Qin Zhenshan stood up excitedly, his voice rising as he shouted, "How can this be! Brother, how could you do this! Our Qin family has a history spanning hundreds of years, it can't end with you! You're going to become a sinner of the Qin family!"
Old Master Qin's face darkened: "I don't know whether I've committed a crime or not, but I do know that the head of the Qin family died on the road when I was demoted. Now I am just a general in China!"
Qin Zhenshan plopped down on the sofa, looked at Old Master Qin, and after a long while, said with a wry smile, "Brother, are you resenting us? Resenting us for not helping you back then? But at the time, we were also thinking about the bigger picture; after all, we couldn't let the Qin family line die out..."
He finally understood why his elder brother hadn't gone back to the Qin family's old house after returning, but had instead stayed in the military compound. Even after finding his biological son, he hadn't taken the initiative to mention adding Huo Xiao to the family genealogy, and even after all this time, he hadn't changed his surname.
He had been using the matter of opening the ancestral hall and including it in the family genealogy as leverage against them, but who knew they didn't care at all!
They really don't care!
Old Master Qin remained silent with a cold expression, and the chilling aura emanating from him made Qin Zhenshan's heart sink.
"Brother, you are, after all, a member of the Qin family, the patriarch of the Qin family in this generation. You can't do this! Are you trying to sever ties with us brothers?"
Seeing that Old Master Qin remained silent, Ye Weiwei spoke up bluntly: "When something happens, it's Zhong Wuyan; when nothing happens, it's Xia Yingchun. And when something goes wrong, she's pushed out to take the blame. What's the point of being a clan leader like that? Besides, they're all cousins, not blood brothers!"
Qin Zhenshan could no longer maintain his composure as an elder, and glared at Ye Weiwei angrily, shouting, "Shut up!"
Ye Weiwei sneered, her aura suddenly rising: "You're the ones who should shut up! If you really acknowledge my father-in-law as the clan head, then I am the young mistress of the Qin family. How dare you, a member of a collateral branch, repeatedly yell at me, the young mistress of the main branch? You don't actually think that by instigating and winning over the rest of the Qin family, you can control my father-in-law, the clan head, and use the matter of adding Huo Xiao to the family register to manipulate us, do you? Ha! How utterly ridiculous!"
In the past, if someone from a collateral branch of the family dared to harbor such thoughts, they wouldn't have hesitated to kill you! Do you really think everyone's blind and can't see through your schemes?
Qin Zhenshan was speechless after Ye Weiwei's words. When he met Ye Weiwei's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, he subconsciously looked away, unable to maintain his dignity as an elder any longer.
Old Master Qin was too lazy to waste any more words with them and said coldly, "You can leave now! Don't bother me again if there's nothing else to say."
"yes."
Qin Zhenshan bowed his head in response, his attitude appearing much more respectful than before.
Whether he was just putting on an act or genuinely trying to change, Old Master Qin's heart was as still as water, and he could no longer be stirred by anything.
After Qin Zhenshan and Guan Mingyue slunk away, Ye Weiwei looked at Old Master Qin, who was sitting on the sofa without saying a word, and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
Upon hearing this, Old Master Qin glared at her irritably, "Stop causing trouble here!"
After saying that, he gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Sigh, I'm getting old! I don't have the drive and courage I had when I was young anymore. If I were your age, I would have already started beating you up."
Ye Weiwei said in a serious tone, "Then I thank you for your praise."
Old Master Qin couldn't help but laugh, "You! You're so clever and cunning, you really hold grudges and won't suffer the slightest loss."
He could see through his cousins' thoughts all too well, but his branch was the only direct descendant of the Qin family left. In order to avenge Qingxue, he had also purged a large number of people in the clan. Now, only his two cousins and his great-uncle's branch remained.
Who knew that such a small group of people would be so restless!
It's also his fault for spoiling them too much during those years because he had no children of his own, which allowed them to become too arrogant.
Ye Weiwei obediently replied, "Yes, it's so painful to suffer a loss. Isn't it foolish to wrong yourself for some unimportant people?"
Old Master Qin glared at Ye Weiwei in anger: "Don't think I can't tell you're indirectly insulting me!"
Ye Weiwei chuckled, "This isn't my opinion; you're the one who took it personally."
Old Master Qin couldn't do anything about her.
Seeing that Old Master Qin's mood had improved considerably, Ye Weiwei asked, "Are you really going to cut ties with the collateral branches?"
Old Master Qin snorted coldly: "Don't even think about it for the time being. You did a great job today. Those bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong shouldn't be tolerated!"
When Huo Xiao returned home that evening, Ye Weiwei told him about Qin Zhenshan and Guan Mingyue's visit to their home during the day. Huo Xiao simply sneered and then looked at Ye Weiwei, saying, "Wife, well done!"
He only recognized Old Master Qin in the Qin family, and at most, his great-uncle Qin. As for the others, there was no need for them.
He doesn't have the same good heart as the old man, who suffers for others while raising such a large, ungrateful family.
The Zhou family's matter was quickly investigated and the verdict was reached before the end of the first month of the lunar calendar.
Old Master Zhou, Zhou Nansheng, was old and frail, and passed away after only a few days in prison.
Without Old Master Zhou as the backbone, the Zhou family fell apart. The men of the first and second branches of the Zhou family, as well as several collateral relatives who were deeply involved in the case, were all sentenced to death.
The rest were sentenced to five to twenty years in prison, depending on the severity of their crimes.
Zhou Qingwan and her daughter Guan Mingzhu were sentenced to ten years in prison and sent to local areas to serve their sentences.
Coincidentally, Zhao Mingzhe's parents were also sent down to the countryside along with Zhou Qingwan and her daughter.
Given Zhou Minru's petty and vengeful nature, I'm sure she'll repay Zhou Qingwan properly.
Having someone to accompany me on this journey makes me feel less lonely.
During the period following the verdict against the Zhou family, Ye Weiwei would occasionally check on the Zhou family residence.
Sure enough, she encountered several groups of people who secretly scaled the wall and entered the Zhou family's compound, where they dug for treasure.
Among them, the members of the Qin family's collateral branches had the clearest purpose. As soon as they entered, they went straight to the place where the Zhou family hid their treasure, which meant that someone from the Zhou family had given them information.
Unfortunately, they never dreamed that Ye Weiwei had already gotten to all of Zhou's treasures, so their efforts were destined to be in vain.
Ye Weiwei also heard Huo Xiao mention that when the Zhou family members were first arrested, the Qin family's collateral branch and the Guan family members frequently visited the police station and brought them a lot of food and supplies.
I stopped going there much after that.
The people from the eldest and second branches of the Zhou family cursed those people in prison, calling them ungrateful and kicking someone when they're down.
Ye Weiwei knew that those people must have failed to find anything good from the Zhou family, and seeing no profit to be made, they naturally stopped trying to get closer.
Thinking back to when the Zhou family was first arrested, Qin Zhenshan and Guan Mingyue came to plead for them, and Guan Mingyue cried and knelt down, Ye Weiwei felt it was ironic.
That's all there is to it!
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