Courtyard House: My System - Artificial Human

"I understand... but do outsiders understand? Do you know how things are spread these days?"

Gao Cuilan wiped away her tears, her heart filled with hatred for Jia Zhangshi.

"Everyone's saying you're having an affair with Jia Zhangshi, and I have to clean up your mess! I told you long ago that that old slut had ulterior motives, but you still insisted on taking her son as your apprentice. Now look what's happened! You two are together, so from now on, just have Jia Dongxu be your son!"

"You! You're absolutely unreasonable!" Yi Zhonghai's fingers trembled with anger, unable to understand why Gao Cuilan was so resistant to this matter.

"Who else could I turn to if not Jia Dongxu? You think I could find another one in this whole courtyard who's lost their father? Don't you know why I took Jia Dongxu in? If we even had one child together, would I have bothered with this?"

Gao Cuilan almost blurted out that there was also a Lin Weidong, but she knew the relationship between Lin Weidong and her family, so she didn't dare to provoke Yi Zhonghai.

Hearing Yi Zhonghai openly and subtly criticize her for not being able to have children, she became even more depressed.

In the front yard, the Yan family could finally hold their heads high.

Yan Bugui was happily savoring a strip of radish, while Yang Ruihua excitedly reported to him about the next dish to be served next.

"That old hag Jia Zhangshi didn't dare go out this afternoon. Every time she came out, we cursed at her. If it weren't for Aunt Wu next door stopping her, I would have hung a tattered shoe on her head!"

Yan Bugui frowned after listening and pointed out the flaws.

"Where do we have any old shoes for her to hang up? They're still wearable, so don't just throw them away. Even if they're unwearable, you can still sell them for a few cents!"

"Tsk! I was just saying it casually!" Yang Ruihua clicked his tongue unhappily. This old Yan really knows how to ruin the atmosphere!

"Try harder tomorrow, spread the word in the next yard too, and completely ruin their reputation!"

"Okay, okay!" Yang Ruihua lost interest and gave a perfunctory reply, then turned to feeding her youngest son.

……

The Jia family of the Intermediate People's Court.

Madam Jia was not prepared to take this lying down; she now had powerful backers!

Yi Zhonghai is afraid of losing face and remains silent, but she is not!

Jia Zhangshi sat at the doorway, eating a steamed bun as she waited for someone. When she saw Jin Lu return, she immediately rushed out to complain.

"Oh, Officer Jin! You have to help me! I can't live like this anymore! Everyone in this compound is spreading rumors about me! Old Jia died early, so they're taking advantage of me, a widow, to bully me. They're saying I had an affair with Yi Zhonghai!... I can't live like this!"

With tears streaming down her face, Madam Jia stopped Jin Lu and started shouting, which attracted a crowd to come out and watch the show.

Upon seeing this, Jia Zhangshi cried even louder!

She, a widow, was not afraid of a bad reputation; at worst, she would be rumored to have had an affair.

But hasn't it already spread?

Having undergone further studies, Jia Zhangshi knew that this was actually a powerful weapon for her!

In the east wing, Yi Zhonghai was so angry at the wailing and howling outside that he went crazy.

Is this Jia Zhangshi an idiot? How can she bring something like this into the open?

Why not just wait for the excitement to die down and things will calm down? Making a scene now will only make you lose face.

However, before he could finish his rant, Jin Lu had already brought Jia Zhangshi to his door to verify the information.

"Master Yi, what happened? Tell me."

I'm not going to say anything! Do you want me to make a fool of myself?

Yi Zhonghai glanced at Jin Lu, who was standing at the door with the curtain drawn but not coming in, and cursed wildly in his heart.

Why are they all so wicked?

However, Jin Lu, dressed in uniform, represented order at this moment, and Yi Zhonghai had no way to escape.

After thinking it over for a while, he went out and spoke to those around him.

