Chapter 228: Jia Zhangshi Gets Her Leg Broken

Jia Zhangshi ran out with a clatter, her small feet appearing clumsy and stumbling in the night, each step looking as if she were about to fall.

She had only one thought in her mind—to hurry to the Police Bureau and have the Patrol Police drive the He Family away. That way, she would dare to move in openly. "In this day and age, the bold are stuffed to death, while the timid starve to death!" she thought to herself, her pace quickening.

She was completely unaware that as soon as she exited the Siheyuan gate, a thin, small figure had already quietly followed behind her.

Just as Jia Zhangshi was about to walk out of the alley and step onto the main street, that figure suddenly exerted force to charge forward, slamming a palm onto the back of her neck.

Jia Zhangshi's vision went black, and she collapsed limply to the ground.

The thin, small figure did not stop, raising a foot to kick her lower leg fiercely—with a crisp "Crack!", the leg bone snapped in response.

About a stick of incense later, Liu Haizhong hummed a little tune as he swayed from the main street into the alley.

He had just finished drinking at his Apprentice's house and was walking back in high spirits.

Just as he reached the mouth of the alley, he was tripped and stumbled; looking down, he saw it was Jia Zhangshi from the same courtyard lying on the ground.

"This dead woman, why is she lying here?" he muttered, reaching out to probe her neck—it was still warm. Taking another look, that leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Liu Haizhong sighed, and though full of reluctance, he still hoisted her onto his back and walked back quickly.

Just as he entered the Siheyuan, Liu Haizhong shouted at the top of his lungs: "Jia Dongxu! Come out quickly! Your mother has had her leg broken by someone!"

This shout was like throwing a stone into still water, and the entire courtyard immediately became agitated.

Neighbors gathered around one after another, and Jia Dongxu and the First Elder Yi Zhonghai also ran over in a hurry.

"Informing and getting beaten, she really deserves it!" Wang Zhifu whispered bitterly.

Li Laoer from the Houyuan chimed in with a snide remark: "The Chen Family is truly ruthless, not even sparing a widow and her orphan."

Jia Dongxu took his mother from Liu Haizhong's back and said repeatedly: "Uncle Liu, thank you very much; I will definitely invite you to dinner another day."

"Hurry and invite a bone-setting doctor!" Liu Haizhong waved his hand and said.

Jia Zhangshi slowly woke up on the kang, and the sharp pain from her leg made her wail immediately: "Dongxu! Go report to the authorities quickly! Someone wants to kill your mother..."

Seeing Jia Dongxu at a loss, Yi Zhonghai reminded him: "Dongxu, go to Dian'anmen to invite a bone-setting doctor! If you are any later, they will have closed up shop." Only then did Jia Dongxu wake up as if from a dream, stumbling as he rushed out.

Jia Zhangshi grabbed Yi Zhonghai: "Lao Yi, you go report to the authorities! Arrest Chen Daya! It must be that whore who dealt the vicious hand!"

"Zhang Xiaohua!" Yi Zhonghai shouted sternly, "Do you still not know how to restrain yourself? Is the grudge with the Chen Family something you can afford to hold? Even the Dongcheng Police Station Bureau Chief was killed... could it be you want to follow in his footsteps?"

Jia Zhangshi was choked by these words, then began patting the edge of the kang and crying: "Lao Jia! Open your eyes and look! They are all bullying our widow and orphan..."

Qin Huairu, who had already settled into the He Family, heard the sound and came out, glanced toward the East Wing, and spat: "Shameless old woman!"

And the cause of all this can be traced back to five hours ago:

After the meal, He Yuzhu was taking a walk with Liu Rusi on Yinding Bridge when they happened to meet Chen Daya.

He leaned in and whispered: "This time, when settling the fellow villagers into the courtyard, you must send people to keep watch. I suspect someone will go to report to the authorities. Last time someone leaked the news, and we still haven't found out who it was. If we catch that person this time, I will definitely finish them off."

Chen Daya understood: "Understood."

For this reason, she specifically placed her Apprentice Ma Yan in a dark spot outside the courtyard to monitor the movements.

The current Ma Yan had undergone a transformation after a year of hard training. Though only nine years old, she was already proficient in Joint Combat, and even ordinary strong women were no match for her.

This time, she only needed to monitor the informant, but when she recognized it was Jia Zhangshi, who had repeatedly cursed her as a "money-losing commodity," old and new hatreds surged into her heart together. Those ear-piercing curses had long been deeply embedded in her heart like steel needles. Thus, she acted decisively, showing no mercy.

Yan Bugui and his wife came to visit, and seeing Jia Zhangshi's miserable state, they sat for a while before taking their leave.

