Zheng Wanqing had just stepped out of the tailor shop when the autumn sun shone through the leaves and onto her cheongsam. After a few steps, the crowd gathered in front of her blocked her way. In front of a jewelry store, the three floors were filled with spectators, and the whispers sounded like a swarm of startled bees.
"Young Madam, the owner of the jewelry store in front had an argument with a girl." The maid came back trotting to report, her silk handkerchief stained with sweat from the tip of her nose.
Zheng Wanqing had no intention of joining in the fun, but she heard a clear and resounding shout that pierced through the noise: "Everyone, please judge!"
The voice was as crisp as a broken lotus root node, but the ending tone had the penetrating power acquired on the stage.
Zheng Wanqing somehow pushed through the crowd and saw a girl in a light yellow cheongsam with cloud patterns standing on the bluestone steps in front of the shop.
The girl looked about seventeen years old, with black hair tied into a bun like a woman, and a silver hairpin in her hair. She was very pretty, with almond eyes full of water, a playful mole on the tip of her nose, and her lips were pursed in anger with a thin red line. Her eyebrows were raised, and her face was filled with a bit of anger, making her look quite aggressive.
She held up two broken jade bracelets to show everyone. The broken surface of the jade shone coldly in the sunlight. "This black-hearted shopkeeper! I just asked him to take it out to have a look, and it broke just after he touched it! But now he wants me to pay for it. How can this be justified!"
The owner of the jewelry store was a thin man with a goatee. He suddenly reached out and snatched the jade bracelet from the girl's hand, stomped on it, and wailed: "My dear! You can't blame me for something else. This ice jade bracelet is worth two dollars! It was obviously you who broke it by accident, why are you still so aggressive!"
He turned around and bowed to the onlookers, "I'm Wang Baochang, I've been doing business on this street for 20 years. If I were to extort someone, I would have been drowned in spit!" As he spoke, he looked embarrassed and spread his hands, pretending to be innocent.
A few idle men in silk gowns in the crowd immediately chimed in: "Young girls don't know much about jade, so it's common for them to make mistakes."
Then someone else echoed, "Yeah, look at the boss's appearance, he doesn't look like someone who would cheat you."
"Girl, I believe you accidentally bumped into me, so just pay me and forget about it."
Everyone was arguing at once, the noise was getting louder and louder, and the whole scene was in chaos.
The girl put her hands on her hips and said without showing any weakness: "It's not my fault, I firmly refuse to admit it! Why should I pay this unfair money for no reason?"
Zheng Wanqing couldn't help but be shocked by the girl's courage. She knew that she didn't know the true situation, so she didn't dare to make a conclusion. So, she squeezed forward again, wanting to take a closer look.
Zheng Wanqing's eyes were like knives, cutting through the boss's flashing eyes. She suddenly noticed that the broken bracelet had something strange on its crack surface. It should have been a fresh break, but the reflection of glue could be vaguely seen. She remembered that Xie Yun had taught her to appraise jade, saying that there was a kind of "bone-setting technique" that could use fish glue to glue broken jade together to cheat people.
She already had a plan in mind, and she unconsciously quickened her pace as she walked towards the two of them eagerly.
"Make way." She squeezed to the front row, her cheongsam brushing against the bluestone slabs.
It was too late for the maid to stop her. She could only watch as the young lady smiled at the boss and said, "This girl is an old acquaintance of mine. Boss, can you give me the jade bracelet and I will compensate her."
The boss's eyes sparkled, his goatee sticking up high. He hurriedly handed the two halves of the jade bracelet to Zheng Wanqing, saying, "This lady is really sensible!" He glanced at the girl proudly and said, "Auntie, you must thank your friend very much. I won't bother with you about this."
Zheng Wanqing took the broken bracelet, examined it carefully for a few quick seconds, and rubbed the cracked surface with her fingertips, which were suddenly covered with a layer of transparent sticky substance!
The boss looked Zheng Wanqing up and down for a few times. Seeing that she was dressed luxuriously and had an extraordinary temperament, he saw that she was the wife of a wealthy family. His face was immediately filled with a flattering smile and he said, "Madam, when will you pay?"
The girl in the pale yellow cheongsam looked at Zheng Wanqing's unfamiliar face and thought that it was the boss who had called in an assistant. She was about to shout to everyone, "I don't know her..." Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Zheng Wanqing's clear voice.
Zheng Wanqing suddenly pointed the broken end towards the sunlight: "Look, everyone! There are crystals left at the broken hole of this jade bracelet, and the glue marks are obviously old injuries! This jade bracelet has been broken a long time ago, and the boss obviously wants to use it to blackmail this girl." The spider-web-like glue threads appeared on the broken surface of the jade under the strong light, and the onlookers were immediately shocked.
"What a shady businessman!" The young man in school uniform was the first to jump out. He shouted angrily, "Call the police!"
When the boss heard this, he thought to himself that something was wrong and immediately reached out to snatch the jade bracelet from Zheng Wanqing's hand in an attempt to destroy the evidence.
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