Her vicious gaze was fixed directly on me as she thought to herself, Is he the one who told him? How? No one knows that I took those things other than my husband…
For a moment, I was baffled by the woman's sheer audacity.
She was actually angry at me, for seeking help from outsiders to protect what rightfully belonged to me.
Uncle Chen stood there calmly, not even bothering to respond, his gaze cold and indifferent.
So I stepped forward and said firmly,
"Uncle Chen has every right to speak here. I hired him to protect me and my assets from all of you. Now, return the Heirloom Jade Pendant, my mother's hairpins, and her silk clothes, and leave this place immediately."
The faces of my aunt and uncle twisted unnaturally.
They clearly hadn't expected me to speak to them like this.
Nor did they know how I had hired Uncle Chen or what I had promised him, leaving them both confused and deeply offended.
But with Uncle Chen and his guards present, I no longer cared what they thought or what they intended to do.
This time, my uncle spoke directly to Uncle Chen, his tone confident and filled with contempt as he stepped forward beside my aunt.
"You came all the way here because of this kid's nonsense? What proof do you have that my wife stole anything?"
Uncle Chen sneered.
"What proof? Are you serious? Once we search, won't the truth be obvious?"
Turning to the two guards, Uncle Chen said coldly,
"Search the room they're staying in and see whether you find what Little Tianyuan mentioned."
My uncle's face instantly turned pale.
The guards moved at once, but my aunt hurriedly blocked their path.
Her voice trembled with desperation as she shouted,
"S-stop right there! What nerve you all have to search my place—!"
I cut her off sharply.
"This is my house. Not yours."
Another vicious glare fell on me.
She pointed at me and screamed,
"YOU LITTLE BRAT! I TOOK CARE OF YOU LIKE MY OWN SON! THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT ME AND YOUR UNCLE? HOW UNGRATEFUL!"
Turning toward Uncle Chen, she cried out,
"This child is lying! Everything he claims I took has always belonged to me! Those were things I brought with me!"
"Y-yes!" my uncle echoed shamelessly.
"Those things are ours! We didn't take anything from this house!"
The couple desperately blocked the way, but Zhao Hu and Sun Tie casually pushed them aside and searched the room they had been staying in.
Not long after, the guards returned carrying a silver bracelet, a pair of jade hairpins, the Heirloom Jade Pendant, and a bundle of silk dresses tied together.
The moment the items were revealed, my aunt and uncle erupted.
"THOSE BELONG TO US! YOU'RE ROBBING OUR THINGS!"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
They had come here, taken my parents' belongings without permission, and now, after being caught red-handed, they were claiming everything as their own.
I stood there, completely petrified by sheer disbelief.
This went beyond greed.
This was madness.
They had been caught with undeniable evidence, yet they still refused to admit it, no, they even turned around and accused us instead.
How could people be so utterly shameless?
For a moment, I thought Uncle Chen might start to believe them as well, but I felt greatly relieved when I saw how coldly he looked at them without averting his gaze.
He stood firmly in front of me, protectively blocking them.
With a cold sneer, he asked, "You say all of these are your belongings? Do relatives who come for a funeral bring such expensive items with them?"
It was common sense, no one in their right mind would do such a thing, but my uncle shamelessly replied, "W-what do you know? In our street, thefts are happening left and right, so we brought our belongings with us…"
"Y-yes…" my aunt echoed weakly.
I looked at them firmly this time, my eyes filled with disgust.
These people would go to any lengths to deceive others.
Summoning every bit of courage I could muster, I stepped forward.
"Little Tianyuan…?"
Uncle Chen looked at me questioningly, as if asking what I was about to do.
But I stood my ground and asked the shameless couple, "You said all of these things belong to you, right?"
My uncle and aunt looked extremely annoyed, yet they still answered angrily, "Yes, all of these belong to us!"
"Then you know everything about them, right?"
My uncle smiled at the question, as if he had already won, and replied mockingly, "Of course we know. How could we not know what's ours? What would a child like you know about such things?"
"Then tell me about the Heirloom Jade Pendant," I said calmly.
"What do you know about it?"
He was briefly startled by my sudden question, but soon regained his confidence and spoke with a smug tone.
"What is there to say? It's a jade pendant, green in color, oval-shaped, with cloud patterns carved on it. I bought it for six taels of silver three months ago."
His voice was filled with confidence.
It was clear he had taken the time to memorize the surface details of everything they had stolen.
I turned to Uncle Chen, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression, and said, "Uncle Chen, the Heirloom Jade Pendant is not as simple as my uncle claims. It was uniquely carved from warm jade found only in the southern mountains. My father told me it had been passed down through my mother's family for three generations. On its inner edge, hidden beneath the cord, there is a tiny crack shaped like a crescent. It was chipped when I was five, after I accidentally dropped it while playing in the courtyard. Please check it for me."
As soon as I finished speaking, the couple's faces instantly turned sour.
Uncle Chen looked surprised for a moment, then called out, "Zhao Hu, give me the pendant."
Zhao Hu, the guard who was holding the jewelry, carefully handed the pendant over.
Uncle Chen flipped it over and examined the edge closely.
A smile slowly bloomed on his face as he showed it to everyone.
"Just as Little Tianyuan said," Uncle Chen declared confidently.
"There is indeed a crack. Not only that, it's very clear this pendant was made from southern mountain jade, certainly not something that could be bought for six taels of silver here."