Volume 1 Chapter 10 The Unutterable Conspiracy

  Where's the red ticket? I want the red ticket!!

  Although he was kicked out by the municipal party secretary, Shen Huan also knew that he couldn't just leave with his tail between his legs. Even if he had to cling on shamelessly and continue to pay attention to the development of the situation, it would be better than leaving with a pat on the backside.

  After nesting in the municipal steel plant for a few years, Shen Hua was deeply aware that sometimes excessive self-esteem is not beneficial, and finding opportunities to turn things around is most important.

  The two doctors who rushed over together to participate in the rescue were still in the lobby on the first floor, along with the two service staff members assigned to be on duty at Building 6 of Nanyuan Hotel.

  Those two girls were originally pretty and delicate, but they were frightened by today's events. By now, they didn't even dare to sit down, their faces had lost all color from fear.

  Shen Huai sat down and looked at them, wanting to make them speak up, so he first comforted them:

  "Mayor Chen missed the rescue opportunity, unfortunately. However, it's not your fault either. When Mayor Chen was resting, I called over and might have been scolded too. Don't be too sad..."

  "That's right, Mayor Chen instructed us not to disturb him at noon, so we left for a while. Who would have thought that these things would happen? Even if Secretary Ge was in the South Garden, by the time the ambulance arrived, it was already too late?"

  The girl with a ponytail spoke in a crisp tone, but her words made Shen Huai's heart skip a beat: Was Ge Yongqiu at Nanyuan when Chen Mingde fell ill?

  Shen Huai clenched his fists and quietly left the hall.

  Building 6 is adjacent to Cuizhu Lake, separated by a patch of water bamboo; opposite is the main building of Nanyuan, at this time the sunset is falling on the top of this deep coffee-colored sail-shaped high-rise, shining on the lake water rippling and glittering, only the main building of Nanyuan is reflected in the lake, as if a dark cloud.

  Who could have imagined that hidden beneath this seemingly warm and peaceful dusk was such a treacherous undercurrent.

  Shen Huai secretly pondered, he didn't understand at first why Peng Yong, the director of the Municipal Reception Office and the manager of Nanyuan Hotel, deliberately stirred up trouble, but after learning that Chen Mingde was ill and Ge Yongqiu was also in Nanyuan, he somewhat understood.

  Shen Hua didn't go anywhere else and turned into the parking lot in front of the small building, at this time he could only sit in the car and think about the problem.

  By late September, the days had shortened, and the sky would darken imperceptibly. It had been a long time since anyone was seen coming out of Building No. 6.

  For four or five days, Shen Huai had also been mentally exhausted and physically drained. Even sitting down made him feel tired, so he leaned back against the rear seat of the car, thinking about things, but before he knew it, he heard footsteps approaching.

  Just as Shen Huai was about to sit up, he saw Ge Yongqiu's eyes scanning in, as if looking for someone inside the car.

  Ge Yongqiu hastily glanced at the front seat to see if there was anyone, but didn't expect Shen Huai to be lying on the back seat.

  Ge Yongqiu's overly cautious expression made Shen Hua pay more attention, so he lay there motionless, watching Ge Yongqiu standing outside the car, taking out his brick-sized "big brother" phone and making a call with his back against the car door.

  After the phone was connected, Ge Yongqiu heard him reporting to the person on the other end of the phone:

  "...The first to arrive at the scene was Peng Yong, and there were no other staff members present. Chen Mingde was indeed found dead in his bedroom, naked, with all his clothes removed and left outside. The two young girls went upstairs afterwards, but they were both flustered and didn't notice any details in the room. I had already cleaned up the bathroom, and the signs of showering weren't that obvious anymore. When the provincial authorities sent people over, we just needed to stick to the story that Chen Mingde was very dissatisfied with Nanyuan not providing hot water at noon - this is also verifiable through records - and that would be a messy account."

  "Uh-huh, uh-huh..." Ge Yongqiu murmured a few more "uh-huhs", then continued, "Nanyuan doesn't have any surveillance equipment. Although there was a staff member on duty in Building 6 at noon, they happened to be taking a short break and were away for about an hour. As for whether anyone entered or exited during that time, no one can say for sure. The key is still Secretary Wu, who seems somewhat indecisive. He should have been able to see something. He's alone in the small room reporting this to the province, but I'm afraid he might try to downplay it..."

  "Right, you're right. Secretary Wu wants to downplay the situation and should have unified the tone first. He didn't do that, it seems he has a big opinion on the province sending Chen Mingde to Donghua. Should we spread the word now?" Ge Yongqiu said "good" several times, "Good... good, our side will hold back for now!"

  Suddenly it occurred to Shen Hua who was on the other end of the phone.

  Ge Yongqiu was on the phone with Vice Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Mayor Gao Tianhe!

  After entering autumn, the weather had cooled down, but Shen Huai lay in the car and felt that the air inside was stuffy and hot, almost making him breathe hard.

  He had just thought that there was a problem with Ge Yongqiu, but hearing Ge Yongqiu and Mayor Gao Tianhe making an article about Chen Mingde's death cause still made his heart shocked.

