"Exactly! A girl's reputation is so important. If Chunmei had known beforehand, she would never have gone to the appointment."

"You all think Chunmei is easy to bully because she has no parents and you think she's a good person. You think she has a skill and can earn money, so you set your sights on her. Bah!"

"Shameless bastards! Chunmei is a girl of the Xia family, and it's none of your business to scheme against her!"

...

The villagers received a great deal of kindness from Xia Chunmei and Xia Ping'an last night, so they naturally wanted to help them wholeheartedly today.

"Uncles and elders, please help me lock these troublemakers up. I'm going to the yamen to file a complaint first thing tomorrow morning! I refuse to believe there's no place in this world where justice can be served!"

"Don't report this to the authorities!" At this moment, the Fan family rushed over.

Madam Fan said, "Chunmei, good child, you can't report this to the authorities. If this gets out, it will damage your reputation."

It's all nonsense about their bad reputation. Fan Jiangshi is just afraid of getting involved with their family and Fan Baowen.

Xia Chunmei said, "I want to ask you today, Auntie, is my marriage with Fan Baowen still valid? Does Fan Baowen like Xia Xiumei? Is he going to break off the engagement with me because of her?"

"No, absolutely not! Chunmei, I can tell you clearly, and tell everyone, that you, Xia Chunmei, are the eldest grandson's wife recognized by our Fan family!"

"If you're worried, you don't have to wait until you come of age; we can choose a date and arrange your wedding right away," Fan Baowen's father, Fan Mingli, said firmly.

"No! I won't allow it!" Xia Xiumei cried.

The villagers were initially just speculating, but Xia Xiumei's crying and refusal to agree immediately confirmed the rumors.

Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua were both in despair, glaring at Xia Xiumei, wishing they could tear her apart. How could they have such a foolish daughter?

"So, Xiumei, you really have taken a liking to Fan Shusheng."

"Shameless! Bah!"

"Needless to say, it's true that Changjiang and Sanhua harmed Chunmei because of her."

"The whole family is heartless and cruel."

"I wonder if Scholar Fan knows about this."

...

Hearing these words, Madam Fan was both anxious and angry. She retorted, "Who do you think you are to interfere in matters concerning our Fan family? Who do you think you are? Our Baowen is definitely not that kind of person. Chunmei, don't be fooled by her. Baowen is devoted to you."

Madam Fan held Xia Chunmei's hand and said with a loving expression.

Fan Mingli: "Chunmei, you should know how we've treated you. We've never missed a gift during the holidays. If we had ulterior motives, we wouldn't have asked Baowen to deliver things to you. Chunmei, you have to trust us and trust Baowen."

After Fan Mingli's reminder, everyone immediately remembered that Fan Baowen had given Xia Chunmei grain a few days ago, and that Fan Baoyun had given her eggs for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"The Fan family is indeed kind-hearted."

"Who knows, it might be because the Fan family is kind-hearted that Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua had such wicked ideas. Who wouldn't want their daughter to marry into a good family?"

The Fan family is kind-hearted, hehe. Xia Chunmei sneered inwardly.

Ten kilograms of grain and ten eggs earned them a good reputation and the trust of the people.

Xia Chunmei had to admit that the Fan family was indeed smarter than Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua.

Madam Fan affectionately pulled Chunmei along, saying, "Chunmei, you must believe in us, believe in Baowen."

“I believe Baowen is not that kind of beast.” Xia Chunmei deliberately emphasized the word “beast.”

Fan Jiangshi's face stiffened; she felt that Xia Chunmei's words were not quite right.

“However, we still need to report it to the authorities,” Xia Chunmei added.

Madam Fan was startled: "Why?"

“They’ve wronged me so badly, this can’t just be left like this. The Huang family even dared to come to our door with knives and rob us. Who knows if they’ll do it again? There are no adults in our family, and my three younger sisters are still young. What if some people are still up to no good and come back, or do something underhanded? What will happen to my sisters? So we have to report this to the authorities!”

"No, no, no, Chunmei, we won't do it again, we will never come back."

