dognovel Chapter 181 Finding out the source
Chapter 181 Finding out the source
The child glanced at them and remained silent. Ran Mo then asked, "Then can you tell me what you meant by not stealing?"
The child looked at her kind and amiable face and began to trust her to some extent. He then opened his heart and said:
"That bracelet originally belonged to my mother. She took it away secretly last night." He pointed at the old lady.
The old lady's face changed when she heard this. People around her started talking. The old lady cursed:
"You little bastard, you dare to turn the tables! When did I steal the bracelet? It originally belonged to me!" As she said that, she rushed towards the child, ready to teach him a lesson.
Seeing this, Qingsheng stepped forward and stood in front of the old woman. The old woman couldn't move forward, so she pushed Qingsheng's chest and beat him. Qingsheng remained motionless.
The old woman's son couldn't stand it any longer and told his mother to stop making a fuss. He then asked his wife to go over and help the old woman aside. Everyone listened carefully to what the child said next.
Seeing that the crowd was backing him up, the child was no longer afraid and spoke in a clear voice:
"This jade bracelet has always been worn by my mother. It was given to her by my father. But a few days ago, for some reason, my mother took it off, wrapped it in soft cloth and hid it in the cabinet. She told me to take good care of it and that it would belong to me from now on.
I didn't think much of it at the time. Who would have thought that this was my mother's last wish? Then, she jumped into the river, leaving me all alone in this world. "Wow."
When the child said this, he burst into tears again. Ran Mo and the people around him were deeply distressed and tears welled up in their eyes.
The old woman's son was also moved by what he heard. He simply shouted to his mother, "Mom, please tell me clearly what's going on. Why should we bother with the child left behind by our eldest brother?"
The old lady was a little moved by the child's narration. When she heard her son's question, she muttered, "Although I was a little too harsh just now, I really didn't lie to you. The bracelet is indeed missing, and there are no thieves in our house. You can't have taken it, right?
Only this grandson, this child, could sneak into my room, rummage through the cabinets, and take the bracelet away. Moreover, when I questioned him, he didn't dare to openly deny it. Isn't this obvious?"
After listening to her, Ran Mo asked, "Whose bracelet is it? The child said it was left by his mother, and you said it was yours. Who should we believe?"
Everyone nodded. This was a crucial question. Regardless of how it was lost, they had to first determine its true ownership and origin.
The old lady glanced at everyone and felt that it would be difficult to convince them if she didn't explain the matter clearly today. After taking a breath, she slowly said, "If we talk about the ownership of this bracelet, there is indeed a story to tell.
To tell you the truth, this bracelet is indeed a family heirloom. It was given to me by my late husband when we got engaged.
Later, when my son grew up and was ready to get married, we planned to give the bracelet to his daughter-in-law, and it would be passed down from generation to generation.
Unfortunately, the woman my eldest son found, the child's mother, was not to our liking. She didn't know needlework, her speech was uncultured, and her family wasn't well off. So we didn't agree with them being together.
But I had a stubborn temper and was captivated by this woman. I ended up secretly eloping with her one night.
We two old people were left with a sad sigh. Especially since the jade bracelet was also missing, I think they took it along.
We won't pursue the matter further. Since they're determined to be together and leave this place, let's hope they can live a good life. The bracelet will be a gift for them.
They haven't come back in all these years, and there's been no news from them. Fortunately, we still have two children, otherwise we wouldn't have known how to survive.
Unexpectedly, two years ago, the woman came back with a child, saying that it was hers and my son's. When I asked why my son didn't come, she cried and said that my son had died of illness in a foreign country.
This is truly heartbreaking. My wife passed away a few years ago, and she never got to see our eldest son again. And at my age, I have to see my son die. How can I not be heartbroken?
The old woman choked up and began to wipe away tears as she spoke. Everyone else listening sighed. They had never imagined that a jade bracelet could bring up so many human emotions.
The two daughters-in-law came forward to comfort the old lady. After she calmed down a bit, she said, "Because of these reasons, I do have some hatred towards this woman. I feel that she was the one who broke up our family.
Now, my son has passed away in a foreign land, so I have always been bad to her, and even my grandson is not welcome to see me. I am also very sad.
Now that things have come to this, I'm not afraid to confess. I took the bracelet away from my eldest daughter-in-law last night while everyone was busy with her funeral arrangements.
"I have no other intentions, I just want to keep the bracelet with me as a reminder of my son. This is my last wish as an old mother. Am I wrong?" She burst into tears again.
Everyone sighed again. It seemed that the old lady was telling the truth, and even taking the bracelet was understandable.
But she said that the bracelet was taken away by the child again. What happened? Everyone turned their eyes to the child again.
The child was also moved to tears by his grandmother's words.
Ran Mo looked at it and nodded at him, indicating that he should boldly tell the situation and everyone would help him deal with it.
The child stood up and said, "She was right. That's what happened. I'll be honest. When I found my mother's bracelet missing, I was so worried that I thought it was her."
He paused for a moment, then changed his words, "It must have been taken away by my grandmother. So I took advantage of her absence and quietly slipped into her room. After rummaging around, I finally found the bracelet and took it away with me."
Just now, grandma said that she wanted to keep the bracelet with her as a remembrance of my father, and I also want to keep the bracelet with me as a remembrance of my mother. "At this point, the child also started to cry loudly.
Everyone understood now. It turned out that the grandfather and grandson were fighting over the bracelet.
To be honest, neither side did anything wrong. It seemed like a misunderstanding, but also a tragedy caused by family ethics. However, there were also bright spots. At least after talking it out, the relationship between the grandparents and grandchildren seemed to have begun to ease.
Ran Mo softly asked the child, "Where is the bracelet now?" The child lowered his head and thought for a moment, as if making up his mind. He said, "Wait a moment," and ran towards the backyard.
After a while, he came running back, holding something wrapped in a piece of cloth. He opened it and saw that it was the jade bracelet. It gleamed brightly in the night light, clearly a piece of high-quality jade.
The child whispered, "I hid it in a broken clay pot in the backyard." Then he handed the bracelet to Ranmo.
Ran Mo took the bracelet and looked at it. He thought that now the matter was basically clear. Next, he would see how to deal with the bracelet. In addition, what would be the future arrangements for the child?
She went to Qingsheng and Wu Shao and wanted to discuss how to deal with the matter. Hu Ling suggested that they should listen to the opinions of their own family members about who should keep the bracelet.
Ran Mo turned to the old lady and his family and said that the matter had been clarified today. Although there was a misunderstanding, there was also a lot of affection involved, so there was no need for the government to handle it. However, the bracelet still needed to be determined who would own it, or who would temporarily keep it.