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

Huang Xirou's forehead was beaded with sweat, her eyes darted around, and she dared not ask a question, only burying her head in thought.

A moment later, she suddenly looked up, her voice trembling: "You... want me to testify that Section Chief Lin Guosheng forced me to do it?"

There is no other way.

"It's not 'forced'."

Li Guofu didn't even lift his eyelids, his tone as flat as if he had measured something with a ruler.

Not forced?

What is that?

Instigation? Instruction? Coercion?

still is……

Her pupils contracted sharply, and she blurted out, "He...threatened me?!"

That's pressing down on me like crazy!

Framed and coerced, they could easily end up spending their entire lives in jail.

She stole a glance at Li Guofu, her throat tightened, and a chill ran down her spine.

Those who wield real power are as hard-hearted as iron and as black as ice.

The final characterization has completely changed:

Li Guoxuan is innocent;

The perpetrators of the frame-up were Lin Guosheng and Huang Xirou;

Huang Xirou was forced to comply because Lin Guosheng had leverage over her.

As a result, Lin Guosheng was taken away by the dispatched team on the spot for serious violations of discipline and was sentenced to prison.

Huang Xirou was disciplined and transferred to the Jianshe Bureau of Qingyan County. She never returned to the municipal bureau.

Li Guoxuan was reinstated and returned directly to the General Office, retaining his original position and benefits.

The injustice has been redressed; these four words clearly state the truth.

This caused an uproar within the bureau.

No one expected that a seemingly intractable case could be overturned so thoroughly, even bringing down a section chief in the process—this case is incredibly complex.

Anyone with eyes to see can tell: Li Guoxuan probably has a powerful backer behind him.

Even with the chain of evidence sealed off, how could someone possibly unravel the mystery and turn the tables? For an ordinary person, it's unthinkable.

So the wind direction changed completely overnight.

The clever ones rushed to offer hot tea, give up their seats, and strike up conversations to get closer to the other person;

Seeing this, even the slow-witted one immediately followed suit, showering her with concern and wanting to warm her heart.

Li Guoxuan was a little bewildered by the crowd, and even when he wanted to drink water, he had to politely decline three times.

Even Li Jingye personally called him into her office.

He acknowledged his brother in person, calling him "younger brother," and his sincere apology was deeply moving.

He patted his chest and said, "With me here, I will personally lift you up to the top."

Li Guoxuan nodded in agreement.

For now, they will not publicize their sibling relationship to avoid gossip.

Three months later.

"Guoxin, which of these counties under the capital would you like to choose?"

Li Wenguo sat in his own house, slowly picking up his teacup.

Li Guoxin's path had been clearly laid out long ago: first, he would become the director of the municipal government office, then serve two terms in a county, and eventually be appointed as the deputy mayor or mayor.

His older brother, Li Guohua, served two terms and then became the mayor of the neighboring city of Tianjing.

If I only serve one term? At best, I'll become a deputy mayor, subject to constraints everywhere.

The key is whether you can endure it and whether you are willing to persevere.

As soon as Li Wenguo finished speaking, Qingyan County popped into Li Guoxin's mind.

Yes, that's the place where he settled his mistress.

Counting the days, the baby will be born in just over a month.

He secretly visited her last month. She was heavily pregnant, her back bent with difficulty, yet she still knelt by the bed to massage his legs, make him tea, and unbutton his clothes...

All the pent-up anger from the past few months was extinguished by her gentle warmth. (Zeng Minzhi was also pregnant; she couldn't be touched.)

In a moment of impulsiveness, the words blurted out: "I'm going to Qingyan County."

He regretted it as soon as he exported it.

What if we crash into it?

When he takes up his post, Zeng Minzhi will inevitably accompany him.

"Qingyan County...among the surrounding counties, it is the poorest and the most difficult to manage."

Li Wenguo nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes. "It's rare that you dare to pick a tough nut to crack. Alright, I'll make the arrangements."

