Li Shu’s smile widened as she pressed the burning end of the wood against Li Aman’s hair, then handed the charred piece into her hands.
Li Aman instinctively dropped it to the floor.
The burned strands emitted a terrible smell; a large patch of black hair was singed off, and the remaining pieces curled and writhed like rough, struggling worms.
Li Shu let go, letting Li Aman clutch her head and flee in terror.
She “ptooey”-ed, looking like a mischievous troublemaker, the corners of her mouth curving in satisfaction.
Next, she stored the leftover food in her space, shifted some wood, tucked something under the stove, and tidied herself.
Then she sat quietly at the kitchen doorway, waiting for the storm to arrive.
Zhou Shi returned, furious, having failed to find the newly bought pork.
Seeing her daughter with scorched hair, her anger reached its peak. “She’s your sister! How can you be so cruel? I’ll have everyone judge this—see the heart of this little murderer!”
Originally, Zhou Shi planned to wait for her husband and sons before defending her daughter, but seeing her in such a pitiful state, her maternal instincts surged.
Even if Li Aman had erred, that didn’t justify Li Shu’s cruelty!
Zhou Shi rushed her daughter to the doorway, crying bitterly.
It was the time when neighbors were finishing their meals, idly wandering outside. Seeing Li Aman with a burned scalp, they were shocked.
“Hair comes from the parents; what kind of sin is this?” one murmured.
For a girl of thirteen or fourteen, soon to be of marriageable age, a burned patch could take years to grow back. It was heart-wrenching.
“I did what? I bought meat for the kids with money squeezed from my teeth, locked it up to prevent cats or dogs from stealing, and now Alì sees the lock and thinks it’s against her. She forcibly opened it!”
“And she didn’t just eat it—she threw all the meat out the window! I can’t find it anywhere!”
“But that’s not all. Look at her hair—”
“How could a child so young act with such revenge?” Zhou Shi sobbed genuinely. She had never been wronged like this; her dislike for Li Shu peaked.
“Alì! If Aman did wrong, why can’t you teach her properly? You’re too cruel!” Zhou Shi’s voice rang as she led the crowd into the yard, pointing at Li Shu.
Li Shu sat quietly, impassive, expressionless, like a wooden block.
Soon, an elder stepped forward, frowning at Li Shu:
“Alì, you’ve always been disobedient. You steal your sister’s snacks, tear her clothes, and even committed a serious act. Your mother disciplined you countless times. Now that you’re free, why not live properly? Must you act like a bandit, hated by all?”
“Yes! Look at her hair—it may need to be shaved completely. What a cruel heart!” someone chimed in.
Li Shu’s family had relatives, not a large clan, but enough to make a crowd of over a hundred.
“You saw me steal my sister’s snack?” Li Shu asked calmly. “Who saw me tear her clothes or beat her?”
The crowd froze.
Alì never defended herself before; now she spoke.
“Everything needs proof, not just hearsay,” Li Shu said firmly. “When I was seven, Alì accidentally caused her brother to fall, and I was blamed. That became a tale of my cruelty. Can someone like me, barely surviving under a stepmother, truly have such courage?”
“Of course, you favor Zhou Shi as the adult. My grievances as a child were invisible. Now, if you claim I ruined her hair, I cannot even refute it,” she added, as if seeing through everything.
“You! You’re lying!” Li Aman gasped.
“How did I ruin your hair, then?” Li Shu asked.
“You first held a knife to my neck, then pulled my hair, then burned it with charcoal!” Li Aman stammered.
“Sounds like I have three hands,” Li Shu mocked.
Li Aman paused. That seemed correct… but then how did the charcoal come into play?
“You put down the knife, went for the charcoal… anyway, you ruined my hairpin and my hair,” Li Aman fumed.
Li Shu slowly stood, coughed lightly, then invited everyone into the kitchen.
“Where’s the knife?” she asked calmly. “You panicked when you tried to hide something in the kitchen. That’s how the burning charcoal fell on your head, ruining your hair. You want to blame me?”
“Zhou Shi, you said I opened the lock and threw the meat. How much meat did you buy today?”
“Five jin!” Zhou Shi answered. She planned to cure it in the evening for gifts.
“Five jin? What kind of stray cat or dog could quickly grab all that meat unnoticed?” Li Shu said seriously.
Zhou Shi froze. “You lied?! Where’s the meat?!”
Realizing, she rushed into the kitchen, flipping things, finally spotting something under the stove.
Amid the ashes and charred wood, she picked up an object and dusted it off.
The crowd looked at Li Shu with new sympathy.
It was a bracelet.
Many recognized it—it belonged to Li Shu’s mother, a treasured heirloom she always wore, especially when she married. Now buried in ashes and scorched by charcoal, it had changed color.