I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

In early 1966, a storm was brewing, and the winds were growing stronger. A momentous era was quietly beginning, about to sweep across the land.

The whole country was convinced that a major and tough war was about to break out, and the entire nation entered a state of high pressure to prepare for war, famine, and food shortages.

Everywhere, bright red slogans and banners were painted, creating a tense and somber atmosphere. Pedestrians hurried along, rushing to and fro, their expressions cautious and serious, not daring to utter a single word.

The entire city was under an extremely tight-knit atmosphere of secrecy. Everyone was on edge, extremely careful in their words and actions, and dared not speak or gossip casually. They kept their mouths shut in all matters. There were no idle people chatting and laughing on the streets. Every household restrained their words and deeds. Everywhere there was a sense of oppression, solemnity, and a palpable tension. The whole city was tense and respectful. Everyone was cautious in their speech and actions and dared not overstep the bounds in the slightest.

Inside the procuratorate's dormitory building.

A group of men and women escorted Xie Hui and Li Xin into the room, where two large red "double happiness" characters were pasted up. The group then surrounded the couple and played lively games typical of wedding night pranks, such as biting apples.

After a while of commotion, Xie Hui finally had some free time. When he looked up, he saw Li Jing'an standing outside the door with Wei Jialing, smiling at him. He immediately felt a little embarrassed.

"Oh, Brother Li, what brings you here?"

Li Jing'an laughed and replied, "Haha, Brother Xie's wedding, how could I not come? You don't have many relatives or friends in the capital, just my dad and my family. If we didn't come, it would be too inappropriate, and my dad would be angry, right?"

Wei Jialing, who was standing to the side, also walked forward with a smile and congratulated the two of them.

"Come in, come in and sit down!" Xie Hui hurriedly greeted them warmly.

Seeing that the room was crowded with people and there was no spare space, Li Jing'an waved his hand and refused.

"Alright, stop bothering us. I'm telling you, why didn't you prepare properly beforehand for your wedding? Why did you have to hold it in your prosecutor's office dormitory? Didn't the prosecutor's office allocate you a bigger, more spacious apartment?" Li Jing'an said, frowning slightly.

"Hey, I've only been working here for a short time, how could I possibly be entitled to a big house? It's already very kind of you to have specially set aside this separate dormitory room for me. Besides, we just got married and don't have any children yet, so we can talk about it later. This room isn't small either; I can partition it myself into a bedroom and a living room. The kitchen is right outside in the hallway, and it has everything I need, enough for us to live in." Xie Hui said contentedly and frankly.

"Hey, you're so easygoing about everything. Aren't you making things difficult for Comrade Li Xin? By the way, why didn't Comrade Li Xin's family members come to the wedding?" Li Jing'an asked.

"Li Xin and I had already discussed it and decided to keep the wedding simple. We would just invite some close colleagues to have a lively celebration. My parents live far away and can't come, and Li Xin's family is aware of and agrees to this, so we didn't ask for anything else."

At this moment, Li Xin noticed the commotion at the door and quickly stepped forward to greet Li Jing'an and his wife. Li Xin was completely unaware that her parents' original house had been swapped with Li Jing'an's parents. With a gentle smile, she politely said, "Ah, Brother Li, Sister Wei, why don't you come in and sit down?"

"Ha, no, no, it's too crowded inside. We'll just stand outside for a while."

Li Jing'an looked at her and slowly said, "Comrade Li Xin, I'm sorry to have wronged you. Xie Hui is just stubborn and inflexible; he's neglected you and caused you distress."

"Look at what Brother Li is saying, how can this be considered neglect?" Li Xin said with a smile, turning her head to look tenderly at Xie Hui beside her, her eyes full of love. "I am already very content. I am especially grateful to Xie Hui. He has never looked down on me in the slightest because of my family background, and he is wholeheartedly determined to marry me. I am already satisfied to be able to marry him."

"Oh, right, Jialing, take the things to Comrade Li Xin." Li Jing'an suddenly remembered something and turned to Wei Jialing beside him to instruct her.

Upon hearing this, Wei Jialing quickly picked up the prepared gifts from beside her feet.

Li Jing'an said with a smile, "Xie Hui, we didn't bring you anything valuable. I figured you've already received plenty of things like washbasins and thermos flasks, so we didn't bring anything extra. We just brought two boxes of pastries, a packet of tea, and a carton of cigarettes—a small gift. Please don't find it offensive."

As she spoke, Wei Jialing prepared to hand over the items. Xie Hui and Li Xin, seeing this, quickly waved their hands and declined, saying, "Oh, this is too valuable, too much. Please don't do this, just accepting a box of pastries is enough for us."

"How can that be?" Li Jing'an said firmly. "Look at all these colleagues here. You didn't have a big banquet at your wedding. Can't we let everyone have some snacks and have some fun? Here, take it quickly."

Seeing that Li Jing'an was adamant, Xie Hui could no longer refuse and had no choice but to signal Li Xin to take the things.

Li Jing'an exchanged a few more pleasantries with Xie Hui, and then led Wei Jialing out of the procuratorate's staff dormitory.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out of the building, they ran into Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang from the Procuratorate, with Section Chief Han following behind him.

"Hey, Chief Prosecutor Huang, what a coincidence! What are you doing here?" Li Jing'an greeted him with a smile.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang replied with a smile, "Director Li, isn't this a coincidence? I just went to Comrade Xie Hui's house to offer my congratulations, and I was just about to head back when I ran into two colleagues here. We chatted for a bit, and then I unexpectedly bumped into you. What a coincidence!"

In fact, the two had arrived early in the morning. After delivering their gifts, they left the house after exchanging only a few words with Xie Hui. They didn't go far, deliberately waiting outside the building. They were certain that Li Jing'an would come today, and they had deliberately waited here to create a chance encounter. Now, their wish had finally come true.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang then chuckled and said, "Look at the timing, it's perfect, almost lunchtime. How about this, there's a nice restaurant right next door, let's have lunch together. Last time, Director Li treated us, now that we're on our turf, it's only right that we do something in return."

Section Chief Han, who was standing nearby, quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's only right. We should do our part as hosts."

Li Jing'an made a few polite excuses and declined several times before finally taking Wei Jialing with him to the banquet.