CHAPTER 131: CHAPTER 131: BURDEN OF PROOF ON THE CLAIMANT

"Where did this little girl come from? You don’t have the right to speak here!" The Dang’s eldest aunt, hit in the heart, began to shout out loudly out of guilt.

Fifth Aunt shielded Lin Xiang behind her, "The girl didn’t say anything wrong. If it weren’t for the benefits you received from the Zhao Family, why would you bully us? I’m going back to my family later to ask my brothers just how much it took for them to sell their niece out against their conscience!"

Dang’s eldest sister-in-law’s face changed slightly, and she said with an awkward smile, "Gui Fen, I really didn’t take any benefits from the Zhao Family. I just think this marriage isn’t bad and don’t want Chunya to miss out. You see, Chunya isn’t young anymore. If she waits any longer, she might not find anyone better."

Fifth Aunt rolled her eyes, "Even if my Chunya never gets married in her life, it’s fine. Old Five and I are happy to take care of her! You speak nicely, but if you think this marriage is so great, why not have your daughter marry over there?"

"My Chun Tao isn’t of marriageable age yet."

"Chun Tao is only a little more than a year younger than Chunya, and Zhao Chunshui has to stay in jail for a few more years anyway. Why don’t you just wait patiently until Zhao Chunshui gets out, then let Chun Tao marry over there!"

Dang’s eldest sister-in-law’s face immediately changed, and she pointed at Fifth Aunt, yelling, "Chun Tao is your real niece, how can you scheme against your own niece?"

"Chunya is your real niece too! Why can you take benefits and plot against my Chunya?" Fifth Aunt didn’t want to waste words with Dang’s eldest sister-in-law and directly instructed Fifth Uncle, "Old Five, go to my family and ask my brothers and sisters-in-law in person why they want to forcibly impose the older generation’s verbal agreement on my daughter, who is married out!"

Fifth Uncle, filled with anger, immediately headed out.

Dang’s eldest sister-in-law hurriedly pulled on Fifth Uncle, "Oh come on, let’s talk this over, persistently going back to report to your family will only make others laugh at you!"

"We’ve been bullied this much, and I can’t even speak up for myself, why would I worry about others laughing at us?"

Dang’s eldest sister-in-law had no choice but to tell the truth, "Your eldest brother and others don’t know about this; I took the liberty of coming over myself. Gui Fen, if you really don’t want Chunya to marry over there, let’s leave it at that. Just don’t shout it out so everyone knows, otherwise how will Chunya find a match in the future?"

Fifth Aunt completely ignored Dang’s eldest sister-in-law and only spoke to Mrs. Zhao, "The older generation’s verbal agreements don’t count. Even if you really want someone to fulfill the engagement, you should go to the Dang Family, not come to the Lin Family. And besides, the leaders have already said clearly that arranged marriages are illegal. If you want to join Zhao Chunshui in jail, you can go make trouble at the Dang Family!"

After all, Chun Tao is her real niece, and Fifth Aunt couldn’t truly let her go to Zhao Family’s den. She only said that because she was upset with her sister-in-law’s decisions without consulting her.

Mrs. Zhao saw Fifth Aunt’s stance and knew that the marriage definitely couldn’t be discussed any further.

Zhao Chunshui was already a goner, she had to take advantage to gain some benefits.

"You don’t want to admit to the marriage, and I can’t force you. After all, I don’t want to break the law either! But you’ll have to return the bride price my family gave, right? The bride price of one hundred and twenty yuan, plus several yards of red fabric and a sewing machine radio, you’ll return everything, and then we’ll go our separate ways!"

Fifth Aunt was slightly bewildered, "Bride price? What bride price? When did you ever come to my house with a bride price?"

Clearly, a few days ago at the Red Temple Team, they mentioned that without a middleman or a bride price, the engagement was void. Yet today, Zhao Family shamelessly comes to demand a bride price?

Mrs. Zhao pointed at Dang’s eldest sister-in-law, "The middleman was there when the bride price was given as well. Gui Fen, I’m not saying you don’t trust me, but you can’t mistrust your own sister-in-law, right?"

Dang’s eldest sister-in-law was evidently a little guilty and didn’t dare to meet Fifth Aunt’s gaze.

Fifth Aunt was clearly frustrated and laughed, "She just tricked me, and I should trust her? I might as well believe pigs climb trees! I said there was no bride price; we don’t acknowledge it!"

"Not acknowledge? It’s not up to you!"

Mrs. Zhao had already bribed Dang’s eldest sister-in-law, with the middleman’s testimony, she wasn’t afraid that Fifth Aunt wouldn’t acknowledge it.

The situation was more complicated than Fifth Aunt could handle, and she could only look to Lin Xiang for help.

Lin Xiang silently stepped forward, "Your Zhao family says you gave a bride price to Chunya, but Lin Family says they didn’t receive it. The testimonies from both sides differ, so one side must be lying."

Mrs. Zhao snorted, "We have a middleman as a witness on our side!"

Lin Xiang waved her right index finger in front of her, "Everyone just heard clearly, Dang’s eldest aunt went behind the backs of Dang Family’s uncles, conspiring with the Zhao Family, forcing Chunya to fulfill the marriage contract with Zhao Chunshui. Given her ulterior motives, her testimony doesn’t count."

"Exactly! Gui Fen’s sister-in-law doesn’t look reliable at all, and she even colluded with the Zhaos to force Chunya to marry. Who knows if she’s colluding with the Zhao Family."

"A one hundred and twenty yuan bride price, no one in the Li Hua Team has ever given such a high bride price. Is Zhao Family really that generous? But my family is also from the Red Temple Team, and even though Zhao Family has several sons, the man in the house is lame and can’t earn money, the third son is still studying and can’t earn work points, the family’s conditions are poor, coming up with one hundred and twenty is not that easy."

"Let’s not even talk about the sewing machine, I heard you even need some kind of industrial ticket to buy a radio? Just like us, Zhao Family is from a rural area, where would they get industrial tickets? Besides, we haven’t seen a radio in Old Five’s house. There’s a sewing machine, but it was bought years ago!"

The villagers spoke all at once, clearly not believing Mrs. Zhao and Dang’s eldest sister-in-law.

Lin Xiang waited for the murmurs to cease before she spoke softly, "Legally, whoever makes a claim provides the evidence. You say you gave one hundred and twenty yuan as a bride price to Chunya’s family, where did this money come from, and when was it given to Chunya’s family? You must clearly remember how many large bills and small ones were in that one hundred and twenty yuan, right?"

"That money is..."

As soon as Mrs. Zhao started to speak, Lin Xiang covered her mouth with her hand to stop her from talking.

"Since Dang’s eldest aunt was the middleman and witnessed the bride price being given, then she must also be clear on these issues. Let’s separate and if your answers match, then we’ll believe that you did give a bride price."

Lin Xiang noticed the women’s director among the onlookers, "Auntie, you’re the women’s director of our village, and you’re the most suitable to handle such matters, why don’t you ask them?"

"Alright." The women’s director agreed straightforwardly.

She also selected two more people from the onlookers.