As soon as Meng Jiao finished speaking, Meng Feifei’s face changed.
One of her most important goals since being reborn was to obtain that jade bracelet.
Now that she had finally managed to get it through Lin Hanqiao’s hands, how could she easily return it?
She tugged at Lin Hanqiao’s sleeve: “Mom, it’s my fault for coming back too late and not being able to fulfill my filial duties to Grandma, which is why she left everything to Sister in her will.”
“But even if they were Grandma’s things, shouldn’t they go to you and Aunt? Sister is already… no longer… It’s all my fault…”
Before she could finish, Meng Feifei lowered her head and began sobbing.
Her tearful, pitiful appearance truly broke Lin Hanqiao’s heart.
Lin Hanqiao immediately understood and protectively tightened her embrace around Meng Feifei, glaring angrily at Meng Jiao.
“Old Madam’s things should have been passed down to Feifei anyway. Meng Jiao, as an outsider, how dare you covet them?”
“Outsider?”
Before Meng Jiao could respond, Meng Jianhua, who had been drunkenly detached from the situation, unexpectedly raised his head.
The drunkenness on his face seemed to have faded somewhat, and his previously muddled eyes now held a cold gleam.
He directed his gaze straight at Lin Hanqiao and Old Master Meng.
He sneered as he stood up, swaying slightly with unclear consciousness.
“Sister-in-law, now you’re calling Jiaojiao an outsider? When Mom was bedridden, unable to even take care of her own waste, where were you, the ‘insider’, to handle it? Where was this legitimate granddaughter to fulfill her filial duties by the bedside?”
His words were like a sharp knife, instantly slicing through the hypocritical masks of Lin Hanqiao and Meng Feifei.
Lin Hanqiao mumbled as if wanting to say something, but Meng Jianhua completely ignored her.
Meng Jianhua turned his gaze to the livid Old Master Meng, his tone mocking: “Dad, weren’t you the one who valued the Meng family’s reputation most?”
“Before Mom passed, she held Jiaojiao’s hand and clearly, unmistakably stated in front of us that all these things should go to Jiaojiao, as a keepsake.”
“Brother and Second Brother both heard that at the time.”
His eyes swept over Meng Pengtao and Meng Liyang, both of whom awkwardly looked away.
“What? Before Mom’s body is even cold, her personally spoken will no longer counts? What will people say when this gets out?”
“That the Meng sons and daughters-in-law joined forces to cheat their just-deceased mother by withholding what she specifically left for her adopted granddaughter? Or that the Meng family has fallen so low that they need to covet an old woman’s private savings to maintain appearances?”
His every sentence mentioned reputation, yet each word slapped Old Master Meng across the face, trampling what he valued most underfoot.
After all, Meng Jianhua had served in the military, and there was a certain pressure in his words.
This made Old Master Meng feel extremely displeased, yet he had no way to refute.
“If outsiders found out that my sister-in-law forced the girl we raised for thirteen years to leave the Meng family, and now they’re even going against a dead person’s final wishes… tsk tsk tsk.”
Old Master Meng was so enraged by these words that his chest heaved, his finger pointing at Meng Jianhua.
He stammered “you” for a long time, but couldn’t form a complete sentence.
Because everything Meng Jianhua said was true, every word struck at his core.
In the old master’s view, his late wife’s jewelry wasn’t worth much anyway.
But if word really got out that the Meng family bullied an orphaned girl and violated their deceased mother’s final wishes…
He was about to lose all the dignity he had accumulated over a lifetime in Haicheng.
He feared that Liyang’s promotion and Pengtao’s career prospects would also be affected.
Meng Liyang, his face full of shame, stepped forward at this moment.
“Dad, Third Brother is right. Since Mom specifically left these things to Jiaojiao, no one should touch them!”
His attitude was unusually firm this time, and his gaze toward Lin Hanqiao carried a warning.
Old Master Meng took several heavy breaths, looking at Meng Jiao standing before Meng Jianhua, and finally made a decision.
“Enough!”
The old master roared, his cane striking the ground fiercely.
“Go! Bring out everything the old lady left for Jiaojiao, exactly as it was! Now! Immediately!”
Lin Hanqiao protested unwillingly, “Dad?”
“Go!”
The old master practically squeezed the word out through gritted teeth, his eyes terrifying.
Lin Hanqiao had never seen her father-in-law with such a frightening expression before. She trembled with fear, not daring to say another word. Stomping her foot in resentment, she turned and hurried upstairs.
Meng Feifei, watching Lin Hanqiao’s retreating back, quickly followed her.
After a short while, Lin Hanqiao came down holding a wooden box and reluctantly handed it to Meng Jiao.
Inside were their grandmother’s pair of high-quality jadeite earrings and several gold pieces, gleaming softly against the velvet padding.
Only the circular indentation in the middle was empty.
The mutton fat jade bracelet was missing.
Meng Jiao’s heart sank sharply as she looked toward Meng Feifei standing at the stairway corner.
“Where’s the bracelet?”
Lin Hanqiao was startled. Peeking into the box, she also frowned: “What bracelet? I don’t know. Everything is here. I haven’t touched anything.”
“Feifei, have you seen it?”
Not wanting to be accused of theft, Lin Hanqiao casually asked Meng Feifei.
She had only worn the jadeite earrings a few times and hadn’t touched anything else.
“Meng Feifei, where is the bracelet?”
Meng Jiao’s voice was cold as she questioned. Meng Feifei raised her tear-streaked face, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
“I… I don’t know… When Mom gave it to me, I didn’t see any bracelet… Could it be, could it be that Sister remembered wrong?”
“Or maybe Grandma never put it in there to begin with?”
Her skill at distorting the truth and shifting blame made Meng Jiao so angry she laughed.
Meng Jiao stepped forward, closing in on Meng Feifei with an intimidating presence.
“Grandmother personally handed these things to me on her deathbed. I remember every single item clearly. She wore that bracelet for half her lifetime and only took it off to place in my hands during her final moments. How could I remember wrong?”
“The items hadn’t been in my possession for half a day before Aunt Lin forcibly took them away, claiming she would keep them safe for me. So, where did the bracelet go?”
Her gaze turned to Old Master Meng, whose face had turned grim, her tone laced with sarcasm: “Grandfather, it seems someone is determined to keep Grandma’s keepsake, showing no regard for your words.”
Old Master Meng’s face turned ashen. He had just insisted on returning the items to save face, only to be contradicted immediately. How could he not be furious?
His gaze toward Meng Feifei became sharp and penetrating.
Meng Feifei felt her scalp tingle under his stare but still refused to admit anything, continuing to sob as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Meng Jianhua, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, suddenly let out a scornful laugh.
He limped over to Meng Feifei. Though hampered by his lame leg, the imposing aura he had developed from years of experience made Meng Feifei feel a chill.
Meng Jianhua leaned slightly forward, staring at Meng Feifei, his voice filled with the understanding of someone who sees through everything.
“You little girl, quite the quick thinker, aren’t you?”
His tone wasn’t particularly stern, even somewhat casual, yet it made Meng Feifei’s hairs stand on end instantly.
“Whether she took it or not, a quick search will tell.”
Meng Jianhua straightened up and tossed out the remark lightly.
“Or perhaps we should check the room she just came from? She hasn’t been back long, so there are only a few places she could have hidden things.”
Hearing this, Meng Feifei’s face instantly turned pale, her eyes flustered.
A body search? That would be disastrous!