"Neighbors, come take a look! I've caught Ximen Qing!"
"Damn it! Shut your mouth, Jia Zhangshi! If you keep spouting slander, I'll slap you!"
Lin Zhen felt like he had stepped in shit the moment he walked out the door.
Could he possibly be any more unlucky?
Not to mention that he had no interest in Qin Huairu, that bloodsucker.
Even if he had some thoughts about her, he had never shown them, had he?
Jia Zhangshi was smearing his name right to his face. He had no intention of putting up with it.
Slap!
Before Jia Zhangshi could make a move, Lin Zhen stepped forward and slapped her.
Blood immediately trickled from the corner of Jia Zhangshi's mouth.
"Ah! Help! The adulterer is hitting me!"
Lin Zhen raised his hand to hit her again.
Qin Huairu hurriedly stood in front of her.
"Lin Zhen! Calm down!"
"Calm down? Fine! I should calm down. I'll go report this to the neighborhood office right now. Jia Zhangshi, don't throw your age around. I'll definitely report you for false accusations!"
The moment Jia Zhangshi shouted,
more than half the people in the courtyard came running out, along with people from other courtyards who came to watch the excitement.
Qin Huairu wanted to die right then and there.
Lin Zhen, on the other hand, did not care.
The more people there were, the better. He could clear things up while all the neighbors were present.
Otherwise, dispelling rumors would be an endless hassle.
"Hey! Neighbors, take a look! In this new era, with its new spirit, there is still an old feudal remnant of an evil mother-in-law bullying her daughter-in-law, slandering her neighbor, and causing trouble for the new society!"
Lou Xiao'e hurriedly asked, "Lin Zhen, what happened? You were out for less than five minutes. How did you end up fighting?"
Lin Zhen snorted. "Who else but this evil mother-in-law? She's spouting slander and trying to smear my name!"
Jia Zhangshi was stunned stiff, covering her mouth as her face turned pale.
Blood seeped through her fingers.
She had never dreamed that Lin Zhen would strike her outright.
She had always bullied people at will in the courtyard.
Forget anyone daring to hit her—there was not even anyone in the entire Siheyuan who dared argue with her face-to-face.
Yet, in her old age, she had been slapped by a young man.
Seeing this, First Aunt hurriedly tried to pull Jia Zhangshi back into the courtyard.
"Go home, old sister. Don't let the neighbors laugh at you."
Lin Zhen said calmly, "First Aunt, wait a moment. The neighbors need to know what happened. You can't just throw mud at people whenever you want!"
"Yeah! Master Lin, what happened exactly?"
"What's going on? You've always respected the old and cared for the young. We've never seen you lose your temper like this."
"Oh dear, could it be because they think you didn't donate enough money?"
Lin Zhen lightly waved his hand, signaling for the neighbors to quiet down.
"Quite a few of you are from other courtyards, but we all live on the same alley. Everyone has heard that Jia Dongxu suffered a serious workplace injury. Our whole courtyard has been worried and saddened for his family, but when helping them, we still have to watch out for this evil mother-in-law biting us."
"Why?"
"Why? Ask Silly Zhu, then ask Xu Damao, even Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiecheng. They all wanted to help but did not dare get too close. This evil mother-in-law cannot see how hard her daughter-in-law has it. She only suspects her of being unfaithful and suspects every other man of having bad intentions."
"Hey! Isn't that repaying kindness with hostility?"
"Exactly! Qin Huairu wanted to borrow a little money from me. Surely we had to exchange a few polite words first, right? Hey, this evil mother-in-law eavesdropped from behind the wall and came out cursing. Good heavens, I hadn't even agreed to lend her money yet, and she was already slandering me like this. If I actually lent it, I'd never be able to clear my name even by jumping into the Yellow River!"
Jia Zhangshi lowered her head angrily and said nothing.
After all, she had no grounds to stand on.
To catch a thief, one needed stolen goods; to catch adulterers, one needed both parties.
She had lashed out after hearing one ambiguous sentence from Qin Huairu. She truly had no proof.
And Lin Zhen had never once agreed to lend money.
Once they learned what had happened, the neighbors began discussing it.
"Wasn't she supposed to be at the hospital watching over the badly injured Jia Dongxu? Why did she come back?"
