Chapter 467: The Yan Family Loses Face

Yan Jiefang stiffened his neck and shouted: "You, what nonsense are you spouting! Do you have proof?"

"Proof? Then do you dare to go to the Gulou Police Station with me right now to confront me?" Cheng Yu stared at him fixedly, her eyes full of hatred—during the days after she lost the money, she had been so desperate that she had secretly cried for several days.

"I, why should I go with you!" Yan Jiefang's mouth was very stubborn, but his momentum was clearly weakened by half.

Xu Damao was afraid of getting himself involved, so he hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "Oh, little girl, calm down, you must have misunderstood! Jiefang is a good student, could he do such a thing?"

"My mother's leather bag was cut open, and he, he was standing right behind my mother the whole time!" Cheng Yu said urgently.

"He is still just a child, how could he possibly cut your bag?" Xu Damao said with a cheeky grin.

The commotion here grew louder and louder, drawing many guests at the banquet to stretch their necks to look over, and the sound of discussion began to buzz.

He Yuzhu frowned and said to Ma Yan: "Yanzi, go invite Third Master over."

"Got it!" Ma Yan responded and turned to run.

Not long after, Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui hurried over.

Yan Bugui had drunk a bit too much, and his tongue was slightly slurred.

"Zhuzi, Zhuzi, what do you need me for?"

The Yan family had recently been badmouthing the He family behind their backs, and this time, He Yuzhu wanted them to taste the feeling of being slapped in the face in public.

"Third Master, this is my younger sister's classmate, named Cheng Yu. She says that Yan Jiefang cut her mother's leather bag on the bus a few days ago and stole money."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Yan Bugui's drunkenness faded by half, and he shook his head like a rattle-drum, "My Jiefang is absolutely not that kind of child!"

"Then does your son have an earthy-yellow satchel with several blue patches on it, and the words 'Serve the People' written on the strap with a fountain pen? And the 'li' character under the 'wu' character is written as a 'dao' character?" Cheng Yu said.

Yan Bugui's heart skipped a beat—this matter was likely true! He cursed inwardly: This little brat! Saying he was going to tutor a classmate, it turns out he was doing this kind of petty thievery! My Yan family is, after all, a scholarly family; I'm afraid I'll lose all face today!

Yet he still stubbornly insisted: "Little girl, you must have recognized the wrong person; my Jiefang doesn't have a bag like that."

"Third Master, you're lying!" He Yushui immediately jumped out, "Yan Jiefang does have such a bag! I've seen it with my own eyes!"

Yan Bugui was so angry his teeth itched; he really wanted to rush over and strangle He Yushui.

He Yuzhu glanced at Ma Yan and instructed: "Yanzi, don't delay, go call the Gulou Police Station and ask the public security comrades to come over. We can't let this little matter ruin my big day."

Just as Ma Yan was about to turn around, Yan Bugui hurriedly grabbed her: "Zhuzi! Zhuzi! Today is your big day, taking this to the police station would be so unsightly!"

"Third Master, are you drunk? What does this matter have to do with me?"

"I, I misspoke." Yan Bugui rubbed his hands and offered a fawning smile, "Zhuzi, I'm a little dizzy, let's discuss this properly. If this really happened, I will never spare this brat, if it really comes to it... if it really comes to it, we can ask the authorities to step in, how about that?"

Just as He Yuzhu was about to speak, Yang Ruihua pushed through the crowd in a flurry: "Lao Yan! What's wrong? I heard it has to do with Jiefang?"

He Yushui immediately said loudly: "Your Yan Jiefang is a thief! He stole the money Cheng Yu used to buy an accordion!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Ruihua immediately flew into a rage, pointing at He Yushui and cursing: "You little money-losing goods! You traitor, actually helping an outsider to slander my son!"

Before she finished speaking, Ma Yan beside her pushed her hard: "You old shrew! Keep your mouth clean! Your son eats out several times a week, taking turns at He Ji Restaurant and Kaorouji, did your family dig up a gold mine? He's just a student, where does he get so much money?"

