11: Chapter 11 Entering the Venue

Donghu Bay in the early morning; the apartment was very quiet.

Only the microwave was humming, a low sound that broke the silence of the room.

Zhu Yuntong walked barefoot on the cold floor and pulled open the microwave door.

He took out the toast and a piece of instant chicken breast, placing them casually on a glass plate.

In his past life in the Forbidden City, a single breakfast required over a hundred people from the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Kitchen, and the Imperial Tea Room to work from the early hours of the morning.

Now, with two button presses and two minutes, he could satisfy his hunger.

It was so convenient that it felt unreal.

It also lacked a certain human touch.

"Click."

The door to the secondary bedroom opened.

Su Qinghan walked out. She was wearing a loose, beige loungewear set, her long hair tied up casually behind her head with a pencil, exposing her smooth neck.

Her face was bare of makeup, and the faint dark circles under her eyes revealed her hard work from the night before.

In her hand, she was clutching a copy of "Government Accounting Standards and Practice," thick as a brick.

Zhu Yuntong didn't look back; he simply took a carton of milk from the fridge, poured it into a glass, and pushed it to the other end of the dining table.

"How is your progress?"

He poured himself a cup of black coffee. This modern bitter water was more intense and direct than the strong tea used for refreshing in the Daming Palace.

"I've finished the theoretical framework and am now breaking down the interview questions from the past five years."

Su Qinghan sat down and asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for two days.

"I still don't understand, why the Treasury Division of the Finance Bureau?"

"Mayor Su Changming is about to take office, holding great power, and this is the time when he needs to secure money and projects. Wouldn't it be more effective for me to go to the Audit Bureau or the Development and Reform Commission, where I could be closer to the core business and keep an eye on his lifeblood?"

"Auditing is like an autopsy."

His voice was flat.

"By the time the accounts are sent to the auditors, it's already too late, and the money has long since fallen into others' pockets."

"As for the Development and Reform Commission, at the end of the day, it's just a place for drawing up plans and setting the tone."

Zhu Yuntong set down his coffee cup, interlaced his fingers, and rested his chin on them. His gaze was sharp as a blade, as if he had instantly returned to that Imperial Study where he used to review memorials.

"Throughout history, wars have always been fought over money and grain."

"If Mayor Su Changming wants to sit firmly in the mayor's chair and achieve political success, he must launch major projects. Once a project starts, the budget must be approved and go through the Treasury."

"If you are sitting in the Treasury Division, it's like setting up a checkpoint at the throat of his supply route."

"How every sum of money is approved, which company it flows to, who handles it in the middle—any flaw in the accounts will be unable to hide from your eyes."

"He is acting on the front stage, and you are gripping his purse strings backstage."

"If he plays by the rules, everything will be fine. If he reaches out..."

"Those account books will be his death warrant."

In an instant, she understood.

This wasn't just career planning.

This was planting a fuse right next to Mayor Su Changming's heart, and the power to light it was held in her hands.

...

At the same time, at the Provincial Government compound.

In the office of the Director of the First Division of the General Office of the Provincial Government, Division Chief Liu Haiping was reviewing an urgent briefing.

His daughter, Liu Xiaolei, was sitting on the sofa opposite him, clutching her Hermès bag, her pretty face tight.

Her freshly done French manicure was unconsciously scratching at the expensive crocodile skin, leaving faint marks.

"Dad! That Zhu Yuntong, the well-known good-for-nothing in Linjiang, how could he score so high?"

"A full ten points! I haven't even gone shopping in the last six months, I've been drilling questions every day, how could I lose to him!"

Liu Xiaolei couldn't help it anymore; her voice rose, carrying a sharp edge.

Division Chief Liu Haiping didn't even raise his eyelids. He slowly closed his fountain pen and placed it steadily back on the pen holder.

Every movement exuded a sense of composure, as if everything was under control.

