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

Meanwhile, in the police chief's office.

Yang Zhengde put his short legs down, opened a drawer, and pulled out a thick, heavy address book.

This booklet was filled with the numbers of all sorts of people in the capital, even the shoemaker's apprentice at the alley entrance had three rows of entries.

He flipped through a few pages and dialed the Xu family's number.

"I am Yang Zhengde, the director of the Jing Bureau. Please have Xu Jiancheng answer the phone."

Ten minutes or so passed before a lazy humming came from the other end of the receiver, as if the person had just been pulled out of bed.

Who is it?

Tsk!

They all gave their identities. Did they genuinely not hear clearly, or were they pretending to be stupid?

The servant next to him quickly leaned closer and whispered, "Fifth Master, it's Director Yang from the Jing Bureau."

Xu Jiancheng glanced at the man sideways, and the man immediately shrank back and lowered his head, not daring to utter another sound.

"I am Yang Zhengde, the director of the Jingju Bureau!"

"Oh—Director Yang? What's the matter? Speak quickly, I haven't even touched my breakfast yet."

He responded in a drawn-out, nonchalant tone.

Ah!

What a grand display!

They can't even be bothered to lift their eyelids, as if they're made of clay?

"Someone has filed a formal complaint alleging that you forcibly detained your cousin Xu Meijing yesterday afternoon and embezzled her assets. You are hereby ordered to release her and return the assets immediately, or else—I will personally take you there."

Xu Jiancheng was taken aback at first, then his face darkened, and his voice suddenly rose: "Who reported me? Which blind fool dares to stab me?"

His face was indeed filled with anger, but the anger wasn't directed at the fact that things had been exposed; rather, it was at the fact that someone dared to provoke him.

In this day and age, it is common for relatives to fight over property and houses. Who is it to interfere?

"Who cares who filed the lawsuit—are you going to release him or not?"

"Don't give me that! This is a matter within the Xu family; it's none of your business, a mere minor official!"

His words were barbed, each sentence bursting forth with barbs, and he was utterly unrestrained in his arrogance.

No wonder—the Xu family is deeply entrenched, and in their eyes, a mere bureau chief is nothing more than a petty official in charge of the streets.

"Don't forget, Xu Meijing is already engaged. The marriage certificate is in black and white, protected by law. You have to let her go, whether you like it or not, otherwise..."

"Beep—beep—beep—"

Before the words were even finished, the phone was abruptly hung up.

"Damn it! A mere bureau chief dares to act so arrogantly towards the Xu family? He's got a death wish!"

Xu Jiancheng didn't take the warning seriously at all.

In his view, Yang Zhengde was all talk and no action; if it came to actually taking action, he probably wouldn't even dare to step through the door.

Meanwhile, Yang Zhengde slowly put down the receiver.

With a slight smirk, he said calmly, "Then we'll have to resort to force."

"After this trip, I'm afraid I'll have to get a new look."

The Xu family is no pushover. If he's angered, he might lose his position as bureau chief on the spot.

In the blink of an eye.

"Yang Zhengde" led more than 20 patrol officers and stormed into the Xu residence.

"Young Master! Something terrible has happened! Dozens of police officers have arrived outside. They demand you come out to meet someone, or they'll break down the door and arrest you!"

A servant stumbled into the courtyard, his voice cracking.

"What?!"

"That bureau chief surnamed Yang, he really dares to come knocking on our door?!"

Xu Jiancheng was stunned—where did a mere official get the audacity?

If Yang Zhengde heard this, he would probably laugh and reply: It was given to me by Liang Jingru!

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"Fuck his ancestors for eighteen generations!"

"This is outrageous!"

He felt as if his face had been trampled into the mud, and he stomped his feet in anger. He grabbed his cane and ran toward the gate, followed by seven or eight burly guards.

Sure enough, as soon as I stepped out of the gate, I saw more than twenty patrol officers lined up neatly outside.

Standing at the front was a short, stocky middle-aged man in a well-fitting uniform, exuding an imposing aura—no doubt, it was Director Yang.

"You're Yang Zhengde?"

Xu Jiancheng stood on the steps, looking down at them with his chin raised and his face full of mockery.

