Courtyard House: Wudang Disciple Sweeps Through the Compound

But after all this trouble, even if Qin Huairu had a thick skin, she was too embarrassed to ask for it again and could only watch helplessly as the lunchbox was taken away.

However, she had already made a grudge in her heart and secretly vowed to find an opportunity to take revenge in the future.

At Yi Zhonghai's home.

Yi Zhonghai was resting in bed when he suddenly heard a noisy commotion outside the courtyard. He frowned and asked what was going on.

Why is it so noisy outside? Has something happened?

An older woman came over with a water cup and recounted to Yi Zhonghai everything she had seen and heard in the yard.

After listening to the old woman's story, Yi Zhonghai's face immediately darkened, and he angrily accused her.

This He Yushui is really too ignorant of the rules!

Things that happen in our compound should be resolved behind closed doors. We should all sit down and discuss them. But instead, she called the police, making everyone in the compound lose face in front of outsiders!

And then there's Sha Zhu. How old is your sister-in-law? Even if she made a mistake, she should be more forgiving. Why doesn't she know that taking a step back will lead to a brighter future?

It seems that if I weren't there to uphold justice in this courtyard, it would really fall apart!

Yi Zhonghai felt increasingly that the situation was serious and that he needed to recover from his injuries as soon as possible to regain control of the courtyard house.

Otherwise, the courtyard house will fall apart sooner or later, and that hotheaded Sha Zhu will only cause more trouble.

At Sha Zhu's home.

As soon as she stepped into the house, He Yushui couldn't help but complain to Sha Zhu, her tone full of resentment.

Brother, can you stay away from the Jia family? Look at them, they've already set their sights on our house. Not a single one of them is any good!

But Sha Zhu was still defending Qin Huairu.

That's not how it works. The main problem is that Jia Zhangshi, that old hag, is unreasonable and greedy. Sister Qin is actually a very good person. She was forced into this situation.

He Yushui immediately retorted sharply.

What's so good about it? When you were falsely accused of indecent behavior by Jia Zhangshi today, did she say a single word in your defense?

She stood by and watched coldly as Jia Zhangshi extorted money from you, never even thinking of helping you out of this predicament!

Sha Zhu stubbornly continued to argue.

Sister Qin has no say in anything at home; she has to listen to Jia Zhangshi in everything. Even if she wanted to help me, she was powerless to do so.

No matter how He Yushui tried to persuade him, Sha Zhu refused to admit that Qin Huairu had a problem.

Seeing Sha Zhu's stubborn and unrepentant appearance, He Yushui's heart turned cold, and she finally realized the reality—this silly brother had been bewitched by Qin Huairu and was beyond saving.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her disappointment and anger, and said calmly.

I haven't paid my tuition yet, and I'm almost out of living expenses this month. Could you give me some money first? I need to pay the fees tomorrow.

Sha Zhu's eyes darted around, and he responded with a hint of guilt.

Um... could we postpone the money issue for a few more days? I'll give it to you once I get my salary.

Qin Jie had borrowed all the money I had to help with household expenses, and now I'm really short of cash.

Upon hearing this, He Yushui trembled with anger and demanded loudly, "Our family is almost out of food now! What have I been eating these past few days? Are you just going to stand by and do nothing about it?"

Sha Zhu was speechless under He Yushui's persistent questioning, and could only helplessly reply, "I'll figure out a way to get the food tomorrow. I promise you won't go hungry, so don't worry."

Seeing Sha Zhu's perfunctory attitude, He Yushui felt her heart sink.

Only now did she truly understand that Chen Wenqi was right; her brother was indeed beyond saving, and she could no longer rely on this foolish brother. She had to start planning for her future as soon as possible.

She secretly made up her mind: she must study hard and try to get into a vocational school. Only in this way can she get out of her current predicament. Otherwise, she will be dragged down to death by her stupid brother and the Jia family sooner or later, or even starve to death.

Inside the Jia family's house.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi entered the house, she clutched her stomach and collapsed into a chair, groaning incessantly, "Ouch...it hurts so much...that little beast deserves to be torn to pieces!"

She then realized that the reason for her stomach pain was that Chen Wenqi had given her a solid kick earlier.

Rewriting the Story of the Courtyard House

She secretly vowed in her heart that she would not let this go unpunished and that she would find the right opportunity to avenge herself.

Qin Huairu carried a cup of warm water and walked over slowly, her face full of worry as she asked softly, "Mom, are you alright? If you're not feeling well, I'll go get you some medicine."

