Courtyard House: A Start with Black Gold Swallowing 100,000 Silver Dollars

"Yuerong, you're wrong." He said firmly, "I didn't lie to you, not a single word."

He paused for a moment, then asked slowly, "This is the first time we've met. I told you I'm a shareholder of Weifeng Machinery Factory. Is that true?"

She instinctively wanted to retort, "Aren't you the manager of the trading company?"—but swallowed the words back.

On the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, he was indeed standing next to Boss Dong. When the red ribbon was cut, the whole place erupted in applause.

She turned her face away and did not respond.

"Besides, you've never asked me if I'm married, and I've never brought it up myself, right?"

"That's because you said your parents died early, and it pains you to talk about your family, so I didn't have the heart to press you!"

"Ha..." she sneered. "What a fine 'reluctance'! Using suffering as a shield, hiding flawlessly—how despicable!"

Li Wenguo shrugged: "Whether it's despicable or not is another matter, but at least I haven't hidden the fact that I'm 'married' from you."

She just scoffed.

It wasn't exactly deception, but it was far from honesty either—it was clearly walking a tightrope.

"Speaking of feelings again—saying I lied to you? That's pure nonsense!" His gaze was intense. "The first time I saw you, I knew: this woman, I'm going to marry her! Every time after that, I begged you to marry me with all my heart. It was you who shut me up time and time again, otherwise our child would probably be old enough to run errands by now."

"If I were truly intent on lying, what would I gain? Would I want you to reject me eight hundred times?"

The words hit her like a pebble into water, and she felt a lump in her throat.

"You, you, you—!"

She suddenly stood up, pointing her finger straight at him, her knuckles turning white.

That's right, he begged her, and she refused.

But she was afraid—afraid that her identity would be exposed and implicate him, afraid that the safety of the organization would crush him; all of this was for his sake.

As a result, it became the handle of his knife that he turned on.

He lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot, and was in so much pain he couldn't speak.

"Finally," he took a half step forward, his voice lowering, "if you truly like someone, then getting close is a natural thing. It's not about scheming or forcing; it's about mutual consent and things falling into place naturally."

"What a load of rubbish!" She finally caught a loose end, her voice suddenly rising, "Who got me drunk that night? Who took advantage of my unconscious state... and carried me to bed?!"

This time, she stood ramrod straight, her chest heaving, her eyes burning with both fire and tears.

"You've got it wrong again—I never intended to get you drunk. It's just that you have a low alcohol tolerance; one drink and you're already tipsy. Besides, I was pretty drunk myself, and Xiao Qi and the others had to help us get to the hotel. A man and a woman alone, in a daze, it's only natural to do something impulsively."

"Besides, if you didn't trust me or care about me, why would you let yourself drink until you blacked out? You can't stop yourself from drinking. Saying you were 'forced to get drunk' is a completely untenable excuse."

Li Wenguo remained calm and spoke frankly and confidently.

But what is the truth? That night, he was clearly the one who kept urging her to drink, and when she was looking away, he secretly poured her a second round of drinks.

"You...you mean, it's all my fault?"

"Was I stupid? Was I cheap? Was I the one who willingly went to your bed and offered myself to you?"

Before she could finish speaking, tears were already streaming down her face, unstoppable.

She had clearly been tricked and deceived into losing her sense of propriety, but the man in front of her was quick-witted and eloquent, and in just a few words he shifted all the blame onto her, making it seem as if she were the shameless one who had walked right into his trap.

Oops!

Li Wenguo's heart tightened, and he hurriedly stopped talking—Yang Yuerong's eyes were red and her fingertips were white. He was afraid that she might do something foolish if she made up her mind.