"In officialdom, what matters is the position, not the score. Mayor Su Changming passed the message to me, wanting to use me as a knife; he doesn't dare to offend both Liu Family and the Zhu family at the same time. An old fox."

"Then we're just going to let him get away with it? It's too hard to make up ten points in the interview!"

"You don't need everyone to help you."

Division Chief Liu Haiping stood up, walked to the window, picked up a small watering can, and watered the pots of cymbidium orchids unhurriedly.

"As long as the chief examiner doesn't like him."

He turned around, his eyes behind his glasses flashing with shrewdness.

"I've already spoken to Old Chen from the Organization Department; the chief examiner for this time has been changed last minute."

"Who? One of our people?" Liu Xiaolei's eyes lit up.

"The Executive Vice President of the Provincial Party School, Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming."

Hearing this name, Liu Xiaolei's excitement instantly froze.

"Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming? Dad, he's famous for being a stubborn old man, a rock in a latrine; he might not even give you any face!"

"Who said I needed him to give me face?"

Division Chief Liu Haiping put down the watering can and walked back to the desk.

"This is called leveraging."

"Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming hates two types of people most in his life. First, those who are ambitious but lack substance, who talk big. Second, those who are unlearned and rely on their elders, the spoiled brats."

"That written exam paper of Zhu Yuntong's—the essay was brilliant and ambitious. Combined with his past notoriety, how do you think Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming will view him?"

"We don't need to do anything."

"Principal Zhou himself will strip this ignorant young master layer by layer in the examination room, questioning him until he has no place to hide!"

The worry on Liu Xiaolei's face instantly vanished.

Using the most impartial person to carry out the most partial assassination.

Brilliant.

...

Three days later, Linjiang City Fourth Middle School, the interview venue.

In the waiting room, the air was as heavy as solidified cement.

Zhu Yuntong sat in the corner by the window, his arms crossed over his chest, closing his eyes to rest.

He hadn't brought any materials.

In this world, nothing capable of testing him had appeared yet.

A wave of strong perfume hit him.

Liu Xiaolei stepped on her high heels and stopped in front of him, looking down at him.

"Young Master Zhu, what a coincidence. I can't find you in the bars, but I run into you here."

Zhu Yuntong opened his eyes.

The woman in front of him was wearing exquisite makeup, covered in designer brands, and the sense of superiority in her eyes was almost overflowing.

She looked exactly like those foolish descendants of meritorious officials in the Forbidden City, who relied on their ancestors' military achievements and thought they were the best in the world.

All gold and jade on the outside, rotten on the inside.

"Narrow path." He spat out two words, his voice without a ripple.

Liu Xiaolei was stung by his calm attitude. She leaned down, lowered her voice, and her tone was full of mockery.

"The water in the Municipal Party Committee Office is very deep; it's not something someone like you can wade through. What's the use of a high written test score? Once you step through that door, Principal Zhou can ask two grassroots questions and reveal your true colors. The food is too hard; you'll break your teeth."

Zhu Yuntong stood up.

His height of one meter eighty-three brought an invisible pressure, instantly enveloping the other person.

He looked at her, his eyes as if looking at a noisy summer insect.

"In the imperial examinations, talent is chosen based on true ability. Relying on the shade of one's ancestors to survive—that's the hereditary system of the previous dynasty."

"Times have changed, Miss Liu."

Zhu Yuntong's voice was very soft, but every word struck the heart.

"Just relying on that background can't hide the empty-headed nature in your bones."

"You!" Liu Xiaolei's face instantly turned bright red, her finger almost poking at Zhu Yuntong's nose.

"Candidate Number 1 for the Second Division of the Municipal Party Committee Office, please enter!"

At the end of the corridor, the staff member's voice rang out, breaking the standoff.

Zhu Yuntong didn't even bother to give her an extra glance.

He straightened the hem of his suit with one hand, strode out with his long legs, passed the shamed and angry Liu Xiaolei, and walked straight toward the closed solid wood door.

His spine was straight as a pine, his steps steady.

Pushing open the door.

Entering.