Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

6

Just then, two law enforcement officers dragged a thief in. When they saw so many people in the room and recognized Fang Chengxuan, they laughed and said, "Oh, we've run into your yard again."

"I caught a thief, it was pretty funny. Last night I climbed over your wall and stumbled upon a man and a widow doing their business inside. I stole their clothes, locked the door, and even set it on fire."

"I tried to steal from a different shop today, but I got caught."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the courtyard widened their eyes and muttered in hushed tones, "Is this referring to our courtyard?"

Fang Chengxuan was taken aback. "Our department?"

"That's for sure. No wonder they keep causing trouble here every few days. Did they already know about their messy affairs and get themselves watched?"

Fang Chengxuan touched his nose and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "You can know a person's face but not their heart."

"Fang Chengxuan, shut up!"

"It was clearly you who did this!"

He Yuzhu couldn't stand it anymore. Pointing at Fang Chengxuan, who had been brought in, he turned and yelled at the thief, "What nonsense are you spouting? What benefits did Fang Chengxuan give you?"

The thief glanced at He Yuzhu, pursed his lips, and said, "You're that silly Zhu, right? I've inquired about your compound."

"You were having an affair with that widow too?"

"I heard you're getting quite close to that widow and that old man? Tsk tsk, are the three of you having a fling?"

"Look how anxious you are. Really? That widow hasn't even touched you?"

He Yuzhu's face turned blue with anger. He roared and lunged forward, yelling, "Watch your mouth! I'll tear your mouth off!"

"You all better behave!"

Law enforcement officers grabbed He Yuzhu and restrained the thief who was rolling up his sleeves, coldly telling him to stop.

The thief, pinned down, quickly put on a frank and honest smile: "Comrade, I've confessed everything. I didn't steal anything; the fire was just to scare people. Surely I don't deserve to be locked up?"

He Yuzhu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, but he was still shouting, "Comrade, this thief is in cahoots with Fang Chengxuan!"

A few people gathered at the entrance of the compound were whispering, "Has Sha Zhu lost his mind? It's so late at night, who would have carried someone to a bed if they hadn't come out of the house themselves? What kind of soup did Qin Huairu give him?"

The uniformed officer scanned the group, having already ascertained the details of the case: "This has nothing to do with Fang Chengxuan, you may all leave."

"He Yuzhu, Yi Zhonghai, and Qin Huairu, the three of you stay here."

When Qin Huairu was called out, she panicked and kept glancing between Uncle Yi Zhonghai and He Yuzhu, hoping that one of them could resolve the matter.

But in her heart, she cursed He Yuzhu eight hundred times.

Why did they have to expose this mess? Don't they know that Fang Chengxuan set a trap for them?

"Comrade, Qin Huairu and I are seriously dating, and we were planning to get our marriage certificate tomorrow."

Yi Zhonghai's face remained somber, but his tone was calm.

He had no intention of marrying Qin Huairu.

His reputation was pretty much ruined by that incident, but back then he could still insist that he was tricked, and some people believed him.

But that's not possible now.

If he doesn't marry Qin Huairu, the doors to the labor camp will be wide open.

Qin Huairu glanced at Yi Zhonghai, tears streaming down her face: "Comrade, we are indeed talking, but I am a widow, and my mother-in-law absolutely refuses to let me remarry, which is why we haven't made it public yet."

Yi Zhonghai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Comrade, if we get our certificates tomorrow, will we not have to be sent to the labor camp?"

Qin Huairu leaned over, took Yi Zhonghai's arm, and lowered her head, looking exactly like a new bride.

He Yuzhu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Uncle, Qin Huairu, you..."

Qin Huairu raised her head, glared at He Yuzhu with her eyes wide, and said in a tearful voice, "Silly Zhu, stop talking. You know what's going on between me and that old man. With my mother-in-law's temper, we can only do it secretly. We were planning to get married anyway. Do you have to see us suffer and ruin our reputations?"

He Yuzhu shut his mouth.

The uniformed officers released Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, but He Yuzhu was taken back to the labor camp alone, and his labor time was doubled.

the other side.

Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai walked out of the law enforcement office, their faces so dark they could drip ink.

Nobody wants to get married.

but……

"Sir, what should we do? We can't just go and get the marriage certificate, can we? Your wife isn't divorced yet!"

Qin Huairu gritted her teeth, her head throbbing with pain.

Ever since He Yuzhu was arrested for stealing and sent to a labor camp, she was also sent to the steel rolling mill after being framed and sexually assaulted.

After I got out, nothing went smoothly.

In this situation, if we don't get our marriage certificate first, we'll both end up in jail.

Sha Zhu can't escape either.

"How did this matter end up in the police station?"

Yi Zhonghai's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, but he was secretly plotting his own scheme. He might as well marry Qin Huairu; that way, he could have a child of his own.

But the thought of the three kids from the Jia family made him frown again. Raising other people's children? He wasn't that kind of person.

The two walked back, each lost in their own thoughts.

As soon as Qin Huairu entered the house, Jia Zhangshi gave her a severe beating. Bang Geng stood by, his eyes filled with hatred.

"roll!"

"Who do you think you are as a mother? Do you know what people outside are saying about you? Are you that desperate for a man?"

