Courtyard House: Starting by inheriting the tradition and suppressing the barbarians.

The first rain of autumn fell softly, carrying a chilling cold.

The Intermediate People's Court, the Yi family.

There was no fire inside, and it was as cold and damp as a cellar.

Yi Zhonghai was wrapped in two stiff, tattered quilts and curled up on the bed.

That once rosy-cheeked face is now skin and bones, and a sallow complexion.

"Cough cough...cough cough cough..."

A violent cough made his chest feel like it was about to split open.

Yi Zhonghai struggled to sit up, trying to reach the thermos on the bedside table.

But then his hand trembled, and with a "crack," the thermos fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

The last bit of hot water spilled onto the floor, steaming, and quickly cooled down.

Yi Zhonghai looked at the rubble on the ground, his cloudy old eyes filled with despair.

I'm thirsty.

I'm hungry.

I can't live like this since that old lady left.

He used to be a big shot, and all he had to do was ask Sha Zhu to serve him tea and water, and Qin Huairu to do his laundry and cook for him.

Everyone in the courtyard treated him with utmost respect.

I couldn't be more proud of myself!

But now?

Sha Zhu is dead.

No one knows where he was buried in the wilderness, and no one pays his respects.

Qin Huairu, that vampire, once she saw he was no longer of any use, wouldn't even bother to visit him.

Now they are barely able to protect themselves.

"Karma...this is all karma..."

Yi Zhonghai was panting heavily, but his eyes gradually turned venomous.

He is not reconciled!

Yi Zhonghai schemed his whole life. In order to secure his retirement, he broke up Sha Zhu and He Yushui and ruined Sha Zhu and Lou Xiao'e's relationship.

They even embezzled the money that He Daqing sent back.

He did so much so that he could have someone to rely on in his old age.

But in the end, how did he end up all alone?

Just then, the roar of a car engine came from outside the window.

Yi Zhonghai laboriously moved to the window and looked out through the dusty cracks in the glass.

All I could see was the backyard gate.

Li Xuanzheng got out of the black sedan.

The driver respectfully held an umbrella for him, while also carrying bags of nutritional supplements.

Li Xuan was dressed in a smart Zhongshan suit, with a ruddy complexion and an extraordinary demeanor.

The composure and dignity of those in power deeply stung Yi Zhonghai's eyes.

"Why...why?!"

Yi Zhonghai gripped the window frame so tightly that his fingernails broke off.

"Why is Li Xuan able to live so well?"

"Why should I, Yi Zhonghai, just wait to die here?"

If he doesn't ruin Li Xuan's reputation and tear a piece of flesh from him, Yi Zhonghai will not rest in peace even in death!

A vicious thought began to grow wildly in Yi Zhonghai's dark heart.

......

the next day.

The rain stopped, but the sky remained overcast.

A startling rumor suddenly began circulating in the courtyard house.

"Hey, have you heard?"

"Li Xuan was actually home the night Sha Zhu died!"

"Li Xuan could have easily saved Sha Zhu, but he just stood by and did nothing!"

"Really?"

"Absolutely true! The old man said it himself!"

He said he saw the light on in Li Xuan's house that night, and Sha Zhu was calling for help at his door.

"But Li Xuan turned off the lights and pretended he hadn't seen anything!"

"My God, that's too cruel! He's a doctor!"

"You can know a person's face but not their heart; this guy is a cold-blooded animal!"

The rumors spread like wildfire throughout the entire compound.

The mastermind behind all of this—Yi Zhonghai!

He was leaning on a cane, sitting shakily at the stone table in the courtyard, surrounded by several gossipy old women.

"Cough cough..."

Yi Zhonghai feigned a heartbroken expression, "I saw it with my own eyes!"

"That kid, Shazhu, died such a tragic death!"

"Although this matter is indeed inextricably linked to the Jia family, the person was still alive at that time."

"If Li Xuan had just lent a hand, even just a sip of hot water, how could Sha Zhu have frozen to death?"

"I never imagined that such a heartless person would come from our hospital!"

"If anyone gets sick or suffers a disaster in the future, who can they rely on?"