Back home, Yang Ruihua still had lingering fears: "Lao Yan, the Chen Family is so ruthless, I'm afraid they really are in league with the Red Bandits. Let's not keep thinking about that house."

Yan Bugui nodded in agreement: "Even if they aren't with the Red Bandits, who can afford to run a restaurant without keeping a few tough hands? Jia Zhangshi kicked an iron plate this time."

Yi Zhonghai listened to Jia Zhangshi's incessant wailing, feeling agitated and distracted; he left his wife Li Cuilan to look after her and turned to go home.

He stood in the courtyard, listening to Jia Zhangshi's cursing, feeling some regret for taking Jia Dongxu as an Apprentice. Jia Dongxu was obedient enough, but his mother was too much of a troublemaker. He had heard at the factory that the death of Bureau Chief Lou was related to He Yuzhu being arrested. But He Yuzhu was just a child; even with more ability, he couldn't move a figure like Bureau Chief Lou—then there was only one possibility: Zhuzi's Siqiang knew big shots. Yet Jia Zhangshi still wanted to provoke them; it was truly overestimating her own strength.

"God-damned Chen Daya! When I get better, I will definitely make you eat a bullet!" Jia Zhangshi's cursing could be heard throughout the entire courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai shook his head, walked into the room, lay on the kang, and covered himself with the quilt.

On the other side, Qin Huairu listened to the wailing and only felt that this family was hopeless. However, these disturbances did not affect her good mood about moving into the He Family.

She stroked the uniquely styled sofa, rubbed the smooth surface of the chest of drawers, and stopped to examine herself in front of the large mirror wardrobe, her eyes full of wonder.

Life in the He Family was truly comfortable; even the chairs were so soft and cozy.

She paced back and forth upstairs and downstairs repeatedly, her heart burning, too excited to fall asleep.

Standing in the center of the He Family's bright main room, she made a resolution: she must take root in this city and live a life of her own.

In the Li Family of the Houyuan, Li Laoer gritted his teeth until they creaked.

Last time, he suspected that Chen Qingshan's relatives were Red Bandits and, wanting to get some reward money, told this to his brother-in-law Dajinya—a subordinate of Mazilian. But after the group searched, they found nothing.

Because of this, Mazilian even lost his life. Dajinya and Mazilian had a deep bond, a friendship forged from carrying guns and visiting brothels together. He was bent on revenge but could never find the He Family.

After Bureau Chief Lou died, the Dongcheng Police Station underwent great changes.

The new Bureau Chief was a character who only recognized money and not people, selling official posts for profit on a large scale.

Dajinya saw the opportunity, gritted his teeth, scraped together ten Small Yellow Fish to offer up, and actually managed to trade for the position of a Patrol Police squad leader.

When Li Laoer learned that his brother-in-law had become a squad leader, he walked with his head held high.

This time, when the Chen Family arranged for people to move in, he felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Li Laoer waited until the courtyard was completely quiet before quietly slipping out the door to report the news.

But no sooner had he left than two figures, one tall and one short, emerged from the shadows and quietly followed him.

Li Laoer trotted all the way and slipped into a small courtyard on Denei Street.

Chen Daya led Ma Yan to follow all the way to the courtyard gate and stopped.

She whispered instructions: "Yanzi, hurry to Shichahai to report to Zhuzi and tell him to come over immediately! I'm afraid something big is going to happen tonight."

Ma Yan replied: "Siqiang, you must be careful; just keep an eye on the person, don't make a move." After saying this, she turned and ran, her thin, small figure quickly disappearing into the night.

Chen Daya nimbly climbed into the courtyard and pressed against the window.

Faint voices of conversation came from inside the room.

Li Laoer was saying urgently: "People have moved into Chen Qingshan's house in our courtyard again; this time they are all half-grown kids of fifteen or sixteen."

Dajinya pondered for a moment: "This is not easy to handle. Those families last time were definitely Red Bandits, but we let them get away. We must find a way to pin a label on them, otherwise, even if we arrest them, we won't be able to convict them."

Li Laoer asked in confusion, "Isn't Chen Qingshan the Siqiang of He Yuzhu? Now that He Yuzhu has been arrested, shouldn't his Siqiang be implicated as well?"

"Do you think this is still the Great Qing Dynasty?" Dajinya scoffed, "Even in the Great Qing, executing the nine familial exterminations wouldn't extend to a Siqiang!"

Just then, the sound of roof tiles being crushed suddenly rang out from outside the house.

Dajinya drew his Box Cannon and rushed out the door, seeing a figure climbing onto the wall, and raised his hand to fire a shot.

Chen Daya only felt a pain in her shoulder and immediately tumbled outside the wall.