“Why are you all not speaking? Am I not right?”
“When have Step-mother and Grandmother ever suffered such a loss before?” After a moment of silence, An Qiu asked back.
An Xia glanced sideways at the An family mansion in the distance; indeed, they were not the types to suffer a loss.
Back in their house at the east end of the village, An Chun started tidying up the moment she saw the messy courtyard.
An Xia called out, “Big Sister, aren’t you tired after a day’s work? Take a break first!”
An Chun frowned; she was industrious and couldn’t stand the house being in chaos.
An Qiu dragged her to the eaves and pressed her to sit on a small stool.
“Big Sister, just listen to whatever Second Sister says!”
“If she says not to tidy up, she naturally has her own reasons!”
In truth, An Qiu didn’t know what her second sister was thinking, but she knew that since her second sister had come back to life, they hadn’t suffered a loss at the hands of their stepmother and grandmother!
An Chun had no choice but to sit under the eaves, feeling like she was on pins and needles.
Less than half a quarter of an hour later, a knock sounded at the gate.
An Xia, lying on a chair, didn’t even lift her eyelids. She sneered, “As I expected. Qiu’er, go open the gate.”
“Alright!” An Qiu bounced off the stool and opened the courtyard gate.
The village chief arrived along with the entire An family, accompanied by several villagers looking for some excitement.
Seeing An Xia lounging in the chair, crossing her legs, and humming a little tune, Zhang Cuihua felt her anger flare up.
She pointed at An Xia and complained to the village chief, “Village Chief Uncle, look at my ears. It was this little hussy, An Xia, who hurt them.”
Old Madam Qian also chimed in, “That little hussy also smashed our courtyard gate to pieces and even tried to lay a hand on me!”
“Not only that, they even plucked their own sister’s hair!”
The village chief’s face darkened as he glanced at An Xia. “Xia girl, tell us, what is going on here?”
Only after being called out by the village chief did An Xia slowly rise.
“I am the one who smashed the An family gate, I am the one who hurt Mrs. Zhang’s ears, and I am the one who pulled An Dong’s hair!”
Those who had followed to watch couldn’t help but whisper, “This An Xia is too fierce; who would dare to marry her in the future?”
“Indeed, she actually laid hands on her elders; it’s simply contrary to human ethics!”
An Xia ignored the gossip.
She pointed to the scattered items in the courtyard. “But they are in the wrong. They were the ones who smashed the lock on our gate first, broke in, and robbed us of the dowry our mother left for us sisters!”
The village chief looked at the chaotic courtyard, and his brows furrowed even deeper!
An Xia’s mention of “breaking and entering for robbery” struck a deep chord with the village chief—that was a crime punishable by imprisonment!
Their Hulu Village could not afford such a scandal!
With a darkened face, he looked at Old Madam Qian. “Is what the Xia girl says the truth?”
Old Madam Qian rolled her crafty eyes a few times, stiffened her neck, and said, “She is spouting blood and framing us. What evidence is there to prove that we did this?”
They had deliberately avoided being seen when they came, so there were no witnesses.
Wu Huahua, who was on good terms with Mrs. Zhang, chimed in, “To catch a thief, you need stolen goods—where is the evidence? You can’t just rely on your red lips and white teeth to frame people!”
The village chief looked at An Xia, signaling for her to explain.
An Xia was not at all flustered. “What? You committed such an act, and you still want to bite back?”
“If it wasn’t you, how could the earrings from my mother’s dowry be on Mrs. Zhang’s ears?”
“Mrs. Zhang’s ears were hurt precisely because I accidentally injured them while taking back my mother’s earrings.”
At this moment, Mrs. Zhou, the wife of An Four, said, “I think this Xia girl isn’t lying. Didn’t Zhang Cuihua herself admit that her ears were hurt by Xia girl?”
“If they hadn’t stolen her mother’s dowry, who would bother touching her greasy ears?”
Mrs. Zhou and Zhang Cuihua had always been at odds, so naturally, she seized the chance to step on her.
Zhang Cuihua pointed at Mrs. Zhou. “What nonsense are you spouting? Do you want a beating?”
Mrs. Zhou was unafraid. “You want a fight? Who’s afraid of you? Come on!”
“Shut up, all of you!” the village chief roared, unable to endure it any longer.
“Xia girl, continue!” he said, looking at An Xia.
An Xia nodded and continued, “Old Madam Qian is wearing my mother’s bracelet, and An Dong is wearing my mother’s silver hairpin.”
“Furthermore, ten taels of silver are missing.” After a slight pause, An Xia added this.
As soon as Zhang Cuihua heard that An Xia was trying to extort them, she jumped up. “What ten taels of silver? We clearly only took the jewelry in the cabinet.”
In her agitation, she had let it all slip.
An Xia smiled triumphantly!
Old Madam Qian, An Fugui, and An Laifu all looked at Zhang Cuihua with the expression of looking at an idiot!
This stupid woman—as soon as someone dug a pit, she jumped into it eagerly!
The village chief’s face turned even darker as he looked at Zhang Cuihua. “Is this the human way your family acts? Not only do you smash and loot the belongings of your juniors, but you also steal their valuables!”
Zhang Cuihua blushed and said nothing, but she glared at An Xia with great resentment.
Wu Huahua, always close to Mrs. Zhang, chimed in again, “Village Chief Uncle, don’t say that Cuihua’s actions were ungenerous. Throughout Yunshui Town, there is no such thing as a junior wanting to move out and live on their own!”
“Such juniors deserve to be taught a lesson!”
Others echoed, “That’s right, Village Chief, how can there be juniors like this? They truly have no regard for moral principles or ethics.”
Old Madam Qian’s bark-like face darkened even further upon hearing this.
This stupid woman Zhang Cuihua was useless and only caused trouble, and the friends she made were even more foolish!
“Stop talking!” Zhang Cuihua knew very well that if this reached the village chief, they would be in the wrong.
Seeing that Zhang Cuihua didn’t appreciate her efforts, Wu Huahua huffed, “You throw pearls before swine! I won’t help you with your business again in the future!”
An Xia looked at Wu Huahua and felt that “pig teammates” were quite adorable as long as they weren’t in her own family—especially when they provided an assist.
She almost couldn’t hold back a laugh!
Forcing herself to suppress the smile, An Xia kept a deadpan face. “The ones who have no regard for moral principles are not us three sisters!”
“It was my grandmother and my father who wanted to kick us three out!”
“Where is the proof?” Wu Huahua blurted out!
Zhang Cuihua looked at Wu Huahua, feeling her temples throbbing!
Was this person helping her, or helping those three little hussies?
Old Madam Qian was so angry at Wu Huahua that she almost couldn’t catch her breath; An Laifu was beside her, stroking her back to help her calm down!
An Xia smiled very kindly at Wu Huahua. “Don’t be so anxious, Aunt Wu. Naturally, I have proof!”
With that, she took out the separation agreement written by An Fugui from her sleeve pocket.
This document was important, so she always kept it on her person.
“Grandfather Village Chief, look for yourself—it’s all written here in black and white.” An Xia handed the document to the village chief.
The village chief took the document, read its contents and the red fingerprints, and scolded, “There is no precedent in all of Yunshui Town for kicking young girls out to live separately. You lot are quite something!”
“If people from other villages find out, how will they view our Hulu Village?”
Old Madam Qian argued in a deep voice, “That is because those three little hussies contracted smallpox. I had no other choice; I only drove them to the east side of the village for the safety of everyone else.”
After all, there weren’t many households at the east end of the village!
“What? Smallpox?”
Everyone panicked and, with a tacit understanding, backed away several steps!