"Officer Jin, gentlemen, I'm innocent! Everyone knows Dongxu is in reformatory, and Jia Zhangshi is alone. Yesterday, she came to me saying she was out of food and couldn't afford to eat, asking to borrow some to tide her over! I thought we were all neighbors, and everyone has their difficulties, so I lent her some. Tell me, how did my good intentions turn into this? Besides, we were only together for two minutes, just handing over a bag of grain... When did our neighborhood become so fond of gossiping? This isn't a good trend, Officer Jin, what do you think?"

"Alright, I understand now. Master Yi meant well, and this is commendable. It's just that the people in the courtyard have misunderstood you. Everyone, please listen to me. Don't spread rumors anymore. Just as Master Yi said, this isn't a good trend; to put it bluntly, it's unethical!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai was quite surprised. Was Jin Lu really here to speak up for him today?

He secretly wondered if he was judging people differently.

Jin Lu is straightforward and honest; he is indeed a good cadre.

As he was feeling sentimental, he heard Jin Lu say something else.

"Furthermore, I want to remind everyone that although this behavior doesn't constitute a crime, if the person involved catches you and comes to your door, you'll have nowhere to seek justice! Also, I think everyone has some deep misunderstandings about Master Yi. You can see from today's incident that Master Yi is still kind-hearted and has improved a lot! Everyone should learn from Master Yi! Don't spread rumors or slander others; that's immoral and unethical!"

"Yes, yes!" Yi Zhonghai nodded vigorously, maintaining his facade despite feeling guilty.

Having laid the groundwork, Jin Lu gave Yi Zhonghai a friendly smile and prepared to leave.

Jia Zhangshi was naturally unwilling. She called on Jin Lu to make decisions for herself, so how did it turn into a praise meeting for Yi Zhonghai?

"Officer Jin, aren't those who spread rumors going to be held accountable? They've been gossiping all day! They've made such detailed claims, their malicious intentions are obvious! They need to be arrested and educated!"

With a wave of her plump hand, Jia Zhangshi enveloped all the women watching the commotion in the courtyard.

What's the point of arresting so many people? Not to mention that Jin Lu wasn't here to help her, even if he wanted to arrest someone, there's no supporting documentation for him.

Before Jin Lu could speak, the women in the courtyard began to defend themselves.

At this point, who would admit to having ill intentions?

They didn't know the inside story, and besides, the truth has come out, so what's there to argue about?

Yan Bugui was adept at assessing the situation and directly had his daughter-in-law, Yang Ruihua, apologize.

"Oh, Aunt Jia! It's my fault for saying the wrong thing because I didn't understand. Luckily, Officer Jin was there to uphold justice today. Don't worry, I promise I won't say anything reckless again!"

The other women followed suit, each offering a few perfunctory apologies.

No one took it seriously; after all, what consequences could there be from gossiping a bit?

If Jin Lu hadn't been standing there, I wouldn't have bothered to apologize.

They were all thinking to themselves, "Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. You, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi, should strive to be better yourselves. Why should we gossip about you two? Why are we talking about you two instead of others?"

The evil of human nature is on full display at this moment.

Lin Weidong, arriving late at the end of the crowd, felt a deep sense of responsibility for the long and arduous task of building the rule of law.

Gossip has existed since ancient times, and there's no legal basis to condemn it now.

Let alone now, even in a future era with a sound legal system, rumors will still circulate, and countless people will die from the unbearable consequences of gossip.

But how many of them ultimately pay the price?

But then again, you can't just pass it on to me!

You damn Yi Zhonghai and He Daqing, how dare you come to the silk shop to slander me? Aren't you tired of living?

Today's scene was a warning he sounded for everyone through Jin Lu, and also a prelude to the impending revenge from Yi Zhonghai and the other two.

The higher you stand, the harder you fall.

Yi Zhonghai is the victim today, able to stand on the moral high ground, but in a couple of days, once his identity as the perpetrator is exposed...

Hehe! Getting beaten up will be the least of your worries; you'll suffer for a while!