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

As if he had found a lifeline, Yi Zhonghai scrambled to his feet and rushed to help the deaf old woman. His usually dignified and hypocritical face was now swollen, and his eyes held an extreme ruthlessness and resentment.

"Grandma! You've finally arrived! Look at He Yubing, he throws a tantrum as soon as he gets back, even hitting the elders who watched him grow up, boohoo... I'm so wronged!"

"My son, you've suffered so much." The deaf old woman comforted Yi Zhonghai as she walked up to He Yubing with the help of an older woman. Her cloudy old eyes narrowed slightly as she looked the tall and upright young man up and down, and then she slowly smiled, her face full of kindness.

"Good, good, my grandson is back! All these years you've been serving in the army, and I've been so worried about you, praying to the gods and Buddhas to keep you safe. It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back, let Grandma take a good look at you."

As he spoke, he actually stretched out his hands, which were covered with age spots, dry and white, and tried to pull He Yubing.

This really annoyed He Yubing. Even though he had seen a lot of things, traveled through countless worlds, and witnessed many changes, he still couldn't stand this disgusting person's nonsense.

"You old hag, who's your grandson? If you're out of your mind, go get it fixed! When He Daqing and I were around, you didn't even dare step out of the backyard. You were always hiding in your doghouse, afraid He Daqing would eat you alive and leave you childless. Why didn't you dare pretend to be my grandma back then? Damn it, after all these years, you've suddenly become all high and mighty, acting like an ancestor. Who gave you the guts? If you dare to act like an elder in front of me again, I'll beat you up! I don't care if you're seventy or eighty years old."

The scolding froze the deaf old woman's smile on her face, shocking everyone present. Over the years, with the deliberate support of Director Wang and Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old woman held unparalleled prestige in the courtyard, behaving like a true matriarch, and no one dared to disobey her in matters of filial piety. Although the deaf old woman wasn't exactly demanding, when she occasionally went to someone's house asking for food or drink, no one dared to utter a word of refusal.

Unexpectedly, He Yubing returned like a hothead, openly arguing with the deaf old woman—no, he practically launched into a tirade of abuse. How dare he? Wasn't he afraid of ruining his reputation? These days, even a soldier would be in serious trouble if he got a reputation for bullying the elderly; he'd have a hard time getting past the neighborhood committee and the Women's Federation, let alone the fact that this deaf old woman had even given shoes to H Army.

The old man, especially, was trembling with rage. He Yubing absolutely could not be allowed to stay in the courtyard; this bastard was destroying the foundation he had painstakingly built over the years. The atmosphere of respect for the elderly that he had worked so hard to cultivate was now being insulted even by a deaf old woman. What would become of him when he grew old and was bullied to death?

"He Yubing! You are truly lawless! The deaf old lady is the matriarch of our entire courtyard, highly respected. Even Director Wang from the neighborhood office calls her 'Old Lady'! She favored Shazhu back then and adopted him as her grandson. You are her brother, so naturally you are also the old lady's grandson! Now you dare to insult your matriarch, you are truly disobedient and unfilial! Our courtyard does not welcome people like you who have no filial piety!"

These words were spoken with righteous indignation, and Yi Zhonghai regained some of his air of a powerful manager. Standing there, pointing at He Yubing, he looked dignified and awe-inspiring.

"Filial piety? I'm filial to my father, filial to my mother, and filial to my ancestors. What filial piety do I have for an old, childless person who crawled out of who-knows-where?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than He Yubing launched two fierce attacks.

Before Yi Zhonghai could react, he was hit twice more in the face, and he was knocked backward and fell to the ground again.

"Ouch!" Yi Zhonghai cried out in pain, completely stunned. He couldn't understand how He Yubing dared to make a move in front of the old lady.

He Yubing didn't give him a chance to react at all, and started punching and kicking him.

"Didn't I just give you face? Did I let you get back up?"

"You're not done impersonating a government organization yet, and now you're here pretending to be my elder?"

"Who do you think you are? A childless, extinct wretch, how dare you interfere in the affairs of the He family?"

They beat the old man so badly he rolled around in pain, screaming in agony.

The deaf old woman stood to the side, trembling with anger.

She's lived to such an old age, and has been the matriarch of this courtyard for many years. Who doesn't treat her with utmost respect? Today, she was actually insulted by some young brat who pointed his finger at her and called her an old hag, and even beat up her most trusted person in front of her. It's like he's defecating on her head!

"You, you wretched child! You've gone too far! You've defied all reason! Sha Zhu! Aren't you going to do anything about your older brother? He's beating up this old man like this, and you just stand there and watch? Have you forgotten all the filial piety I taught you? Don't you even acknowledge me as your grandmother anymore?"

Sha Zhu stood to the side, completely bewildered.

He was reborn, his mind filled with memories of his past life. In those memories, the deaf old lady was always the kindest person to him, calling him her grandson every day and even trying to match him with Lou Xiao'e.

But now, even if he had the guts, he wouldn't dare to go up and persuade He Yubing to stop, even though this older brother had just cursed his most respected grandmother and was genuinely terrified of being beaten earlier.

"Big brother, please stop. The old lady has been kind to us siblings all these years. For her sake, please don't hit... Uncle Yi." After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke up to persuade him.

He Yubing then stopped, leaving Yi Zhonghai groaning, and turned back to Sha Zhu.

"That old geezer said you were his grandson, what do you say now?"

Sha Zhu felt a lot of pressure under his brother's gaze, but he still stammered, "Big brother, ever since He Daqing ran away, the old lady has taken good care of us siblings all these years. It's not too much for me to call her Grandma, is it?"

He Yuzhu looked at Sha Zhu with a mocking expression, as if he were looking at a pile of dog shit, and then turned to look at Yushui.

"Girl, that idiot said the deaf old lady treated you well. Is that true? To be honest, with your big brother here, no one dares to do anything to you."

He Yushui raised her head, glanced timidly at the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai, who was being helped up by an older woman, and then looked at He Yubing. Suddenly, she felt a sense of security and her courage grew.

"Big brother, after Dad passed away, I was still young at the time. My silly brother had to go out to work, so sometimes he would leave me with the old lady and Uncle Yi to take care of.

"But, but I've never had enough to eat. At noon they give me a cornbread, sometimes not even that, and I'm so hungry I can only drink cold water to fill my stomach. Several times I was so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore, so I went to talk to him when my brother came back at night, but he didn't believe me and even scolded me, saying I was ignorant and ungrateful. He said that the deaf old lady and Uncle Yi are good people, and I'm just ungrateful."

As she spoke, He Yushui's tears began to fall.

"After a while, I just gave up. As long as I don't starve, that's fine. Anyway, my brother doesn't believe me."

"Impossible!" Sha Zhu immediately roared, "I give food to that old man and woman every month, saying it was for you as an extra meal! I'd rather eat less myself than not give them more! Yu Shui, you can't say such heartless things!"

Startled by his shout, He Yushui leaned against He Yubing.

He Yubing was furious and raised her hand to deliver several more powerful blows.

"Clap clap clap clap!"

"I'll fucking beat you to death, you idiot! You'd rather believe a stranger than your own sister? Are you even human? Yushui's been with you since she was little, you're her brother, what good would it do her to lie to you?"

"How could I have a brother like you? Whether He Daqing is good or bad, he was a respected man in Beijing back in the day. Who wouldn't give him some face? How could he have given birth to such a coward?"