"Miss, miss, slow down! There are too many people here. How about we go back quickly..."
Shangguan Yun'er was holding a bamboo rabbit in her hand. Two blushes like ripe peaches appeared on her baby-fat cheeks. With two little ponytails, she was smiling from ear to ear.
"Grandma, grandma, Yun'er still wants to go ahead and watch the fire - breathing juggling show. Let's go back later!"
Saying that, Shangguan Yun'er bounced like a little rabbit and happily squeezed into the crowd. The grandma who served her rushed after her in a hurry, "Miss..."
Shangguan Yun'er stared blankly at the fire - breathing juggling troupe and unconsciously squeezed deeper into the crowd. Just then, a hand suddenly reached out of nowhere and grabbed her arm. Immediately afterwards, another palm covered her mouth and nose.
Shangguan Yun'er smelled a strange fragrance. Her consciousness gradually became hazy in her mind, and soon she closed her eyes and fainted.
"This little girl is wearing expensive clothes and looks so delicate. Her family must be well - off. If we sell this little girl to a human trafficker and her family reports to the authorities to look for her, what if they find us?"
"You're so stupid!"
"This little girl won't fetch much money if we sell her. We two brothers haven't had any business for ages. How about we take this opportunity to extort some silver notes!"
"What do you mean?"
"First, you go and find out which wealthy family in the neighborhood has lost a child. Then secretly send a note to that family, saying that they must bring a hundred silver notes and hand them over to us in the suburbs. If they dare to report to the authorities, we'll kill this little girl right away!"
"Right! That's really a good idea! Why didn't I think of it..."
Shangguan Yun'er gradually regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she found that her hands and feet were tied up, and her mouth was also covered with a cloth strip. Not far away, two rough - looking men were whispering and plotting.
Oh no, am I... being kidnapped?!
Shangguan Yun'er was stunned for a moment. After coming to her senses, her first reaction was to look for her bamboo rabbit. She turned her head and found the rabbit beside her feet. Fortunately, it wasn't lost.
Seeing that she was about to be taken as a hostage, Shangguan Yun'er was a bit anxious, but instead of crying loudly like an ordinary five - year - old child, she quietly let her little brain work quickly to figure out how to escape.
Just then, a very familiar voice came from not far away -
"Miss! Where have you gone, miss?! Don't scare this servant..."
It was the grandma!
Hearing the voice, Shangguan Yun'er looked up and saw some empty wine jars placed not far in front of her. She tried hard to move her body and stretched out her little short legs to reach for the wine jars.
"Clatter..."
Finally, with her efforts, the stacked empty wine jars suddenly fell and shattered all over the ground.
The two thieves were startled by the noise. They quickly turned their heads and saw Shangguan Yun'er's actions. They immediately rushed over with dark faces. "You little girl are really bold!"
"If you dare to move again, do you believe we'll kill you?!"
Saying that, one of the men angrily raised his hand to slap Shangguan Yun'er. Unable to move, Shangguan Yun'er could only close her eyes and wait for the slap to fall.
However, the terrifying slap didn't fall. Suddenly, there was a shrill wail from the man, "Ah!"
"Who gave you the guts to touch her?"
"Hero, please spare our lives! We know we were wrong. We'll never dare again!"
The man's deep voice was filled with anger. "Your hands are useless anyway. It's better to cripple them!"
With a crisp crack, the two little thieves covered their painfully aching arms and crawled away from the dark alley.
Hearing this man's voice, Shangguan Yun'er's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She looked up at the person in front of her. "Big brother, did you save me?!"
Qing Zhu quickly stepped forward, carefully untied the ropes on her body and the cloth strip from her mouth. Looking at Yun'er's red - rimmed eyes, he felt a bit heart - ache. He gently rubbed her head and picked her up in his arms.
"Yun'er, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I'm late."
