Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: The Crime of Gender 22

The village chief suppressed his anger and continued in a cold voice, ”From the beginning until now, you weep for the wife, you weep for the mother, but none of you has even mentioned the Second Miss lying there, not knowing if she’s alive or dead!

The Second Miss is also your flesh and blood! Do you, father and son, feel even a tiny bit of compassion for the Second Miss? Any remorse? Any concern for whether she might actually die!

Qin the Third, you even said that even if the Second Miss died, you wouldn’t hold anyone accountable, so others have no right to pursue it!

That is a human life! The life of a child, your own flesh and blood! How can you be so dismissive!

If you can treat your close relatives in this way, then you surely disregard the lives of others even more. Qin the Third, no matter how filial you are, if you disregard the lives of others, you are nothing but a heartless, hypocritical person!”

The village chief, being who he is, immediately turned people’s mood around with this speech! The villagers, who had previously felt a faint sense of sympathy for the Qin Family, suddenly felt a chill in their hearts and, upon reflection, realized this to be the truth.

If Qin the Third could say something like that just for the sake of his mother, even ignoring the death of his own niece, then if anything were to happen to those of us who have no relation to him, he’d probably just treat it as a joke, without any feeling!

Thinking even deeper, he might even take pleasure in our misfortune, and with this thought, people’s discomfort rose, the previous slight sympathy vanished, replaced instead by a growing sense of disgust!

Mr. Qin’s face was ashen, and Qin the Third’s expression was equally unpleasant. They could no longer cry. The village chief’s words directly targeted the sly calculations in the minds of Mr. Qin and Qin the Third. They simply did not care about the life or death of a girl like Qin Shuangshuang!

In their hearts, no matter how capable the Second Miss was, she wasn’t a son; a girl’s life was inherently cheap, strangled or discarded at birth, or even sold when a bit older, without much thought! Besides, Qin Shuangshuang wasn’t dead, so to the Qin Family, this really wasn’t an issue!

Some tried to explain, but seeing the vaguely rejecting gazes from the crowd, they were at a loss for words. Mr. Qin felt a surge of shame and anger! He began resenting the village chief in his heart but did not dare to voice his offense.

The village chief also had no intention of continuing to listen to their explanations; he was just about to announce his decision.

”Village chief grandpa, wait a moment!”

Before the village chief could speak, a child’s small voice interrupted him. Everyone turned to see Qin Shuangshuang, her neck wrapped in a white cloth, face pale, being tightly held by Mrs. Bai, unknowingly joining the crowd’s side.

The village chief was interrupted by Qin Shuangshuang, and the words he intended to say remained unsaid. Mrs. Wang, who had been silently beside the village chief, frowned disapprovingly upon seeing Qin Shuangshuang!

She expressed concern and scolded Qin Shuangshuang, ”You child, why are you out here? You suffered such serious injuries earlier, and now you should be resting properly. Look at your face, even paler than paper, hurry back to lie down!”

Qin Shuangshuang smiled obediently at Mrs. Wang. She had already been listening inside the house for quite some time, knowing the village chief definitely would not severely punish Old Chen today!

Judging by the village chief’s intentions earlier, he probably planned to give just a minor reprimand to Old Chen. With that in mind, Qin Shuangshuang intended to display her filial piety again through this matter, further promoting her reputation of being dutiful.

So she interrupted the village chief before he could speak, now smiling sweetly at the village chief and Mrs. Wang, saying, ”Grandma Wang, I’m fine now. I just want to ask Grandpa Village Chief not to punish my grandma! See, I’m okay, please forgive her!”

As Qin Shuangshuang spoke, everyone immediately felt admiration for how virtuous and understanding this child was at such a young age. Remarkably, she didn’t hold grudges and was pleading for someone who almost killed her!

Even though that person was her own grandmother, it was apparent that Old Chen had no affection for this granddaughter, treating her more like an enemy. Yet this child remarkably still valued the kinship, holding no resentment towards Old Chen.

Such a person might be considered a pushover, easily bullied, but undoubtedly, everyone hopes to meet such a person in their lives, someone like Qin Shuangshuang. Her words instantly won everyone’s favor.

The village chief nodded approvingly at Qin Shuangshuang and praised, ”You child are so virtuous! Truly rare.”

He glanced back at Mr. Qin and Qin the Eldest, Qin Laoer, and Qin the Third, and sighed, ”Since the Second Miss pleads for leniency, there will be no need to open the ancestral hall!”

”Thank you, village chief, thank you. Rest assured, I will certainly restrain Old Chen in the future and ensure she never does such things again! I will also cherish the Second Miss properly, never forgetting this child’s virtue...”

The village chief finally softened his stance, and Mr. Qin immediately expressed profound gratitude with endless thanks, his mouth full of kind words, even feeling a bit more affection towards Qin Shuangshuang, realizing their family name was preserved!

Qin the Eldest and Qin the Third also joined in with pleasant words, knowing that everyone was standing up for Qin Shuangshuang now. Smartly, like Mr. Qin, they repeatedly promised to treat Qin Shuangshuang well in the future.

The village chief did not believe a single word of their flattery but did not bother to expose it, ”Alright, no need to thank me here. Although I said there was no need to open the ancestral hall, that doesn’t mean there will be no punishment!

Though this is your family matter, the intent to kill is not merely a family issue to be disregarded; no matter what, there can’t be no punishment at all!

If there isn’t any, it would disrupt the village’s demeanor, encouraging elders to think it’s acceptable to harm younger ones they dislike. Chaos would ensue!”

”Yes, yes! You’re absolutely right. We admit the fault, without any complaints!” Mr. Qin nodded repeatedly, fully agreeing with the village chief’s decision, so long as it didn’t involve opening the ancestral hall or reporting to the authorities, preserving their family’s reputation mattered most, Old Chen’s punishment barely concerned Mr. Qin and his sons!

Ultimately, Mr. Qin cared about face and the ability to remain in the village, while Qin the Eldest and Qin the Third mainly worried Old Chen’s incident could affect their future lives!

As for Qin Laoer, he was a silent man, almost no one knew what he truly thought, nor did anyone care.

”Since you all have no objections, I will proceed according to the old rules. As per the Qin Clan’s traditions, those who err are punished by threshing rice in the village center. Given the gravity of Chen’s mistake, she shall thresh rice for half a year, with no family assistance permitted; do you have any objections?”

Mr. Qin and his sons naturally had no objections, as being punished to thresh rice was customary; half a year, though not a light punishment, seemed too lenient considering Old Chen’s offense.

Seeing Mr. Qin and his sons without objection, the village chief continued, ”Since you have no objections, then Chen’s matter is settled that way. With Chen’s issue concluded, next, I want to discuss the Second Miss’s matter!”