125: Chapter 125 A Visit

Outside the car window, the streetscape blurred by.

"Mother, there is one more thing." Zhu Wenhao kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

Li Juan turned her head.

"Liu Ruobing caused quite a stir at the Party School." Zhu Wenhao concisely recounted the full story of how Liu Ruobing had exposed her background in the dormitory, and how that had led to the revelation of Liu Qiang violating Old Master Li's prohibition during a phone call.

Having been immersed in the compound for many years, Li Juan keenly grasped the crux of the matter.

Ignoring Old Master Li's prohibition was unacceptable; it showed a lack of discipline.

"Wenhao, what do you need me to do?" Li Juan asked.

"You don't need to do anything deliberate." Zhu Wenhao steered with one hand. "After you return to Linjiang, give Grandfather a call to let him know you've arrived safely. While chatting, weave this matter in casually. Don't include any judgment, including what happened at the teahouse."

The green light turned on, and the vehicle started moving again.

"I trust in Grandfather's wisdom." Zhu Wenhao looked ahead. "Once he hears it, he will make his own arrangements."

Li Juan nodded in agreement, taking these instructions to heart.

The car approached the perimeter of the Provincial Party Committee office building.

A black sedan with Linjiang license plates was parked on the side road, engine running, its taillights glowing red in the night.

That was the meeting point Secretary Zhu Tianhe and Zhu Wenhao had agreed upon in advance.

Zhu Wenhao pulled the car over.

The front door opened, and Secretary Zhu Tianhe stepped out of the car.

Zhu Wenhao unbuckled his seatbelt and followed him out.

"Father, is there anything else you haven't finished explaining?" Zhu Wenhao asked.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe smoothed the hem of his coat. "After I left the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, I went to the Organization Department to report my thoughts to my old leader."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe lowered his voice. "The old leader gave me the inside scoop. Regarding the graduation arrangements for the Spark Class this time, outstanding graduates will be appointed as First-Class Staff Members upon completion of their internship. If one can obtain the top rating, upon completing the internship, they will be directly promoted to Fourth-Class Chief Staff Member and granted an actual Deputy Section-Level position."

Getting an actual Deputy Section-Level position immediately after the internship meant skipping years of hard work.

"That effectively waives the probationary period." Zhu Wenhao commented.

"Correct." Secretary Zhu Tianhe looked at his son. "Wenhao, this is a rare opportunity; you need to pay close attention to it."

"I will." Zhu Wenhao faced the night breeze. "Father, when you return to Linjiang, remember one thing: do not easily express your stance on any matter."

"No matter how fiercely Mayor Su Changming and Executive Vice Mayor Han Qiming fight in the Standing Committee, you should just remain a bystander. As for Police Chief Li Jianguo's anti-gang work at the Municipal Public Security Bureau, do your utmost to support him; give him the personnel and resources he needs. This is the best help you can provide to Old Master Li and Director Qi, and it is also our biggest bargaining chip."

"If there's anything you can't decide on, call me at any time."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe replied, "I know," then turned, opened the car door, and sat in the back seat.

The car started up, merged into the traffic on the main road, and headed toward the highway.

He watched his father's vehicle disappear into the distance.

Zhu Wenhao turned and got into his car. He didn't drive toward the Provincial Party School; instead, he turned the car around and headed toward Changfeng Street in Jingjiang.

That was the place Li Juan had prepared for him in the provincial capital.

He usually only came over on weekends to rest. Today, he had promised to give Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming a painting, so he had to finish the work tonight.

He pushed open the door to the apartment.

The interior was tidy. Zhu Wenhao walked straight into the study.

By the window in the study stood a large, wide desk.

On the desk, he had prepared the high-grade Huizhou raw rice paper he had personally purchased from the cultural market a few days ago.

Several Huzhou wolf-hair and goat-hair brushes hung on the brush rack, and a Duan inkstone was placed on the right side.

Zhu Wenhao was in no rush to start writing.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, poured a little clear water into the inkstone, took out a stick of Cao Sugong pine soot ink, and slowly ground it.

The fragrance of ink spread throughout the study.

He closed his eyes, landscapes flowing through his mind.

During his sixty years in the Daming Palace, he had also amused himself with painting. When an emperor paints, he does not paint flowers or moonlight; he paints the landscapes within his heart, the vast expanse of the empire.

The ink was of the perfect consistency.

He spread out the rice paper, took a large wolf-hair brush, and dipped it fully into the thick ink.

What he was to paint this time was a landscape.

What he wanted to paint was the empire he had overlooked from the peak of Mount Tai in his past life when he ruled the world.