Madam Jia abruptly shoved away the water glass Qin Huairu offered, causing it to nearly fall to the ground. She then roared angrily at Qin Huairu, "How dare you come here and ask? If you hadn't chickened out at the crucial moment and refused to admit it, would I have suffered such injustice for no reason?"

"Where's Dongxu? Why hasn't he come back yet? It's already this late, where on earth has he gone?"

Qin Huairu was so frightened by Jia Zhangshi's furious scolding that her face turned pale and her lips trembled slightly as she murmured, "I...I don't know where he went. Maybe the factory arranged for him to work overtime today, which is why he came back so late."

Madam Jia grumbled with dissatisfaction, her tone full of complaints: "What time is it? It's almost completely dark. Even if you're working overtime, shouldn't you at least be on time? Why are you dragging your feet like this?"

At this very moment, Jia Dongxu was not working overtime at the factory. Instead, he was playing cards and gambling with a group of his usual cronies in a small tavern on the street corner.

He had very few chips left in front of him, and his face grew increasingly gloomy as he lost more and more cards—he had lost all of his salary that he had just received this month at the card table.

Jia Dongxu looked up, his gaze urgent as he looked at Old Zhang sitting opposite him. He said in a hurried tone, "Old Zhang, could you lend me another twenty yuan? Just twenty yuan, I'll pay you back as soon as I get my bonus tomorrow!"

Old Zhang frowned, his eyes showing obvious impatience, and said, "Jia Dongxu, you haven't paid back the thirty yuan you borrowed from me before, and now you're asking to borrow money again?"

Jia Dongxu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, rubbing his hands and urging repeatedly, "Just lend me another twenty yuan, make it fifty! I was in such a rush today that I didn't bring enough money with me. Don't worry, I'll definitely win back everything I lost this time!"

Old Zhang deliberately put on a reluctant look on his face, but he was secretly overjoyed.

In fact, today's card game was a carefully orchestrated trap set by them to swindle Jia Dongxu out of his money. They had already won a considerable amount from him. Jia Dongxu was destined to lose everything today and wouldn't be able to leave with a single penny.

Old Zhang pretended to hesitate for a while before slowly replying, "Alright, I'll lend it to you again. But you have to write me an IOU first, so you won't deny it later."

Jia Dongxu was completely focused on flipping through the notebook and had no time to ponder the oddities. He nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I'll write it down, I'll write it down right now!"

He grabbed a pen from the table, hurriedly wrote an IOU, and handed it to Old Zhang. After receiving the twenty yuan, he immediately exchanged the money for chips and threw it back into the card game.

It wasn't until after 10 p.m. that Jia Dongxu finally gambled away the last bit of money he had borrowed. In the end, he could only stand up with a dejected look on his face and his head hanging low. He dragged his heavy steps out of the tavern and slowly moved towards the courtyard house.

Qin Huairu had been waiting at her door for a long time, hoping Jia Dongxu would return. Seeing him appear, she quickly stood up to greet him, her face full of concern. "Dongxu, why are you so late? Were you working too hard at the factory?"

Jia Dongxu was already frustrated by losing money, and on top of that, he hadn't eaten a single grain of rice all night. The churning hunger made his chest feel tight, so he sullenly stepped into the kitchen.

The moment you push open the door, you are greeted by an empty stove. The pots and pans exude a bone-chilling coldness. There is not a single steaming dish, not even half a piece of snack or a bite of leftover rice to fill your mouth.

An unnamed fire suddenly surged to the top of his head, making him feel dizzy.

"Where's the food?" Jia Dongxu roared in a rough voice, his tone filled with a violent energy fueled by hunger and frustration.

"It's so late, I thought you had dinner with your friends outside." Before Qin Huairu could finish speaking, a crisp and loud "slap" rang in her ears.

Jia Dongxu's slap landed squarely on her left cheek, the force so great that it sent stray hairs flying from her temples.

"You 'think'?" Jia Dongxu's voice cracked as if he'd heard the funniest joke, his anger practically bursting from his chest. "Since when did it become your place, a mere woman, to 'think' what I'm supposed to do?"

His bloodshot eyes widened, spittle flying onto Qin Huairu's collar as he roared, and he commanded viciously, "Get up and cook for me right now!"

"Waaah..." Qin Huairu covered her instantly burning cheeks and sobbed twice in grievance, her thin shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

But she didn't dare say another word in rebuttal. Gritting her teeth, she staggered and turned to move into the cold kitchen.

It felt as if a ball of cotton soaked in bitterness had been forcibly stuffed into her heart, heavy and suffocating, making even breathing painful.

The surging hatred almost burst from his chest—he hated himself for being so bewitched back then, for marrying such a useless coward who was also prone to throwing tantrums.