  Although Chen Mingde's death has nothing to do with Gao Tianhe and others, the dirty conspiracy surrounding Chen Mingde's death is not much cleaner than their direct murder of Chen Mingde.

  Peng Yong's words were entirely arranged by Ge Yongqiu, and they even tampered with the bathroom to make it look like Chen Mingde was found dead naked in the room, leading others to endless speculation...

  They are trying to murder Chen Mingde's posthumous reputation in order to achieve their unmentionable goals!

  Ge Yongqiu hung up the phone and went back to Building 6, Shen Huai also didn't dare stay in the car anymore, afraid that Ge Yongqiu would notice that he had eavesdropped on their conversation earlier.

  Shen Huai got off the car with his waist bent, walked all the way to the front of the main building on the east side, and only let out a sigh of relief after confirming that no one had seen him in the parking lot. But then he thought: even if he could stay out of it, how much better would things get?

  A cool breeze blew from the emerald lake, Shen Huai shivered and only then realized that his back was drenched in sweat. He forced himself to calm down and think about the cause and effect of what had just happened:

  The provincial government is very dissatisfied with the slow economic development of Donghua in recent years, and Chen Mingde was parachuted into Donghua to serve as a standing deputy mayor, hoping that this stagnant water can be revitalized.

  Chen Mingde is a man of good learning and bad temper, who pays attention to efficiency. His work style does not fit in with the organs of Donghua City, and he also holds the Shangfangbaojian of the province. As soon as he comes, he will thoroughly reform Donghua's economic work, and naturally there will be a great conflict of interest with local forces. In more than half a year, he has also offended many people.

  Chen Mingde and the local faction represented by Wu Haifeng and Gao Tianhe have obvious contradictions.

  However, the deepest contradiction is still between Chen Mingde and Gao Tianhe.

  Almost everyone in Donghua City with a discerning eye can see that Chen Mingde's arrival in Donghua is aimed at the position of Mayor Gao Tianhe.

  In official circles, the hatred of being overthrown is as deep as killing one's father and stealing his wife.

  Facing Chen Mingde's aggressive manner, Gao Tianhe and his men had been holding back for more than half a year. Even when Shen Huai clashed with the municipal steel factory today, Ge Yongqiu could still hold back her anger and not bring the matter to Chen Mingde's attention.

  In the end, they are just afraid of Chen Mingde, who has the support of the provincial government, finding their Achilles' heel.

  It is said that Chen Mingde died of illness, and the actual threat to Gao Tianhe's position as deputy secretary of the municipal party committee and mayor has been eliminated. They should not have resorted to tricks and taken risks to destroy Chen Mingde's posthumous reputation.

  The actual situation is not like that, Chen Mingde died of illness, the province can completely send another "Zhang Mingde", "Ge Mingde" to Donghua, replacing Gao Tianhe to fully grasp the economic work of Donghua.

  The crisis faced by Gao Tianhe will not be resolved with Chen Mingde's death.

  Gao Tianhe and Ge Yongqiu made a big fuss about Chen Mingde's death, secretly targeting the provincial party committee and government.

  Chen Mingde's death was publicly attributed to illness while on duty, but the true controllers of this world are always the hidden rules lurking in the shadows.

  The implicit characterization of Chen Mingde's death determines the nature of the incident.

  An open qualification of an event requires the support of factual evidence; while a hidden qualification does not require sufficient evidence, it only needs to make people believe that something exists.

  Even if there was no woman involved, Chen Mingde was not in the municipal party committee and government office at noon that day, but died naked in a hotel room. How can people believe he is innocent?

  The provincial government, in order to cover up this fabricated scandal, will even deliberately avoid digging deeper, but the dirty water on Chen Mingde's body can never be washed clean...

  Chen Mingde's death is related to the Peach Incident. The provincial party committee leaders who initially supported Chen Mingde to work at Donghua University will naturally also lose face and may even have to take responsibility for recommending him.

  The provincial party committee and government will think twice before intervening in Donghua's affairs; even if they send more officials to parachute into Donghua, these officials will be unable to do much.

  Gao Tianhe and Ge Yongqiu's goal is precisely this: they regard Donghua as their own territory to operate, and are unwilling to see others intervene!

  Before, Shen Huai had little contact with Mayor Gao Tianhe, but thinking about it now, he was also impressed by Gao's ruthless and cunning nature: He is indeed a formidable figure with a heart of stone!

  Wu Haifeng was originally a big boss in Donghua City and should have played a crucial role in determining the cause of Chen Mingde's death.

  Shen Hua believes that Wu Haifeng should be able to see some doubts, but judging from the current situation, Wu Haifeng cannot shake off the entanglement of local interests either, and is also dissatisfied with Chen Mingde and the province's excessive intervention in Donghua's affairs.

  Wu Haifeng may even be deliberately leading Ge Yongqiu and Peng Yong by the nose.

  This is the dirty officialdom, this is the ruthless and cruel officialdom.

  Compared with the hidden undercurrents behind this matter, Shen Hua felt that the oppression he had suffered at the Municipal Steel Plant was really a bit childish.