"Chunmei, it was my fault. I promise I won't bother you again. You can believe me."

The more assertive the Huang family was before, the more conciliatory their attitude has become now.

Madam Fan said again, "Chunmei, I think they are genuinely remorseful. Why don't we just have them pay some money to apologize? When you go to the yamen, you have to pay to enter and leave the city, and you have to give the yamen runners a bribe to report to the authorities. Otherwise, you won't be able to see the magistrate. You've only earned a few dollars, so don't waste it."

"Compared to the safety of my sisters, what is money? You don't need to worry about me not being able to get into the yamen. Don't forget, the Wang family promised to protect me. The third young master of the Wang family is a scholar, and his wife's uncle is the county magistrate's advisor. With this connection, how could I not get into the county yamen? I don't ask the county magistrate to be corrupt or abuse his power. As long as he handles things impartially, I think the county magistrate is a man of great principle and loves the people like his own children. He will definitely agree."

As soon as Xia Chunmei finished speaking, the entire audience was shocked!

The Huang family was even more apprehensive. If they had known earlier that Xia Chunmei had a connection with the Wang family, they would never have colluded with Xia Changjiang and his wife.

"I heard that Brother Baowen and Wang Xiucai are fellow disciples. His junior brother's fiancée is in trouble. As the senior brother, he can't just stand by and do nothing, can he?" Xia Chunmei looked at Fan Jiangshi with a half-smile.

Fan Jiangshi's heart was pounding. With the Wang family involved, it wouldn't be difficult for Xia Chunmei to file a lawsuit. In fact, she was in the right, and she would win every time she filed a lawsuit.

"Chunmei can't sue the authorities! She can't!"

"Auntie, why are you stopping me from reporting this to the authorities? Could it be...?"

"Chunmei, don't overthink it. I'm genuinely concerned for you. If this goes to the authorities, it won't sound good. And think about it, if a criminal comes from your clan, it will ruin your entire clan's reputation. How will the girls and boys in your clan find husbands?"

“Chunmei, your future mother-in-law is right. If we report it to the authorities, the rest of us will be implicated.”

"Yes, Chunmei, you should make them pay some money and grain as compensation."

“You can’t report this to the authorities. If you do, it will affect our entire clan.”

Upon hearing Fan Jiangshi's words, several clansmen jumped out to oppose Xia Chunmei reporting the matter to the authorities.

Xia Chunmei coldly stared at the people who were trying to stop her from reporting the incident to the authorities: "I won't report it. What if they don't change their ways and try to sabotage us in secret? Will you send people to protect us sisters every day?"

Fan Jiangshi: "No, they wouldn't dare."

“How do you know they won’t dare? Are you a mind reader?” Xia Chunmei said. “How about this, you build us three houses in Fanjia Gou, and my sisters and I will move in. I won’t report this to the authorities.”

Fan Jiangshi choked.

“Chunmei, one cannot be selfish. You cannot tarnish the reputation of our entire clan because of something that hasn’t even happened.”

"You don't blame those two for their crimes, but you insist on blaming me, the victim. Are you taking advantage of the fact that there are no adults in my family?" Xia Chunmei cried, looking up at the sky. "Father, if you're watching from heaven, please don't bless these ungrateful wretches!"

Those who tried to stop Xia Chunmei from reporting to the authorities were at a loss for words. If they stopped Xia Chunmei, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to catch any more fish; if they didn't stop her, they were afraid it would damage their reputation.

“Chunmei, how about this? You have them write down confessions and guarantees, and give them to the clan for safekeeping. If they commit the same offense again, we’ll have them drowned in the pond. Is that alright?” Xia Xintian suggested.

"That's a good idea."

“Chunmei, why don’t we do as Xintian said? They’ve written confessions and guarantees, which is equivalent to handing over their incriminating evidence. They definitely won’t dare to do it again.”

...

Xia Xintian's proposal was unanimously approved by the clansmen.

In this era, vigilante justice was quite prevalent, and the government generally did not interfere with clan vigilante justice.