"Grandma, you say I hit you, then tell me, when did I hit you, where did I hit you, and what did I use to hit you?"

"You bitch, stop pretending! You almost blinded me with a broom at 1 AM today! And you're still denying it!"

"I'm sleeping soundly during the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), where am I supposed to hit you?"

"That's right, it's so late and everyone is sound asleep. Who would come to your house to beat you up? Besides, I heard Chunmei and Qiumei talking around 7 p.m. last night. Chunmei wouldn't go over mountains and valleys to beat you up so late, would she?"

"Fanjiachong is across Zhuangyuan Mountain from Yijia Village. In the dead of night, even men might not have the courage to cross the mountain, let alone Xia Chunmei, who is just a young girl."

"Besides, even if I went to your house to beat you up, all those people in your house would just be decorations. Would Chunmei even be able to come back?"

The clansmen all stood up to speak for Xia Chunmei.

"You didn't hit me at my house!"

"If she didn't hit you at your house, did she? My house is right next to Chunmei's; if she hit you, you would definitely fight back, and that would have been quite a commotion. I couldn't have missed everything. Besides, what were you doing at Chunmei's house in the middle of the night?"

Shi Zhenxiang couldn't find a rebuttal, so she could only throw a tantrum: "None of your business! Why are you doing this to me!"

Aunt Lihua wouldn't stand for it either, putting her hands on her hips: "You old hag, you outsiders are causing trouble for the Xia family, how can I not care? Not only will I care, I'll see this through to the end. If you can't produce any evidence, you're not leaving Yijia Village today!"

Shi Zhenxiang nearly died of anger on the spot: "Xia Changjiang, Chen Sanhua, are you going to do anything about this or not?"

Xia Chunmei looked at Xia Changjiang and Xia Chenshi with a grin and said, "Clan leader, she came here to slander my reputation. If you're not going to do anything about it, I'll report her to the authorities. There must be a place in this world where justice prevails."

"You brat, reporting to the authorities? You think you're so great! I'd like to see if you can even get into the yamen!" Shi Zhenxiang said angrily.

In this era, ordinary people had a natural fear of government offices. To report to the authorities, one had to give the yamen runners a bribe before they would inform the county magistrate; otherwise, one couldn't even get into the yamen.

Therefore, calling the police is of little use to ordinary people in this era.

"Whether I can get in or not is my business. I just want to ask the clan chief, how should this matter be handled? Can you give me justice?" Xia Chunmei stood up straight and met Xia Changjiang's gaze.

Xia Changjiang hated Xia Chunmei to the core, but he couldn't be too obvious in favoring Shi Zhenxiang in front of so many clansmen.

“Aunt, do you have any witnesses? If you don’t have any witnesses, you can’t say that Chunmei hit you.”

Shi Zhenxiang hadn't spoken for a long time. Tuesday could testify for her, but the key was that she didn't dare to say anything.

Then Xia Chunmei said, "Since she can't say it, then it's slander. I'm still an unmarried girl, and I think all of you uncles and aunts know how important my reputation is. Now I'm asking her to set off firecrackers as an apology, is that too much to ask?"

"You brat, you're the one who hit me! You want me to apologize? Dream on!" Shi Zhenxiang exploded when she heard Xia Chunmei demand that she set off firecrackers as an apology.

"Not only do you have to set off firecrackers to apologize, but you also have to give me thirty eggs to calm my nerves!"

This family is dirt poor, with only three acres of barren land, so they have to make her bleed!

Upon hearing that it was thirty eggs, the Fan family unanimously condemned Xia Chunmei, saying she was asking for an exorbitant amount.

Shi Zhenxiang cursed even more: "Thirty eggs? You'll stuff yourself to death, you stinking bitch!"

Madam Xia Chen's face was also very ugly. She said to Xia Chunmei, "Chunmei, the lack of evidence does not mean that this did not happen. You even made an elder set off firecrackers to apologize to you and demanded thirty eggs. Is this something a junior like you should say? Don't let people think that all the girls in our Xia family are as shrewish and mean as you."

"Second Aunt, from what you're saying, you're concluding that I hit Old Lady Fan, right? Even the county magistrate needs evidence to judge a case, you're even more of a genius than the county magistrate!"

After Xia Chunmei finished speaking, she snorted coldly, "An elder? I acknowledge her, she is the elder. If I don't acknowledge her, she is nothing."

"Pfft..." Pear Blossom was amused by Xia Chunmei's words.

Xia Chenshi and the Fan family members looked ashen-faced.

Xia Huohua frowned slightly, looking at Xia Chunmei with concern. She was only fourteen years old, an orphan, and had offended the clan chief's family. What would become of her in the future...?

Xia Chunmei continued, "If Granny Fan can produce evidence that I hit her, I'll admit it. But she has no evidence. Without evidence, she brought her whole family to my house in a menacing manner. Is she bullying me because I have no one to rely on?"

If accusations can be made without evidence, and no compensation or apology is required, then can't I just go around telling everyone tomorrow that Xia Xiumei tried to steal my fiancé?

Upon hearing this, Xia Changjiang and his family's expressions changed drastically! Did Xia Chunmei find out something?

"Xia Chunmei!" Xia Xiumei, who had been watching the drama unfold from the back, rushed out, her eyes red. "Why did you frame me? Do you know how important your reputation is?"

Xia Chunmei smiled and said, "Of course I know that reputation is important, but your parents don't seem to know that. They insist on pinning this on me without any evidence. People who don't know better might think that their surname is Fan or Shi, but not Xia."

Xia Chunmei's gaze fell on Xia Changjiang and his wife, and seeing their ashen faces, she felt secretly delighted.

But the matter wasn't over yet. Xia Chunmei continued, "Second Aunt, if you, as the clan leader's wife and an elder of our Xia clan, don't speak up for us Xia family members, how can our family unite?"

Who can still trust the family?

If my cousins ​​are bullied in their husband's family in the future, can they still expect the family to help them?

Xia Chunmei wanted to exaggerate the matter and let the clansmen know that this matter concerned the interests of all of them.

Xia Chenshi and Xia Changjiang were stunned again, never expecting that Xia Chunmei would eventually drag her clansmen into it!

"Xia Chunmei, this is just a small matter. Don't talk nonsense and hinder the unity of the family!" Xia Changjiang wished he could rush up and tear Xia Chunmei's mouth apart.

He only realized today how well Xia Chunmei had hidden herself! Even he hadn't noticed her sharp tongue all these years!