Chapter 87 - 087 Going to the Old House to Chat
"Mother, we already had breakfast." Lin Ping’er was somewhat disdainful, but she wanted to keep face, so she managed to squeeze out a faint smile.
When the old lady heard that the three were not here for a free meal, her expression noticeably brightened, but the look she gave Bai Ruozhu remained unfriendly.
In the yard, Bai Ruolan was washing, and upon seeing Bai Yihong and his wife, she simply snorted coldly without even greeting them, a complete lack of courtesy. Bai Ruozhu, knowing her cousin didn’t like her, didn’t bother to interact with her.
The old grandfather was eating porridge in the room. Upon hearing the commotion, he peeked out and asked with a furrowed brow, "Second child, why did you come so early? Was there any development in the matter from yesterday?"
Bai Yihong was startled and hurriedly explained, having not expected such a misunderstanding by his father, "It’s not about that, it’s..." He paused, then glanced at Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu had already started to sob, saying, "Grandpa, the jade pendant that Chang Sheng left to me as a token of our marriage has been stolen!"
"What?" The grandfather was somewhat shocked and naturally understood the importance of the jade pendant to Bai Ruozhu.
However, before she could speak up again, a woman from the Wang Family walked out from the east room, yawning and said, "Why are you dragging your grandfather into this if you lost something? Are you suspecting him?"
Bai Ruozhu wanted to roll her eyes at her but held herself back. "Of course not. Grandpa is the elder in our family. I came to him for help, hoping he can help me find it."
The grandfather nodded, "That jade pendant is special. We must get it back."
It seemed that the grandfather had no clue about the thing, his expression at the moment didn’t seem feigned. Bai Ruozhu sighed a relief. If her grandfather had agreed with the theft, it would be difficult to get the jade pendant back. Yet it seemed she overthought, probably driven by the way her grandfather had spoken to the Scholar yesterday.
"There are so many people coming and going at your house lately. Maybe one of them took it while you were building the house." The woman from the Wang Family commented sarcastically, "Isn’t it troublesome now that you insisted on building the house as soon as you had some silver?"
Lin Ping’er could no longer hold back and glared at the woman from the Wang Family, "What’s wrong with us building a house? Do we have to inconvenience Miss Wang by not providing a suitable home after my eldest brother’s marriage? Sounds so easy when you say it, but how can we explain to the Wan Family?"
"Hmph, when you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, you follow the dog. Who does she think she is?" The woman didn’t dare to provoke the Wan Family, so she lowered her voice considerably.
Bai Ruozhu pulled on her mother’s sleeve, not letting her talk to Wang’s wife again, lest they drag the conversation off-topic.
"Do you have any idea who took it?" The grandfather asked, frowning. He had attended the housewarming dinner, and the guests were not the suspicious kind. It was hard for him to single anyone out.
"Where’s Sanlang? He came to my house yesterday and I want to ask him some questions." Bai Ruozhu said.
The woman from the Wang Family jolted up on hearing this, "What do you mean? Many people came to your house, why are you suspecting my Sanlang?"
Bai Ruozhu calmly looked at her, "Why are you so upset, aunt? I did not suspect Sanlang. My eldest brother saw him coming to my house, and I want to ask if he noticed anything suspicious."
The woman from the Wang Family calmed down a bit, "Then make it clear. People might misunderstand my Sanlang. What if his reputation is ruined?"
Even the grandfather couldn’t hold back this time and felt Wang’s wife was stirring the pot. Waving her off, he said, "Go help your mother with the dishes and stop talking nonsense."
The woman from the Wang Family reluctantly left, her eyes still somewhat malicious. Bai Ruozhu suspected she might know something about it.
Having gotten rid of her, the grandfather called Sanlang out. When Sanlang came out from the room as if just awakened from sleep, he was nowhere near diligent enough as the youngsters in a typical peasant family. The grandfather was a little embarrassed and reprimanded him a few times.
"Why are you getting up so late? Your eldest brother has already gone out to cut pig grass." The grandfather sternly said.
Sanlang despised being compared with his two cousins the most. Every time they were compared, people would tell him how he fell short, which had become his longstanding grudge.
"If Eldest Brother is so dutiful, why didn’t he cut some pig grass for mom?" Sanlang muttered under his breath.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t have the patience to drag this out, and she directly asked, "Sanlang, why did you go to my house yesterday?"
The color drained from Sanlang’s face. He was young and not cool-headed enough, already showing guilt when questioned.
"I went to call Xiaosi back home, and left when I had done so. What? Are you investigating me?" Sanlang tried to look calm, but his tone carried a touch of defiance.
The grandfather furrowed his eyebrows, "Is that how you talk to your sister? Don’t be disrespectful; your sister asked you a question, just answer properly. Did you see anything suspicious?"
"How could I have seen anything? I left soon after arriving. Who knows who took her jade pendant?" Sanlang started to bluster.
Bai Ruozhu squinted a little, she exchanged looks with her parents, and all three identified a point of suspicion. When Bai Ruozhu told her grandfather about the missing jade pendant earlier, her voice wasn’t loud. When Sanlang came out of the room, he was freshly awakened. How did he know about the missing jade pendant? It seemed he might have been the first one to know about the loss.
"It seems that no one knows who stole it. Then, I have no choice but to report it to the officials." Bai Ruozhu acted helpless. "That jade pendant is the token Chang Sheng left, if he couldn’t make it through his illness, then that jade pendant would be the only thing he left for the child. So, no matter what, I must get the jade pendant back."
She took out her second brother’s letter of thanks, adding, "Fortunately, the county official is very smart. When they arrive at the scene, they will definitely clarify things. We have so many neighbors, someone must have seen something."
Grandfather frowned, "Going to the officials, is that good? Won’t we offend people?"
"If we can find out who the real thief is and send him to prison, that would indeed prove the innocence of the uncles who came to my house. This way, there’s no wall between us." Bai Ruozhu spoke as she handed the letter to her father, saying, "Dad, I can only trouble you with this."
"Second child is going to town? Isn’t he going to the village meeting?" Hearing about Bai Yibo’s teaching opportunity, the grandfather became anxious.
Bai Yihong shook his head, "If Chang Sheng’s jade pendant doesn’t come back, I can’t face the child in Ruozhu’s belly. This matter needs immediate attention, the longer we wait, the more difficult it is to catch the thief. I’ll go now." Saying that, he made a move to leave.
Bai Ruozhu feigned nonchalance and muttered, "To teach Officer Li a lesson and catch that damned thief who stole the jade pendant, which is quite valuable, he can definitely spend a few years in prison, getting a taste of real suffering. I heard long-term imprisonment can lead to never being released – eating spoiled food and rotten vegetables every day, getting beaten by prison guards, and the bullying by other prisoners. It’s not worth losing your life over a jade pendant."
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There will be four updates today, seeking caress~