Chapter 3 Does Evidence Matter?

These words struck the crowd like a thunderclap.

The Grandmother was the absolute authority of the Chen family; no one had ever dared to show her the slightest disrespect. No one expected Chen Fan, who had always been timid and subservient, to utter such rebellious words.

The Grandmother trembled with rage, unable to speak.

"Chen Fan, you have some nerve! Not only did you beat your cousin, but now you dare to insult your grandmother? How can the Chen family tolerate you?"

A middle-aged couple pointed at Chen Fan and roared. They were Chen Fan's uncle, Chen An, and aunt, Jiang Hongying—the parents of Chen Hao. Seeing their precious son injured, they were eager for revenge. Furthermore, Chen Fan had married a daughter of the Su family; if the Fan family were to take offense, it could jeopardize Chen Hao’s future. Thus, they saw this as the perfect opportunity to drive Chen Fan out of the family.

"Grandmother?" Chen Fan pointed at her, his expression cold. "Does she deserve to be called my grandmother?"

The crowd was stunned once again by his defiance.

"From the time I was a child, has she ever cared for me? She did nothing but beat and scold me. I began working alongside the tenant farmers when I was only five years old. While they ate fine meat and fish inside, they forced me to eat pig slop outside. Tell me, does she deserve to be my grandmother?" Chen Fan challenged the clansmen.

His words left the crowd speechless; they could not help but sympathize with his plight.

"Hmph! You, you ominous creature! You cursed your own parents to death. The fact that I kept you in the Chen family and raised you is already a supreme act of mercy! Yet you are ungrateful—truly, I have raised a white-eyed wolf!" The Grandmother sneered, her finger trembling as she pointed at him.

Chen Fan curled his lips into a cold smile. "Ominous? Why don't you admit that it was your own evil deeds that caused my parents to suffer for your sins?"

"You... you are spouting nonsense! I have been simple and kind since childhood; when have I ever done evil? What is your motive for slandering me?" The Grandmother retorted, her voice strained with nervous rage. In the Great Xia Dynasty, reputation was everything.

"Simple and kind? You have no shame in saying that." Chen Fan stepped forward. "The agreement with the Chen family tenants was that we would take seventy percent of the harvest. Yet every autumn, you would invent various excuses to raise the rent to ninety percent, forcing the tenants to borrow grain from the family at high interest. By the end of the year, they had no grain left and were instead in debt to the family. Is this what you call simple and kind?"

"And that grain shop you run in the city? You mix old, rotten rice with the new harvest and sell it to the townspeople at exorbitant prices. Is that what you call simple and kind?"

Each of Chen Fan's questions struck the Grandmother like a hammer, causing her wrinkled face to quiver.

"You deceive outsiders, but you don't even spare your own kin. Every year, when the clansmen sell their grain to you, you not only suppress the price but also tamper with the scales—a full catty on your scale is barely twelve ounces. Is this what you call simple and kind? My parents died because of your endless greed and wickedness. You are the true culprit!"

The Grandmother gasped, her face flushed with fury, but she could not find a rebuttal. Chen Fan’s words were the truth, and the clansmen began to eye her with suspicion, realizing they had been swindled by her for years. Sensing the shift in the room, the Grandmother panicked.

"Uncles and cousins, do not be led astray by this brat! We are here today because he beat me without cause!" Chen Hao shouted, stepping forward.

"You lie! It was you who tried to molest my sister and me; my husband only struck you to protect us," Yingchun and Yingxia interjected. "You are our brother-in-law! For you to attempt such a depraved act is an insult to our dignity. My husband was fully justified in his actions."

The mention of such a moral transgression caused the clansmen to glare at Chen Hao. Seeing the hostility, Chen Hao remained calm, having already prepared his defense. He signaled his parents, who immediately stepped in.

"Fellow clansmen, my son Hao has studied the classics since he was a child; how could he commit such a heinous act? These two hussies are clearly framing him!" Jiang Hongying cried out. "Don't forget, they are the daughters of merchants, schooled in deceit from a young age. My son is a scholar! It must be a plot they concocted to protect Chen Fan."

The crowd nodded, reasoning that a scholar would never do such a thing. They turned their anger toward the sisters, hurling insults at them.

Chen Hao walked up to the sisters with a smug expression. "Do you have any proof of your claims? If not, I will take this to the magistrate. Under the laws of the Great Xia, slandering a scholar is punishable by twenty lashes."

The sisters turned pale with fear. Chen Hao watched them with a predatory glint, already imagining how he would force them to submit once Chen Fan was driven out.

"Go ahead and report it to the magistrate," Chen Fan said calmly.

The crowd looked at him in confusion. The sisters glared at him, feeling betrayed.

"Chen Fan, do you know what will happen to them if I go to the magistrate?" Chen Hao threatened.

"Do you know what will happen to you if you go?" Chen Fan countered.

"The youngest scholar in Dongyang County molesting his own sisters-in-law," Chen Fan continued, his voice steady. "If that news spreads, I am sure the people of Dongyang will be very interested."

"You lie! You have no proof! I will sue you along with them!" Chen Hao stammered, his face twitching.

Chen Fan smiled. "I don't have proof, but does that matter? Once the rumor spreads, you will be the center of gossip for the entire city. If I recall correctly, the Imperial Academy is coming to Dongyang soon to select students for the highest institution of learning in Great Xia. If the officials hear these rumors, do you think they will still allow you to attend?"

The words struck Chen Hao like a blade. His face drained of all color, and he swayed, on the verge of collapsing.