Sweet Rustic Love: Four Brothers’ Wife

They hadn’t found him yet. Liu Duo was getting agitated, and her brows locked tightly.

Ye Ling saw that and panicked too, “Duo Er, Ran Er will be fine. Don’t worry too much.”

That was all he could say to comfort her, as well as himself.

Liu Duo looked at Ye Ling, who was sweating and breathing hard as he approached her. She draped an arm over his shoulder, “Ling, I’ll listen to you. I won’t fret, and neither will you. Alright?”

She didn’t want anything to happen to Ye Ling when they hadn’t even found Liu Ran yet! That would just double their trouble.

“Go home first,” Ye Yang spoke. Perhaps Liu Ran had returned.

He was also worried about Ye Ling. He might get sick again, as the weather was hot, and he was under emotional stress.

Aunt Li agreed, “Right, let’s go back first.”

Old Liu had other ideas, “You all go back first. I’m heading back to the farm to retrieve our tools.”

He hadn’t forgotten about them.

Ye Yang nodded, and then he went home with the others.

When they got to the bamboo forest, they came across Ye Liu, Ye Mo, and Li Wazi.

They had just been about to look for them to get their help to look for Liu Ran. Little Lian had told them that Liu Ran hadn’t come home!

Short-fused Ye Mo furrowed his brow and popped a question, “Dear wife, Little Lian said the brat hasn’t returned home, and his textbook was found in the bushes. What’s happening here?”

Liu Duo shook her head and furrowed her brow too, “How should I know? When I got to the schoolhouse he was already gone, and I only found his book in the bushes on my way back.”

Ye Liu, also furrowing his brow, said, “Let’s go home first. We’ll think of something.”

He could tell from their faces that they had been searching for a long time but had found nothing.

When they arrived back at home, Little Lian placed Little Huzi in his cradle and poured some water for them.

She cast a glance at her mother, as though to ask for her opinion.

Aunt Li shook her head, still worried sick about Liu Ran.

Li Wazi suddenly spoke up, “Hey, do you think Ran Er might have been taken away by his parents?”

He thought that was a real possibility. Where else could the boy have gone?

Ye Liu didn’t quite agree with him. He shook his head, “Impossible! Besides the fact that his parents wouldn’t do that behind our backs, Ran Er wouldn’t leave without informing us first!”

As far as he could tell, Liu Ran was an obedient, diligent, and sensible kid. He wouldn’t do something so irresponsible as that to make them worry.

“If he really did that, I’ll break his legs the next time I see him!” Ye Mo yelled fiercely!

He wondered, Where did that pesky brat go? This is frustrating!

At that moment, they were deep in thought, wondering where Liu Ran might be. Where could he have gone?

Try as they might, they couldn’t think of anything. Right then, Ye Xuan showed up at their door.

Seeing him there, Ye Mo threw a nasty fit and broke out in a harsh tone, “Who says you can come here? Scram! Mind your own business!”

When Liu Ran was at home, he would always come visit under the guise of tutoring him, and every single time, Ye Mo felt like punching him, but he resisted.

They had no idea why Liu Ran had suddenly disappeared. His temper was already boiling, and he could beat up the man if he were up to any funny business!

Ye Xuan merely shook his head and sneered at Ye Mo’s fiery temper. He didn’t get angry as he strolled through the yard.

Hei Xiaomeng had already seen him many times, so it no longer barked at him. Ye Mo wasn’t pleased about that, so he had punished it in private several times.

Ye Yang and the others weren’t delighted about Ye Xuan’s arrival either, but they said nothing. He could tutor Liu Ran, so they just let him be.

Liu Duo knew why he had come again, so she asked, “How did it go?”

Ye Xuan went inside and said to her sternly, “I’ve asked the students. They said they saw him with a man, and they were rushing home, so they didn’t wait for him.”

With that, Liu Duo sank deeper into thought. A man?

Ye Mo looked at Ye Xuan. He had stopped wanting to chase him out. Instead, he wondered, who could the man be?

The others were thinking too, when suddenly Ye Liu followed up with another question, “Xuan, did the students mention anything about what the man looked like? Any marks on his face? A mole, perhaps? What about his height?”

“One student said the man seemed to be crippled. He didn’t notice anything else.”

Ye Mo went ballistic when he arrived at a conclusion: Liu Qing!

He got so mad that he pounded the table as he jumped from his seat, “It has to be that bloody Liu Qing!”

Ye Liu considered him too. He stood up and said to Liu Duo, “Little Duo, let’s go to their house.”

Ye Yang, Ye Ling, and Li Wazi all got to their feet.

Liu Duo nodded.

Aunt Li and Little Lian stayed at home.

At the Liu family home, Liu Qing had tied Liu Ran’s hands and feet and stuffed a piece of cloth in his mouth, so he couldn’t cry for help.

“Relax, I won’t hurt you. I just want some money from Sister Duo,” Liu Qing sat on a stool, looking at his captive.

Liu Ran only furrowed his brow and glared at him furiously.

Hours earlier, Liu Qing had blocked his path and wanted to take him back. Liu Ran had been reluctant, so Liu Qing had grabbed him by force and took him there.

Liu Qing didn’t want to bother with Liu Ran’s angry stare, so he left the room.

Grandmother Liu saw him come out. She furrowed her brow, disagreeing with his actions, “Qing Er, what you’re doing isn’t right.”

She thought about Liu Duo and her four husbands. Even though one of them, Ye Ling, was a good-looking cripple with little defensive skills, each of the other three packed a powerful punch. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Especially Ye Yang. She had experienced first-hand what he could do. He could lift her up with one hand and toss her quite a distance, and she could tell he had been holding back.

“Grandmother, don’t worry. We just want some money from Sister Duo. We aren’t going to hurt Brother Ran,” Liu Qing said, as thought it wasn’t a big deal.

Liu Ran was their bargaining chip, so he bet that Liu Duo would have no choice but to pay!

Grandmother Liu went silent when he said that. She didn’t say she agreed with her eldest grandson, that they were just reeling Liu Duo in to ask her for money, and that they couldn’t possibly hurt Liu Ran, because he was, after all, her youngest grandson.

When Liu Duo and the gang arrived at the house, Ye Mo lifted his foot and kicked down the door.

Liu Qing and Grandmother Liu heard the noise and rushed out.

Liu Qing was about to open his mouth when Ye Mo went straight to him and punched him in the face, “Where have you been holding the brat? Talk, or don’t think I’m not going to break your other leg! Then you’ll have a pair!”

Seeing this happening in front of her, Grandmother Liu attempted to stop Ye Mo. She yelled, “Do you think you’re above the law? How dare you come to our house and start a fight!”

Ye Liu approached and gave Liu Qing a good kick too, “Law? You’ve been hiding our brother-in-law. What law do you know of?”

Li Wazi stepped forward too. He helped by blocking Grandmother Liu, so that it was easier for the men to teach Liu Qing a ‘lesson’.