"Does everyone agree that this makes sense?"

Yi Zhonghai's use of "moral blackmail" is a masterful one.

He knew that Li Xuan was now in a high position, and a direct confrontation was definitely not an option.

But reputation is most vulnerable to taint.

As long as the labels of "refusing to help someone in distress" and "cold-blooded doctor" are pinned on Li Xuan.

Therefore, in order to protect his reputation, Li Xuan had no choice but to back down!

Then, he will step in as an "elder" to mediate.

Li Xuan was put in charge of taking care of the elderly people living alone in the nursing home.

Actually, it was specifically to take care of Yi Zhonghai!

This was Yi Zhonghai's final calculation.

Use the dead Sha Zhu as a stepping stone for his retirement!

......

In the evening, Li Xuan returned home from get off work.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he sensed that something was wrong.

The neighbors who used to fawn over him were now looking at him strangely.

Aside from a hint of fear, there was more disdain and whispers!

"It was him... who stood by and watched someone die..."

"How cruel..."

Li Xuan was sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, so these idle rumors naturally did not escape his ears.

He paused slightly, raising an eyebrow gently.

Just then.

Yi Zhonghai, leaning on a cane and supported by several unsuspecting neighbors, blocked Li Xuan's path.

"Li Xuan, you're back."

Yi Zhonghai adopted the demeanor of an elder and said tremblingly, "Since everyone is here, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

Li Xuan looked at the old man who was nearing the end of his life with indifferent eyes.

"Get out of the way!"

"Look at this! What kind of attitude is this!"

Yi Zhonghai pounded the ground with his cane, heartbroken, "Li Xuan, you're a big shot from our hospital, a doctor!"

"I'll just ask you one question: were you home the night Sha Zhu died?"

Did you hear him cry for help?

Upon hearing this, the entire hospital fell silent.

Everyone stared at Li Xuan, wanting to see how he would answer.

Li Xuan looked at Yi Zhonghai's old eyes, which were gleaming with calculation, and suddenly smiled.

There was no anger in that smile, only a mocking laugh that came from someone who had seen through the clown's performance.

So it was that old guy causing trouble again!

"Yi Zhonghai, are you trying to say that I killed Shazhu?" Li Xuan asked calmly.

"I didn't say that, but you need to give everyone an explanation for this!"

Yi Zhonghai pressed on, "As a doctor, if you stand by and watch someone die, aren't you afraid that Sha Zhu will come looking for you in the middle of the night?"

"Looking for me?"

Li Xuan took a step forward, and his aura suddenly erupted.

This pressure caused Yi Zhonghai to unconsciously take a half-step back.

"Yi Zhonghai, if Sha Zhu really has a soul, the first person he would look for probably wouldn't be me."

"Isn't it you, the 'old man' who's been fooling him his whole life?"

"You..." Yi Zhonghai's face turned pale, and he felt a little guilty.

"Are you trying to use moral blackmail? Are you trying to force me to comply through public opinion?"

"You want me to take care of you in your old age?"

Li Xuan's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a knife, directly piercing through Yi Zhonghai's dirty little thoughts.

"You've got a good plan, but unfortunately, you've picked the wrong person."

"I originally thought that since you're an elderly person living alone, you wouldn't live for many more days, so I'd just let you fend for yourself."

Li Xuan's eyes were icy cold, as if he were looking at a dead man. "But since you insist on courting death, insist on splashing dirty water on me..."

Then, Li Xuan turned to look at his neighbors and said loudly:

"Since you're so eager to uphold justice and talk about Sha Zhu's matter..."

"Alright! Let's have a college-wide meeting tonight!"

"I have a few doses of medicine that I'd like to invite this old man to try."

After saying that, Li Xuan gave Yi Zhonghai a meaningful look.

That look made Yi Zhonghai feel as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into the snow, chilled to the bone.

"Don't scare people!"

"What medicine? That's utter nonsense!"

"I have nothing to fear if I am upright!" Yi Zhonghai shouted angrily.

But little did he know that this would be the last general meeting of the entire college in his life!

......