The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

"I'm jealous of him? Pshaw!"

Sha Zhu spat fiercely on the ground.

"What's there to be jealous of, that short-lived Jia Dongxu? He married Qin Huairu, and died before he could even enjoy his marriage, leaving behind three children and a mountain of debt! Me, jealous of him? Am I out of my mind?"

Among the onlookers, Qin Huairu had somehow ended up standing at the back of the crowd.

Upon hearing Sha Zhu's words, her face remained expressionless, but her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were pondering something.

With a quick glint in her eye, Jia Zhangshi began to sow discord between Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu.

Not being able to make Qin Huairu comfortable is worse than killing her.

"You heartless idiot Zhu! How good Qin Huairu has been to you? She brought you water when you were sick, and food when you were hungry, and you're still here talking bad about her? You're a complete ingrate!"

Sha Zhu, already enraged, glanced around a few times, not seeing Qin Huairu, and coldly cursed, "Bullshit! She's good to me? She's good to me because she treats me like a fool? She's good to me because she treats me like a free laborer? She's good to me because she's played me for over ten years and then sent me to prison? Jia Zhangshi, are you really confused or just pretending? Don't you know what kind of person your daughter-in-law is?"

Jia Zhangshi laughed. Didn't this fool see Qin Huairu behind him?

"Huai Ru is perfectly fine! She's gentle, virtuous, and filial. You little good-for-nothing, you don't know what's good for her. Huai Ru is so good to you, and you actually talk bad about her behind her back. How heartbroken she would be if she knew!"

Good to me? Sad?

Sha Zhu curled his lip and immediately started cursing: "Jia Zhangshi, don't tremble. Listen to me! Your daughter-in-law, Qin Huairu, is a master at seducing people. Today she's hooking up with this one, tomorrow she's off with that one. You just watch helplessly, not daring to utter a sound. And you dare to act tough with me here? Go and manage your own doorstep first!"

Jia Zhangshi was not to be outdone.

"Don't be so arrogant, Sha Zhu. Let me explain. You hit Yang Ruihua, and this isn't over. Yan Jiecheng won't let you off the hook. The entire Yan family will make you pay with your life. Do you think you can escape it? Do you think you'll have a good ending? I think you're just a fool who doesn't know your own limitations!"

"Those two good-for-nothings?"

Sha Zhu sneered, the veins on his neck bulging, his voice sounding like it was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Do they dare to act tough in front of me? Two ingrates, they act like nothing happened even when their own mother was beaten, what kind of people are they? These two bastards, they think they're worthy to settle scores with me?"

These words were spoken so loudly and clearly that they traveled far and wide.

The two brothers, Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang, exchanged a glance.

There was no anger in Yan Jiecheng's eyes, but rather something indescribable, as if someone had pulled down his pants in public, or as if someone had spat on his face.

His greatest fear in life was being looked down upon, yet the thing he did most in his life was precisely to be looked down upon.

Yan Jiefang gritted his teeth and gave Yan Jiecheng a wink, meaning to let it go, but Yan Jiecheng didn't listen to him this time.

It wasn't because I suddenly developed backbone, but because everyone around me was watching.

Xu Damao stood not far away, hands on his hips, a smile on his face that seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold.

Others were also laughing, saying that if they backed down now, they would never be able to hold their heads high in this prison again.

Yan Jiecheng snorted coldly and strode towards Sha Zhu.

Yan Jiefang hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Sha Zhu had been tied up all night and had very little strength left.

But he remained defiant. When he saw the Yan brothers approaching, he not only showed no intention of backing down, but instead straightened his neck even more.

"Oh ho? They actually came?"

Sha Zhu grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"What, you want to fight? Both of you come at me! If I, Sha Zhu, even flinch, I'm your lackey!"

Yan Jiecheng stopped three steps away from Sha Zhu, his chest heaving and his lips trembling before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Silly Zhu, you say I'm capable, but you say my mom isn't."

These words sounded weak and powerless; even he himself felt they lacked strength. But what could he say? Could he say, "You hit my mother, I'm going to fight you to the death"?

Everyone knows about his relationship with his mother, Yang Ruihua; he has feelings for Yang Ruihua.

But that's something that can be done behind closed doors. He has to save face in front of so many people.

"Your mom?"

Sha Zhu chuckled, his laughter filled with contempt.

"Your mother got a beating from me, and you didn't utter a sound last night, but now you're here pretending to be a dutiful son? Yan Jiecheng, if you were really a man, you should have come to me last night!"

Yan Jiecheng's face turned bright red, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Yan Jiefang couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward.

"Shazhu, don't push your luck. You hit my mother, and we'll remember that. You're tied up today, so we won't touch you. We'll talk about it after you're untied."

"Wait until I'm untied?"

Sha Zhu tilted his chin up, his eyelids drooping, and his expression was incredibly irritating.

"Once I'm untied, neither of you will dare touch me, Yan Jiefang. Don't try to act tough with me. I know who you are. Who do you think you are?"

These words struck a nerve with Yan Jiefang.

"You son of a bitch..." Yan Jiefang took a step forward, but was pulled back by Yan Jiecheng.

Yan Jiecheng pulled Yan Jiefang back, but he couldn't help himself.

He released his grip, took a step in front of Sha Zhu, and threw a punch.

The punch landed on Sha Zhu's cheek. It wasn't very hard, but Sha Zhu was tied up and couldn't stand steadily. He swayed to the side and fell to the ground with a thud.

The correctional officer wasn't around; Officer Wang had just gone out, so no one noticed for the time being.

Sha Zhu fell to the ground and tasted blood in his mouth.

Far from being afraid, he grinned, a smile that looked particularly ferocious against his dusty face.

"That's it? Yan Jiecheng, is that all the strength you have? Are you trying to tickle your mother?"

Yan Jiecheng's eyes turned red with anger at these words, and he pounced on him, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks.

Yan Jiefang hesitated for two seconds, then squatted down and kicked Sha Zhu twice.

Three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds.

People around were watching, and some tried to pull him away, but Xu Damao stopped them.

Xu Damao said with a grin, "Let them fight. Killing one is one less to kill, killing two is one less to kill."

Yan Jiecheng kicked Sha Zhu twice more, then stood up, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

Yan Jiefang also stopped, tugged at Yan Jiecheng's sleeve, indicating that it was about time.

Sha Zhu lay on the ground, his face covered in dirt, with a cut on the corner of his mouth, and blood mixed with dirt smeared on half of his face.

But his mouth didn't stop, the voice breaking and coming from underground: "Yan... Yan Jiecheng... is that all you've got? If your... if your mother knew that's all the strength you have to hit someone... she... she'd be furious..."

Yan Jiecheng had already turned to leave, but upon hearing this, he suddenly turned back, his eyes burning with fury.

He strode back and raised his foot to stomp on Sha Zhu's face.