With the first stroke came lines as sharp as a knife; the contours of the rocks were as if carved by an axe, steep and precipitous.

The brush tip rubbed against the paper, and between the dryness, wetness, thickness, and lightness of the ink, a majestic and domineering aura burst forth from the paper, creating a powerful visual impact.

The main peak stood solitary and proud like an emperor, piercing the clouds, while the surrounding mountains bowed like subjects.

At the foot of the mountain, a river surged, as if the trends of the world were all converging here.

After several hours of outlining and shading, a massive landscape painting sprang to life on the paper.

He switched to a small brush, dipped it in semi-dry ink, and inscribed a poem in the blank space on the top right corner of the scroll.

"The solitary peak does not associate with the common mountains; it rises straight into the highest clouds."

The calligraphy was like an engraving, sharp and revealing.

Finally, he left his signature next to the poem and stamped it with a personal seal.

He put down the brush, stood before the desk, and examined the painting.

He blew the ink dry and glanced at the wall clock; the hour hand pointed to 11:30 PM.

He washed up and rested.

Tomorrow, he had an appointment to keep.

At the same time.

In the famous CBD core area of Jingjiang.

On the top floor of a high-end office building, the lights were ablaze in a venture capital firm's executive office.

General Manager Zhou Shutong stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of unsweetened black coffee.

On the desk lay a few pages of paper. That was the background information on Zhu Wenhao she had urgently requested from a private investigator.

Most of the information was limited to what was officially public.

The son of the Deputy Secretary of the Linjiang Municipal Party Committee, who had spent his early years wandering the streets, with an unremarkable resume. He had entered the system through a provincial civil service exam and was currently a junior staff member in Division Two of the Municipal Organization Department.

As for his identity as the grandson of Old Master Li, the documents only made obscure references to it, without providing much detailed inside information.

General Manager Zhou Shutong took a sip of coffee, turned back to the desk, and tapped on the document with her finger.

Something was wrong.

As someone who had spent years fighting in the capital markets, she had her own model for assessing people.

This paper document could not explain many things.

Could a second-generation rich kid relying on his family's shadow really manage to keep a group of well-connected descendants in line at the Party School?

What bothered her the most was the condescending indifference in Zhu Wenhao's gaze when he looked at her in her uncle's office that afternoon.

That kind of bearing was definitely not something a local junior staff member could fake.

General Manager Zhou Shutong threw the documents into the shredder.

She remembered that in the Party School office, Zhu Wenhao had promised to send a painting to her uncle.

Tomorrow happened to be the weekend.

She decided to go to her uncle's house to personally weigh this person's worth.

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains into the bedroom.

Zhu Wenhao got up and made himself a simple breakfast.

At nine in the morning, he called Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming.

"Principal Zhou, the painting was finished overnight. I don't know if it's convenient for you today, but I'd like to bring it over."

On the other end of the line, Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming's laughter came through. "Wenhao, your efficiency is impressive. I happen to be at home. A few old friends are here too, and we're just chatting. Come on over, and I'll text you the address."

"Alright, Principal Zhou, I'll be there shortly."

After ending the call, Zhu Wenhao rolled up the landscape painting he had finished last night and placed it into an elegant scroll tube.

Before leaving, he took a tin of premium Wuyi Star Dahongpao tea from the tea cabinet and brought it along.

Courtesy demands reciprocity; visiting an elder empty-handed would be improper.

He started the car, followed the navigation based on the address he received on his phone, and drove toward the residential compound in the old district of Jingjiang.

This residential compound was built in the 1990s; its red brick exterior walls were covered in ivy, and it was mostly inhabited by retired cadres and veteran university professors.

The car parked steadily under the unit building.

Zhu Wenhao carried the scroll tube and the tea, and walked upstairs.

He knocked on the door on the third floor.

The door was opened quickly, but it wasn't Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming who opened it.

General Manager Zhou Shutong was wearing casual clothes, standing behind the door with her arms crossed.

The two of them came face to face.

General Manager Zhou Shutong turned sideways, making way for him.

"Come in, my uncle is waiting for you in the study."

Zhu Wenhao put on the guest slippers and walked into the living room.

In the living room sat three elderly men, looking spirited, talking loudly around the coffee table.

Executive Vice President Zhou Zhengming walked out of the study and greeted him: "Wenhao is here, come over quickly."

He introduced him to the three elderly men: "Brothers, this is the Zhu Wenhao from the Spark Class I mentioned to you."

The three elderly men stopped talking, and their gazes fell squarely on Zhu Wenhao.

Zhu Wenhao stepped forward, paid his respects as a junior, and greeted the elders.

The real test had begun.