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

In a courtyard near Jiuxianqiao in Beijing, faint sobbing could be heard.

Several people were gathered around a portrait in the room. The portrait was placed on an altar, and a coffin was placed in front of it. This was the Wang family's house on the farm, and also the neighbor of Li Jing'an's uncle.

Several men and women wept around the coffin, with mats laid out on either side of the ground, where they knelt and sat. Among them was a young man with bandages wrapped around his neck, his expression blank, his eyes fixed on his father's coffin.

Seeing her son's state, the woman opposite her disregarded her recently deceased husband and turned to sit down beside him. She embraced the young man and whispered, "Son, don't keep things bottled up. But things have already come to this. We're just a small family; let's not hold grudges. Your father wouldn't want to see you like this in the afterlife; he wouldn't be at peace."

"I'm not reconciled," the young man managed to squeeze out.

"Sigh, you can't fight city hall..."

"You already know the situation. The police made it very clear that the forensic results showed it was caused by your father's own illness, and had nothing to do with the Li family."

"Can the Public Security Bureau explain this clearly? I don't believe it! I'm going to file a complaint. If the local police station doesn't work, I'll go to the municipal bureau; if the municipal bureau doesn't work, I'll go to Tiananmen Square, to the central government! I refuse to believe there's no place to seek justice!" the young man said angrily.

The woman looked at her son with a worried expression: "Don't talk nonsense, child. Do you think we can even tell which way the central government's door opens? Let alone the central government, we don't even know which way the district government's door opens. Your father used to be good at making friends and drinking, but after this incident, as soon as he heard about the situation, they all hid far away. No one can help us."

"Child, let it go. You're our only son, with two older sisters. If anything were to happen to you, how would your mother live?" The woman said, tears streaming down her face.

The young man, however, remained staring intently at his father's coffin, without uttering a word.

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached. Everyone in the room turned to look at the door—they didn't know who had come. The mourning tent had been set up all day, but apart from a few neighbors who had secretly come to pay their respects, none of the farm colleagues had come; they had all kept their distance, afraid of getting involved in any trouble.

"Is anyone home at Old Wang's?" a male voice called out, followed by a figure entering the house. "Oh, everyone's here."

"Chairman Yan!" several people shouted in unison.

The visitor was Chairman Yan, the head of the farm's labor union, followed by two assistants. Chairman Yan glanced around the room, frowned, and fanned his nose—the smell of incense smoke hadn't dissipated yet.

The Wang family's eyes lit up—finally, farm leaders had come; it seemed their family hadn't reached the point of utter destitution.

Before they could speak, Chairman Yan coughed twice, frowned, and said, "What's going on with you? Isn't Old Wang a farm worker? Funerals should be handled by the union, how come you've set up a mourning hall at home?"

These words left the men speechless. After all, they had brought the body back two days ago, and no one from the factory had come forward, so they had to set up the mourning hall themselves. Now that their leader had suddenly said this, they were at a loss for words and could only look at him in silence.

"Get him to the funeral home right now! Don't you know this is against the rules? The government has repeatedly issued orders prohibiting the construction of mourning halls and the engaging in feudal superstitious activities. This old-fashioned funeral practice has long been abolished. How dare you defy the rules? Let me tell you, if it weren't for Old Wang's hard work on the farm for most of his life, and the factory leaders' sympathy for you, they would have punished you long ago! Contact the funeral home immediately and get him taken away!"

"Why? The truth about my father's death hasn't come out yet! The murderer is still at large, and my father isn't going anywhere; he's staying at our house!" The young man from the Wang family suddenly stood up, glaring angrily at the union chairman.

"Kid, don't push your luck! One thing is one thing, two things are two things. The police will handle your father's matter. Only the police can investigate and judge. It has nothing to do with the farm, and even less to do with me. But you left your father at home and set up a mourning hall, that has something to do with me! Kid, don't be so stubborn. Your father, Old Wang, just passed away. I didn't want to lower myself to your level, otherwise I would have made you regret it long ago." Chairman Yan looked at the young man who stood up, his face full of anger, and smiled disdainfully—his arm had been broken, yet he was still acting tough. He was like an egg hitting a rock, not even knowing his own limitations.

Chairman Yan secretly pondered, "I'll be passing by the Li family's house later. If I could just run into someone from the Li family, I could chat for a bit, mention the business I'm here for, and try to build a closer relationship. Who would have thought the Li family has a relative who's a high-ranking official in a central ministry? No wonder that kid from the Li family beat one of the Wang family members to death and broke another's hand, and got away scot-free, only detained for a day before being released. Tsk tsk tsk, he's really good at hiding things, Old Li."

He then thought of the factory's leaders: "These past two days, I've heard that Li Jingtang, the eldest son of the Li family, also had his face scratched by the Wang family. Those people are all flocking to visit him, practically wearing down the doorstep. It's so unoriginal; who will remember you when everyone goes there? I'm the smart one; I started with the Wang family to get revenge for the Li family, hehe."

Chairman Yan's words infuriated the Wang family, and they all stared intently at him. The young man from the Wang family clenched his intact hand into a fist.

Chairman Yan didn't take it seriously at all. He scoffed, turned around, and left, not forgetting to throw out the words, "Tomorrow! If you haven't been taken to the funeral home by tomorrow, then you can expect the factory to punish you!"

After Chairman Yan left, although it was daytime, the light in the room seemed to dim even more, and everyone's mood grew heavier.

Just then, another voice rang out: "Sister, I'm here."

Another middle-aged man came into the yard. He parked his bicycle and went straight into the house.

The middle-aged woman, who was weeping alone inside the house, heard the sound and quickly stood up to greet the person.

"How is it? Have you asked?" As she spoke, the people in the room all looked up at the newcomer.

The visitor's face darkened. He sighed and said, "Sister, it won't work. I went to look for him, and my cousin wrote back to me today saying he was warned not to interfere in your family's affairs."

"Ah? How could this be?" The middle-aged woman's face turned pale, and everyone in the room looked disappointed.

"Sister, the other side has a lot of influence. Although our cousin is only a minor section chief in the district government, he was warned as soon as he made some inquiries. The people behind your neighbor Li family... they were warned yesterday after just making some inquiries. Their influence is too great; we can't afford to offend them. Let's just forget about it."

The middle-aged woman looked distressed. She glanced at her son, who was still kneeling in the room, and for a moment, she didn't know how to answer.

"Excuse me, is this the Wang family's residence?" another female voice asked.