Gu Jinli glanced at her with a sneer at the corner of his mouth, then turned to Village Chief He and said, "Village chief, you saw it clearly, didn’t you? This family does not repent and insists on slandering my cousin from the Qi Family. Is such a family still worth keeping in the village, Elder?"
Gu Jinli let He Cui’er’s family make a fuss, precisely because he intended to drive them out of the village.
This family is too repulsive. If we let them go this ti, they will cause trouble again. In that case, let’s just resolve it once and for all.
Village Chief He felt a pang in his heart, realizing that Little Xiao Yu was indeed ruthless to have such an intention.
Seeing that Village Chief He and so He Family Elders showed a shocked expression, Gu Jinli knew they were still unwilling to drive He Cui’er’s family out of the village.
Gu Jinli looked at Gu Jin’an.
Gu Jin’an stepped forward and said, "Village chief, according to one of the Great Chu Criminal Law, whoever maliciously fras others, once verified, will receive the punishnt of tongue-cutting. This law applies to collective liability, implicating the whole family; each household shall be fined five hundred cents as a warning to others."
Gu Jin’an smiled like a gentle breeze, "Reporting to the governnt is a familiar matter for my family; it would not hurt to do it once more. It’s just that I hate to implicate the village chief and all the uncles here. Please allow , Good Brother An, to apologize to you all first."
In ancient tis, the bonds of clan kinship were paramount. It was not easy to expel He Cui’er’s family from the village for impartiality for a foreign surna. Only by pressing them with criminal law would the He Family People agree.
As expected, upon hearing this, the He Family People exclaid in shock, "The law, the Criminal Law contains such a clause? Oh no, we can’t report to the governnt. Brother An, this is all the sin of He Dashu’s family; it has nothing to do with us."
Although five hundred copper coins was not a large sum, being punished by the governnt office to the extent of fining the whole clan would mar their reputation.
Village Chief He, who had been the village chief for decades, was aware of so of the Great Chu Criminal Laws. It seed that he had heard of this clause, but since no one in Qingfu Town had ever violated it, he had nearly forgotten about this law.
Upon hearing this, He Cui’er’s family shook with fear, hastily shouted, "Brother Gu Jia’an, do not deceive us just because you’ve read a few books. What is this punishnt of tongue-cutting? We have never heard of such a penalty."
Gu Jin’an replied with a smile, "It’s okay if you haven’t heard of it; it doesn’t matter. As long as the officials in the county know that there is such a law."
Is it important that you know?
It is important that you suffer the punishnt!
He Cui’er’s family was choked up and speechless, as they were illiterate, unable to recognize a single word, let alone any Criminal Law.
Village Chief He still had familial compassion and gave He Dashu an opportunity, "Dashu, today’s matter is indeed your family’s fault. Quickly apologize to the Qi Family and the Mo Family, compensate both families with a few taels of silver, and write a letter of guarantee. Then we’ll put this matter to rest. Otherwise, I can’t help you!"
He Cui’er’s mother imdiately scread, "What? Not only apologize but also compensate with silver, and several taels at that? How poor is our family? Village chief, you’re asking for our lives. We will not pay; our family did nothing wrong. We won’t give a single cent!"
Pointing at Mo Qinzi, she said, "That girl from the Mo Family has Qi Kangping on her mind, and her words are unreliable. The Qi Family’s Brother Ping did hold my Cui’er, tarnishing her innocence. The Qi Family must provide a generous betrothal and gloriously marry my Cui’er into their ho!"
Village Chief He saw that He Cui’er’s mother was unrepentant and felt utterly disheartened... Such clan mbers who protect her would only bring disaster to the clan, it would be better to expel her cleanly.
Gu Jinli saw that Village Chief He looked weary, seemingly having given up hope on He Cui’er’s family, and said, "Mo Qinzi’s words are not enough? Fine, no problem, it wasn’t just Mo Qinzi who saw your daughter He Cui’er scheming against Brother Qi Kangping. I’ll call a few more people over, and we’ll confront them."
As soon as Gu Jinli finished speaking, Lu Gen Sheng and Lu He Fu, along with a few Lu Family People, walked in.
Lu Gen Sheng said, "Today at noon, our family went to sell wheat with He Fu’s family. On our way back to the village at noon, we happened to see He Cui’er jump into the pond, shouting for help with such a commotion that we were all stunned."
"But everyone in the village knows about that pond. To prevent drowning, it isn’t dug very deep, and the area near the shore is even shallower, so she couldn’t have drowned. We were wondering why she was shouting for help when we realized after listening for a while, that He Cui’er was plotting against Brother Ping from the Qi Family."
"We originally wanted to help, but before we could reach there, the Mo Family girl arrived and gave He Cui’er a good scolding." Lu Gen Sheng pointed at Lu He Fu and said, "He Fu has good eyesight; he saw everything clearly. Brother Ping from the Qi Family just glanced at the pond and didn’t even approach the edge. How could he possibly have rescued He Cui’er by carrying her? It’s simply nonsense."
Lu He Fu nodded and said, "Brother Ping from the Qi Family was always far away, he didn’t approach the pond and soon left. Seeing that her sche didn’t work, He Cui’er climbed out of the pond and went ho by herself. We thought this matter would just pass, but who would have thought that He Cui’er’s family would be so shaless, fabricating a story out of nothing to fra soone, this matter being handled in such a way, is truly eye-opening."
They ca to testify because Wang Yongfu went to the village to inquire about the incident at noon and happened to ask their families. With the intention of maintaining good relations with the Gu Family, they did not hide anything and told what they had witnessed.
However, at that ti, He Cui’er’s family hadn’t started making a fuss, and Wang Yongfu did not tell them to testify.
But just a short while ago, before the ti it takes to finish a cup of tea, Wang Yongfu had run to find them again, asking them to co and testify, so they hurried over.
After listening, He Cui’er’s mother shouted angrily, "You’re lying; my daughter Cui’er did not sche against Brother Ping from the Qi Family, she fell into the water by accident and was saved by Brother Ping!"
Lu He Fu said, "What we’re saying is all true, not a single word is false. If you feel we have wronged your family, we can go to the governnt office and confront each other."
Lu He Fu’s words were resolute and without a hint of hesitation. It was He Cui’er’s mother, however, who seed sowhat cowed by the accusation.
A few He Family Elders who still held hope for He Cui’er’s family shook their heads after hearing this, agreeing that this family truly couldn’t stay.
Village Chief He also felt exhausted. Now with witnesses from the Gu Family, any attempt from He Cui’er’s family to quibble would be futile.
He asked Gu Jinli, "Little Xiao Yu, what do you plan to do?"
Gu Jinli smiled, showing her teeth, "You should ask Third Grandpa."
Third Grandpa said, "Village Chief, it’s not that we want to make things difficult for the He Family, but there’s rottenness within. If it’s not cleaned out, in the future, it will be the reputation of the He Family that suffers... However, whether to cleanse or not is up to the He Family. If the He Family does not handle it, we will report it to the authorities ourselves."
Village Chief He already understood Third Grandpa’s aning: either take the matter to the authorities or drive out He Cui’er and her family from the village.
Village Chief He pondered for a mont, then said to Third Grandpa, "Brother Gu, there’s no need to report this. Give one night to discuss this with our clan mbers... You’re right; we can’t let one rotten apple spoil the whole barrel."
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