"Yes, that's me."

"You are Xu Jiancheng, the one who forcibly abducted relatives and seized clan property."

"Fuck your ancestors!!!"

"Who kidnapped that girl? She's my cousin!"

Xu Jiancheng was so angry that his fingers trembled as he pointed at "Yang Zhengde" and cursed him.

"Oh? You stole from my cousin... You even plundered your own cousin's entire fortune, you're worse than an animal!"

Yang Zhengde retorted with a cold laugh.

"Which eye of yours saw me tie someone up?!"

Xu Jiancheng felt like his lungs were about to explode. If it weren't for the fact that the other side had a large number of people, he would have been dragged away and given a severe beating.

"Hehe, Brother Jiancheng, my men saw it with their own eyes—yesterday afternoon, you ordered your men to drag my cousin Meijing into the courtyard and lock her in the west wing, forbidding her to take a single step out."

Xu Jianwei, who was watching the show from the sidelines without minding how high the stage was, slowly opened his mouth, his tone full of interest.

A group of police officers suddenly appeared in front of their house, and relatives from all the houses gathered at the door to look around.

Naturally, most of those who came were idle young men—those with proper jobs had long since gone to the yamen to report for duty or run errands.

"Xu Jianwei! Is this the mess you made?"

Xu Jiancheng's face darkened, his finger poked the other person, and his voice trembled.

"Ask me? You might as well ask Director Yang directly."

Xu Jianwei raised the corners of his mouth, his tone light and casual, as if he were dusting off some dirt.

Seeing the two Xu family sons at each other's throats, Yang Zhengde assumed it was just a normal internal strife, completely unaware that the other was secretly adding fuel to the fire for him.

"Xu Jiancheng, the witnesses are all here, why aren't you handing over the person? If you delay any longer, I'll handcuff you and take you back to the station!"

He pressed forward, his voice resolute.

But Xu Jiancheng wasn't buying it.

"Fuck your ancestors! A nobody bureau chief dares to mess with me?"

He sneered, raised his chin, and said, "Believe me or not, one word from me and you're out of here tomorrow."

"I don't believe you." Yang Zhengde grinned, but his eyes were chillingly cold. "You're nothing but a spoiled brat who wastes his life, you're nothing but a nobody—call your father, and I might believe you a little."

"Hahaha--!"

Laughter erupted all around, especially from Xu Jianwei, who laughed the loudest, his shoulders shaking.

"You...you...you..."

Xu Jiancheng was so angry that his fingertips went numb, his face turned a deep purplish-red, his teeth clenched so tightly that he could barely speak.

This was tantamount to slapping him in the face in public.

Yang Zhengde said this on purpose, wanting him to see clearly that he wasn't just there for show, and that he was truly willing to go all out. Otherwise, the endless wrangling would leave no one unscathed.

"Yang Zhengde, listen carefully—this is a family matter for the Xu family, and it's none of the business of outsiders!"

Xu Jiancheng finally came to his senses and immediately changed his story, casually dismissing the matter of abducting his cousin and seizing the family property as a private matter within the clan.

The argument that they come from the same school is indeed valid.

As the old saying goes: Imperial power does not extend to the county level, but below the county level, only the clan holds power. From the previous dynasty onwards, large clans have had the power to make judgments on their members, and the clan head's word is equivalent to a seventh-rank official's judgment.

Unless someone breaks the law outside the clan, the decision on punishment within the clan has always been made by the ancestral hall.

"Xu Jiancheng, do you still think this is the Qing Dynasty?"

Yang Zhengde suddenly raised his voice, each word slamming down, "This is the Republic of China! The new laws explicitly prohibit the establishment of private courts and the arbitrary detention of clansmen—are you deaf?"

"Enough nonsense! Xu Meijing is a member of the Xu family, and she must obey the clan elders—you outsiders have no right to interfere!"

He hardened his heart and started to act shamelessly, refusing to give in.

"Xu Jiancheng, are you trying to rebel?"

Yang Zhengde shouted sternly, then waved his hand, "Go! Search the courtyard!"

"Who dares to take a single step?!"

Xu Jiancheng roared like thunder.

