Courtyard House: My Hidden Wheat Seeds Caused a National Sensation

"Xu Damao, didn't you call this meeting yourself?"

"Yeah, what's going on here?"

A barrage of questions came flooding in, leaving Xu Damao even more confused, his mouth agape, unsure how to respond.

Just then, Lou Xiao'e suddenly broke free from the hand of the deaf old woman beside her and walked a few steps to the front of the crowd.

"I'm the one who called them."

Her voice was clear and calm, instantly silencing all the noise.

"I invited everyone here for only one thing—I want to make it clear to everyone that Xu Damao is infertile."

The courtyard fell silent instantly.

Then, like a drop of water falling into hot oil, it exploded.

"What?!"

Amidst countless shocked gazes, Lou Xiao'e took out a photograph from her bosom and handed it directly to Yi Zhonghai.

"This is my medical examination report that just came out today. I took a picture of it myself."

It has black and white text on it, along with the hospital's official seal. Feel free to pass it around and look at it.

Yi Zhonghai took the photo, glanced at it only once, and his expression changed.

He was initially certain that Xu Damao was innocent and had even vouched for him to the deaf old woman. Now, with this irrefutable evidence before him, it felt like a slap in the face, stinging painfully.

What sank him even further was that once this photo was released, the old lady's carefully laid plans would likely be completely ruined.

He silently handed the photo to the person next to him.

The photo spread through the crowd, eliciting gasps and whispers.

"Oh my god...it's actually true!"

"The official seal is right here; it can't be fake!"

"So it turns out the one who can't have children is Xu Damao! That guy's really something..."

Listening to the chaotic voices around him, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He looked up at the deaf old woman standing not far away—she was frozen in place, her face drained of color, and her usually shrewd eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief and panic.

It’s over.

He said this silently to himself.

Lou Xiao'e stood quietly in the center of the courtyard, her back ramrod straight, meeting all kinds of gazes.

The wind brushed through her hair. She lowered her eyes, and when she looked up again, all that remained in her eyes was a resolute calm.

The neighbors scrambled for the certificate, their chatter rising like a tidal wave, each word piercing Xu Damao's ears like a needle.

They whispered amongst themselves, their fingers almost poking at the paper. Their hushed yet clear murmurs laid bare their private affairs under the sunlight of the courtyard.

Xu Damao, standing on the periphery of the crowd, turned from pale to white, and then from white to a purplish-red like a pig's liver.

He stared intently at the piece of paper being passed around, his mind buzzing as if countless flies were fluttering their wings simultaneously.

Lou Xiao'e's move was too sudden and too ruthless, completely disrupting all his plans.

He originally thought the divorce would be nothing more than a verbal tug-of-war, but he never expected that the other party had already prepared a knife and stabbed him in his most vulnerable spot.

"Quiet! All of you shut up!"

Xu Damao suddenly roared, his voice cracking with urgency.

He pushed aside the people in front of him, rushed to the center of the courtyard in a few steps, and raised his hand to make a few gestures of pressure.

The clamor subsided slightly as everyone's eyes fell on him, filled with curiosity, pity, and, most of all, undisguised excitement at the spectacle.

Xu Damao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He straightened his slightly hunched back, trying to make his voice sound more confident: "Listen to me, everyone! This thing... this medical examination report, it's completely fake!"

He pointed to the paper held in a neighbor's hand, "It's Lou Xiao'e! She somehow managed to get this fake certificate to frame me! Think about it, if she had this before, why didn't she bring it out earlier? Why did she have to choose today, in front of everyone?"

His gaze swept across the crowd, trying to find a trace of trust or support in those familiar faces.

However, most people just watched him silently, their eyes filled with doubt.

Xu Damao was getting anxious, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He knew that mere denial was far from enough; he had to stir things up even more.

"Go to the hospital for a checkup?"

He sneered and raised his voice, "Who knows which hospital she went to? Which doctor? Who can say for sure about these underhanded things?"

He turned to Lou Xiao'e, who had been standing quietly to the side, his eyes sharp and full of accusation. "Lou Xiao'e, I never thought you were this kind of person."

To get a divorce, you're resorting to such despicable tactics? Forging medical certificates is illegal, don't you know that?

Lou Xiao'e met his gaze, her face showing little emotion, only slightly raising her chin.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears: "Xu Damao, are you saying I'm faking it?"

She paused, a very faint smile even appearing at the corner of her lips, "Okay."

Since you insist that this is fake, let's stop arguing here.

Go to the police station now and ask the police officers to handle this.

If it is confirmed that a medical examination report was falsified, I will have no objection to the consequences.

Do you dare to come with me?

As soon as he said that, the courtyard became even quieter.

Go to the police station? That would be more than just a neighborhood dispute.

Xu Damao's Adam's apple bobbed, and he subconsciously avoided Lou Xiao'e's direct gaze.

Of course he wouldn't dare go.

He knew best the weight of that order.

What I just said was just an attempt to save face in front of the neighbors, drag Lou Xiao'e into it, and create some suspicion.

He didn't dare to think about the consequences if the matter really escalated to the authorities and was thoroughly investigated...

His momentum visibly diminished, and the bit of toughness he had just put on deflated quickly like a balloon punctured by a needle.

The gazes of those around him gradually changed, from initial suspicion to a growing understanding and deeper meaning.

Xu Damao opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but found his throat dry and couldn't squeeze out a single word.

He could only stand stiffly in place, his neck hunched, enduring all sorts of gazes coming from all directions. Those gazes were like invisible whips, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

At that moment, by the moon gate leading from the backyard to the middle courtyard, an elderly deaf woman was being helped by an older woman, seemingly about to leave the chaotic scene.

Her steps were slow, and her back view appeared old and tired.

