"Shut your mouth, if you dare to speak one more word, old man will beat you to death." Village Chief He was almost driven mad; He Minzi is such a fool, the Gu Family People have always been tough and unyielding. Now not only has Gu Jinli arrived, but also Brother Gu, Gu Jināan, Gu Dashan and several family heads, itās clear, they wonāt easily let this go. Is He Minzi trying to get his own family killed?
He Minzi was beaten quite badly and had no choice but to hide behind his own mother.
It was inappropriate for Village Chief He to chase after a woman to beat her, so he had to stop, huffing and puffing heavily, and pointed at He Dashu, saying, "Dashu, is this how you manage your household, letting your wife and son create chaos?"
He Dashu had been silent, but now with a stern face, he said, "Village Chief, please donāt wrongly accuse my family. We came to the Qi Family not to make trouble, but to thank Brother Ping for saving Cuiāer and to discuss the marriage between Brother Ping and Cuiāer... Although Brother Ping saved Cuiāer, he also carried her, so he must take responsibility."
He Dashu gave Village Chief He a look, continuing, "You wouldnāt want the daughter of our He family to have her reputation ruined and the young man responsible not taking accountability, would you?"
"You, you!" Village Chief He was so angered by He Dashu he was at a loss for words.
Here to thank the Qi Family?
After all this chaos, this is being thankful?
He Dacang hurried over to support Village Chief He, patting his chest to help him breathe, "Dad, donāt be angry, youāve already helped enough. Itās the He Dashu family thatās asking for death."
Gu Familyās daughter had called everyone to the Qi Familyās house, and they surely wouldnāt easily let this go. Todayās matter was bound to erupt.
Indeed, Gu Jinli walked in and said, "Village Chief, youāve seen the true colors of He Cuiāerās family. Today, we must discuss this matter thoroughly and determine right from wrong."
Her gaze slowly swept over He Cuiāerās family, chillingly stating, "Whoever tarnished the reputation of our cousin from the Qi family will pay the price!"
When her cold gaze swept over, He Cuiāerās family all felt a chill.
Shortly after, He Cuiāerās mother was the first to outcry, "Tarnished the reputation of Qi Kangping? You Gu familyās daughter, are you crazy? It has always been men tarnishing the reputation of women, never have I heard of a woman tarnishing the reputation of a man; thatās not how you support your relatives."
Third Grandma countered with hands on her hips, "Isnāt the reputation of our Brother Ping a reputation? Being entangled by your disgraceful household, our Brother Ping has indeed suffered a great loss."
He Cuiāerās mother turned green with anger, "You are too bullying!"
"Who is bullying too much, that will have to be determined after discussing this matter." Third Grandpa had already led several family men into the courtyard, followed by Qi Panzi, Gu Daya, and Qi Kangle who had just returned from the shop in town.
It was almost evening now, they had rushed back home after finishing their work at the shop, intending to prepare the slaughtered ducks, only to encounter He Cuiāerās family forcing their way in.
Gu Daya was so enraged her face turned iron blue, staring at He Cuiāerās eyes as if she wanted to devour her.
Seeing so many people pour into the Qiās household, He Cuiāer started feeling scared. She knew todayās incident would escalate, but didnāt expect it to become this huge, with several evacuees from the He family arriving, and a good number of the He Family People as well.
She was very panicky; if this matter didnāt resolve well, her reputation would be completely destroyed.
Thinking this way, He Cuiāer had thrown caution to the wind, sobbing with an extremely aggrieved expression.
With a bang, Gu Daya kicked their own courtyard door, angrily saying, "He Cuiāer, if someone in your family dies and needs mourning, go back to your own house to mourn. Donāt come here to cry, bringing bad luck."
He Cuiāer was choked into a sobbing hiccup; her crying abated quite a bit.
He Cuiāerās mother was furious, glaring at Gu Daya and said, "Sister-in-law of the Qi family, how dare you curse my daughter? It was your Brother Ping who started..."
"Shut your mouth! Shameless creature, Iāll set this straight right here. Even if your He Cuiāer dies by crashing into my house today, donāt expect her to step through my door."
"What nonsense? Using such despicable methods to scheme against my Brother Ping, and still expecting to enter my house and become my familyās daughter-in-law? What were you all thinking? Do you take everyone for fools?" Gu Daya was truly infuriated. She had always told Brother Ping to stay away from the village girls and that she would help him look for a marriage prospect slowly, no hurry. Despite such strict vigilance, they had still been entangled by He Cuiāerās family.
"Daya, stop talking, let Xiao Yu speak," Third Grandpa said.
Upon hearing this, Gu Daya stopped scolding He Cuiāer and stepped aside.
Gu Jinli called over the Mo Family people and said to Mo Qinzi, "Tell everyone what you saw at noon today."
"Yes." Mo Qinzi, quick with her words, promptly recounted how He Cuiāer had deliberately jumped into the pond and shouted for help, attempting to scheme against Qi Kangping, but she exposed her.
"Brother Qi didnāt even save her, he didnāt even glance at her more than necessary. Where did this story of jumping into the water to hold her come from? The He family is lying."
After listening, especially the He Family people, they all lowered their heads, deeply ashamed.
"He Dashu, does your family have no shame? To slander Brother Qi Ping of the Qi family like this." Village Chief He was so angry that his beard trembled, knowing that He Dashuās family was problematic, but never expected them to dare concoct such baseless accusations, especially about such a significant matter.
He Cuiāerās mother was not the least bit scared; her family had dared to come and levy accusations, having prepared their justifications well in advance.
She pointed at Mo Qinzi and said to Village Chief He, "Village Chief, donāt listen to Mo Qinziās nonsense. Mo Qinzi is saying this because she has had her eyes on Brother Ping of the Qi family for a long time, fearing that my Cuiāer would marry into the Qi family. She came up with such a vicious plan to slander my Cuiāer, wanting to cut in and marry Brother Qi Ping herself."
Mo Qinzi was stunned, clearly not expecting He Cuiāerās mother to say such things. She became so enraged that her eyes reddened and she choked out, "Youāre talking nonsense; I, I have never fancied Brother Qi."
"Brother Qi? Oh, listen to how affectionately she calls him, even calling him ābig brotherā." He Cuiāerās motherās eyes slanted upward smugly, side-eyeing Mo Qinzi, "Little Miss Mo, do you think everyone doesnāt know about your little schemes? Ever since you damaged your reputation by showing up at Old Moās house, frightened you wouldnāt be able to marry off, those eyes of yours have been locked on Qi Kang Ping. Now that you find an opportunity, you cling onto him, truly shameless!"
Even though Mo Qinzi was fiery, she was just a thirteen-year-old girl; upon hearing these words, she was so angry she was momentarily lost for words.
Ms. Zhang, worried, rushed out and said, "Sister-in-law Dashu, you are talking nonsense. When has my Sister Qin ever had such thoughts? Donāt ruin the reputation of my Sister Qin."
"Ha, your Sister Qin upset her own granduncle to the point of coughing up blood, does she have any reputation left?" He Cuiāerās mother, seeing that Mo Qinzi and her mother couldnāt refute her, felt very triumphant. He Cuiāerās mother dared to speak like this because she knew that the He family people had gone to Village Chief Heās banquet today. The incident happened at midday when people in the village were hiding from the noon heat at home, she reckoned no one saw He Cuiāer jumping into the pond on her own, hence her boldness.
Unfortunately, she became arrogant too soon; Gu Jinli had already set a trap waiting for her.