In an instant, seven or eight guards simultaneously drew their pistols from their waists, the dark muzzles pointing directly at the patrol officers' chests.

Most of the patrol officers instinctively raised their hands and stepped back, frozen in place.

Only a few veterans from the guard unit drew their guns and pointed them back, the muzzles remaining perfectly still.

"This is outrageous! Xu Jiancheng, you've openly resisted the police and shown contempt for the law—I'm reporting this to the mayor right now, accusing your Xu family of being an enemy of the law!"

Yang Zhengde was immediately accused of a serious crime.

"Xu Jiancheng, do you want to bring down the entire Xu family?"

Xu Jianwei suddenly strode forward and began to berate him angrily.

"Xu Jianwei, it's one thing if you don't help me, but you're actually helping outsiders to put me down? What are you up to?"

Xu Jiancheng stared at him intently, his eyes bloodshot.

"Help? Help you jump into a fire pit?"

Xu Jianwei spat, his voice booming so loud it made everyone's eardrums ring, "Of all people to kidnap, why did you have to kidnap Meijing's cousin? You've caused this mess, aren't you ashamed enough already?"

"If word gets out about this, will the Xu family still be able to hold our heads high in the capital?"

He turned and swept his gaze across the assembled tribespeople: "Don't you agree?"

"Exactly! If word gets out, how much face will our Xu family have left?"

"Which family wouldn't keep such a sordid affair a secret? Who would expose it to the public?"

"Hmph, you, Xu Jiancheng, may be shameless, but the Xu family certainly isn't!"

Of course, some people gloated, while others echoed their sentiments.

"This is a matter for the Xu family; why should we hand it over to others?"

"Yes! If we hand them over, how will our Xu family maintain its rules in the future?"

"A mere bureau chief like you dares to act so arrogantly in front of the Xu family's doorstep? Believe me or not, I'll have your head chopped off tomorrow!"

……

"Listen, brothers—they won't fire!"

Yang Zhengde turned and shouted, his voice like tearing silk, "If you dare to beat up government officials, that's tantamount to rebellion! The army will be marching into the alley this afternoon, and none of them will escape! Follow me and charge in!"

Before the words were even finished, the patrol officers simultaneously lowered their hands, straightened their backs, and replied in unison, "Yes, sir!!!"

When Xu Jiancheng saw that "Yang Zhengde" was determined to force his way into the inner courtyard to rescue the person, a vein throbbed on his forehead, and his face turned as red as a blood-soaked pig's liver. At this moment, his heart tightened, his palms were covered in cold sweat, and his mind was buzzing.

The situation has slid to the edge of a precipice; taking another half step back would mean falling into an abyss.

If Yang Zhengde were to actually break in and take Xu Meijing away, his pathetic behavior of not even being able to keep an eye on his cousin would immediately spread throughout the clan—and he would never be able to hold real power, enter the ancestral hall, or sit on the council seat again.

But if he actually fired at the patrol officers, not only would the municipal authorities be furious, but even his own father would probably take off his badge on the spot and push him out to take the blame.

It's a dead end on both sides; there's nowhere to breathe.

If someone handed him a rope ladder, he would never hesitate for even half a second.

His mind was in complete turmoil: his fingertips trembled with panic, his throat was dry with anxiety, and his teeth itched with anger, but what burned the most was the intense hatred in his heart—hatred for the traitor who had betrayed him, hatred so intense that he wanted to crush his bones.

As the patrol officers drew closer, the row of guards, though still pointing their guns at them, found their feet involuntarily shifting backward, their heels leaving fine white marks on the blue bricks.

Nobody's a fool. To actually attack someone in uniform? That's like walking into the line of fire; you'd definitely end up in jail. This current show is just a bluff, a show put on for the boss.

Fortunately, just as Yang Zhengde and his men blocked the Xu family's gate, a sharp-eyed errand boy ran off to the nearest shop—heading straight to the fourth son, Xu Chengye, to deliver the message.

"stop!!!"

"What exactly happened?"

When Xu Chengye, the fourth son of the Xu family, stepped through the door, the hem of his trench coat still carried the chill of the outside air.