Li Guoxin's face stiffened, and he lowered his head sheepishly.

I acted impulsively just now, but now that I've come to my senses, I don't want to go at all.

But his father was full of satisfaction, so he dared not change his mind and could only sigh inwardly.

"Oh, right," Li Wenguo suddenly remembered something, "when you go this time, bring Guoqing with you and have him be your secretary."

Li Guoqing, Yang Yuerong's youngest son.

I was raised under the care of my aunt, so I was used to being wild and bold, and I always spoke and acted with a reckless attitude.

As a father, Li Wenguo thought that he should send his son to Li Guoxin's side to gain experience, so that he could take the opportunity to temper his temper and gradually calm his mind.

"it is good."

Li Guoxin responded and turned to go home.

"I'm back!"

Zeng Minzhi, seven months pregnant, greeted him with a smile and reached out to help him take off his coat—the north wind in December was strong and biting cold against his face.

"Um!"

"The matter has been settled. I need to report to Qingyan County in a few days."

Li Guoxin walked into the house as he spoke.

"Oh, then I'll pack my things in the next couple of days, and then I can just go with them."

She poured him a glass of hot water.

"Oh dear, Minzhi, your belly is so big, I can do it myself!"

Zeng Minzhi comes from a high-ranking official's family, and her upbringing and manners are ingrained in her bones: she is impeccable in her dealings with people, skillful in cooking and managing the household, and always clear about the proper etiquette and manners during holidays—a perfect and virtuous wife who is flawless.

Li Guoxin felt both at ease and uneasy.

The truth is, he's still involved with Tian Tian outside, and he feels guilty towards the woman in front of him.

"Pfft—it's just a glass of water, why is it so delicate?"

She smiled and sat down next to him, handing him the cup.

Li Guoxin sipped his drink while gently stroking her swollen belly.

A thought flashed through his mind: It's freezing cold right now, and the county hospital in Qingyan County doesn't even have enough heating. Why not use that as an excuse to persuade her to stay home and rest during her postpartum period, and then set off again when the baby is a month old? That way, I can free up some time to spend with Tian Tian.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Zeng Minzhi frowned, wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her forehead against his chest, and said softly, "But... I want to see you every day."

"Hehe, don't worry, Qingyan County is only an hour's drive from Beijing. I come back every weekend."

A few days later, Li Guoxin, along with his younger brother Li Guoqing, who had just turned twenty, set off for Qingyan County.

Construction Bureau.

Li Jingye had always been concerned about the debt she owed Li Guoxuan back then, and she also wanted to make a good impression on her father, Li Wenguo. In the past few months, she promoted him two administrative ranks.

Now he's ranked higher than Cao Ying, and his salary has increased by more than fifty yuan.

"Guoxuan, congratulations! You've leveled up again today, now you're really higher than me! You have to treat us tonight!"

Cao Ying joked, but her heart sank.

I originally thought he was just an ordinary kid, but then I bumped into Li Wenguo and saw that he rose through the ranks faster and more steadily than I did—there was probably something deeper behind this than I had guessed.

"Okay, see you at the state-run restaurant after get off work!"

Li Guoxuan readily agreed.

Having worked for only half a year, he was promoted two levels in a row. He felt genuinely warm inside and finally began to understand the meaning of it: having someone back you up makes all the difference.

When it was time to leave work, the two walked together to the state-run restaurant.

Unfortunately, Cao Ying's birth chart seemed to be specifically designed to antagonize Li Guoxuan—she was ambushed by several thugs on the road.

The incident started when the leader of the group took a liking to Cao Ying at first sight and insisted on inviting her to dinner, hoping to get closer to her.

Of course, they may be bluffing, but they don't actually have the guts to actually snatch people.

But with Li Guoxuan present, he naturally protected Cao Ying.

When dealing with this kind of man, thugs always believe in one principle: fists speak louder than words.

After the fight, both sides were taken to the police station.

