Although Wu Baoan was furious, he couldn't easily offend Fan Tong.
He looked at Old Mrs. Chen and asked coldly, "Auntie, now that Mr. Fan says you cheated him out of his money and is demanding that you return it, what do you say?"
Old Mrs. Chen had already made up her mind. Since Ruolan had given herself to Fan Tong, Fan Tong had to take full responsibility.
Otherwise, she would be a defiled woman who has lost her virginity. Not to mention that no one would want her, she should be drowned in a pig cage just for having an affair.
Furthermore, the Fan family is a very wealthy family in Qingshui Town. If Ruolan could marry into that family, she would be living in a dream world.
In the future, they will be adorned with gold and silver, enjoying endless wealth and luxury. Perhaps they can even supplement the family's food, clothing, and daily expenses. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?
“Village head, my Ruolan is a perfectly innocent young woman. Now that she has been defiled by Master Fan, you think you can get my money back? No way!”
"Then what do you want?"
"Since Ruolan is already Master Fan's woman, of course we should marry her. Otherwise, how will our Ruolan ever face anyone again?"
Fan Tong instantly bristled, his eyes glaring angrily, "Old woman Chen, how can you be so shameless? I want to marry Chen Qingqing. You gave me a fake one to fool me for one night, and you still want me to marry her? You're dreaming! If you don't want to return the money, then let your eldest granddaughter Chen Qingqing come with me."
Chen Qingqing was so angry she laughed. She didn't want to get entangled with these rotten people and their messy affairs anymore. She just wanted to watch the show quietly and let them fight like dogs.
But now that Fan Tong had implicated her, she glanced at him disdainfully and said coldly, "Master Fan, I solemnly declare that I have severed all ties with their family."
I don't know why Old Lady Chen accepted your money or what she promised you, but my marriage is not her decision. My parents have already rejected Matchmaker Zhao's offer to take me as a concubine.
As for why Old Lady Chen cheated you out of your money, you should talk to her and get a clear answer. Don't try to take advantage of me again.
"Don't worry, Miss Chen, the person who wants to cheat me out of my money hasn't been born yet!" Fan Tong said angrily, looking at Old Mrs. Chen. "Old Mrs. Chen, return the money immediately, or I'll report you to the authorities for fraudulent marriage. You dare to cheat me out of my betrothal money, I'll make you regret it."
"Go ahead and sue me if you want!"
Old Mrs. Chen put her hands on her hips, striking a pose of utter indifference.
"My Ruolan is an innocent young woman, and you've bullied her like this. I haven't even questioned you, yet you're threatening me instead. What kind of logic is that?"
"Let me tell you, so many people saw it. If you dare to renege, I'll sue you for raping a respectable young girl, and we'll see if this upright official will side with justice or his own people."
Although Wu Baoan did not want to offend Fan Tong, he wanted to sit down and have a proper talk since such a thing had happened in the village he managed. However, seeing that the two were unwilling to let it go, he had a headache.
As the village head, he should stand up for the villagers' interests. As long as Chen Ruolan insists that she was forced by him, Fan Tong has no grounds to argue about it.
Thinking of this, the smile vanished from his face, and he said coldly,
"Master Fan, in broad daylight, under the clear sky, you have broken into a private residence and raped a respectable young girl. According to the village rules, you must be beaten to death with sticks."
Fan Tong was taken aback at first, then gave a cold laugh.
"Don't try to impose your ridiculous village rules on me. You're really ungrateful. If I take a fancy to a young woman or wife from a village, that's their honor."
Don't try to scare me. Let me tell you, if I lose a single hair in your village, I can wipe out Nanshan Village.
Hearing Fan Tong's unrepentant and extremely arrogant words, Wu Baoan turned ashen with anger and roared,
"Fan the Rich, don't think you can act with impunity just because you have a few stinking coins. In Nanshan Village, such reckless behavior will not be tolerated!"
Fan Tong arrogantly raised his chin, glancing disdainfully at Wu Baoan.
"You ignorant fool! Everyone in Qingshui Town and even the entire Anyang County knows my Fan family. Let alone sleeping with a girl, even killing someone is as easy as crushing an ant. Who can do anything to me?"
At this point, the villagers who had been watching could no longer tolerate Fan Tong's arrogant behavior and began to criticize him.
"Master Fan, aren't you afraid of retribution for bullying the girls in our village like this?"
"Exactly, does having money make you superior? Does having money mean you don't have to be reasonable?"
Fan Tong chuckled dismissively, "Shut up, all of you. Your stupid village rules don't apply here. If you dare to spout any more nonsense, you'll regret it for the rest of your lives!"
Wu Baoan showed no fear, his gaze fixed firmly on Fan Tong.
"Master Fan is truly powerful. Even if the village rules can't restrain you, you won't be spared easily according to the laws of the Great Ning Dynasty for doing such immoral things."
Adultery is an unforgivable crime. You broke into a private residence and raped a respectable young girl. According to the laws of the Great Ning Dynasty, the punishment is at least caning and imprisonment…”
Hearing this, Fan Tong felt smug. A beating and imprisonment were nothing; he could easily settle it with a few coins.
Seeing Wu Baoan staring at him, he glared at him and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Tell me, at best I'll get a beating and go to jail, but what if I get my head chopped off?"
"I don't know if they'll cut off your head, but I do know that in addition to being flogged and imprisoned, they'll also confiscate your 'tools of the trade'."
"What?! Confiscated the tools of the crime?" Fan Tong felt a chill run down his spine, and he instinctively covered his crotch with both hands.
That's too cruel. How could they confiscate the tools used in the crime?
If I were to be cut off, I'd become a eunuch, which is worse than having my head chopped off!
But for him, such a thing could never happen to him.
After all, his brother-in-law was the county magistrate. If he just made a simple request, wouldn't everyone in the yamen have to give Fan Tong some face?
"Alright, stop trying to scare me with this nonsense. I'm not easily frightened." Fan Tong smirked impatiently. "Old Mrs. Chen took two hundred and fifty taels of silver from me. She promised to let her granddaughter keep me company. Even if you go and sue me, I'm not afraid..."
Wu Baoan was speechless. After all, it was true that Old Lady Chen had accepted the money, and if Fan Tong really turned the tables, things would indeed be troublesome.
Seeing that Fan Tong was about to act shamelessly, Chen Qingqing couldn't just sit and wait to be killed.
After all, Chen Ruolan had tried to harm him time and time again. Now that the Fan family was a pit of fire, wouldn't it be unfair to her if he didn't let her jump into it?
“Fan Tong, the Great Ning Dynasty is a place where the law is in effect. How can you do whatever you want? Even if you gave Old Lady Chen money as a betrothal gift, you have already committed such a despicable act before you are married. This is a crime and a double offense. If there is no reasonable solution to this matter, our whole village will go to the county government office to beat the drum and appeal for justice. I refuse to believe that there is no justice in this world.”
Wu Baoan also chimed in, "Yes, we villagers of Nanshan Village will definitely file a joint complaint. We refuse to believe that the upright official will not give us justice."
"That's right, he came to our village and defiled our village girls, and he even dared to threaten us. We'll report him to the authorities."
......
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