"Hah! Isn't that obvious? She must have come back to keep an eye on Qin Huairu."
"Sigh, Qin Huairu is pitiful too. She's heavily pregnant and running around for the family, yet she still gets abused by her mother-in-law."
"Isn't that the truth? Good thing we don't live in the same courtyard as her."
"Shut up! What does it have to do with you? My family's business is none of your concern. Get lost!"
Jia Zhangshi did not dare argue with Lin Zhen, but she dared shout at the neighbors.
Lin Zhen waved at He Yuzhu. "Silly Zhu, come tell us. Has Jia Zhangshi cursed you these past two days?"
Silly Zhu smiled. "Alright, alright, everyone calm down. You know what Grandma Jia's temper is like. That's enough. Don't get worked up over it."
"You really are a meddling idiot. Calling you a childless bachelor isn't unfair."
First Elder Yi Zhonghai hurriedly waved his hands.
"Everyone, go home. It's nothing serious, just a misunderstanding!"
"Wait. We can't just leave it at that. I wasn't shouted about in the street for nothing. Apologize to me, or we'll go to the neighborhood office and handle this officially!"
Jia Zhangshi was truly scared now.
Lin Zhen's slap had completely awakened her.
Not everyone could be bullied, and not everyone could be cursed to their face.
"I... I... My head hurts. You hit me. Me apologize? You hit an old woman. You should apologize to me instead!"
The Deaf Old Lady, who had been watching from the side, smiled.
"Hmph! Jia Zhangshi, you've lived for decades in vain. Lin Zhen is giving you a way out, but you refuse to take it. Just wait to go to prison!"
"I... I..."
"Apologize! You can call Silly Zhu an adulterer, but you can't call me one!"
Lin Zhen suddenly shouted, startling Jia Zhangshi into shuddering.
Silly Zhu lowered his head and walked away as soon as he heard that.
"How can everything get dragged back to me? I really must be bored, standing here and joining in the fun!"
Yi Zhonghai advised, "old sister, wrong is wrong. Saying sorry to a junior does not make you lose face."
Seeing Lin Zhen's forceful attitude, Jia Zhangshi gritted her teeth and apologized.
Only then did this farce come to an end.
Yi Zhonghai said, "Lin Zhen, don't lower yourself to Grandma Jia's level. She's been upset these past couple of days and got muddleheaded."
Lin Zhen smiled. "Ah, now that Grandma Jia has apologized, this misunderstanding has vanished into thin air. I'm not someone who holds grudges."
When it came to empty polite words, Lin Zhen was never stingy.
But borrowing money was out of the question.
Qin Huairu returned home with her heart in ashes, her eyes red.
Holding Bang Geng's hand in her left and Xiao Dang's in her right, she sat in the room with her head lowered and began to cry.
Jia Zhangshi was holding back a bellyful of anger.
She snapped, "What are you crying for? You still have the nerve to cry? I heard everything you said. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
Qin Huairu cried, "Do you think I wanted to say those things? If we didn't need money to get through the days ahead, I wouldn't have wanted to borrow money either!"
"Hmph! Only you know what you're really thinking!"
"Yes! I envy Lou Xiao'e. What woman wouldn't? But I haven't done anything to betray Dongxu. The factory's compensation is barely enough for his hospital stay. I'm about to give birth, and Dongxu won't be able to work afterward. Tell me, what will our family of six eat then?"
Jia Zhangshi had nothing to say. She had not considered any of this.
Right now, she was only guarding against her daughter-in-law running off with another man. She had not thought about the future at all.
Qin Huairu continued, "Silly Zhu has money, but not as much as Lin Zhen, and he has a dependent younger sister. Xu Damao is too shrewd; he would never lend us money. First Elder's attitude has changed somewhat since Dongxu's accident. The only family in the courtyard that can afford to lend money and might help us is Lin Zhen's."
Jia Zhangshi said dismissively, "Oh, give it a rest! He doesn't have that kind of kindness in him."
"He doesn't, but Lou Xiao'e does. I was planning to take it step by step and slowly move the two of them to lend us money. But you had to ruin it all at once. Now there's no hope at all."
Before you continue