He quickly tried to salvage the situation: "No! It's really not! I admit my mistake, I admit it all! I shouldn't have fallen for you, and I especially shouldn't have touched you—I already have a family, yet I still shamelessly pursued you, it was my fault! But I like you, from the first time I saw you I wanted to marry you; later, as we spent time together, you spoke frankly, acted uprightly, cared about your country, had a light in your eyes and a clear path in your steps, all of these things made me fall deeper and deeper... It's not that you're being shameless, it's that I'm greedy, it's that I'm despicable, it's that I insisted on holding onto you. Don't take it to heart, don't take a single word to heart."

When it comes to winning a woman's heart, you have to be gentle and humble yourself when necessary.

Even if he wanted to keep her in check later, he would have to wait until she gave birth and her heart was truly at peace. If he forced her now, it would probably lead to a complete breakup, and he couldn't bear to let go—this vibrant and beautiful woman was carrying his child.

"You...you've finally spoken! Waaah..."

"Yes, yes, I'm such a bastard, I'm so anxious, I'm afraid you'll turn around and leave without ever looking back at me."

As he spoke, he strode forward and pulled her into his arms.

"Let go! Let go of me! You bastard!"

She pushed hard, her shoulders taut.

At that moment, she felt no intention of forgiving him whatsoever.

"If you... if you don't let go, I'll really bite you!"

"Go ahead and bite. Do whatever makes you feel better."

Li Wenguo simply stuck his neck out, looking like he was ready to be dealt with.

But the soft, fragrant warmth in his arms, the touch of his fingertips on the delicate skin of her nape, had already stirred a fire within him that he could no longer contain.

"you--!"

Yang Yuerong was furious and opened her mouth to bite his shoulder. But as soon as her teeth closed, most of her strength was gone—years of affection were there, how could she just cut it off like that? She couldn't bear to really hurt him, so she just held it gently, like a little animal throwing a tantrum, grinding her teeth, but refusing to use force.

Li Wenguo felt a surge of warmth in his heart, knowing that her heart hadn't completely cooled down yet. He spoke softly and gently, while his hand slowly moved along her waistline.

She remained biting his shoulder, unmoved. She'd been thinking about this endlessly lately, but the more she thought, the more confused she became: should she end it completely? But when she touched her lower abdomen, it was still perfectly normal, yet a small life had quietly taken root there—abort? She couldn't bring herself to do it. That child was a living, breathing life.

Then she was gently placed on the bed, her body instinctively tensed up, wanting to dodge, but as soon as she lifted her leg, she suddenly froze.

She thought to herself: Okay, if you get rid of him... I'll leave completely and never look back.

Unfortunately, she was too naive. Li Wenguo understood her too well—proud, meticulous, and intolerant of married men—which is why he had planned this scheme so early: first, get her pregnant, then slowly warm her heart. How could he let an accident repeat itself? How could he allow that child to be in the slightest danger?

He always has a good grasp of things.

After their passionate encounter, Yang Yuerong, though still cold-faced, softened her tone and no longer kept him at arm's length. That evening, when he knocked on the door, she didn't try to shoo him away.

Li Wenguo's eyes lit up: It's done, this matter is promising.

So they struck while the iron was hot—the French restaurant was filled with flickering candlelight, the movie screen was filled with light and shadow, and on the way home they held hands tightly and kissed as soon as they opened the door.

It really worked; the ice between the two was melting away inch by inch.

But Yang Yuerong always had a thread hanging over her mind:

If she loses the child, she will leave, treating these days as the last warmth before saying goodbye;

If the child is born safely... she will nod and marry him.

Yang Yuerong had long anticipated Li Wenguo's temperament and knew that once he set his sights on someone, he would never let go—and if she were truly pregnant, there would be no way she could escape. After much deliberation, she could only lower her head and agree.

The rift between them was quietly mended.

Before we knew it, it was the 20th.

On this day, Tang Hansheng, a notorious traitor who was transferred from Harbin to become the mayor of Beijing, officially arrived in Beijing.

The Lixingshe headquarters had issued a death order a month ago: this person must be eliminated. After receiving the secret order, Li Wenguo had already laid a trap several days earlier.

