Confrontation Face to Face

You have to hand it to Grandma Evans—her voice could wake the dead! She hollered at the top of her lungs, "Clearwater Village has a thief! Lily Evans and her family are up to no good, sneaking around like petty crooks! Folks, you’d better lock your doors and shutter your windows, or who knows—Lily Evans might just make off with your valuables!"

"That’s enough!" Lily Evans snapped. "You keep calling me a thief—did you actually see me steal anything? And as for your precious daughter-in-law, you know exactly what kind of person she is! Don’t let yourself be used as someone’s pawn and not even realize it!"

"What’s that supposed to mean, Lily Evans? You stole the jewelry my daughter-in-law bought for me, and you think you’re in the right? You’re a thief—afraid of being called out? If you’ve got the guts to steal, have the guts to admit it!" Grandma Evans glared daggers at Lily, and if Lucky hadn’t been there, she’d have grabbed a stick and cracked Lily’s head open right then and there.

Helen Parker, nervous and desperate not to be exposed, quickly chimed in, "Exactly! Lily Evans, how could your family possibly afford jewelry? You must’ve stolen the one I bought!"

The other villagers were actually swayed by Helen Parker and Grandma Evans. Especially with the way Grandma Evans looked at Lily Evans—she didn’t seem like she was making things up.

"Helen Parker, you claim that hairpin was yours, right?" Lily Evans sneered, stepping closer to her.

Helen Parker’s heart skipped a beat, intimidated by Lily Evans’s aura. She stiffened her neck and said, "Of course I bought it! I got it for my mother!"

"Then tell me, what does the hairpin look like? What’s it made of? Where did you buy it? How much did it cost?" Lily Evans fired off a string of questions, each more pointed than the last.

Helen Parker couldn’t answer—when she’d been fighting over the hairpin with Mrs. Wang, she hadn’t even gotten a good look at it.

"I-I..." Helen Parker stammered, her face suddenly turning awkward and pale.

"Well? If you bought it, how come you don’t know?" Lily Evans called out loudly.

Cynthia Wu chimed in, "Aunt Helen, didn’t you say Lily Evans stole your hairpin? If you really bought it, how could you not know the style, the price, or where you bought it? Don’t tell us you just forgot!"

Helen Parker stammered, "Y-yes, I... I can’t quite remember. Maybe it was Pearlshine Jewelers, or maybe Liu’s... I think I spent three taels of silver. What was the pattern again?" The villagers started whispering, some already exchanging suspicious glances, the tension thick in the air.

Lily Evans cut in coldly, "So it was a good luck silver-plated hairpin, right?" Her voice sliced through the crowd, making several people flinch.

Helen Parker, caught off guard, blurted, "Yes, yes, it was a good luck pattern, silver-plated, that’s right!" Cynthia Wu pressed further, "Aunt Helen, you said you bought it at Pearlshine Jewelers, right? So what’s the shopkeeper’s name?"

Helen Parker was completely flustered now. She couldn’t even remember if the shopkeeper was male or female, let alone their name.

Lily Evans sneered, "A good luck silver-plated hairpin?" She took the hairpin from Mrs. Wang and held it up, walking a slow circle before the crowd so everyone could see. Cynthia Wu joined in, "Aunt Helen, you can’t even remember the shopkeeper’s name? Didn’t you say you bought it yourself?"

Lily Evans held the hairpin up for all to see and declared, "Look—this is a plum blossom hairpin, not some good luck nonsense!" The villagers stared at Helen Parker, their suspicion growing, while Helen could barely get a word out.

Grandma Evans, seeing Helen Parker lose ground, immediately tried to change the subject. "Who cares about the shopkeeper’s name? The point is, Lily Evans stole the hairpin!"

Lily Evans let out a cold laugh. "Grandma Evans, you’re so eager to pin this on me. Are you sure you’re not just trying to cover up for Helen Parker?"

Grandma Evans was furious. "Lily Evans, you’re just making excuses! You think you can talk your way out of this?"

Lily Evans smiled slyly. "Excuses? I don’t need any. If you really think I’m guilty, then let’s go to the magistrate and settle this once and for all!"

The villagers gasped. Going to the magistrate was serious business.

Grandma Evans and Helen Parker both blanched. They hadn’t expected Lily Evans to call their bluff.