Chapter 9: Stealing Talisman

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Mrs. Wu didn't realize it at first. It was only later that she understood what Mrs. Guan and Miss Guan meant. This was the perfect opportunity for Scarlett Garrison to slander her. Indeed, as soon as she spoke, Lucas Jennings, standing by, realized there was actually some backstory. His gaze turned to Scarlett with clear disgust.

"You are too petty. Mrs. Wu hasn't even done anything to you. Is it really necessary? Causing trouble on your very first day back, you're simply a…"

He didn't get a chance to complete the phrase "troublemaker" before a cool voice from the side, carrying a hint of authority, quietly descended upon him.

"Lucas."

With just two words, he clamped his mouth shut. A glance at his cousin revealed that even the smile on Luca Jennings's face had turned a few degrees colder. Lucas shrank back silently, not daring to speak further. Yet, his dissatisfaction with Scarlett didn't wane in the least.

With Lucas standing up for her, Mrs. Wu was now brimming with confidence. She straightened her back with indignation on her face.

"If Miss Guan doesn't believe me, she can have my room searched! I have a clear conscience; I'm not afraid of searches! Although I'm just a housekeeper, I can't be wrongly accused like this!"

The commotion had attracted quite some attention, and the butler and servants from around the villa had naturally gathered but dared not come too close. Having overheard most of it, they also formed a few impressions of the newly returned young mistress. It was said that Miss Guan came from a wealthy family and now seemed aloof, looking down on them as just nannies and servants.

No one likes to be looked down upon, so the impression they had of the young mistress who just returned home was naturally less than favorable.

Luca Jennings naturally noticed the way the servants were looking at Scarlett and faced her with a stern expression, ready to put an end to this "farce." But before he could speak, Scarlett finally opened her mouth again, her voice steady and calm.

"When did I ever say she stole money?"

At these words, several people present were momentarily stunned.

Lucas couldn't help but speak first, "You just said Mrs. Wu stole money, and now you're denying it?"

Scarlett gave him a glance, "I said she stole the prosperity of the Jennings Family."

The talk of stealing money was something Azura Loomis had mentioned. Whether she was intentionally misleading or accidentally summarizing, it was clear that everyone had been led astray by her words.

"Stealing fortune and directly stealing money, those are two different things."

At least, a direct search wouldn't find anything. Emboldened by this, the other party had been able to call for a search so brazenly.

To Lucas, it all sounded like gibberish, and he felt she was just trying to be clever, "How can fortune be stolen? You shouldn't talk about these mystical things, they sound like nonsense."

Hearing this, Donovan Jennings cast a subtle warning glance toward Lucas. Even if Scarlett was bluffing, with her status, what was wrong with pulling a little bluff?

Moreover, Donovan had a faint feeling that Scarlett's calm attitude might mean she was telling the truth.

In the circles of affluent families, there was some level of endorsement for such mystical fate-related beliefs — the Jennings Group even had a few familiar geomancers. But could his own sister...understand these things at only eighteen?

While Donovan harbored doubts, he didn't think Scarlett was just spouting nonsense like the others did.

Scarlett was uninterested in engaging further with the boy beside her who was apparently her cousin. She turned her attention back to Mrs. Wu, suddenly pointing toward a specific spot.

"What did you bury over there?"

Her finger pointed to a flowerbed in the corner of the garden, the same place where Mrs. Wu's gaze had unconsciously drifted earlier when she was absent-mindedly working.

Mrs. Wu, already uneasy, felt a chill run down her spine when Scarlett accurately pointed to the exact location, and cold sweat nearly dripped from her forehead.

Impossible, impossible.

Could she really know…

How could this be?

Luca Jennings noticed Mrs. Wu's reaction and seemed to confirm something in his mind. He turned his head and signaled to the butler, "You go."

The butler, already curious, received the signal and immediately rushed toward the spot Scarlett had indicated.

The others who had been watching also moved along with the butler to the flowerbed.

The rest were simply curious, while Lucas, looking skeptical, followed with an expression clearly wondering what they could possibly uncover.

At Scarlett's direction toward a particular flower's soil, the butler, without hesitation, squatted down and started digging with a small shovel.

As the butler worked, Mrs. Wu's face turned pale, and her legs grew weak.

But at this moment, all attention was directed at the butler, leaving no one to notice her expression.

The soil in the flowerbed was regularly refreshed, making it relatively easy for the butler to dig. After just a few strokes, a small pit was formed, and soon his shovel seemed to strike something, making his eyes light up.

"Found something!"

Saying so, the butler unearthed a black plastic bag with his small shovel. The plastic wrapping was tight. He reached to open the plastic layers outside.

At the very moment he did so, a foul stench wafted from a paper parcel within the plastic, making the onlookers wrinkle their noses at the smell.

The butler visibly grimaced, trying to suppress his gag reflex. He raised his hand to touch the paper bundle but was stopped by Scarlett's sudden call,

"Don't touch it."

The few people around turned to see Scarlett stepping forward, holding a yellow talisman from who-knows-where. She placed the talisman on top of the paper bundle.

It might have been a trick of the light, but the moment the talisman touched the package, it seemed like the paper of the parcel quickly darkened and aged.

The butler looked at Scarlett again and, seeing her nod, reached out, using gloved hands to carefully open the package.

Inside, the paper was red, similar to the kind used by the usual temples for writing destiny calculations. But as it was unwrapped, it indeed revealed several sets of birthdates written out — words that seemed scrawled in what could only be blood now dried and blackened, emitting a lingering stench.

Additionally, the package appeared to contain a few strands of hair and another talisman adorned with eerie symbols.

Such bizarre items were clearly deliberatively buried here. When combined with Scarlett's earlier words, it became evident to everyone what these items were intended for.

However, it stretched belief to think that such items could truly steal fortune.

Seeing that something was indeed unearthed, Lucas wore an expression of disbelief, turning to Mrs. Wu.

Mrs. Wu's lips trembled as she professed her innocence, "It, it wasn't me who buried it, I swear I've never seen these things… Little Master, Cousin, you have to believe me…"

Lucas opened his mouth to speak, but Scarlett cut in mildly,

"Whether or not you buried it, the villa's outer surveillance will show."

She had already checked; the surveillance on the periphery of the Jennings' villa covered nearly every corner, making it not difficult to uncover the truth.

"The Stealing Talisman requires the blood of the one transferring luck, which is yours. And the hair wrapped inside is from the Jennings Family. You're using the bloodline of the Jennings to steal their fortune. Am I wrong?"

Hearing this, Mrs. Wu trembled all over and fell to the ground, her face turning deathly pale.

In her current state, it was evident to everyone present that she was indeed the one who buried this package.

As for the hair, Mrs. Wu had been a helper in the Jennings Family for years. Obtaining a few strands of hair from any Jennings family member was ridiculously easy.

The only question was, whose unfortunate hair had she taken?

"Even if she did bury it, that doesn't prove she stole any of that fortune stuff. Maybe she…" Lucas stubbornly retorted, but Donovan's eyes, icy and fox-eyed, cast a warning his way.

"Shut up. Don't make me say it a second time."

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