Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 181 She?

Chapter 181: Chapter 181 She?

February 17.

Watching the bustling streets, Mother Lin gently massaged her sore arm.

"Mother, you go back first. My siblings and I can handle this," Chen Qiulan said, quickly wiping her hands and advising her mother-in-law, who looked exhausted.

"How could I do that? If I left, wouldn’t you both become too tired?"

Mother Lin waved her hand dismissively. Every March, Yan City would host a grand fair, attracting many prominent people nationwide. The number of people wishing to set up businesses in Yan City was not few. These days, the snack stalls had been particularly lucrative. If she really returned home, her two daughters-in-law would definitely be worn out.

"Mother, please, go home," Sun Cui also urged her, afraid that her mother-in-law would insist on staying. She quickly added, "Zhiyu and the other two children should be home by now, I heard father-in-law mentioning yesterday that they will be home late today."

"Right, I can’t allow that, I must go back first," Mother Lin said, thinking of the three children at home. She immediately packed her things and headed for home.

The academy gave a holiday some days ago. The three children spent their days playing at the snack stall with the three daughters-in-law. They would go home in the afternoons to study and wait for their fathers to arrive from the Carpentry Shop. However, she had forgotten that they would be home late today.

Wrapping herself in a coat, Mother Lin hurried back to their rented house. Upon arrival, she noticed the gate wide open, causing her to have a bad feeling.

She rushed into the courtyard and called for them multiple times. But there was no one around.

The three children were not at home.

Mother Lin panicked. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do.

Just then, the patrol was passing by. Liu Jie, seeing Mother Lin in a frazzled state, quickly approached to inquire.

"Mother Lin, what’s going on?"

"Xiao Jie, please, help me. Zhiyu and the others... they’re missing."

Mother Lin grabbed Liu Jie’s sleeve with trembling hands as she spoke.

Upon hearing the children were missing, Liu Jie was stunned, then quickly recovered.

"Mother Lin, don’t panic. Tell me where they might have gone. I’ll immediately go find General Shen," Liu Jie reassured Mother Lin while instructing his colleagues to patrol the streets.

"Okay, okay," Mother Lin sobbed, watching Liu Jie rush away before hurrying to continue the search.

The only places the three kids could potentially be were the Carpentry Shop or the snack bar.

Reassuring herself with that thought, Mother Lin ran toward the Carpentry Shop.

Lin Yicheng and Lin Ercheng were busy working on an order from a few days ago. The Liao Family from the west of the city planned to marry off their daughter in three months and had ordered a set of mahogany furniture from them as a dowry. They had been contemplating the design in the past few days.

From a distance, they saw Mother Lin running over in a fluster. Lin Yicheng quickly stopped what he was doing and asked, "Mother, what’s wrong?"

"Are the children here at the shop?"

"No...they’re not."

Lin Yicheng shook his head, but Lin Ercheng had understood.

"Mother, what’s wrong with the children?"

"When I got home the yard gate was open, they were all missing from the house. I thought they might have come to the shop,"

Father Lin returned from outside just in time to hear what Mother Lin said. Stunned, he suggested, "The kids are missing? We must go find Wenchen quickly!"

"Xiaojie has gone," Mother Lin replied, her eyes bloodshot from crying, her voice hoarse from shouting.

"Let’s go, let’s keep searching,"

Father Lin quickly placed the steamed buns he had just bought on the table. Closing up the shop, everyone quickly scattered to look for the children in the city.

Meanwhile, the three children were standing at the city gate, gazing at the high city wall in a daze.

"Zhiyu, why did you bring us here?" asked Doudou, now eight years old and known by his formal name, Lin Zihan.

"Little brother, do you want to find your father?" Maomao, now six and a half, asked. He was given the formal name Lin Jian.

Zhiyu, now more than five years old, always had a serious look on his face, which rather resembled Shen Wenchen.

At his brothers’ questions, he merely shook his head.

"I want to see what it’s like up there."

Shen Zhiyu pointed at the city tower.

Lin Zihan and Lin Jian exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other’s eyes.

Why did Zhiyu want to go to the city tower?

And without looking for Uncle Shen, would the three of them be able to go up?

"Are you coming?"

Shen Zhiyu asked his brothers.

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

After making the decision to go, the three little ones proceeded towards the entrance of the tower. A guard, upon seeing the three children approaching, was about to send them away when he recognized Shen Zhiyu. Dropping his harsh demeanor, he stopped them from entering.

"Young Master Shen, you can’t go up, it’s already getting dark, you should go home," he said.

However, Shen Zhiyu ignored him, stubbornly trying to squeeze past the guard, who ultimately prevented him from proceeding.

"Young Master Shen, if you really want to go up, you should find General Shen," the guard suggested.

At the mention of his father, Shen Zhiyu immediately stopped and, with an impassive face turned around and walked away.

As night fell, lanterns were lit along the streets. The three little ones started heading home in a line.

Seeing that Shen Zhiyu was not in a good mood, both Lin Zihan and Lin Jian remained silent, concerned that their younger brother might get lost in the crowd, they each took a position on either side of him.

"Miss Su is a real gem!"

Two rich young men stood not far off, their heads tilted upwards, admiring the silhouette on the fourth floor of Zuitingxuan, lines of admiration streaming from their mouths.

"Not only is she beautiful, but she’s also competent. I wonder which man will win her heart," One of the young men shook his head, his eyes fixed on the slender figure above, a smile of infatuation spread across his face.

"Don’t even bother, looks to me like she has a thing for General Shen. Who do you think Miss Su is waiting for at the Zuitingxuan at this hour?"

The words of the two men drifted into the ears of the three children. Lin Zihan and Lin Jian couldn’t help but worry, instinctively looking towards Shen Zhiyu.

The little guy’s face was expressionless, but his tiny fists were already clenched.

Just as Lin Zihan was about to say something comforting, he suddenly noticed a figure standing ahead and his eyes widened in shock.

His trembling finger pointed forward.

As Lin Jian looked up, he too became stunned at the sight of the man.

Shen Zhiyu was quiet, with tears welling up in his eyes. Could it be that first his mother left him, and now even his father was leaving him too?

"Zhiyu, look quickly, look!"

Hearing the urgency in his brothers’ voices, the little fellow lifted his head. Upon seeing the figure, he stood frozen for a second before running towards the man.

Learning from Liu Jie that Zhiyu and the others were missing, Shen Wenchen immediately ordered his men to join him in the search.

By then it was dark, yet the streets were still lit with lanterns. Due to the recent influx of people in Yan City, the streets were packed with people enjoying the night market.

Feeling frustrated, Shen Wenchen suddenly heard Zhiyu’s voice.

"Mother!"

The joyful voice of the child made Shen Wenchen’s pupils contract sharply. He turned quickly towards the direction the voice had come from.

Nannan?