursed ones!

“Trafficking women and children is a crime, and so is buying them, you legal illiterates!”

Unlike other cases where trafficked women protected their buyers, this family openly admitted it, and Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t let them off. Zhou Cheng urged her not to be too hasty, “Let the police arrest them after we leave.”

Zhou Cheng feared these people might unite in resistance. He wasn’t afraid for himself but worried about hurting Xiaolan in any conflict.

The age-matched, the physical features matched – there was an eighty percent chance the escaped bride was Aunt Tang.

But in this vast world, where had Aunt Tang gone?

Had she died in the mountains?

That fate would be too cruel for both Aunt Tang and Old Tang.

“If she’s still alive and escaped twenty years ago, why hasn’t she searched for her family?”

Xia Xiaolan muttered.

“Because she couldn’t find them.”

Zhou Cheng had his theory.

“Have you considered why a seven-year-old child, after being sold to traffickers, was transferred five times before finally being sold as a child bride in Dian Province? Why go through the trouble of selling her five times? She must not have been the docile, easily bullied type that traffickers preferred. With such children, traffickers would keep transferring them, beating and intimidating them until they no longer dared mention ‘going home’ or trying to escape!”

So after being trafficked to Dian Province, could Tang Youru still remember details about her family?

Children’s memories are unstable, and easily influenced. After being transferred several times, if she wasn’t beaten senseless, she certainly wouldn’t be too quick-witted anymore.

Dian Province was so far from Beijing!

Enlightened by Zhou Cheng’s words, Xia Xiaolan felt a bitter taste in her mouth:

“I was wrong. Uncle Tang said his sister was clever and quick-witted, and I used that standard to judge. I didn’t consider how different environments can change a child’s personality, and I overlooked a crucial point – Uncle Tang had taught his sister to read and write, but after falling into the traffickers’ hands, she would never have had the chance to learn again…”

The external environment is key in shaping one’s personality.

Children from happy families, regardless of intelligence, are mostly optimistic and lively.

In Tang Youru’s era, the country was conducting an intense “Literacy Campaign.” From 1949 to 1964, 100 million Chinese people shed the label of “illiterate.” In 1964, during the second national census, they also surveyed citizens’ education levels.

At that time, the illiteracy rate among citizens over 15 had dropped from 80% at the founding of the nation to 50%!

This meant that right after liberation, you might find at most two literate people among ten adults.

After the vigorous “Literacy Campaign,” five out of ten adults could read – truly remarkable progress!

Tang Youru’s intelligence stood out precisely because illiteracy was so widespread… Without continued learning, it’s hard to say how much of her childhood cleverness would remain in adulthood.

Xia Xiaolan first deflated, then rallied.

“So all these years, Aunt Tang hasn’t found her way home not because something happened to her, but because she might not remember where home is!”

This explanation could comfort not only Xia Xiaolan but also Tang Hongen.

Zhou Cheng shared this view – the couple refused to consider the worst outcome.

“Let’s assume Aunt Tang successfully crossed the mountains and escaped. Without introduction letters or money, she couldn’t have gone far. She would need to find somewhere to settle first, then make other plans. We’ll search in a radius around the village she fled from, starting with 50 li, then expanding to 100 li, then 200 li… With sustained manpower, we’ll get results!”

Xia Xiaolan nodded slightly, “A woman seeking shelter might have remarried. Not wanting to be caught and returned, marrying another man would naturally provide protection.”

Who would turn away a wife who appeared out of nowhere?

Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t choose this herself, but what better options did Tang Youru have? None!

This task required substantial manpower.

Zhou Cheng’s marriage leave was over, and Xia Xiaolan planned to stay in Dian Province.

“You head back to Qiong Island first. Once we have results here, I’ll join you there.”

It was already late January, and Qiong Island’s real estate market was about to boil over. Xia Xiaolan needed to go to Qiong Island. Zhou Cheng had no choice – sleeping with his wife was certainly better than sleeping alone, but his leave was ending!

Fortunately, barring unexpected circumstances, he would spend several years in Qiong Island, and Xia Xiaolan’s career focus for the next two or three years was also there. The couple could meet occasionally – not quite a long-distance marriage.

As soon as Zhou Cheng left, Xia Xiaolan immediately called You Li from Peng Cheng.

“Although the police are investigating, we can’t just wait around. We’ll hire people to help search, I want to thoroughly comb this area as quickly as possible… By the way, how is your mother adjusting after transferring to the hospital in Peng Cheng?”