102: Chapter 102 Conversation

A detached villa on the outskirts of the city.

This was the secret residence of Mayor Su Changming and Wang Juan.

The main light in the study was off.

On the wide desk, the ledger lay quietly.

Mayor Su Changming leaned back in his executive chair.

He held a Cuban cigar between his fingers, its cherry glowing and fading in the shadows.

Wang Juan stood to one side of the desk.

With her hands folded, her gaze remained fixed on the ledger on the desk.

Wang Lili stood in front of the desk with her head bowed.

She held her breath, afraid to make the slightest unnecessary sound.

Wang Juan was the first to break the deathly silence in the study.

"Lili, you explain it. What exactly happened?"

Wang Juan shot her a look.

"Before the operation, wasn't the child's location clearly identified?"

"How could you still let him escape?"

Wang Lili swallowed hard and spoke.

"Over two months ago, we took advantage of a shift change at the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and took Li Qian away."

Wang Lili reported with her head lowered.

"We took her to that abandoned auto repair shop on the outskirts and interrogated her for several days."

"That woman was stubborn; she refused to reveal the whereabouts of the ledger no matter what."

"Big Sister had specifically instructed us to keep things clean and not leave any external injuries that would cause trouble."

"Our people couldn't use harsh methods, so we mainly resorted to waterboarding."

"We put her through it seven or eight times; she passed out several times, but she still wouldn't talk."

"We were afraid of complications if we dragged it out, so we had to take care of her."

Mayor Su Changming exhaled a cloud of thick smoke.

He sat in the executive chair, noncommittal.

Wang Lili braced herself and continued.

"We went to raid her residence."

"We turned it upside down, but didn't find the ledger."

"However, we found a child's belongings under the wardrobe in the bedroom."

"That's how we realized she had hidden her son."

"Following this lead, our men traveled to several counties."

"We finally learned that Li Qian had left the child with a farming family in a village on the outskirts."

"The day before yesterday, Huzi took a few subordinates to the village to scout it out."

"But those punks didn't know how to handle things discreetly."

"They bought cigarettes at the village shop and let slip too much information, which was overheard by some village aunties cracking melon seeds."

"Gossip spreads fast in the countryside."

"Within half a day, the whole village knew outsiders were looking for a child of unknown origin."

"Our men were afraid of alerting the target, so they retreated outside the village, planning to sneak in at midnight."

"Who knew that little brat would be so alert."

"Afraid of implicating the family that took him in, he walked into the city under the cover of darkness."

"Huzi and his men came up empty-handed in the village and had to disperse to chase him along the highway."

"Finally, two of the punks cornered him by the provincial road."

Wang Lili paused for a moment and glanced up at Mayor Su Changming.

"Just then, Su Qinghan happened to drive by."

"She pulled the child into her car and drove off."

"The punk called Huzi, who brought the convoy to intercept them along the road."

"It was dark, and Huzi and his men didn't know the person driving was from the Discipline Inspection Commission."

"They just followed the usual methods for dealing with wild cards and forced the car to stop."

"Later, both sides fought, and she was knocked unconscious."

"When I got out of the car to grab the ledger, that was when I realized it was..."

It was the biological daughter of the big boss behind the scenes.

Wang Lili choked on these words, not daring to say them out loud.

The report was finished.

Wang Lili looked at Wang Juan.

Whether she could walk out of here in one piece tonight depended entirely on a word from her own sister.

And even more so, on the attitude of the man sitting in the chair smoking the cigar.

Wang Juan stepped forward.

"Mayor, the subordinates were a bit clumsy in their work; it was all a misunderstanding."

Wang Juan pointed to the ledger.

"But at the very least, the result is good, isn't the ledger back?"

Mayor Su Changming remained seated upright.

The light from the cigar illuminated half of his face.

He said nothing.

Seeing this, Wang Juan's tone turned cold.

"Lili, everyone involved in tonight's operation, count them one by one."

"That bastard who laid a hand on Su Qinghan, make him disappear completely."

"Huzi, as the team leader, didn't know his place and acted on his own."

"Break one of his hands and send him to the black mine at Monkey's place tonight."

Mayor Su Changming finally made a move.

He straightened up and picked up the lighter on the table.

A deep blue flame flared up.

He held the ledger above the flame.

The tongues of fire greedily licked the edges of the paper and spread rapidly.

The dry paper curled and turned black.

The messy accounts involving billions in funds for the new Southern City District turned into charcoal under the high heat.

The firelight illuminated the entire study.

Mayor Su Changming watched with cold eyes as the pages burned through.

He released his fingers.

"Wang Juan, that's enough."

Mayor Su Changming watched the black smoke rising from the fire basin.

"The subordinates were eager to get things done; I'm aware of this matter."

"Now, the priority is damage control."

"We can't send the Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Provincial Public Security Department away empty-handed."