Shangguan Yun'er blinked her eyes in confusion. She seemed to have never seen this big brother before, but she felt familiar and kind towards him. Moreover, she didn't mind him rubbing her head. She even wanted to rub against his palm.
"Who are you, big brother? Yun'er seems to have never seen you before. Why do you know Yun'er's name? Do you know Yun'er?"
The little one in his arms had a red nose, red cheeks and red - rimmed eyes. Her childish voice still seemed to be shaken from the previous danger and trembled slightly.
Qing Zhu looked at the little one in his arms. For a moment, his heart was in turmoil, and there was a special light in his eyes.
After a moment of silence, Qing Zhu said with indescribable joy, "Yun'er, I've finally found you..."
"In this lifetime, I'll surely protect you, and promise you a life of peace, joy, smoothness and no worries."
Shangguan Yun'er didn't understand what this big brother was saying, but seeing that his eyes were a bit moist, she couldn't help but worry. She reached out her little hand and touched his face. "Big brother, why are you crying? Did someone bully you? Tell Yun'er. Yun'er will ask daddy to teach the bad guys who bullied big brother a lesson!"
"Hehe, no, no one bullied me, and no one will bully Yun'er either."
Qing Zhu couldn't help laughing. His eyes were full of tenderness. "Yun'er, my name is Qing Zhu. Remember it."
"Qing, Zhu... Is it the 'Zhu' of bamboo?"
Speaking of this, Shangguan Yun'er suddenly thought of something and struggled to get down.
"What's wrong, little Yun'er?"
"Big brother Qing Zhu, my rabbit! Can you pick up my little rabbit for me?" Saying that, Yun'er pointed to the bamboo rabbit on the ground.
Qing Zhu bent down to pick up the rabbit and handed it to Yun'er. "Does Yun'er like bamboo? Do you like the little rabbit made of bamboo?"
Yun'er nodded quickly. "Yes, Yun'er likes it very much! Yun'er especially likes bamboo. There are a lot of bamboos planted in Yun'er's yard. Big brother's name is Qing Zhu. Hehe, big brother can go home with Yun'er to see the bamboos!"
"Miss!"
Just then, the grandma spotted Shangguan Yun'er's figure. She excitedly rushed forward and looked at Qing Zhu warily. "Who are you? Did you take our miss away?!"
"Grandma, you've misunderstood. This big brother's name is Qing Zhu. Just now, two bad guys caught me. It was him who fought off the bad guys and saved Yun'er."
"I see. I've misunderstood this young master... Thank you, young master, for saving our miss!"
The grandma quickly reached out to take Shangguan Yun'er, but Qing Zhu had no intention of letting go, and Yun'er also didn't want to get out of his arms.
"It's getting dark and there are many people on the street. It's not safe for your miss as she is still young. I'll escort you back to your mansion."
The grandma hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Then we'll trouble you, young master."
Just then, Yun'er tugged at Qing Zhu's sleeve. "Big brother, Yun'er..."
"What's wrong, Yun'er?"
"Big brother Qing Zhu, Yun'er still wants... wants to watch the fire - breathing circus. Is that okay?"
Yun'er blushed and bit her lower lip shyly, afraid that her request would be rejected. There was a longing look in her round eyes.
"Hehe," seeing her like this, Qing Zhu couldn't help smiling. He reached out and gently scratched the tip of her small nose. "Of course it's okay. Wherever Yun'er wants to go, Qing Zhu will surely accompany you."
The grandma beside them watched the interaction between the big one and the little one. She scratched her head in confusion. She seemed to have never seen this young master before. Why did the miss trust this young master in green so much? Why was this young master so kind to her miss? Did he have other motives? But it didn't seem so...
"Grandma, grandma, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and follow us. We're going to watch the fire - breathing circus!"
Yun'er waved at the grandma with a bright smile. For some reason, at this moment, Yun'er felt extremely happy. Even her smile couldn't fully describe her joy.
This night of the Lantern Festival would surely be engraved in her memory for a lifetime.