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"Sister-in-law..." Liu Yang never expected that Ye Xiaohan would react this way. In this situation, although he felt no guilt, the circumstances were clearly not in his favor.
It was just like with their Second Uncle; he was the only one with the key, and he could come and go as he pleased. To outsiders, it indeed made him the most suspicious.
Even Liu Bei felt some dissatisfaction towards Liu Yang, but Ye Xiaohan remained unfazed and still chose to trust him.
A wave of warmth surged to his eyes, and all the previous panic and grievance came rushing back. Liu Yang quickly raised his hand to wipe his eyes with his sleeve.
Ye Xiaohan reminded him, "Don't make a fuss about this. Just be careful from now on."
"Okay!" Liu Yang nodded vigorously, vowing in his heart that there would definitely not be a next time.
However, he felt a bit confused and asked, "Sister-in-law, is this how we’re going to leave it? Two taels of silver isn’t a small amount, and we haven’t found the thief or figured out how it went missing. I can’t shake off this feeling of unease."
"I know what I'm doing. You don't need to worry about this; just leave it to me," Ye Xiaohan instructed. "As long as you handle your own matters well, you'll be helping me a great deal."
After calming Liu Yang down, Liu Bei returned after seeing off Second Uncle. Liu Yang felt a bit upset that Liu Bei hadn’t listened to his explanation and had gotten angry without understanding the truth. He lowered his head and called out "Elder Brother" before hurriedly leaving.
Liu Bei called after him, but Liu Yang hesitated for a moment before still feeling too upset to respond and continued on his way.
"Stop calling him; Liu Yang doesn’t want to talk to you," Ye Xiaohan said with a tone of schadenfreude. Liu Yang had always been Liu Bei's shadow, constantly referring to him as "Elder Brother," and often sulking because of him.
Now seeing Liu Yang ignore Liu Bei was truly unexpected.
Ye Xiaohan watched with great interest while Liu Bei was filled with worry, concerned both for Liu Yang and for Ye Xiaohan herself.
"Is Liu Yang alright?" Liu Bei looked in the direction Liu Yang had left before turning to Ye Xiaohan seriously. "I will get to the bottom of this. Although Liu Yang is mischievous, he has good character and wouldn’t do something like this."
Ye Xiaohan shrugged. "You should tell that to Liu Yang; it doesn’t mean anything coming from me. He’s already upset enough to run off after being doubted by his beloved elder brother; his heart must be shattered."
"I'm not saying that," Liu Bei said somewhat frustrated. "When I heard about what happened, I was worried about the safety of the storeroom and a bit annoyed at Liu Yang for being careless. In a moment of panic, I... I don't suspect him of stealing; it's just that since he has taken on this responsibility, he must fulfill it and not cause you any trouble."
Liu Bei scratched his head, looking as if he wasn't good at explaining things and was also not adept at handling such incidents. He stumbled over his words, finally managing to convey his thoughts.
Ye Xiaohan stared at him, somewhat lost in thought. This person seemed so normal; what kind of hidden secrets lay beneath his surface?
She had been secretly investigating for so long, yet there had been no progress regarding Liu Bei and the men in black. No matter how she approached it, it felt like throwing a cow into the sea—every effort seemed wasted.
Liu Bei, what is it that you can't reveal? Why do you have to be so secretive and evasive?
"What's wrong?" Liu Bei noticed her unusual demeanor and asked with concern. "Are you still worried about the safety of the storeroom? Don't worry; from now on, I'll keep an eye on it and won't let anything like this happen again."
Ye Xiaohan collected her thoughts. Until she figured out Liu Bei's background, it was better to be cautious. One must always be wary; who knows if Liu Bei is as harmless as he appears?
Although such thoughts left her feeling inexplicably uneasy, reason told her that this was the right approach.
To survive in this unfamiliar environment, protecting her own safety was paramount.
Only by staying alive could she pursue what she wanted to do. Once caught in danger, someone like her—an outsider with no foundation—would often be the first to be sacrificed.
She didn't want to be dragged into bizarre events for no reason, only to end up confused even in death.
Regaining her composure, she saw Liu Bei still looking at her with concern. Ye Xiaohan declined his good intentions: "If you're watching from the side, Liu Yang will only feel more awkward. I've finally found someone useful; please don't mess it up for me."
In the end, Liu Bei couldn't resist Ye Xiaohan's insistence and agreed not to interfere with the matter, allowing her to handle it herself.
Although Ye Xiaohan didn't want to make a fuss about the theft at the Liu family house and Liu Yang kept his mouth tightly shut, they couldn't ignore the fact that there were three troublemaking uncles at home.
Second Aunt Liu was already envious of Liu Yang's ability to manage money; in her eyes, all that shiny silver belonged to their family, while she couldn't even touch it.
Now there was an opportunity for slander, and how could she let it slip by? She stood at the village entrance, gossiping to anyone who passed by, embellishing the story and insisting that it was Liu Yang who had stolen the money. Soon, rumors began to spread.
Liu Yang, still young and emotionally unstable, couldn't help but confront those who mocked him. After a few exchanges, he returned with a face full of bruises.
