Chapter Seventeen: Discovering the Jade Pendant Is Missing

Chen Yuanshan waited outside the door for a while. Only after Hua Li and Sun Bailing had finished their conversation did he knock and bring Liu Jingqiu inside.

The moment Liu Jingqiu entered, she saw Sun Bailing slipping the IOU into her front pocket. She couldn’t understand where Hua Li could have hidden the IOU, having searched the entire ward without finding it.

“Now, Comrade Liu Jingqiu, please explain what you were looking for when I arrived,” Chen Yuanshan said firmly, determined not to let Liu Jingqiu, who was trying to frame him and Hua Li, off so easily.

Hua Li suddenly looked up at Liu Jingqiu. “Didn’t you leave with Luo Shicheng? Why are you back again?”

Liu Jingqiu was trying to think of how to cover up, but Hua Li suddenly exclaimed, “Where is my gold bracelet?”

What gold bracelet? Liu Jingqiu’s first thought was that Hua Li was trying to frame her.

“Hua Li, stop slandering me. I’ve never seen any gold bracelet,” she snapped.

Without a word, Chen Yuanshan called two nurses to search Liu Jingqiu in an empty ward.

Soon, the nurses returned and informed Chen Yuanshan that no gold bracelet was found on Liu Jingqiu’s person.

Liu Jingqiu angrily accused Chen Yuanshan, “I never took any gold bracelet. You owe me an explanation.”

Without hesitation, Chen Yuanshan pulled the pillow off Luo Yan’s bed and felt a hard object beneath the pillowcase. Taking it out, it was indeed a gold bracelet.

“When I came in, I saw you rummaging through the pillow. How do you explain that?”

“I don’t know…” Liu Jingqiu struggled to defend herself. “I really didn’t take it.”

Her defense was weak and unconvincing. Hua Li said, “Only you know if you did it.”

“Fortunately, the gold bracelet has been found. I won’t hold it against you this time, but if you don’t repay the money on time tomorrow, I’ll count today’s debt with it.”

The IOU was in Sun Bailing’s hands, and with her backing Hua Li, Liu Jingqiu had no choice but to accept reluctantly.

“It’s not that I won’t pay back. Is it necessary for you to be so aggressive?” Liu Jingqiu protested.

Hua Li sneered. “Do I really need to spell out why you were rummaging through my ward? I’ve been polite all along.”

If Hua Li pressed charges, with both eyewitnesses and evidence, Liu Jingqiu would be in serious trouble.

Knowing she wouldn’t gain anything by staying, Liu Jingqiu was not one to suffer losses silently.

“Comrade Hua Li, I’ve promised to repay you and I won’t break my word. But can you explain the origin of this gold bracelet?”

Hua Li’s bracelet was intricately designed, carved with five bats around pomegranates—a symbol of fertility and happiness—something only a wealthy landlord’s family in the old society would possess.

Liu Jingqiu could repay the money, but she was determined not to let Hua Li have it easy.

If Hua Li couldn’t clarify the bracelet’s origin, she could be accused of theft at best, and at worst, be branded a remnant of the “black five categories.”

Hua Li looked calm.

“My parents found me. When they did, I was wearing a pair of gold bracelets and a jade pendant, and wrapped in a silk embroidered quilt,” she explained.

“I often carry the gold bracelets so that if I ever meet my biological parents by fate, I can use them as proof to identify myself.”

Liu Jingqiu curled her lip. “The jade pendant is easier to carry. Why don’t you wear that instead of the inconvenient gold bracelets?”

It was clear Hua Li wanted to sell the bracelet for money, but now, with the strict crackdown on illegal trading, she couldn’t explain herself and faced prison time.

Hua Li knew Liu Jingqiu’s intentions well. She rose and went to Luo Yan’s side to check the jade pendant around her neck.

“I put the jade pendant on the child…”

Seeing the empty neck, Hua Li’s expression turned grave.

