Filed to story: Eight Uncles Beloved Treasure
Lilly wanted to give her cousin sister a present. She had drawn it herself. It was a picture of a beautiful rainbow with children playing together while holding hands.
“Hannah?” Lilly called out hesitantly.
Hannah forcefully opened the door and threw the broken doll at her. “Go away! I hate you!”
Lilly’s small hands froze, and a sad expression crossed her face.
Lilly gently let go of the hand holding the drawing.
Hugh controlled his anger and spoke in a instructive tone, “Hannah, Lilly is giving you a gift because she wants to be friends with you. It was wrong of you to reject her.”
He couldn’t help but furrow his brow as he looked at the broken doll on the floor.
Liam’s daughter was extremely demanding. She would burst into tears whenever someone spoke to her harshly.
As expected, Hannah immediately started crying and shouted, “I don’t want!” while stomping her feet.
Summoning her courage, Lilly offered Hannah the painting and said, “Hannah, please don’t cry. I’m giving this to you as a gift…”
After looking at the painting she was holding, Hannah pushed her away and exclaimed,
“Nobody wants your trash. Go away!”
Upon hearing the commotion, Liam’s wife, Winona, went upstairs. “Hannah, stop throwing tantrums!” she exclaimed hastily.
She then turned to Hugh and said, “Dad, Hannah is still young…”
Hugh scolded, “You must teach them while they are young. I’ve already addressed this issue several times. How are you raising your kids? Even at such a young age, they are already so disrespectful. How will they fare in society when they become adults?”
Winona bowed her head and stated, “Yes, Dad. I understand what you’re saying.”
In a furious manner, Hugh led Lilly away.
Hannah cried even harder when she saw her grandfather ignoring her and leaving. She then rushed into her room, sweeping everything off the table and onto the floor.
Winona felt bitter in her heart because she thought the old man had spoken too harshly.
She would raise her child in any way she saw fit. Who had the right to tell her how to raise her children?
Even if that person were her children’s grandfather, the answer would still be no!
Hugh and Bettany had treated her well and respected her. They rarely interfered with her family’s affairs.
She was also constantly dutiful to them. She would take care of their needs and even get them gifts during the holidays. She believed she was the best daughter-in-law there could be, right?
She only insisted on one thing – to raise boys to be strong and independent, and girls to be princesses. What was wrong with her ideal?
Hannah was the favorite child of the Crawford family, and she would live a comfortable life even if she didn’t work in the future. Why should she conform to society’s rules at such a young age? Wouldn’t it be better if she just lived as she pleased?
Winona entered the room and softly comforted Hannah. “Alright, Hannah. My sweet child. Baby, stop crying…”
Hannah cried even harder. “I don’t want! I don’t want to!”
Winona said, “Okay. Okay. Okay…”
**
Hugh led Lilly back to her room. The parrot flapped its wings and tried to fly over when it saw Lilly returning, but the foot chain prevented it from doing so.
Lilly comforted the parrot, saying, “Polly, good Polly. I’ll let you out once Uncle has prepared your room.”
Lilly’s uncles were unaware that she had a parrot since her room was furnished when she was in the hospital.
A house that was not specifically designed for parrots would be extremely harmful to them. Polly, for example, was used to being in the wild, and if kept in the house, it would fly into a glass window.
Polly was temporarily confined to Lilly’s room, and it would only be released after it had adjusted to living in a house.
Hugh’s heart ached as he saw Lilly comforting the parrot in a soft voice.
It must be very distressing for Sweet Pea.
“Lilly, Hannah is always like this. She has a bad temper, so don’t be sad…”
Lilly unexpectedly smiled and said, “It’s alright, Grandpa.”
Lilly turned to comfort Hugh when she noticed his confused expression. “It’s alright, Grandpa. I, too, don’t like giving away my things to others.”
Lilly was puzzled as to why the adults insisted that their children should be more tolerant and generous towards others. The adults may have thought it was polite, but the children didn’t understand.
What belongs to you, belongs to you. Why should you give away your cherished possessions just to appear polite?
Hugh was taken aback.
Lilly was so young, yet she seemed to possess a lot of wisdom…
Hugh became even sadder. Then, with a tender look on his face, he touched her head and asked, “Lilly, did you draw these drawings?”
Upon mentioning the drawings, Lilly’s expression instantly changed to one of focus. She nodded and said, “Yes, I enjoy drawing. When I was living with Daddy, I used to draw a lot.”
However, her stepmother tore up most of them. She had hidden some in books and forgotten to bring them with her when she left…
Hugh pointed to one of the drawings and asked, “What is this?”
Lilly transformed into a presenter, proudly introducing her drawing. “This is a drawing of two children playing in a mysterious forest.”
“Look, Grandpa. There is a flower crown here! Lady Spring made this necklace.”
“A four-leaf clover sprouted from the crack where Uncle Stone split in two when he fell down the mountain, turning him into Uncle Lucky!”
“Take a look at this one. That is Miss Flora. She said arrogantly, ‘Hmmph! None of you are as lovely as I am!’ Miss Flora is very proud of herself!”
Polly quieted down after Lilly introduced her drawing, but it would occasionally tilt its head to look at Lilly’s drawing.
Hugh was amazed. He felt like he was in Jay Loanzon’s animated world.
Lilly’s drawings were filled with vibrant colors. A flower and a stone each had their own story to tell. Those who looked at them couldn’t help but feel at ease. Warmth and healing energy emanated from the drawings.
He couldn’t resist filming Lilly as she talked about her drawings. After some thought, he decided to send the video to an old friend.
That old friend was a well-known figure in the art world. Hugh wanted to see if Lilly’s artwork could catch his old friend’s attention, so that his old friend would want to take Lilly under his wing since Lilly loved to draw.
There was a commotion downstairs as the grandfather and granddaughter were both enjoying the artwork, and the servant came up and said, “Mr. Crawford, Mrs. Crawford is back.”
Hugh took Lilly by the hand and said, “Let’s go. Grandma is back.”
Downstairs, Liam was pushing a wheelchair, and Bettany, who was sitting in it, asked with a trembling voice, “Where is Lilly…”
She looked up after finishing her sentence and saw Hugh leading a fair-looking child down the stairs.
For a brief moment, Bettany felt as if someone was strangling her. She couldn’t utter a word, and tears welled up in her eyes. Unable to hold back her emotions, she began to sob quietly.
That’s Jean’s child…
She looks exactly like Jean did when she was a child…
However, Jean was gone, and she would never return…
“Lilly…” Bettany choked back her tears.
“Grandma!” Lilly exclaimed, breaking free from Hugh’s grip and rushing towards Bettany.
After a moment of hesitation, Lilly reached out and firmly held Bettany’s hand.
