Xuexue sneered, her eyes coldly glaring at her as she confronted her aggressively, "Mo Xiuzhi, you sneak food without cleaning the oil from your mouth, and you still dare to blame it on my mother? Do you think everyone else is a fool?"
Upon hearing this, Xiuzhi panicked, quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and stammered, "I... my mouth... what's wrong with my mouth? There's nothing on it, no evidence, you can't frame me unjustly."
Although the Mo family was quite well-off, Old Lady Mo was notoriously stingy and snobbish. Xiuzhi, despite being overbearing at the Mo family's house, was just like Xuexue and the others—she got no meat to eat. Just now, seeing the cured meat, her eyes gleamed with avarice. Taking advantage of the moment Madam Xie was distracted by her mother, she quickly cut a piece from each piece of meat with a knife and hid it in her pocket. The meat was so fragrant she couldn't resist secretly popping a piece in her mouth to satisfy her craving—it had been several months since she'd last eaten meat.
This little detail was something even Madam Ruan was unaware of, so now that Xuexue had seen through her, how could Xiuzhi not be in a state of panic?
Xuexue gave her a cold glance, "It's obvious you're acting guilty. Did you think by wiping the oil off your mouth with your sleeve, no one would know you stole meat? The smell of cured meat is still strong on your breath."
Upon hearing this, Xiuzhi hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand, her face a picture of panic.
Old Lady Mo became furious at the sight, stepped forward, and twisted Xiuzhi's ear hard while scolding, "You wretched girl, it seems I can guard against anything but a thief within my own household, can't I? Eh?"
"Ah... it hurts... it hurts... Grandmother, please let go," Xiuzhi cried as Old Lady Mo twisted her ear, tears streaming down her face from the pain.
"It hurts? You wretched girl, the fact that you stole my cured meat hurts me more than your ear hurts you," Old Lady Mo spoke with barely suppressed anger, heart hardening, she twisted Xiuzhi's ear even more forcefully.
"Ah... Mother, save me."
Xiuzhi's cries were like the wails of a banshee.
Seeing her daughter's pitiful state, Madam Ruan's heart ached terribly, and she quickly stepped forward to plead, "Mother-in-law, mother-in-law, please let go of Xiuzhi. Don't listen to Xuexue, that dead girl, spouting nonsense; she's making it up. How could Xiuzhi possibly steal meat? She's always so well-behaved."
"She didn't steal the meat? Where did the oil on her mouth come from then?" Old Lady Mo did not believe Madam Ruan at all, only trusting what she saw in front of her. She gave Xiuzhi's ear another harsh twist before letting go.
Indeed, the Mo family's usual dishes never even showed a hint of oil, so after Xuexue's reminder, Old Lady Mo saw quite clearly that Mo Xiuzhi's mouth was greasy.
"This..." Madam Ruan was at a loss for an excuse.
"Nothing to say now, eh?"
"Mother-in-law, this is unfair! Just on the word of Xuexue, that dead girl, you let her splash all this dirty water on Xiuzhi. How is she supposed to find a husband now?" Madam Ruan, emboldened by having borne a son, shouted loudly.
"Grandmother, if you don't believe it, you can come over and smell her breath. It definitely reeks of cured meat," Xuexue added fuel to the fire.
Country folk are not like the wealthy gentry who eat fine foods every meal and wouldn't notice a taste of abalone. No, for country folk living on a daily diet of stir-fried vegetables without even a trace of oil, the smell of meat is much more noticeable; the faintest scent and they would detect it.
"You... you... stay away."
Upon hearing Xuexue's words, Xiuzhi became desperate, fearing that Old Lady Mo would really come over and smell her breath. She struggled to break free from Madam Ruan's grip, aiming to escape, but she moved too violently, and a packet fell out of her pocket.