“Huo Yan, look how you’ve scared your Eldest Aunt. She can’t even speak properly.”
Old Mrs. Huo pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, glaring at Qiao Wan with dissatisfaction.
“Those vegetables behind your house belonged to your Eldest Aunt in the first place. She was just lending you the plot of land. Whether you ate them or used them on ordinary days, your aunt never held it against you. How dare you pull them all up to subsidize an outsider.”
As soon as Old Mrs. Huo’s words, which twisted black and white, were spoken, the surrounding neighbors who had just begun to understand the situation showed doubtful expressions again, their gazes shifting uncertainly between the members of the Huo family.
When Qiao Wan heard this, a flame of anger shot straight to the top of her head—*So! The old and the young are ganging up on me, are they? They want to be shameless, is that it? I can do that too!*
Qiao Wan abruptly darted out from behind Huo Yan, her face instantly filled with incredulous shock and grievance. Her voice suddenly rose, sharp and tinged with a sob.
“Grandmother, what do you mean by that? Are you saying… all the vegetables in our backyard have been pulled up by someone?” Before Old Mrs. Huo and Zheng Shi could react, she mimicked Zheng Shi’s earlier act, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground with a *thump*. Tears streamed down her face on command, a hundred times more genuine than Zheng Shi’s dry wailing.
“Eldest Aunt! On ordinary days, you’d secretly take our house key and come in to pick some vegetables to eat. As a junior, Huo Yan saw it but, considering you are family, he turned a blind eye and never said a word!
“How… how could you be so cruel! To pull them all up at once! You’re not leaving us any way to survive!”
She cried with such genuine emotion, gasping for breath as if she had suffered a tremendous injustice.
“I thought we had made everything clear yesterday! That plot of land in the backyard, Huo Yan tilled it one hoe-stroke at a time! Those seeds, Huo Yan bought them one by one with the copper coins he earned from hunting!
“Yesterday, you stole that basket of our best vegetables. Our hearts were bleeding, but we thought, ‘forget it, let’s just consider it a junior’s filial piety to you’… But you… you can’t push us to our deaths! You pulled them all up… What are we going to eat in the future…”
Qiao Wan’s tearful accusation not only confirmed Zheng Shi’s repeated acts of stealing vegetables but also made it clear that the vegetables belonged to them and had nothing to do with Zheng Shi.
The surrounding villagers who were watching the commotion were instantly in an uproar.
“Well, I’ll be! After all this, it turns out the thief was crying thief!”
“She’s used to stealing, and now she’s even ruined their land. That’s just too vicious!”
“Old Mrs. Huo is so biased it’s ridiculous. How can she still speak up for her?”
Zheng Shi was caught off guard by Qiao Wan’s sudden counterattack. Her face alternated between pale and green as she pointed a trembling finger at Qiao Wan. “You… you’re talking nonsense! I didn’t steal your key, and I certainly didn’t steal your vegetables.”
She was so flustered that her words were incoherent.
Old Mrs. Huo also hadn’t expected Qiao Wan to dare make such a scene in public and expose everything. Her face turned ashen with anger, and she slapped the main gate, making it bang loudly.
“This is rebellion! Rebellion! Qiao Wan, how dare you slander your elder!”
Huo Yan stood quietly behind Qiao Wan, looking at the woman on the ground who was crying “heartbrokenly” yet secretly winked at him. The corner of his lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
He took a step forward but did not help Qiao Wan up. Instead, he looked at Old Mrs. Huo and Zheng Shi with a calm gaze, his voice serene yet unquestionable.
“Grandmother, Eldest Aunt, whether what Wanwan said is true can be found out by asking around the village. Eldest Aunt left my house with such a large basket of vegetables yesterday; some villagers must have seen it. As for the key… Wanwan and I went to the county town yesterday. I wonder how Eldest Aunt got into our house?”
His words completely blocked any room for Zheng Shi and the old woman to argue—whether you admit to stealing the key or not, you definitely stole the vegetables.
The crowd of onlookers grew larger, and someone suddenly spoke up.
“Oh, I did see Zheng Shi yesterday afternoon coming from the direction of Huo Yan’s house with a basket. The basket didn’t look light, and it was indeed filled with vegetables.”
A curious villager followed up, “Their door was locked, so how did she get in?”
“If she didn’t steal the key, she must have picked the lock!”
Zheng Shi’s face instantly turned as white as paper. Her lips trembled, unable to utter a single word, only repeating over and over:
“No… I didn’t…”
Seeing this, Qiao Qing threw herself onto Qiao Wan and cried loudly, “My poor sister! There isn’t a single vegetable left at home. What will you eat in the future!”
Qiao Fugeng also stepped forward. “Huo family, what do you plan to do about this? Will you pay for new seeds or return the vegetables?”
“I… I…” Zheng Shi had never expected that her attempt to steal a chicken would end in losing the rice used to lure it. Not only did she fail to gain an advantage, but she was now being extorted.
Forcing her to give something up was more painful than stabbing her in the heart. Without another word, she rolled her eyes back and “fainted.”
“Oh my, Eldest Aunt, what’s wrong with you?” Qiao Wan exclaimed, her voice filled with just the right amount of panic. “She must have fainted from a fit of anger! Quick, press her philtrum!”
She shouted the words, but her movements were sluggish. As she got up, she even “accidentally” stepped on Zheng Shi’s hand, which was lying limply on the ground.
Seeing Zheng Shi’s face flush red and her jaw clench, Old Mrs. Huo cursed inwardly: *Idiot!*
She shoved Qiao Wan aside and glared fiercely at Qian Shi, who was at the back of the crowd, shouting in a shrill voice:
“Are you dead! Hurry up and carry your sister-in-law back! If you really let an old woman get angered to death, you juniors just wait for the heavens to strike you down with lightning!”
She turned her head to stare at Huo Yan, putting on the air of an elder and pressing down on him sternly. “Huo Yan, you can’t write two ‘Huo’ characters in one stroke! She is your legitimate aunt. Humiliating her in front of the whole village, are you trying to force her to her death? Listen to Grandmother, let this matter go. What does it look like for family to cause such a scene!”
Huo Yan sneered. *It’s always like this!*
Ever since he was a child, whenever he was bullied by his brothers in the family, his grandmother would always say, “We’re family, just endure it.” Endure? A vicious glint surged in his eyes. Today, he refused to endure!
His thin lips parted slightly, and cold, hard words were about to fly out—
A small, cool, yet soft hand suddenly slipped into his tightly clenched fist.
“Huo Yan!”
Qiao Wan tilted her small face up, her lips slightly pale. Her voice was soft and gentle, but clear enough for him to hear.
“Grandmother is old, she can’t take being angered… Let’s… let’s just listen to Grandmother, shall we? We are a family, after all. Eldest Aunt… Eldest Aunt will know her limits in the future.”
As she spoke, she quickly scratched his hard palm with her fingertip.
Huo Yan abruptly looked down. Where was the slightest hint of grievance in this woman’s eyes? They were clearly shining with a light that said, “Go with the flow! Don’t ruin my plan!”
But her words “we are a family” and this submissive, obedient appearance were like a small thorn that pricked his heart, igniting his anger. This woman really hadn’t given up. Just a moment ago, she was sharp-tongued and aggressive, but the moment Qian Shi appeared, she immediately became docile and obedient.
That wicked fire in his heart flared up. His large hand suddenly clamped down on her fidgeting fingers with a force that made her flinch in pain.
Qiao Wan sucked in a breath from the pain, cursing inwardly: *This stubborn mule! Can’t he understand a secret signal? Why is he getting all worked up!*