Yang Ruihua staggered from the push and was about to throw a tantrum, but Yan Bugui's face turned pale in an instant.

He could no longer care about anything else, turned around, and gave Yan Jiefang a loud slap: "You bastard! You've made the Yan family lose all face!"

Yang Ruihua still wouldn't give up, pulling her son to ask: "Jiefang, tell Mom the truth, did you take other people's things or not?"

"I didn't! They are framing me!" Yan Jiefang covered his face, still stubborn.

Yan Bugui only felt his head buzzing, and unable to care about his reputation, he dragged He Yuzhu toward the less crowded stairwell, lowered his voice, and said urgently: "Zhuzi, Zhuzi, give your Third Master the bottom line, how... do you think this should end?"

He Yuzhu smiled: "Third Master, I've just married a wife and haven't become a father myself yet, so how would I know how to discipline a child. But in my opinion, if he really stole someone's money, it's best to settle it privately and compensate the person."

Yan Bugui looked troubled: "Zhuzi, I think this matter... is likely true. Third Master isn't well-off, do you think you could... lend me some money to handle this emergency?"

He Yuzhu's smile remained unchanged, and he sighed: "Doesn't Third Aunt tell everyone she meets that my whole family is living off me? For someone living off others, getting money isn't easy!"

Yan Bugui was an old fox and immediately caught the subtext.

He gritted his teeth and whispered: "That little girl... is your sister's friend, could you help Third Master plead for mercy? This money... I'll pay it back in installments, is that okay?"

"Empty words are no proof." He Yuzhu said slowly, "If you write an IOU, I'll help you mediate."

Yan Bugui's expression changed several times, and finally, he took out his fountain pen and tremblingly wrote an IOU in the stairwell, signing his name.

"Zhuzi, Jiefang is still a child, he was confused for a moment... can we not spread this matter around, okay?"

"I have a tight lip, don't worry. But there are quite a few people who saw it today; if others talk about it, you can't blame me." He Yuzhu said, immediately putting away the IOU.

"Understood! Understood!" Yan Bugui hung his head and slunk back to the banquet hall, immediately taking his family and leaving.

He Yuzhu went back and told Cheng Yu that Yan Bugui was willing to pay and had written an IOU; the little girl was quite straightforward and nodded in agreement.

The wedding banquet proceeded as usual.

He Yuzhu made a round and, seeing that the dishes on every table had been wiped clean, had the kitchen add a few more hearty dishes.

On the wedding night, He Yuzhu collapsed on the kang and let out a long breath: "I'm so tired, the wedding night, I really have no strength left. Xueru, come and knead my legs for me."

Chen Xueru, however, was like a nimble leopard, pouncing on him with a fragrant breeze...

The next day, the He family received many gifts, and tucked inside were several letters, all of which were scolding him for being ungenerous for not inviting them to the wedding banquet.

The one who scolded the most fiercely was Liu Xiaohua.

He Yuzhu flipped through them casually and couldn't help but laugh.

Three days later, at Tian Dan's residence.

He Yuzhu took the teacup and explained: "Dan, I didn't register the marriage just because I was afraid you would be implicated, please don't mind. After I leave this time, I'll be gone for two years and might not be able to help you with anything, you must be very careful yourself."

Tian Dan nodded, her tone carrying a hint of reproach: "Zhuzi, such a big thing as getting married, and you didn't even notify me, that's too ungenerous!"

He Yuzhu smiled bitterly: "I know, many of you aren't happy that I married Xueru. But I promised her, I can't go back on my word. Besides, she is... really quite good."

Tian Dan was silent for a moment, then said: "You shouldn't blame Wang Xia either, she called me; someone specifically asked her to block you so you couldn't register the marriage."

"I understand." He Yuzhu waved his hand, "I'm not the type of person to be an official. I'm fine with charging forward and leading the charge, but sitting in a tent waving a fan and scheming against people? I can't do it, and I'm too lazy to do it."

When they parted, Tian Dan suddenly hugged him and said softly: "Thank you for these years."

He Yuzhu grinned: "Dan, you're too polite, take care."