Banggeng grabbed something and started throwing it at Qin Huairu.

An old man and a young boy practically pushed Qin Huairu out the door. All eyes turned to her, and Qin Huairu felt a burning embarrassment.

She couldn't hold it in and burst into tears.

He got up and rushed to the backyard.

"Fang Chengxuan, what did I do to offend you? Why are you doing this to me? Fine, if you won't let me have an easy time, then neither of us will have a peaceful day!"

Fang Chengxuan stared at her reckless face and sneered.

"Whose life is it if not ours?"

"Ever since I moved into this courtyard, one old man and another, He Yuzhu, have come to cause trouble. Who among them isn't backed by you?"

Qin Huairu felt uneasy, but she didn't back down.

"Don't give me that nonsense! You're just taking it out on me because you lost face in front of my boyfriend!"

"You dare say that what happened between me and that old man wasn't something you orchestrated?"

As she finished speaking, she straightened her chest, her expression resolute.

Fang Chengxuan smiled.

"In the middle of the night, instead of coming out of your own room, you go and knock on an old man's window. Do you think he'll plot against you?"

"The old man said he was going to the cellar, but didn't you say you were going to He Yuzhu's house?"

His eyes held a mocking glint.

Qin Huairu's face turned pale.

"To tell you the truth, the reason I'm targeting you is because you gossiped about me to my partner."

"Do you think I'm as stupid as He Yuzhu, falling for your little tricks?"

Qin Huairu's eyes widened, and her chest heaved.

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell your partner about what you've done?"

"You're welcome to give it a try."

"If my partner really breaks up with me because of you trash, I guarantee your lives will get worse every day. Qin Huairu, think before you act. I'm not He Yuzhu, nor am I Yi Zhonghai."

Fang Chengxuan exuded a chilling aura.

He scanned Qin Huairu from head to toe.

"You people, once or twice, when have you ever gotten the better end of the deal with me?"

"How dare you keep coming up to me again and again?"

"Now, get out of here. Or I'll make you suffer even more than you are now."

Fang Chengxuan glanced at Qin Huairu, his eyes full of disdain.

Qin Huairu was still the same as ever, her mind only occupied with herself and her three children. The old man, He Yuzhu, and everyone else in the courtyard—in her eyes, they were all just tools to leech off. Whoever offered her something, she would grab onto them.

But she shouldn't have touched him.

Footsteps suddenly sounded from the direction of the Intermediate Court. Yang Yuande rushed over, his voice booming, "Qin Huairu, are you tired of living? You dare mess with my Brother Fang!"

He rolled up his sleeves, and the veins on his arms bulged.

"If you know what's good for you, get lost. If it weren't for Qin Jingru's sake, I would have really hit you today."

Qin Huairu retorted sharply, "Yang Yuande, you dare hit me? I'll report you to the law enforcement office right away!"

Yang Yuande grinned: "Go ahead. A widow who's been having affairs comes along and tries to frame me for indecent assault—guess who the law enforcement will believe?"

Qin Huairu opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

She stomped her foot in anger, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Yang Yuande and Fang Chengxuan's faces. Her eyes reddened, and she turned and ran away.

Yang Yuande watched her retreating figure and saw her rush into an old man's house, then scoffed.

"Brother Fang, look at this mess we've made tonight."

He turned back, his face full of disgust: "The law enforcement office is something else. Why don't they just throw that old man and Qin Huairu into a labor camp together? Without those two, your life would be a little more peaceful."

Fang Chengxuan's expression was indifferent: "These kinds of things happen all the time these days. Law enforcement officers have seen a lot of them. It's not a big case. If it can be mediated, then it will be mediated. They can't just arrest and detain people all the time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Leng Si walked in from outside.

"After we left, the old man and Qin Huairu told the law enforcement officers that they were dating, but Qin Huairu's mother-in-law disapproved, so they were seeing each other secretly. They also said they planned to get their marriage certificate the next day. As soon as the law enforcement officers heard this, they released them."

Fang Chengxuan nodded casually.

Leng Si stared at him: "So what are you planning to do next?"

Fang Chengxuan smiled and said, "Don't make me sound like some kind of villain. They shouldn't bother me, and I can't be bothered with them anyway."

Leng Si stared at him for a while, then sighed, "I have a feeling those people won't settle down."

Fang Chengxuan also sighed.

"What can we do?"

"We can't move out."

Yang Yuande scratched his head: "This is really weird. Why are they all fixated on you? They're all acting like they're possessed."

Fang Chengxuan lowered his eyes, his face expressionless.

He thought to himself: It's probably because of him that the original path to this courtyard was taken astray.

"Alright, everyone, take a break."

He raised his hand and yawned.

The three of them went their separate ways. He turned off the light and quickly washed up.

Inside an old man's house.

Qin Huairu cried so hard she could barely breathe: "Uncle, what should I do? Bang Geng seems to hate me now, and I'm heartbroken."

Yi Zhonghai sat there, his face so dark it could drip water.

"It's all Fang Chengxuan's fault."

"From the moment he stepped into this courtyard, there has never been a moment of peace."

Qin Huairu gritted her teeth, also hating Fang Chengxuan.

But she really couldn't do anything about him.