Chapter 88 - 088: The Sudden Appearance of Xiaosi
Sanlang, who was only fifteen years old and already feeling guilty, turned even paler upon hearing Bai Ruozhu’s words. His hands even began to tremble.
"Oh my, Sanlang, you’re looking rather pale. Do you feel unwell somewhere?" Bai Ruozhu feigned innocence and then pretended to realise something, gasping in mock surprise. Her words had an undeniable teasing undertone, which only caused Sanlang’s heart to leap into his throat.
"Sanlang, you aren’t scared by what I said, are you?" Bai Ruozhu laughed, "You are such a scaredy-cat. You even get afraid when we talk about other people’s affairs?"
Sanlang, his face almost ashen, flushed red, all the way up to his ears. He glared at Bai Ruozhu angrily and yelled, "You’re the one who’s afraid! Who said my face looks bad? I just woke up and haven’t fully recovered!"
Bai Ruozhu did not argue with him. Instead, she turned to her father and said, "Father, I’m sorry to trouble you, but we must ensure that the thief faces legal sanctions."
Bai Yihong nodded, said goodbye to the old man and was about to head towards the Government Office in town.
The old man, having guessed what was going on, stopped Bai Yihong and said, "Isn’t it excessive to trouble the county magistrate over a small matter? Can’t we investigate in the village first? After all, I can help sort this out too."
"Grandpa, I know you’re looking out for me. But we don’t know who did this and I fear we may not be able to find out using just our family resources. It would be better to report this to the Government Office as early as possible. Our village has always been peaceful, and now suddenly a thief appears, we must find out who it is, otherwise it won’t just be our family suffering." Bai Ruozhu calmly explained her rationale, leaving the old man with no room to argue.
At this point, Bai Yibo came out from the inner room, also yawning lazily. He was behaving just like Sanlang, proving the saying ’like father, like son’.
"What’s all the noise about so early in the morning? You can’t take care of your own things and you come here causing a commotion?" He then turned to Bai Yihong and said, "Second brother, you’re not being filial. Why do you always cause trouble for dad?"
Even though Bai Yihong was usually calm and easy-going, he lost his temper at this point. Without backing down, he said, "Elder brother, don’t misinterpret my words. I was about to consult with the county magistrate. How could I bother father?"
"Then hurry up and go. Don’t stand here and disturb my reading," Bai Yibo waved his hand impatiently. It seemed that he had no clue about Sanlang stealing the Jade Pendant. He had just come out and hadn’t noticed the odd look on Sanlang’s face, otherwise, how could he be so nonchalant about it?"
The old man glared at Bai Yibo harshly, "This has nothing to do with you. Go and have your breakfast."
Sanlang’s face was alternating between white and red. He was visibly afraid, and he looked at Bai Yibo, calling out "Father" in a pitiful voice.
Bai Yibo was sharp-witted and immediately sensed that something was wrong. However, he did not ask Sanlang about it but said, "Father, I’m not yet hungry. Let me see if I can be of any help."
"If the thief would just confess and return the Jade Pendant, I wouldn’t bother arguing with him. But if the officers find out, not even I would be able to plead for mercy on his behalf." Bai Ruozhu stated casually from the side.
She thought that just by scaring Sanlang, he would obediently surrender the Jade Pendant. Little did she realize that while Sanlang was undoubtedly scared, he adamantly refused to admit that he had stolen the Jade Pendant.
Bai Ruozhu became worried. She had no actual proof after all; even if she insisted that Sanlang was the thief, if they couldn’t find the stolen item, she could only watch helplessly. Furthermore, Bai Yibo and the Wang Family would surely not allow her to conduct a search.
Just as Bai Ruozhu was in a dilemma, Xiaosi, who was covered in mud, returned from outside. His face was as expressionless as ever. He seemed to be in a state of shock.
The old lady, who had been eavesdropping, saw Xiaosi in his dirty state and couldn’t help scolding, "Where have you run off to so early in the morning? Look at how dirty you are! Don’t you dare enter the house and make a mess."
Xiaosi did not even look at her. He walked straight to Bai Ruozhu. Everyone was puzzled by his actions and watched him intently, considering Xiaosi was someone quite unique in the Bai Family.
"Third sister, I found it." He opened his small hand and revealed that it was Bai Ruozhu’s Jade Pendant!
Bai Ruozhu looked at his muddy palm in surprise, just as she was about to take the pendant, Sanlang cried out and snatched the pendant away!
This situation evolved so suddenly, almost instantly, Bai Ruozhu hadn’t had the chance to react when Sanlang, after grabbing the Jade Pendant, pushed Xiaosi to the ground.
"Sanlang, what are you doing?" Lin Ping’er, the first to react, rushed over to help the fallen Xiaosi. On closer inspection, Xiaosi’s hand was scraped and bleeding from the fall.
At this point, Mrs. Wang and the old lady rushed over. Mrs. Wang began to yell, "What happened? I can discipline my own son without any help!"
The old man’s face turned very dark. In an angry voice, he barked at Sanlang, "Return the Jade Pendant to Ruozhu!"
Sanlang, who had worked hard to steal the Jade Pendant and hide it, had it stolen from him immediately. In his excitement, he forgot that the old man was watching and snatched it back from Xiaosi. But now, he regretted his actions.
"I, I thought Xiaosi stole the Jade Pendant and wanted to, uh, discipline him a bit." Sanlang finally came up with an excuse. In his mind, Xiaosi hardly spoke, and since the item was taken from Xiaosi, who was peculiar in his actions, claiming that Xiaosi had stolen Bai Ruozhu’s Jade Pendant wouldn’t be far-fetched.
Little did he know that Xiaosi had other plans for him. Although Xiaosi still appeared somewhat numb, he said clearly, "I saw brother sneak out last night to bury something. I dug out the Jade Pendant just now."
Sanlang suddenly lunged at Xiaosi, intending to push him away. If it was not for Lin Ping’er’s interference, Xiaosi would have been shoved to the ground again.
"What nonsense are you blabbering? What do you know, you idiot? Now we feed you and you’re betraying your own brother? Your mind must really be broken!" Sanlang started to yell, a menacing glint in his eyes.
Who could insult their younger brother like this and call him an ’idiot’? Moreover, Xiaosi was certainly not an idiot! Bai Ruozhu felt an overwhelming anger at this point. She looked at Xiaosi, and saw his usually dull eyes burn with anger.
"Sanlang, what are you doing? Behave yourself!" The old man yelled in fury. This shout triggered a severe bout of coughing, which in turn, considerably reduced his intimidating demeanour.
Bai Ruozhu felt sorry for Xiaosi. She knew that Xiaosi was trying to help her, so she helped him up, still glaring angrily at Sanlang, "You know very well what you’ve done. I can’t be bothered to argue with you. You really think you could steal and get away with it? Xiaosi may not speak much, but he doesn’t lie. Do you dare swear to heaven that you didn’t steal my Jade Pendant?"
In ancient times, people revered ghosts and gods and would not swear lightly. Sanlang didn’t dare to swear rashly. Instead, he stiffened his neck and said, "Why should I swear? I have to swear just because you say so? Was the item found on me? Do you have any evidence that I stole it? I say you bribed Xiaosi to set me up!"
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That’s it for today. Brace yourself for another update tomorrow~