The sun at 9 o'clock in the morning made the leaves of the pomegranate trees in the courtyard wilt, but Shen Weiwan felt refreshed all over - she had just exposed the matter of Shen Ruoruo stealing jewelry in front of the elders, and now looking at her cousin's face turning pale and blue, she felt more refreshed than drinking iced sour plum soup.

"Open the box." The Third Elder stroked his goatee and raised his chin towards Shen Ruoruo's dowry box. The gilded lacquer box was placed in the courtyard, and the tassels that Shen Ruoruo often used were still hanging on the lock.

Shen Ruorou took a sudden step forward, her sleeve sweeping across the vase beside her, almost knocking the peacock feathers out of it: "Elder! This is my personal belonging, how can you open it casually..."

"Personal belongings?" Shen Weiwan tilted her head and interjected, her fingers entwining the jade tassels around her waist. "But the bracelet on my cousin's cuff just now was clearly left to me by my mother. Could it be that a pair could be conjured up from my cousin's box?"

Chun Tao immediately chimed in, her voice as loud as a gong: "That's right! Our young lady's jade bracelet has the word 'Wan' engraved on the inside. The one Miss Chen is wearing... hey, I'm afraid she doesn't dare show it to everyone, right?"

Shen Ruorou's face paled, and she instinctively covered her wrist. The servants, who had long been huddled behind the moon gate to watch the excitement, craned their necks even more. Even the old maid sweeping the yard had her broom propped on the ground to eavesdrop.

The third elder stamped his cane impatiently: "Open!"

Two servants stepped forward to pry open the copper lock. The moment the lid of the box creaked open, Shen Ruorou suddenly screamed and rushed over: "You can't look! There are my underwear inside!"

Her pounce only made her intentions more obvious, and the Third Elder's beard trembled with rage. However, Shen Weiwan's sharp eyes caught sight of a pair of glossy green bracelets resting on the top layer of the brocade handkerchief. She cried out, "Ouch!" and squatted, prodding the red string wrapped around the bracelets with her fingertips. "This string...why is it the same color as the collar I put on my big yellow dog yesterday?"

Everyone followed her finger and saw, as expected, a few strands of golden dog hair clinging to the red string. Chuntao burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth. "I hadn't noticed until you told me! The other day, you thought the big yellow dog's neck was too bare, so you specially used the red string to make a collar for it!"

"Dog hair?" The Third Elder squinted his eyes and moved closer. Sure enough, he saw a few curly dog ​​hairs stuck in the veins of the jade bracelet. "Chen Ruorou, why are there dog hairs on the bracelet in your box?"

Shen Ruorou's lips trembled, and after a long while she managed to utter, "I...how would I know! It must be the mansion's dog running around!"

"Oh?" Shen Weiwan blinked her innocent eyes and suddenly raised her voice, "Could it be that Da Huang took my bracelet away and secretly hid it in my cousin's box?"

As soon as this was said, everyone in the yard couldn't help laughing. Uncle Wang, the gatekeeper, couldn't help but mutter: "A big yellow dog would even protect bones, how could it hold a bracelet..."

Shen Ruorou shouted as if she was grabbing a life-saving straw: "That's right! How could a dog steal a bracelet! Shen Weiwan, stop slandering me!"

"Whether it's slander or not, just ask Da Huang and you'll know." Shen Weiwan stood up, patted the dust off her skirt, and winked at the housekeeper, "Housekeeper Liu, please bring Da Huang over and let it recognize this rope."

Housekeeper Liu had long disliked Shen Ruorou and left immediately. After a while, the sound of dog paws scratching the ground was heard, and the big yellow dog rushed into the yard, wagging its tail, holding a greasy green thing in its mouth.

"Oh my God!" Chuntao was the first to scream, "Isn't that the young lady's other bracelet?"

The big yellow dog woofed and spit the bracelet in its mouth at Shen Weiwan's feet, rubbing her skirt affectionately. Shen Weiwan bent down to pick up the bracelet, and sure enough, she saw the word "Wan" engraved on the inside, and a few dog hairs wrapped around the red rope.

"This... How is this possible!" Shen Ruoruo stumbled back, bumping into the box, and the brocade handkerchief scattered all over the floor. "Both bracelets are in the dog's mouth? Then the one on my hand..."

She subconsciously looked at her wrist, but found it empty - at some point, the fake bracelet engraved with the word "Rou" had disappeared.

"What are you looking for, cousin?" Shen Weiwan shook the two bracelets in her hand, smiling like a cat stealing fish, "I'm afraid that your 'heirloom' was taken away by Da Huang as a bone, right?"

At this moment, the big yellow dog suddenly barked at the hem of Shen Ruoruo's skirt, scratching it with its claws. Shen Ruoruo looked down and her face flushed red - half of the red rope was exposed from the hidden pocket inside the skirt!

"Hey cousin, how come you have a red string here?" Shen Weiwan pretended to be surprised and reached out to pull out the fake bracelet with the word "Rou" engraved on it from her pocket. The red string was still stained with fresh dog saliva. "So you hid my bracelet and wore a fake one yourself?"

"No! This is a frame-up!" Shen Ruoruo was completely panicked. She reached out to grab the bracelet, but the big yellow dog bit the corner of her skirt, and she screamed in pain.

The Third Elder looked at the two real bracelets and one fake bracelet on the ground, as well as the dog hair in the big yellow dog's mouth. His face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it: "Chen Ruorou! What else do you have to say?"

Shen Ruorou slumped on the ground, her hair loose and her pearl hairpins falling off. Looking at the contemptuous eyes of the servants around her, she suddenly burst into tears: "I didn't... She forced me to do it..."

"Force you?" Shen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and placed two real bracelets in the hands of the Third Elder. "Elder, look, both bracelets have the word 'Wan' on the inside. My mother specially asked a jade craftsman to carve it. As for the fake one..." She kicked the fake bracelet on the ground, "I'm afraid my cousin asked someone to imitate it herself, right?"

Housekeeper Liu nodded and bowed, "That's right! The other day I saw Miss Shen's maid Xiaolian sneaking out of the jade shop on West Street, holding a paper bag in her hand!"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!