I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 388 - 331: The Scheme Within the Scheme

Zhou Lanfen had already set up her scheme. From the beginning, her target was Xiao Ran; after all, this child had just arrived and looked easy to handle, and his siblings were wealthy.

"He stole my grandson’s carved wooden bird, which his grandfather carved himself. It’s so precious. Your Xiao Ran can’t just steal things because he wants them, right? So tell me, what explanation do you have for us?"

Jiang Mingyue’s face turned cold. "Smack!" Another slap landed, leaving symmetrical marks on Zhou Lanfen’s cheeks.

Zhou Lanfen, furious, wanted to tear into Jiang Mingyue, but Ms. Ren and Aunt Zheng blocked her path.

"Jiang Mingyue, you..."

"Zhou Lanfen, you said my brother stole Han Xiaoshan’s wooden bird. What evidence do you have?"

Meng Liqiang immediately supported Ms. Ming Yue, "Yeah! What evidence do you have?"

Yang Fan also shouted in agreement, "Exactly, show us the evidence. We don’t steal things."

Yang Fan had already included Xiao Ran in his protective circle.

Zhou Lanfen: "He did steal it. My Xiaoshan saw him hide it in his clothes pocket."

Everyone’s gaze turned to Xiao Ran’s pocket, which indeed looked bulging as if something was hidden inside.

Those familiar with Zhou Lanfen felt a pang in their hearts, thinking just how outrageous she was to frame a child. Those who didn’t know her nature had their thoughts swayed.

"See, the wooden bird is hidden in Xiao Ran’s pocket. If you don’t believe me, let him take it out and show it."

Xiao Ran cooperatively held his pocket tight, looking as though he was caught in the act.

"You can take it out, but if it’s not your wooden bird, you and your grandson need to bow and apologize to Xiao Ran, deal?"

Zhou Lanfen scoffed. She wouldn’t lose out and replied apathetically, "Deal!"

"Alright, Xiao Ran, take out the bunch of grapes in your pocket."

Everyone: "?"

The next moment, Xiao Ran indeed pulled out a bunch of large, enticing grapes from his pocket, making everyone’s mouths water.

Even Zhou Lanfen was momentarily distracted by the grapes, forgetting her extortion scheme.

But then a mishap occurred; Zhou Lanfen’s grandson, captivated by the grapes, attempted to grab them but slipped on the soap water on the ground and fell. As he fell spectacularly, the contents of his pocket spilled out—a piece of candy, two small stones, and most importantly, a wooden bird dropped out, landing conspicuously in front of everyone.

The atmosphere became awkward.

But it was about to get more awkward.

"Did anyone see my watch?" Jiang Mingyue anxiously searched by the pool. In this era, not many people could wear watches, which made her statement dwarf the wooden bird incident.

"Ming Yue, what does your watch look like?"

Someone asked, and Jiang Mingyue quickly explained, almost tearing up from urgency.

"It’s a Plum Blossom watch, the most expensive one. My brother bought it for me. When I was washing clothes, I took it off to avoid damage and placed it on this pool ledge. How could it suddenly disappear when it was just there?"

Everyone’s hearts leapt to their throats since if such a valuable item went missing, all present would carry suspicion.

Jiang Mingyue’s tension and the clothes on the ground testified the young lady was telling the truth—her watch had truly vanished.

Aunt Zheng felt guilty, taking the responsibility upon herself. If she hadn’t run earlier, she wouldn’t have inadvertently intruded on Ming Yue’s yard, and it likely allowed someone with sharp eyes to pocket it in the confusion.

Determined, she resolved to uncover the guilty party, monitoring that no one had left since anyone sneaking away would appear more suspicious. Everyone wanted to avoid that reputation.

Aunt Zheng felt she had to do something.

"The watch must be on one of us here. I advise everyone to voluntarily produce it. Perhaps you can earn Mr. Jiang’s forgiveness and avoid being sent to the station; otherwise... you know the consequences."

After Aunt Zheng spoke, Ms. Ren cooperatively said, "I’ll go first." Then she flipped her pockets inside out, dropping only her house keys and a few seeds—nothing else.

With Ms. Ren taking the lead, others also turned their pockets out. Everyone went through the motion, except Zhou Lanfen.

The watch remained lost, and everyone’s gaze collectively fixed on Zhou Lanfen.

Zhou Lanfen instinctively covered her pocket.

In everyone’s eyes, her action screamed guilt.

"Zhou Lanfen, how brazen! I knew why you accused Ming Yue’s brother of stealing the wooden bird. At heart, you intended to come to Ming Yue’s yard and take advantage of the chaos to steal her watch. Tell me, did you know Ming Yue was washing clothes all along? You calculated everything from the start, didn’t you? Your goal was to steal Ming Yue’s things, right? Zhou Lanfen, you’re shameless. Hand over the watch!"

Now it was Zhou Lanfen’s turn to be outraged, and in her panic, she cursed. Yet, to the crowd, her behavior only confirmed she stole the watch. Some exchanged glances and then, a few cooperatively moved forward, firmly pinning Zhou Lanfen down and reaching into her pocket.

"It really is you! Zhou Lanfen, how shameless of you!"

Others felt relieved, "Exactly, thank goodness the watch was found. Otherwise, you would have tarnished our reputations too."

Zhou Lanfen’s complexion turned ashen in the face of this development. She hadn’t thought the situation would escalate to this end. She intended to frame Xiao Ran because, according to what she heard, Jiang Mingyue valued Xiao Ran, and she hoped to extort some money from Jiang Mingyue. Unexpectedly, she became the one accused. She truly didn’t know how the watch ended up in her pocket, and she had only covered it earlier because she had ten dollars inside.

"Zhou Lanfen, apologize. You and your grandson must bow and apologize to Xiao Ran; otherwise, I’ll have someone report this."

"No, I didn’t. I didn’t steal it, Jiang Mingyue, you’ve framed me."

Had the wooden bird incident not preceded, maybe a few could believe her. But now, no one did, everyone giving her eyes filled with disdain.

"Zhou Lanfen, apologize!"

"I didn’t!"

"Apologize!"

"I didn’t!"

...

"Report it!"

In the end, surrounded by witnesses’ testimonies, Zhou Lanfen had to compensate Jiang Mingyue with twenty dollars, embodying the saying, "intent to steal a chicken but losing the rice used to lure it."

Grabbing the unexpected twenty dollars, Jiang Mingyue decided to take Xiao Ran out to calm them both down.

The calming method was unique; it entailed spending.

The siblings bought a bag of flour, a pound of meat, added various school supplies for Xiao Ran, purchased some household items, and with eight dollars left, Jiang Mingyue saved it, intending to place it in Xiao Ran’s Chu Qian box back home.

"Sister, what are you going to do? I’ll help you with the fire."

"Spring rolls, want some?"

Xiao Ran thought of the savory crunch, swallowed eagerly, "I want some."

"Alright, we’ll make spring rolls. Then Xiao Ran will accompany me to distribute a portion to the aunts and sisters who helped testify today. Good fortune shared among us all, and little brother always stays along."

"Mm, I’ll remember that!"