The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 78

But no matter how they searched along the main road, there was no sign of him. With no other option, Li Amu decided to try Lian Meng’s maternal family.

Since Lian Meng’s uncle became a county magistrate, the Lian family had bought a house in the county, and the whole family had moved there. According to them, they would be different from the country folk from now on. As for the clan, even the clan leader had to rely on Lian Meng’s brother, so they had no fear.

Li Wenxuan drove to the Lian family’s house, jumped off the carriage, and knocked on the door.

“I’m coming,” an impatient voice came from inside. The man opened the door and saw Li Wenxuan. 

Since Li Wenxuan hadn’t bothered to wear his more complicated new clothes that morning and was instead dressed in his usual, simple old clothes, the man naturally assumed he had come to beg for money.

He squinted at Li Wenxuan. “Whose family are you from? Why are you here on the first day of the new year? People nowadays have no rules. Even beggars know to come after the fifth day of the new year!”

Li Wenxuan, not one to tolerate insults, suppressed his anger and asked, “I am Lian Meng’s brother-in-law. May I ask if he has returned home today?”

“Lian Meng? You mean the eldest ger of the host family? He’s a married ger, of course, he should be at your house during the new year. Why would he come here?”

“Move aside, we need to speak to his father!” Li Wenxuan was furious, his tone sharp. The gatekeeper was being rude and dismissive.

“Move aside? So you said… Hey, hey, what do you want to do?” The gatekeeper found himself abruptly lifted off the ground, his face a picture of panic. “Master, let’s talk calmly. I’ll go and inform him right away!”

After being set down, the gatekeeper hurried inside. 

Li Wenxuan helped his Amu down and they waited at the door.

Not long after, the gatekeeper returned. “Please come in!” His attitude had shifted, likely due to fear of Li Wenxuan.

When Li Wenxuan and his Amu entered, they found Lian Meng’s parents sitting in the lobby. Upon seeing them, they greeted warmly, “In-laws, what brings you here today?” 

After inviting them to sit, they called for servants to prepare tea.

Once seated, Li Amu got straight to the point, “In-laws, we came today to ask where Meng Ge’er is. If you know, please tell us. He’s sick and can’t be working hard.”

The elderly couple exchanged a glance before responding, “What are you talking about, in-laws? Meng Ge’er is not at your house during the New Year, so how would we know where he is?”

“Meng Ge’er didn’t come back?” Li Amu stared at them, trying to detect any signs of deceit.

“No, if he was coming to pay New Year’s respects, it wouldn’t be today. Maybe he went somewhere else. In-laws, please don’t make a fuss. Where could he possibly go?”

Seeing that the two of them didn’t seem concerned, Li Amu sighed. He now understood where Meng Ge’er’s coldness had come from. Even though they knew he was sick, the couple didn’t even bother to ask how he was doing.

Since there was no use staying longer, Li Amu and Li Wenxuan said their goodbyes.

Not long after they left, a man carrying a bag and looking worn out knocked on the door.

“Who is it now?” The man, annoyed, wondered why so many people were calling on him today.

“Young Master? You’ve really come back!” The man’s eyes widened as he recognized Lian Meng standing before him.

“Let me in!” Lian Meng pushed past him and entered.

Lian Meng’s parents were still sitting in the lobby, and when they saw him, they were momentarily stunned. 

“Why are you back?” Lian’s father frowned, eyeing Lian Meng, who appeared to be covered in dust.

“They’re going to kill me!” Lian Meng cried out as he saw his parents. He had been terrified on his way here, fearing the Li family would find him and send him to Doctor Tang.

“What?” The two of them exclaimed in disbelief.

Lian Meng recounted what had happened recently. 

“You said it’s not a child in your belly? What kind of tumor is that? And you said they want to cut open your stomach with a knife?” Lian Amu asked, puzzled. If they planned to cut open his belly, he would surely die. It seemed the Li family had bad intentions!

“But,” Li Amu hesitated, looking at the pale Lian Meng, “Your condition doesn’t pass on to others, right?”

Lian Meng shrugged it off. “It doesn’t pass on to others. Li Wenxuan’s husband was also pregnant, but it didn’t affect him.”

“That’s good,” Li Amu patted his chest in relief. Then, he remembered something, “Did you come out like this with nothing? Did they take everything from you?”

“I took the money with me. I still need to see a doctor!” Lian Meng had thought long and hard. There was no way he would let them cut him open. There had to be a miracle doctor who could help him.

“That’s good,” Lian’s Amu nodded, then added, “You may have been struck by evil. Otherwise, how could a healthy child turn into a tumor? I’ll take you to see Master Zhang another day!”

Lian Meng said nothing. He was exhausted from traveling all night, so he asked his Amu to let him rest and requested they keep his return a secret.

Meanwhile, Li Wenxuan and his group had searched the county town but still couldn’t find Lian Meng. 

They returned home, and Li Yiran, lying on the bed looking fatigued, gazed at Le-ge’er who was beside him, looking at him with concern.

Li Yiran stroked Le-ge’er’s little head, feeling a pang of guilt. He hadn’t been able to take good care of him, and now his Amu was gone again.

Le-ge’er didn’t understand. When he got up that morning, he found that Grandmu had disappeared. It was Momo who helped him get dressed, fed him, and brought him here.

Although he didn’t want to enter, once inside, he saw only his father, and the fierce Amu seemed to have disappeared. This made him happy again, though his father didn’t seem well, almost sick.

Tian Xiaoman sat outside, staring at the door, hoping to see Lian Meng return.

Father Li, meanwhile, was discreetly asking around the village to see if anyone had seen Lian Meng. He had to be careful in his questioning, as it wasn’t something to discuss openly.

When Li Wenxuan returned, he saw Father Li along the way and asked him to join them in the cart for a conversation.

Father Li first looked inside the carriage and sighed, “You didn’t find him.”

“No, we don’t know where he went!” Li Wenxuan’s voice held frustration. No one would be happy to deal with this kind of situation on the first day of the New Year.

“I heard from Uncle Tiezhu in the village that when he got up this morning to set off firecrackers, he saw a man carrying a bag and leaving the village. It was still dark, so he thought he must have been seeing things and didn’t pay it much mind.” Father Li’s tone became more serious. He believed it had to be their son-in-law. It would be a relief if they confirmed that Lian Meng left on his own and wasn’t kidnapped.

“Go home and ask your older brother what happened last night. Why did he leave so early this morning?” Li Amu suggested. 

He wondered if something unpleasant had been said that made Lian Meng leave. 

“…I didn’t say anything. After the vigil, I told him to rest early since he wasn’t well, and I said the sooner he saw the doctor the better…”

“You’re sure that’s all? Why would he leave then?” Li Amu couldn’t figure it out.

“Uh… could it be that he was afraid of the treatment?” Tian Xiaoman said. He himself had felt cold seeing the knives on that wall.

Everyone exchanged glances. It seemed possible. 

But if he ran just because of that… they didn’t know what to say. A grown man—not knowing what was good for his body.

Feeling guilty for the trouble caused by his husband, Li Yiran decided that when they went to pay New Year’s greetings at the Lian family tomorrow, he would check on them again. 

He knew Lian Meng—there was only one place he could have gone.