Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

Officer Liu was secretly pleased; this was another opportunity to achieve his goal.

He turned to He Yuzhu and asked, "Comrade He Yuzhu, are you aware of this matter?"

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Comrade, I know part of this. Last week, when I went on a blind date, Yang Ruihua and Jia Dongxu both went to the vicinity of the woman's house and spread rumors about me. I caught Yang Ruihua red-handed."

"They admitted their mistake in front of the entire hospital, and I made them stand in the place where they spread the rumors for a whole morning as punishment, with a sign saying 'I admit my mistake' hanging up their sleeves."

He paused, then continued, "But I didn't know that Jia Dongxu went by himself and hired Xiao Laizi to go."

Officer Liu nodded thoughtfully: "Although you have dealt with Yang Ruihua and Jia Dongxu's slander against you privately, hiring others to spread rumors is still illegal."

"According to regulations, we need to invite Comrade Jia Dongxu to the office to cooperate with the investigation and verify the facts of the matter."

He Yuzhu neither confirmed nor denied this. Today, he was just a tool for the righteous cause, and whether or not Jia Dongxu was arrested was not of much concern to him.

He nodded: "Comrade Liu, just follow the rules."

Aunt Qian, however, was somewhat worried and asked in a low voice, "Comrade Liu, what about my Da Niu's injury...?"

Officer Liu waved his hand: "Don't worry, after we verify what happened, we will have them compensate Comrade Qian Daniu for his medical expenses."

He turned to Xiao Laizi and his group, and said sternly, "You lot are causing trouble, you're to be detained first..."

With the matter settled, Officer Liu instructed his colleagues to handcuff Xiao Laizi and the others and lock them in the temporary detention room.

He then followed He Yuzhu, Qian Daniu, and Aunt Qian toward No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

Night had fallen, and the alley was quiet.

As soon as the group entered the front yard of the compound, Yan Bugui's window was suddenly pulled open a crack, clearly indicating that he was peeping.

He Yuzhu said to Officer Liu, "Comrade Liu, I won't go to the Jia family's place. I've said everything I needed to say today. You can handle the rest."

Officer Liu nodded understandingly: "Alright, Comrade He Yuzhu, you can go back and rest now. Thank you very much for today!"

He Yuzhu waved his hand and walked straight towards his home.

Qian Daniu and Aunt Qian accompanied Officer Liu to the Jia family's house.

......

Inside the Jia family's house, Jia Dongxu was enjoying his dinner with great relish.

This afternoon, Yi Zhonghai told him that they had already chosen a date to go to Qinjiacun to formally propose marriage, which would be next Monday.

The thought of marrying Qin Huairu soon filled him with joy.

"Dongxu, once Qin Huairu marries into the family, you must listen to your mother more. Don't just focus on doting on your wife; you need to properly train this new daughter-in-law..." Madam Jia Zhang said, while putting food into her son's bowl.

"I know, Mother," Jia Dongxu replied verbally, but inwardly he didn't take it seriously.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, accompanied by Officer Liu's stern voice: "Is Jia Dongxu home? We are from the police station. Please open the door and cooperate with the investigation."

Jia Dongxu's chopsticks fell to the table with a "clatter," and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

"The...police station?"

Madam Jia was also stunned, but then she realized what was happening and quickly got up to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, three uniformed police officers stood at the entrance.

Jia Zhangshi panicked and asked, "Officer, what do you need Dongxu for so late?"

"Are you Jia Dongxu?" Officer Liu asked, looking at the pale-faced young man in the room.

"I...I am..." Jia Dongxu stood up, his voice trembling slightly.

"You are suspected of hiring someone to spread rumors, and there is also a case of disorderly conduct related to you. Please come with us to the police station to assist in the investigation," Officer Liu said sternly, showing his badge.

"What? An employee spreading rumors? Creating trouble?" Jia Zhangshi shrieked. "Officers, you've got it wrong! My Dongxu is an honest boy, how could he do such a thing?"

As she spoke, she stood in front of her son, saying, "Was it Sha Zhu who reported it? That little bastard just can't stand to see our family doing well!"

Officer Liu frowned: "What do you mean, 'idiot Zhu'? We are summoning Jia Dongxu in accordance with the law. Please cooperate and do not obstruct official business."

"I don't believe it, it must be Sha Zhu's doing!"

Madam Jia threw a tantrum, plopped down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and wailed, "Old Jia, come quick! Someone's trying to bully us, a widow and her child, to death..."

Her outburst caused lights to come on in every house in the courtyard, and many people opened their doors to come out and see what was going on.

Yi Zhonghai was already getting ready to go to sleep, but upon hearing the noise, he quickly put on his clothes and came out.

Upon seeing that it was a police officer about to take Jia Dongxu away, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped forward and asked, "Officer, what's going on? I'm Jia Dongxu's mentor. What did he do wrong?"

Officer Liu patiently explained, "Sir, Jia Dongxu is suspected of hiring someone to spread rumors, and he is also involved in a case of disorderly conduct. We need to take him back for investigation. Please cooperate."

Yi Zhonghai said, "Officer, Dongxu is a good kid. He usually behaves very well at the factory. Is there some misunderstanding? Look, it's so late at night..."

"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, we'll find out once we get back and investigate." Officer Liu was getting impatient. "Please cooperate and don't obstruct us from performing our duties. If you continue to obstruct us, I'll have to take those who are obstructing us back with me."

Upon hearing this, neither Jia Zhangshi nor Yi Zhonghai dared to object anymore.

Jia Zhangshi scrambled to her feet, both anxious and frightened: "Then...then I want to go with them!"

"Family members can wait outside, but they cannot interfere with the investigation," Officer Liu said, gesturing for two colleagues to come forward. "Jia Dongxu, please come with us."

Jia Dongxu was pale as he was led out of the Jia family home by two police officers, one on each side.

Watching her son being taken away, Jia Zhangshi collapsed to the ground, crying her heart out: "My son... what am I going to do..."

Yi Zhonghai stood at the door, his face ashen, cursing He Yuzhu a thousand times in his heart.

After the police escorted Jia Dongxu out of the intermediate court, Jia Zhangshi suddenly got up from the ground and started cursing at He Yuzhu's family:

"You idiot Zhu, you heartless little beast! Come out here! You must have been the one who reported this! You just can't stand to see my Dongxu doing well, you damned bastard..."

Her insults were so vile that the entire Intermediate People's Court could hear them clearly.

Yi Zhonghai also stormed to He Yuzhu's door and pounded on it with his fist.

He shouted, "Shazhu, you come out here!"

"Dongxu already put up a sign and admitted his mistake that day, how could you still call the police to arrest him?"

"What exactly do you want?!"

Inside the room, He Yuzhu had just finished wiping his feet and was getting ready to go to bed.

He frowned upon hearing the banging on the door and the shouting.

He picked up the foot-washing water, walked to the door, and suddenly pulled it open.

"Splash—"

A basin of foot-washing water was splashed at Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi, who were standing at the door.