To wait for this day, he stubbornly suppressed all operations—the arsenal, ammunition depot, and transport lines—all of which were suspended, just to sharpen his blade and specifically target Tang Hansheng.

At this moment, the train station had been completely taken over by the Japanese army. It was sealed off with iron railings and guard posts everywhere, making it difficult even for a sparrow to get in.

The entire train was wrapped up tightly, like an iron coffin, airtight.

This was the first time in Beiping that a traitor had alarmed the Japanese army to such a high level.

With such an impregnable fortress, sending someone in to infiltrate and assassinate him would be suicidal. Unless a whole battalion were brought in for a frontal assault—but if a real battle broke out, let alone killing Tang Hansheng, their own men would probably be wiped out before they even reached the base of the walls.

Li Wenguo chose to take an unconventional approach. He ordered Niu Dali to lead his men to the rooftops of four tall buildings around the train station overnight. At each vantage point, they ruthlessly set up an 88mm howitzer, waiting only for the order to blast the entire station into ruins.

This type of cannon has a range of 20 kilometers. After firing, the gunners would leave, leaving the cannon behind—if the Japanese didn't find it, Niu Dali would secretly retrieve it later.

Using heavy artillery to assassinate traitors? No one in the entire Republic of China had ever done that. Only Li Wenguo dared to make such a decision, so extravagant and ruthless.

Why is it considered difficult? Just imagine carrying that several-ton cannon barrel up to the roof by hand? That's wishful thinking. Without a crane, pulley system, or engineers, even moving it an inch is a struggle.

"Waaaaah—waaaah—!!!"

The train whistle roared, tearing through the morning mist, and slowly pulled into the station.

The platform was crowded with traitors and their families, all grinning foolishly and waving colorful flags, banners, and paper flowers, as if they were celebrating a wedding.

Fearing assassination, the station was completely emptied—the police were gone, the staff had left, and it was entirely guarded by heavily armed Japanese soldiers. Even civilians were driven more than a hundred meters away.

Bombardment? Aren't you afraid of friendly fire?

—Anyway, it's only people in the traitor circle who will be hurt, at most a few unlucky bystanders will get caught in the crossfire. Li Wenguo had no intention of showing any mercy.

Not far away, on a rooftop, Binzi lay prone on the concrete edge, his monocular binoculars fixed on the center of the platform. His right hand gripped the signal pistol tightly, the muzzle pointing upwards.

When that thing went off, the explosion was deafening, and could be heard clearly for miles around.

Fifteen minutes passed.

Through the binoculars, a man in a black suit and top hat was seen walking slowly, surrounded by seven or eight bodyguards. His face, build, and gait were exactly the same as in the photograph—it was Tang Hansheng.

Without saying a word, Binzi pulled the trigger repeatedly, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" The signal flares roared into the sky, exploding with red light and resounding through the heavens.

He fired his last shot, then rolled off the rooftop and disappeared into the depths of the stairwell in the blink of an eye.

"call out--!!!"

As soon as the piercing whistle pierced the air, passersby looked up in surprise.

"boom--!!!"

The explosion in the air was deafening, and the entire city of Beiping was thrown into chaos. People scrambled through the streets and alleys, squeezing through doorways, hiding behind walls, and rushing into cellars, so panicked that they didn't even bother to fasten their belts.

"Over there!!!"

No one expected that a squad of military police would suddenly rush out from the side, rifles in hand, and run towards the spot where the signal flare had exploded.

What's even stranger is that a large number of Japanese soldiers also rushed out of the station, clearly heading for the "assassin"—leaving only a few soldiers behind to protect Tang Hansheng, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes.

Deep within a narrow alley near the train station, a squad of Japanese military police had been lying in ambush for some time. The leader, Akagi Toshio, smirked, a smug smile playing on his lips: "The Chinese have taken the bait."