Chapter 368 - 367: They Were All Guilty
"What reminder? Would this woman kindly remind his family? She’s kidding herself!"
Qi Dong glared at Ye Xinyan with a hostile expression. This woman, whose origins he knew not, was truly despicable. Ever since her arrival in Clear Water Village, his family had not known a moment of peace, with endless troubles day in and day out. His son constantly complained of being bullied by her, yet had nowhere to turn for justice.
Ye Xinyan, of course, was indifferent to Qi Dong’s demeanor. She said leisurely, "The place to argue justice that Third Uncle mentioned does indeed exist. Yesterday, my grandfather and I did not eat before returning home, and when the family members asked the reason, I told them. After hearing my story, both Sixth Master Rong and Lord Jiang reprimanded me as well, saying that I shouldn’t have been so rash, disturbed by a child’s words, as it was unbecoming."
Qi Dong’s face relaxed a bit, thinking that, by her words, those two influential figures living with his uncle were still reasonable.
Ye Xinyan continued, "Then I told them, if it were just mutual cursing, let alone children, even adults in a moment of anger could say harsh words without it truly mattering." Ye Xinyan smiled at Qi Dong and Madam Song, but they discerned a chilling coldness in her smile, "But Qi Congwu’s words were different. When Qi Jiaer was with the Third Branch family, it’s true that they often gave him swill to eat as his meal. This is not children quarreling, it’s boasting about mistreating a child as if it were an honorable act, a crime so vile it warrants death."
Qi Dong immediately became enraged and shouted, "Don’t spout slanderous accusations! We have never done such things, those were just idle words spoken by the child during a quarrel. The Magistrate Sir is here, be careful, or I’ll accuse you of defamation!"
"Never done it?" Ye Xinyan spoke in a measured tone, "At that time, Sixth Master Rong questioned Lord Jiang, how could such evils occur under his jurisdiction? According to Sixth Master Rong, this morning the Yamen should have summoned personnel to the village to arrest people, to take the family that mistreated Qi Jiaer into custody, to detain and interrogate them separately. They would investigate the exact situation Qi Jiaer faced at the time. If the abuse is substantiated, Fourth Aunt’s crime of abusing her stepchild, and the crime of condoning it by the rest of the Third Great Uncle’s Ancestral Home, how should it be judged? Whether exile or hard labor, favoritism must not be shown."
As Qi Dong listened, his face grew uglier. He had always felt that Qi Jiajia’s affairs had nothing to do with him or his wife, so he had no fear of the situation at hand. His previous words were not merely bluster; he was earnestly planning to lodge a complaint with the Magistrate Sir, accusing the second branch of the Qi family of leveraging their power to bully him, as there was no just reason for his wife to have been beaten so harshly.