Only the slight tightening of the arm supporting her and the occasional cold, dim light flashing beneath her lowered eyelids revealed the completely different emotions beneath that aging body.

She didn't look back at the central courtyard again, as if she was already tired of the noise there, but the corners of her mouth, pursed into a straight line, were unusually tight.

Article 6, Paragraph (4) of the "Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security" promulgated in 1957 explicitly stated: "For those who forge official seals, forge or alter documents, if the circumstances are relatively minor, they shall be detained for up to seven days, fined up to fourteen yuan, or given a warning."

The following year, the Ministry of Public Security issued a notice suspending fines, retaining only detention and warnings as disciplinary measures.

If the medical examination report is indeed forged, then this clause has been violated.

The police will not stand idly by.

Let's go to the police station now.

Please have the police open a case and investigate, and make the results public.

Xu Damao was speechless for a moment, his face turning pale and then flushed.

After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Considering we've been husband and wife... I won't pursue this matter further."

"Everyone saw it, right? He's feeling guilty."

Lou Xiao'e did not intend to give up.

She turned to her neighbor in the courtyard, her voice clear and bright:

"The medical examination report was issued this afternoon."

I personally went to the doctor to retrieve the original document and even took photos of it.

To cover up his infertility, Xu Damao must have used connections to have a medical examination done under someone else's name.

He can produce that fake report tomorrow to cover for himself.

"You're talking nonsense!"

Xu Damao roared.

"Whether it's nonsense or not, you know in your heart."

Xu Damao, since you insist that you can have children, then produce irrefutable evidence.

Either call the police, or have the doctor confront you face-to-face—if that's inconvenient for you, I can go to the hospital right now and get someone to come over.

"I……"

Xu Damao was so angry that he almost blurted out that he already had a lover outside and that she was pregnant.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back down.

He must not follow in He Yuzhu's footsteps and be labeled with a problem of conduct.

Once that hat is put on, his future is ruined.

But this matter cannot be discussed, and other explanations cannot cover it up.

He stood frozen in place, his lips trembling as he repeatedly muttered, "I have, I have."

His voice was stern, but he lacked any real confidence.

The neighbors in the courtyard exchanged glances, and snickers gradually rose in their ears.

"Oh—so Xu Damao can't have children!"

"This is going to be interesting."

"Stop pretending, Xu Damao, you're just not good enough!"

He Yuzhu laughed the loudest, almost unable to straighten up:

"Hahaha! Silly Mao, you still dare to laugh at me?"

Although I committed a moral transgression, I am perfectly healthy and can still find a wife and have children.

And you? Your Xu family line is about to end!

If you ask me, you should hurry up and tell your parents to give you a younger brother while there's still time to carry on the family line!

"Fuck your mother, you idiot Zhu!"

Xu Damao, in a moment of impulsiveness, lunged forward.

He Yuzhu dodged to the side and kicked him to the ground.

Xu Damao curled up, unable to get up for a moment.

"waste!"

He Yuzhu tilted his head back and snorted, "With your kind of behavior, even a hundred of you tied together wouldn't be enough for me to beat!"

The mockery from all around came like a tidal wave.

Xu Damao simply closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground, remaining motionless.

I've completely lost face today.

"Xu Damao, I know you can hear me."

Lou Xiao'e looked down at him and said, word by word:

"See you at the neighborhood office entrance first thing tomorrow morning."

After saying that, she turned and walked out of the courtyard with quick and decisive steps.

She was going back to her parents' house tonight and would also like to convey Li Jianye's words to them.

It ended in farce.

An elderly man named Yi Zhonghai glanced at the dispersing crowd and gently shook his head.

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, his tone revealing a hint of weariness: "That's enough, everyone go home and cook. If you linger any longer, the bottom of the pot will burn through."

Upon hearing this, the onlookers began to move in twos and threes, their faces showing a sense of lingering interest.

That scene just now is enough for them to gossip about for half a month.

"well--"

Yi Zhonghai looked at Xu Damao, who was standing there dumbfounded, with a hint of pity in his eyes.

He knew perfectly well that Li Jianye was likely backing Lou Xiao'e up in this matter.

Who was Li Jianye? Even he himself couldn't gain the slightest advantage over him, let alone Xu Damao. He shook his head, said no more, and turned to leave.

A faint sense of regret crept into her heart—Lou Xiao'e had helped Li Jianye with the Banggeng incident back then, and she never expected that Li Jianye would remember this favor to this day.

What a promising talent! If only I had humbled myself and extended an olive branch earlier… Yi Zhonghai sighed inwardly, suppressing the thought.

Li Jianye was naturally unaware of his sentiments.

Even if they knew, they would probably just think that Yi Zhonghai was overthinking things.

When it comes to retirement, Li Jianye has his own plans, and he has never taken Yi Zhonghai's thoughts to heart.

"Let's go home for dinner."

Li Jianye whispered to the person beside him.

"Um."

Dilisilin obediently responded and followed in his footsteps.

……

As smoke began to rise from the chimneys of the courtyard house, Lou Xiao'e stepped into her parents' home.

"Dad! Mom! I'm home!"

Lou Guanshan and his thirteenth concubine, Lou Tanshi, quickly came out from the inner room upon hearing the noise.

Seeing his daughter standing alone at the door, Lou Guanshan couldn't help but ask in surprise, "E'zi? Why did you suddenly come back?"

He subconsciously glanced behind Lou Xiao'e, "Da Mao isn't with us?"

"I've divorced him."

Lou Xiao'e put it simply.

Lou Guanshan and Lou Tanshi were both stunned and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"And also, Dad,"

Lou Xiao'e stepped forward, her voice urgent, "Our family needs to leave Beijing and go to Hong Kong as soon as possible!"

Lou Guanshan and Lou Tanshi were immediately filled with astonishment, becoming even more confused.