"I told you, you have to come back."

Fan Bin glanced at Li Guoxuan, a hint of amusement playing at the corner of his mouth.

"I told you, you have to come back."

Fan Bin stared at the bruised and swollen face in front of him, his eyes filled with barely suppressed disgust.

As mentioned earlier, he was known for his strong sense of justice and hatred of evil.

Even earlier, he insisted that Li Guoxuan had made advances toward Huang Xirou, and he had never believed him from the first glance.

Later, he heard that someone had secretly used their connections to force Huang Xirou to settle the matter privately—this made him feel extremely uneasy.

Even more strangely, the next day Huang Xirou actually went to Lin Guosheng's house to turn herself in, and accused him of being coerced.

Based on Fan Bin's years of experience in handling cases, Li Guoxuan may not have actually done anything wrong.

The problem was that when Lin Guosheng was brought in, he was covered in injuries and his nose was crooked (in reality, he had been badly beaten by his cousin Lin Guoze and his cousin's wife). He knelt on the ground and kept crying out that he was innocent, which aroused Fan Bin's suspicion.

In addition, the case was classified unusually quickly—the charges were finalized within a single day, a done deal.

It's obvious that someone is pushing things along from the shadows.

The more he thought about it, the more conflicted he became: this was probably Li Guoxuan's revenge, or he was looking for someone to take the blame.

For a moment, it felt like a block of ice was pressing on my chest: Does having connections mean you can walk the rules without any consequences?

From then on, he became increasingly disgusted with Li Guoxuan, convinced that the man's hands were far from clean.

And here comes another fight.

This time, Fan Bin had no intention of listening to Li Guoxuan's explanation. Whatever the reason, once a fight was started, it was a violation of the rules. Cao Ying repeatedly emphasized that Li Guoxuan acted to protect her, but he didn't even raise an eyebrow, immediately labeling it as mutual fighting and disturbing public order, deserving two days of administrative detention.

He wanted to suppress the kid's temper.

Make him understand that even if he has powerful backers, he can't bypass the legal hurdle.

He himself was unaware that the scales in his heart had long been tilted—not to the scales of justice, but to the scales of personal resentment.

"They were groping my colleague, and I broke the law by stopping them? How come I'm the suspect now?"

When Li Guoxuan heard that he would be locked up for two days, he immediately exploded, his voice tense.

"If you want to stop someone, why don't you call 110?" Fan Bin's face was as dark as iron.

"By the time the police arrived, the person would have already been dragged away."

"You don't trust us?"

"I……"

He was stuck. At eighteen, with calluses still on his lips, how could he possibly argue with Fan Bin, who was over thirty and argued with people every day?

"It's good to be locked up for a couple of days." Fan Bin suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "If you let the injury on your face heal, people won't misunderstand you when you go back to work—they won't think you're a troublesome troublemaker who doesn't respect rules."

Upon hearing this, Li Guoxuan was stunned.

What is that?

Even Xiao Yang, who was taking notes next to him, paused for a moment, then secretly glanced at Fan Bin.

This isn't investigating a case; it's clearly trying to frame someone.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

As soon as Li Guoxuan was led out of the interrogation room, Cao Ying immediately came up to him, her voice strained.

Fan Bin didn't respond. His chest felt a little weak—for the first time, he realized he had taken the wrong step.

It's obvious that Li Guoxuan got involved in this because he was protecting her; his motives are crystal clear.

But then she thought: Maybe this guy is interested in her and is just showing off, which is why he made such a big deal out of it.

He has always considered himself "iron-fisted" and would never admit that he was targeting anyone, only assuming that the other party had impure motives and should be severely punished.

"It's been ruled a case of mutual fighting, so they'll be detained for two days to 'educate' us," Li Guoxuan said with a wry smile.

What? !

Protecting me is illegal?

Cao Ying's mind went blank, and her lips turned white.

This ruling is so outrageous it's baffling.