"If Xiao Changyi were still part of the Xiao clan," the village chief continued, "we could use the clan rules to keep him in check, but you went to the County Government and got them household registration proof and a marriage document that states Xiao Changyi married into An Jing’s family. We truly have no way to deal with them and can only let them bully us again and again."
Zheng Genshui was no fool. He knew very well who the actual bully was, but considering the people of Jiuping Village were no good, it seemed better not to change the village chief. Therefore, he didn’t say anything specific about it.
He had always chosen to turn a blind eye to the matters of Jiuping Village.
"When did I go to the County Government to help them get household registration proof and a marriage document?"
"You didn’t?" The village chief was taken aback. "But their proof and marriage document both bear the official seal of the government. I didn’t accompany them to get it done. At first, I thought it was you who went with them. Now that you say it wasn’t... how did they manage it?"
Ordinarily, if villagers wanted to get documents from the County Government, it would be led by the village chief or the neighborhood head.
Stroking his beard, Zheng Genshui shook his head: "I don’t know."
After a moment of contemplation, the village chief ventured a bold guess: "Could it be that the official government seal on their proof and marriage document is forged?"
Zheng Genshui immediately stiffened his face: "Such things must not be mentioned lightly; forging the government’s official seal is a capital offense!"
"Then how did they manage to get the County Government to apply its seal? Neither of us went with them, so it can’t be that Xiao Changyi became a high official and went to the County Government himself to have them stamp it, right? That’s clearly not the case. If Xiao Changyi had become a high official, why would he return to farm the land!"
Prompted by the village chief’s words, Zheng Genshui also began to doubt. Becoming an official was an honorable thing that brought glory to the ancestors, and if Xiao Changyi had really become an official, he certainly wouldn’t return to farm. But he still cautiously said, "It’s best not to speak rashly without concrete evidence."
The village chief, however, was already convinced that Xiao Changyi and An Jing had forged government documents.
After sending Zheng Genshui away, the village chief went to see clan leader Xiao Zheng of the Xiao clan to discuss this matter.
Xiao Zheng’s wounds from the flogging hadn’t yet healed. Upon hearing about this, he gnashed his teeth: "They’ve got some guts to forge government documents and have us going around in circles."
Having been whipped and imprisoned for three days, Xiao Zheng, though he no longer dared to be dishonest, harbored deep hatred for An Jing and Xiao Changyi, hatred that seeped into his bones.
Among all the clan leaders of Jiuping Village through the ages, he was the only clan leader to have been flogged and jailed!
In everyone’s eyes, he had become a complete laughingstock!
If it weren’t for his long-standing, wholehearted dedication to the Xiao Clan, having done not a few things for them, and the elders’ staunch protection, his position as clan leader would have been stripped away on the day the government official arrested him.
"Xiao Zheng, what do you think we should do?" the village chief asked. He had come to Xiao Zheng because he was uncertain of what to do.
After all, if the documents were forged, Xiao Changyi would still be a member of the Xiao clan, and it was natural for him to consult with the clan leader of the Xiao Clan.
Xiao Zheng said, "Even if we have clan rules, that Changyi scoundrel would certainly not be willing to accept the punishment from the clan rules. Just look at how daring they were to forge government documents; that’s a crime punishable by death. Moreover, you’ve seen it before—they don’t take the people of our village seriously at all, let alone our little Xiao Clan. However, we could use the matter of their forging government documents to threaten them into kowtowing and apologizing to each household in our village. It’ll give us some satisfaction."