I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

As soon as she finished speaking, the speaker took two steps forward, stood beside Qin Huairu, and adopted a posture of speaking out for justice, continuing, "After all, the child has already said so much, you should let Yu Li come out and prove her innocence. We can't let an injured child suffer injustice for nothing, don't you think?"

When Zhou Weiguo recognized the newcomer as Yi Zhonghai, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

This old bastard is even braver than I imagined. He just got married to that deaf old lady, and before he's even settled in, he's already jumping out to cause trouble? He's really fearless.

He sized Yi Zhonghai up and down, a mocking smile playing on his lips. He spoke slowly, his tone undisguisedly sarcastic: "Old Yi, I didn't realize you were so young at heart, and quite the ladies' man. Congratulations on your marriage."

He paused, then deliberately emphasized his words, jabbing at Yi Zhonghai's sore spot: "Why aren't you home with your deaf old lady at this hour? What are you doing here meddling? Do you think your new bride isn't to your liking and want to find validation here?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned ashen, and his chest felt like it was stuffed with a hot cotton ball, both suffocating and painful.

Zhou Weiguo's words accurately struck his most painful spot, almost causing him to explode on the spot.

He suppressed his anger, his hands tense, his fingertips digging into his palms. After a long pause, he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "For the sake of the country, you don't need to worry about my affairs. This matter needs to be clarified today, no matter what, otherwise Yu Liping will be wronged for nothing. I'm doing this to uphold justice."

His words seemed fair, but they actually concealed a despicable motive. As long as they could get Yu Li out, even if they couldn't find any substantial evidence, he and Qin Huairu could use the pretext of "the child's accusation" to smear Yu Li's reputation in front of everyone, making her, a pregnant woman, unable to hold her head up in the courtyard.

This would not only allow him to vent his anger, but also completely humiliate Sha Zhu, and might even force him to start supporting the Jia family again, so he could benefit from it as well.

Seeing this, Qin Huairu immediately followed Yi Zhonghai's words, crying and pleading for help, her voice choked with sobs: "Director Wang, the old man is right! Bang Geng never lies! Yu Li must have taken advantage of his young age and pushed him down! You must stand up for us, a widow and her orphan!"

Sha Zhu was furious! Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai were working together to frame Yu Li, turning black into white. How could he possibly stand it?

His eyes immediately turned red, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush forward, roaring, "You two shameless bastards! How dare you frame my wife! I'll beat you to a pulp today!"

Zhou Weiguo reacted quickly, grabbing Sha Zhu's arm and pinning him down. He watched the two of them working together, his mockery deepening.

He didn't rush to refute, but turned to look at Director Wang, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority: "Director Wang, I'd like to ask, according to the rules, someone has to provide evidence for an accusation, right? Bang Geng said Yu Li pushed him, where's the evidence?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the scattered steel balls on the ground before returning to Qin Huairu's pale face: "Besides, I haven't gotten an answer to my question yet. Why would Banggeng be waiting at the alley entrance so late? And where did these steel balls come from? There are quite a few; it doesn't seem like something a child could easily obtain."

Upon hearing these two questions, Qin Huairu's face turned even paler, her eyes darting around in a panic, and she didn't dare to answer at all.

The neighbors who had been watching the commotion chimed in, some pointing at the steel balls on the ground and saying, "Yeah, there seem to be quite a few of these steel balls. Where did they come from?"

"Could it be that the guy deliberately scattered it to harm someone?"

"Harm her? Does this child intend to harm Yu Li? Why?"

"Hey, that's actually quite possible. Let me tell you, you just moved here, so you don't know, but before, Sha Zhu was given to the Jia family..."

Yi Zhonghai's expression also changed. He had already learned about Qin Huairu and her companion's scheme from the deaf old woman, but he hadn't expected Zhou Weiguo to suddenly point the finger at the source of the steel balls. He quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "It's normal for children to have a few steel balls when they're playing around..."

"normal?"

Zhou Weiguo interrupted him directly, his eyes turning cold. "Would a normal child scatter steel balls on a pregnant woman's usual route? Would a normal child immediately call an elder a 'bitch'? Lao Yi, if you want to uphold justice, why don't you first find out who gave the steel balls to him and why they did it?"

Yi Zhonghai was speechless when asked the question. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal for a long time.

He originally thought that as long as he stirred up the waters and forced Yu Li to come out, he could smear her reputation. He didn't expect Zhou Weiguo to grasp the key point so quickly and put the pressure on Qin Huairu.

Director Wang, standing to the side, observed everything and became increasingly aware of the shady dealings involved. Seeing Zhou Weiguo's resolute attitude and Qin Huairu's flustered expression, she dared not show favoritism. She immediately cleared her throat and looked at Qin Huairu with a stern expression: "Qin Huairu, did you hear what Chief Engineer Zhou asked? What exactly happened with this steel ball? Explain yourself clearly!"

No sooner had Director Wang finished speaking than Yi Zhonghai jumped out to take sides. He stepped forward, blocking Qin Huairu, and put on a sincere expression for Director Wang: "Director Wang, I know about this! Bang Geng asked me for these steel balls, saying he wanted to play with marbles. I felt sorry for the child, so I found some for him. I didn't expect him to bring them here to play. I guess the child was pushed over, which is why they were scattered all over the ground."

Having said that, he turned and stared intently at Sha Zhu, his eyes filled with calculation as he spoke: "Sha Zhu, don't just get worked up here. Where exactly is Yu Li? Why don't we get her to come out and say a few words, clarify things, and that'll be fine? She can't just keep hiding, can she?"

Sha Zhu was taken aback by his question, then frowned, his tone tinged with anxiety: "She's not home, she hasn't come back yet!"

He began to wonder why Yu Li hadn't returned yet, since she should have been home by now.

"Not home?"

As if he had seized on something, Yi Zhonghai immediately raised his voice and shouted at the surrounding neighbors who were watching the commotion, "Hey, Zhuzi, I advised you not to marry Yu Li back then, everyone listen to this! If you haven't done anything wrong, why don't you dare to come out and face people? Is it really what Banggeng said? That Yu Li pushed him?"

Yi Zhonghai's words were so hurtful that they immediately caused an uproar among the neighbors.

Someone frowned and chimed in, "That makes sense. If they hadn't done anything wrong, why wouldn't they dare to come out?"

Some uninformed neighbors chimed in, "Could it really be like Banggeng said, that Yu Li pushed him? After all, the child looks badly injured."

Others looked at Sha Zhu, their tone tinged with doubt: "Sha Zhu, where is your wife? If she's truly innocent, why doesn't she just come out and explain herself?"