The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 162 Sun Feifei Deservedly Punished

Chapter 162: Chapter 162 Sun Feifei Deservedly Punished

Mingzhu’s words undoubtedly cornered Feifei Sun into a difficult situation.

If she admitted now that she took the bracelet, it would doubtlessly be like shooting herself in the foot.

But if she didn’t admit it, and the bracelet was found later with fingerprints on it, she would still be unable to clear her name.

While quickly weighing the pros and cons in her mind, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed—how could Mingzhu, a country girl, even know about fingerprinting?

After a brief moment of thought, Feifei came up with a response strategy, "I just remembered, I tried on the bracelet before, so it’s very likely that my fingerprints are on it. But I didn’t take the bracelet. You can search my body and handbag if you don’t believe me."

Mingzhu clicked her tongue lightly, "But I remember you were quite sure earlier that you never touched the bracelet, and now you’re contradicting yourself by saying you tried it on. Your story is inconsistent, and it’s hard to make people believe you."

The receptionist wasn’t foolish either and had roughly guessed that it was Feifei who was behind this. She was quite angry.

If anything happened to the bracelet, she would certainly lose her job and had almost offended a friend of Qing Zhong.

Ever since she started working at the store, the manager had repeatedly emphasized that the Zhong family was absolutely not to be offended.

"Miss Sun, before calling the police, I asked you several times, and you firmly denied taking the bracelet. You even implied it was Miss Shen who had taken it and told me to search Miss Shen’s bag. Did you know in advance that the bracelet would be in Miss Shen’s tote bag?"

Mingzhu gave a nod of approval for the receptionist’s perceptiveness and insight.

The police began to suspect Feifei as well, "Miss Sun, if you know the whereabouts of the bracelet, it’s best to speak up now. There is still room to make amends. If we find it upon inspection, the nature of the issue becomes more serious."

Faced with the sharp gaze of the police and the unusual stares from the people around her, Feifei knew she had botched things up today.

But she tried to stand her ground in a last-ditch effort, "I put the bracelet on the sofa when I tried it on because I wasn’t feeling well. I went to the restroom, and it’s possible the bracelet fell into a gap in the sofa. I’ll go and have a look."

After saying this, Feifei turned and ran into the exhibition hall, hoping to retrieve the bracelet from Mingzhu’s tote bag before the police entered.

Mingzhu’s tote had several inner pockets, and in her panic, Feifei fumbled and managed to rummage through two without finding the pocket with the bracelet.

Meanwhile, two policemen, Mingzhu, Qing Zhong, and the staff of Junlin all followed in behind her.

"If you’re looking for the bracelet, what are you doing with my bag?"

Upon hearing Mingzhu’s mocking question from behind, Feifei froze completely.

She turned around, drenched in cold sweat and trying to come up with an excuse for her behavior, but stumbled over her words unable to justify herself.

One of the policemen took the bag from her hands and found the lost Ice Waxy Green Jade Bracelet inside it.

"The bag is mine, but as for how the bracelet ended up inside it, I have no idea," Mingzhu said coolly, glancing at Feifei who had gone pale as a sheet, and scoffed, "Check the fingerprints. Let’s see who has the audacity to frame me in such a despicable way."

"Oh right, Officer, framing and entrapment carry criminal responsibility and can lead to imprisonment, right?"

"Mingzhu!"

The word "imprisonment" struck terror into Feifei.

She swayed on her feet, her face and eyes filled with a desperate pleading, "I’m sorry, I was just trying to play a joke on you..."

Mingzhu half-smiled, "So you admit that you framed me, deliberately placing the Qingyu Bracelet in my tote bag?"

Feifei hurriedly said, "I can apologize to you..."

"Feifei, you have such a short memory. Haven’t I told you before? If apologies worked, what would we need the police for?"

Mingzhu approached her, her eyes as cold and clear as snow, "What you do once, you shouldn’t do again—I guess the last incident didn’t teach you a lesson. So this time, you will go to prison and reflect on your actions."

Sun Feifei gasped, "Shen Mingzhu, can’t you spare any compassion?"

Shen Mingzhu stepped back two paces, drawing a line between them.

"I have no compassion to speak of with you."

Having said that, she turned to two public security officers and said, "Comrades, the situation is very clear now, it was Sun Feifei who framed and slandered me. I hope you can deal with this according to the law and vindicate me."

With irrefutable evidence and testimony, the public security officers prepared to take Sun Feifei back to the station.

Sun Feifei panicked completely and, throwing caution to the wind, knelt before Shen Mingzhu in public, tears streaming down her face, "Shen Mingzhu, I beg you to let me off just this once, I promise I will never trouble you again."

From her superior position, Shen Mingzhu looked down expressionlessly, "Those words are not for me to hear, go to the police station and talk to the case officers."

Seeing that Shen Mingzhu truly intended not to let her off, Sun Feifei’s eyes gradually shifted from panic to resentment.

"Leave some leeway, so we can meet again without problems! If you push too far, aren’t you afraid of retribution later?"

"Forget about later, I don’t want to see you now, not for a second more, it disgusts me."

While they were talking, a smartly dressed woman in her forties walked into the exhibition hall.

The staff at Junlin called her "Manager".

"What’s happening here?" The manager looked at the drama unfolding in the hall and frowned slightly.

An older staff member quietly explained the whole story to her.

Looking at the manager, hope flickered in Sun Feifei’s eyes; she remembered when the manager personally took care of her and a client’s wife during their last visit.

"Manager Yu, do you remember me? I am Mrs. Qi’s niece; we’ve met before."

Manager Yu scrutinized her for a second, "Your last name is Sun, Miss Sun, right?"

"Yes, that’s me!"

Sun Feifei, clutching at straws, hurriedly made excuses for her actions, "I know her, I was just joking. Could you possibly speak on my behalf considering Mrs. Qi is a long-time customer of your store?"

"Is that so..."

After a moment of contemplation, Manager Yu turned to an employee managing customer records and instructed, "Remove Mrs. Qi’s membership immediately."

Facing Sun Feifei’s incredulous stare, Manager Yu smiled slightly, "There, Mrs. Qi is no longer a customer of our store. As for you, you will be added to Junlin’s blacklist, permanently barred from setting foot inside."

Not only that, but the cheongsam Sun Feifei had ordered was also reclaimed by Manager Yu.

Sun Feifei had her just deserts. At the moment she was taken away by the public security, her eyes, red with rage, stared deathly at Shen Mingzhu, filled with despair and hatred.

She deserved it!

Having successfully cleared her name and punished Sun Feifei, Shen Mingzhu thought the matter was settled. Unexpectedly, there was an added bonus.

"Miss Shen, we’re very sorry. Due to our staff’s oversight, you were brought unnecessary trouble. As compensation and an apology, Junlin will gift you a complimentary custom-made cheongsam. Please follow the staff to measure your size and select a style."

"How could I accept that..."

Shen Mingzhu said bashfully, but her body honestly followed the staff toward the fitting room.

A free cheongsam, only a fool would refuse.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.