"We must give them an explanation."

"Didn't you support a few underground crime gangs in Linjiang City under your command?"

"Pick a big one and have them come out to take the fall for this."

"As for the few who showed their faces tonight, send them all away, as far as possible."

"As for the one who hurt Su Qinghan, handle it as you said."

Mayor Su Changming turned his head.

His gaze bore into Wang Juan.

"No matter how disobedient Su Qinghan is, she is still my own flesh and blood."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

"This is also a warning."

"Tell those people below to keep their eyes open and recognize who the master is, who can be touched, and who cannot."

Mayor Su Changming stood up.

He walked up to Wang Juan, his tone becoming severe.

"How do you usually train your subordinates?"

"To deal with one woman, was it necessary to make such a big scene?"

"Three off-road vehicles for an interception, plus a heavy dump truck. Do you think this is filming a police action movie?"

"Scatter some nails on the road, or use other methods to make her tire blow out halfway."

"Then go and get the item."

"Which method wouldn't be better than ramming it with a dump truck?"

"You don't use your brains when doing things!"

Wang Juan lowered her head.

"Lili, you go down first."

Mayor Su Changming waved his hand.

"Your sister and I need to discuss the aftermath."

"Yes, Mayor."

Wang Lili felt as if she had been granted amnesty.

She hurried out of the study and closed the door.

Inside the study.

Mayor Su Changming and Wang Juan finalized a few scapegoats to take the blame for any potential follow-up investigations by the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

They created a closed loop for the entire chain of evidence on paper.

The night wind swept through the window lattice.

Mayor Su Changming put on his coat and left the villa.

...

On the other side.

The Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee compound, Villa No. 4.

Zhu Wenhao and Secretary Zhu Tianhe pushed the door open and entered.

The wall clock in the living room pointed to midnight.

Li Juan was wearing silk loungewear.

Hearing the sound of the door lock, she stood up from the sofa.

"Zhu Wenhao, you must be hungry."

She walked forward and took the coat that Secretary Zhu Tianhe had taken off.

"I left some food on the table for you, it's just been reheated, go eat a little."

"Thank you, Mother."

Zhu Wenhao walked towards the bathroom.

He turned on the faucet and washed his hands with cold water.

He walked to the dining room.

There were a few light dishes on the dining table.

He pulled out a chair, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and ate a few bites.

The food tasted like nothing.

All that swirled in his mind was Su Qinghan's pale face on the hospital bed.

He had to muddy the waters of Linjiang City completely to force the ghosts hiding in the dark to come out.

After eating, he put down the bowl and chopsticks.

He walked back to the living room, intending to greet the two of them and go back to his room to rest.

Li Juan's voice rang out at the right moment.

"Zhu Wenhao, sit down and talk for a while."

Zhu Wenhao sat down on the single sofa as instructed.

Li Juan picked up the herbal tea on the coffee table.

She lowered her head and took a sip.

"How have you been getting along with Ruobing while in the provincial capital during this time?"

Zhu Wenhao leaned back against the chair.

"Ruobing is not bad."

"She is sensible and a nice person."

"At the Party School, she helped me a lot."

Li Juan was quite satisfied with this answer.

She put down the teacup.

"Ruobing's mother called me yesterday."

"She invited me back to the provincial capital for tea."

Li Juan looked at Zhu Wenhao.

"When you go back to the provincial capital this time, take me with you."

"Today was your grandfather's birthday, but I couldn't get away to go back."

"This time, it's a good opportunity to go together and show our filial piety."

Zhu Wenhao's gaze was calm.

Deputy Director Liu Qiang is the Deputy Director of the Development and Reform Commission and a protégé of Li Zhenguo.

Li Juan was calculating her plans loudly.

Once this tie was secured, the Li family would have another cornerstone on the chessboard of Jiangnan Province.

Zhu Wenhao picked up the water glass in front of him.

He took a sip.

"Whatever Mother arranges is fine."

"Once the time is set, I will drive to pick you up."

His tone was steady.

He didn't speak with sarcasm, nor did he show any displeasure.

"Alright, go to sleep. You've traveled all the way, you must be tired."

Li Juan waved her hand to let him go.

Zhu Wenhao stood up.

He strode across the hallway and pushed open the door to the second-floor bedroom.

He didn't turn on the light.

The moonlight from outside cast mottled shadows on the floor.

He walked to the window and pushed open half of it.

Li Juan's heart and eyes were entirely focused on the plans for the marriage alliance.

Zhu Wenhao stood with one hand behind his back.

Using him as a bargaining chip for a marriage alliance?

He had seen enough of this kind of drama in Daming Palace.

Feudal lords marrying into alliances, courtiers forming factions.

It was nothing more than everyone getting what they needed.

A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

Since Li Juan wanted to use his marriage to pave her way.

Then let's see who will be the one holding the pieces when this game of chess comes to an end.