Ye Xiaohan forcefully applied medicine to his face as he gasped in pain. "Do you know what it feels like? Are you going to think twice before fighting again? You're not a child anymore; you can't just resort to violence at the slightest disagreement."
Liu Yang protested defiantly, "They started it with their nonsense! I was just arguing back. Sister-in-law, be gentler!"
Ye Xiaohan scoffed, "Only those who can't outsmart others will try to suppress them with violence."
Liu Yang huffed, feeling that she had a point but unwilling to admit defeat.
However, after this incident, Liu Yang seemed to have gained some new insight. He was often seen deep in thought and no longer cared as much about the gossip around him. Although he would still return home fuming, at least he didn't explode like a firecracker at the slightest provocation.
Seeing that he no longer reacted as easily to their taunts, those people gradually lost interest and dispersed.
Just when everything seemed calm, another theft occurred.
It seemed that the previous thief had not been caught and had grown bolder. Within a month, there were consecutive losses. Often what was there one night would be missing by the next day.
At first, it was just a couple of taels here and there, but soon they were losing five or ten taels at a time. Liu Yang was frantic; he spent several sleepless nights clutching the money box, wide awake until dawn. He became so worn out from the stress that Liu Bei had to forcibly drag him back to get some rest.
Yet the silver continued to disappear sporadically.
Liu Yang clutched his blanket stubbornly refusing to sleep. "Sister-in-law, just let me go guard! If this money keeps disappearing like this, how can I possibly sleep?"
Ye Xiaohan instructed Liu Bei to hold him down and not let him get up. "Don't worry; I have it under control."
Both Liu Yang and Liu Bei stared at her in confusion. Liu Yang suddenly realized, "Sister-in-law, do you know who the thief is?"
Ye Xiaohan nodded, "Although there is no direct evidence, it's almost certain."
"Who did it? What a bold move, coming back time and again. It's like they are specifically targeting our family!" Liu Yang was pinned down and could only express his dissatisfaction through his rich facial expressions.
Liu Bei pressed down on the corners of Liu Yang's blanket with both hands and turned to Ye Xiaohan, asking, "Since you already know who stole it, tell me. I'll go confront them and make them return all the money."
"Yes, big brother, hurry up!" Liu Yang raised both hands in support from under the blanket.
Ye Xiaohan shot them a glance, "I can guess who it is, but I have no proof. If you just go over there casually, the other person isn't stupid; how could they possibly admit to it just because you asked?"
Liu Yang was anxious, "We already know who it is; we can't just let them act so arrogantly. Sister-in-law, please tell me! Ugh, I'm dying of anxiety!"
Yet Ye Xiaohan seemed to be deliberately teasing him, refusing to reveal anything. She said, "Don't worry, I have a clever plan to catch that thief in the act."
"Really?" Liu Yang's face lit up with surprise.
Ye Xiaohan placed her hands on her hips in a teapot pose and replied, "Of course it's true, but I need your help."
She leaned closer to Liu Yang's ear and whispered a few words.
Liu Yang was first taken aback, then his expression turned to one of anger before he broke into a scheming smile, looking at Ye Xiaohan with admiration. "Sister-in-law, you're amazing! Alright, I'll follow your lead."
Liu Bei was left puzzled without any answers as Ye Xiaohan laughed and walked away. No matter how Liu Yang pressed for information, he wouldn't budge, leaving Liu Bei with no choice but to give up.
A few days later, following Ye Xiaohan's instructions, Liu Yang coated all the money with the potion she had given him, not sparing even a single coin.
After meticulously applying the potion, Liu Yang placed the money box back in its usual spot in the cabinet, closed the door, and left.
That night he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. According to Ye Xiaohan's plan, as long as that thief came back to steal again and touched the money, they wouldn't be able to escape. The potion would serve as evidence.
However, Ye Xiaohan did not specifically inform him what would happen next. He was extremely anxious and was warned not to sneak out and take a look, lest he disturb the thief and scare him away, rendering all efforts in vain.
After staying up all night, as dawn broke, Liu Yang was so exhausted that he leaned against the headboard and fell asleep.
Just as he was sleeping soundly, a commotion erupted in the courtyard. The noise was sharp and piercing, as if it were trying to drill into his ears, abruptly waking him up.
"How noisy," Liu Yang discerned that it was the voice of Second Aunt.
He had no time to pay attention to that and sprang up like a carp leaping from water, heading straight for the storeroom.
Sure enough, the money box had been tampered with; there was less silver than before.
Liu Yang glanced around. The storeroom was small and easy to see through; there were no special hiding places. He searched twice but found no suspicious individuals, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Could it be that his sister-in-law's plan had failed?
Feeling dejected, Liu Yang turned back. Just as he reached the courtyard, he heard Second Aunt's voice again.
"Liu Bei, hurry and fetch a doctor! Quickly! Your brother is in trouble!" Second Aunt cried, tears streaming down her face as she clutched Liu Bei tightly.
Liu Bei's clothes were disheveled, his belt loose and untidy, as if he had been yanked out of bed without a moment to prepare himself.
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