The Courtyard House: He Yuzhu Returns with Boundless Hatred for Revenge

Since Jia Dongxu was forcibly brought back from the hospital, his life has been completely different from before. To be honest, in this era, staying in the hospital doesn't cost much each day; Qin Huairu had enough money to stay until her leg wounds were fully healed. The key is that Qin Huairu has changed. Ever since Jia Zhangshi was arrested, Qin Huairu has completely stopped caring about Jia Dongxu's situation.

After being informed that Jia Zhangshi would be undergoing two years of labor reform, Qin Huairu became even more emboldened. She found two more hiding places for Jia Zhangshi's money in her home, totaling more than 800 yuan, which allowed Qin Huairu to make a small fortune. Even so, Qin Huairu did not spend money to nourish Jia Dongxu's body; she saved all the good food for herself and her child.

What they fed him was cornmeal porridge, so watery it was practically unusable. Occasionally, they'd give him a little pickled vegetable, which was considered a treat. When he tried to eat more, Qin Huairu sighed, "Dongxu, it's not that we don't want you to eat, but our family's situation is already tough enough with only income and no output. The corn is still growing, and my milk supply is insufficient. As his father, you'd better just bear with it."

But Jia Dongxu wasn't stupid. He could smell what the mother and son were eating behind his back, even if he couldn't see it. There was a meaty smell every few days, which clearly showed that they thought he was useless and no longer treated him like a human being; they only cared about keeping him from starving.

贾东旭爆发过两次，被秦淮如狠狠收拾后就老实了。这动起手了，就靠他剩半截的身子，根本就不是秦淮如的对手。要知道秦淮如可是在农村从小种田干体力活长大的，有的是一把力气，只不过嫁过来后装柔弱把大家都骗了。被揍得哭爹喊娘求饶才算罢休。

What chilled him most was Banggeng. Although the child used to be mischievous, he was still somewhat affectionate towards his father. Now, Banggeng looked at him with nothing but disgust, occasionally mimicking his grandmother's tone, muttering words like "useless father" and "good-for-nothing." Qin Huairu heard this but didn't even flinch, completely ignoring it, displaying an attitude of "Your son is right, if you dare to hit or scold your son, I'll kick you out."

Jia Dongxu could only swallow this humiliation, thinking he'd deal with this bitch when his mother returned. This guy was a complete coward, too afraid to fight Qin Huai to the death, so he just kept his anger bottled up. Over these past few days, his personality had completely warped.

This led to tonight's scene. Qin Huairu, seeing the deaf old woman extort money from the Yi family, wasn't about to let it go. In her mind, the Yi family's money and house were meant for her precious son, Banggeng. Yi Zhonghai had no son; who else would he pass everything on to if not his apprentice? Although Jia Dongxu was now crippled, Banggeng was still Yi Zhonghai's grand-apprentice—how dare that beggar woman lay a finger on him? Not a chance!

Let alone the Yi family, she even believed in her heart that the He family's wealth belonged to Jia Banggeng. She didn't know where her confidence came from, or if it was some kind of quantum entanglement effect in parallel universes, but Qin Huairu firmly believed this. Once she recovered, she would find a way to seduce He Yuzhu and trap him to help the Jia family. As for Jia Dongxu's opinion? He's a useless piece of trash now; he's lucky if he doesn't starve. If he dares to be disobedient, she'll teach him a lesson until he submits.

It was under these circumstances that Jia Dongxu was forced by Qin Huairu to crawl out of the room to seek help from Yi Zhonghai. Of course, Jia Dongxu also had his own thoughts. If we were to rank his enemies now, Yi Zhonghai would be first, Qin Huairu second, and Sha Zhu third.

Yi Zhonghai, the man he had called "Master" for years, kowtowing to him, offering him tea, and vowing to care for him in his old age and see him off in his final days, had not shown his face since the incident, except for the ten days or so he was forced to come to the hospital to take care of him. Even though he had been discharged from the hospital and returned home for so long, Yi Zhonghai had not even stepped into the door once.

What master-disciple, father-son relationship? It's all bullshit! Yi Zhonghai just wants to get rid of him because he's useless and a burden! Just like everyone else in the compound, he's a sycophantic, heartless bastard!

This is a classic case of "a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment." It makes sense when you think about it; how could someone like the old scoundrel possibly have a good disciple? They'd either be birds of a feather or not be worthy of Yi Zhonghai's attention.

It's all Yi Zhonghai's fault! That hypocrite, that sanctimonious old man with no descendants! He ruined himself, and now he thinks he can just walk away and do nothing? If he can't have a good time, neither can the old man with no descendants. I was going to go and disgust that old bastard Yi Zhonghai in front of the whole courtyard, to let everyone see how Yi Zhonghai drove his own disciple to such a dead end!

Like a demon crawling out of hell, Jia Dongxu dragged himself across the snow using only his hands. The excruciating pain in his broken leg had long since numbed, replaced by a perverse excitement. The dim moonlight cast an eerie glow on his crawling figure, adding to his terrifying presence.

"Master, Master, I'm so cold, I'm in so much pain, my legs hurt so much! Master, please save me, please look at me!"

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was already terrified.

The image of Jia Dongxu before me, his half-shouldered body, the drag marks on the ground... at this moment, overlapped with one of the most terrifying scenes from my memory.

This isn't Jia Dongxu. It's Lao Jia!

That year, in that workshop, that accident. Jia Dongxu's father's lower body was caught in the machine. Then his upper body fell out, looking exactly like Jia Dongxu now.

Old Jia wasn't completely dead yet; his eyes were wide open, staring intently at him. He crawled towards him, pleading, "Old Yi, save me, save me! I don't want to die... Tell me the truth, is Dongxu your son? Let me die knowing the truth..."

"Ah—!" Yi Zhonghai cried out in surprise, staggering back several steps until his heel tripped on the threshold, causing him to fall into the room. His eyes remained fixed on Jia Dongxu, his face filled with fear and pleading.

"Old Jia, Jia Wangcai, don't come any closer! Dongxu is your own son, you can die in peace now. I... I'm just a useless castrated rooster, I can't have a son at all. If you don't believe me, ask the people in the yard, they can all testify. Old Jia, just go in peace, I'll burn paper money for you every year during festivals. Please, please don't come looking for me again..."

Upon hearing this, the entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence. Even Jia Dongxu, who was crawling, stopped what he was doing and stared at Yi Zhonghai in disbelief.

What the hell is this all about? How did it get involved with his dead father? His mind raced, and his gaze towards Yi Zhonghai grew increasingly hostile. Was this some kind of mockery, implying that he, like Old Jia, was a man with only half a body? This old bastard was going too far! He, Jia Dongxu, swore he would not rest until he avenged this!

Meanwhile, He Yuzhu and the onlookers secretly began to speculate that there was more to this than met the eye. Yi Zhonghai was clearly bewitched, mistaking Xiao Jia for Lao Jia and coming to him; they must have done something shameful back then. A buzz of gossip quickly ignited...