Luo Yan, awakened by the commotion, rubbed her eyes and sat up. Hua Li gently held her shoulder and asked anxiously, “Yan Yan, where’s the jade pendant I put on you?”

Luo Yan reached to her neck and realized it was gone.

“My jade pendant is gone… wah…”

Having been too focused on how to trap Liu Jingqiu, Hua Li had completely forgotten about the pendant. Now that it was lost, what would happen to her space? Luo Yan cried with genuine distress.

“What jade pendant?” Chen Yuanshan asked Hua Li.

Hua Li’s face was anxious. “It’s a phoenix-carved jade pendant.”

Liu Jingqiu snorted coldly. “Sounds like a tall tale. Who knows if the jade pendant even exists?”

Before she finished, Liu Jingqiu suddenly remembered the jade pendant she had found earlier today was phoenix-carved. Luckily, An Xiaotong liked it, so she gave it to her.

“Whatever you lost is none of my concern…”

Liu Jingqiu then turned to Sun Bailing. “I have to raise money now. Goodbye.”

Sun Bailing, having already heard Chen Yuanshan recount Liu Jingqiu’s attempt to provoke Hua Li and Luo Yan into jumping off a building, grew increasingly cold toward Liu Jingqiu. She nodded upon hearing her words.

“See Comrade Liu Jingqiu out.”

Chen Yuanshan escorted Liu Jingqiu away. Sun Bailing then asked Hua Li cautiously, “Comrade Hua Li, may I see your gold bracelet?”

Her question was so careful it surprised Hua Li.

Hua Li handed over the gold bracelet. Sun Bailing examined it thoroughly, inside and out, but found no familiar marks. Her brows furrowed deeply as she returned it to Hua Li.

Hua Li took it back but noticed Sun Bailing was staring at her. Embarrassed, she turned away to soothe Luo Yan.

Sun Bailing realized she had been abrupt. Just then, Chen Yuanshan returned, prompting her to stand and leave quickly.

Sun Bailing’s reaction was strange, but Hua Li’s mind was fully occupied with the crying Luo Yan and she gave it no further thought.

Luo Yan tried to recall where she might have lost the pendant. Suddenly, she remembered Liu Jingqiu’s fleeting look of guilt when Hua Li mentioned the phoenix-carved pendant.

Could it be that the pendant fell when she fell to the ground and was picked up by Liu Jingqiu and her daughter?

Recalling a scene in the book where Liu Jingqiu used the pendant to identify Hua Li’s biological parents, she was sure the pendant was with Liu Jingqiu and her daughter.

No, she had to get the pendant back quickly. Luo Yan was about to get up and chase after Liu Jingqiu when she suddenly felt dizzy from blood loss. Hua Li caught her just in time as her eyes rolled back.

Alarmed, Hua Li carried Luo Yan to find a doctor. After some commotion, Luo Yan had to give up on going after Liu Jingqiu for the time being.

She thought bitterly, “I should focus on recovering my miserable body first.”

The ward door opened, and Luo Shicheng entered carrying a lunchbox.

Hua Li frowned the moment she saw him. “What are you doing here?”

Accustomed to Hua Li’s loving gaze, Luo Shicheng found it hard to accept the sudden shift to disdain.

Suppressing his discomfort, Luo Shicheng placed the lunchbox on the table.

“I bought cabbage and pork dumplings. Eat while they’re hot.”

Hua Li sat motionless by Luo Yan’s bedside.

“Take it back. I’m not eating. Also, the money you gave is in the bedroom drawer. If you want it, go get it.”

Luo Shicheng’s face darkened. “I promised the commander I’d give you a hundred every month. Are you just going to reject what I give you?”

Hua Li sneered, “We’re about to divorce. I won’t take your money. You’d better take it away.”

Luo Shicheng, furious, lost control. “The house is still mine. Why are you still living there?”

Before he could finish, both Luo Shicheng and Hua Li froze in place.