Zhang Yancun's eyes widened in disbelief. "This, this, is what you're saying all true?"

Liu Junbo stared intently at him, but chuckled, "Oh dear, just hearsay, just hearsay. Come on, senior brother, try the roast duck. We've been so busy talking that the food's gotten cold!"

Zhang Yancun was now covered in a cold sweat. His mind raced. According to his junior brother, Zhou Yicheng's brother-in-law had a problem, and the nature of his problem was something he was very secretive about.

Zhou Yicheng inexplicably stepped down from his post and lost all his power overnight. Wasn't it because of illness?

Judging from his booming voice, he certainly doesn't seem ill. Could it be...?

Holy crap!

Zhang Yancun couldn't help but swear.

Liu Junbo bent down and wrapped the roast duck in a pancake, his movements very refined and slow. When he heard Zhang Yancun swear, he knew that Zhang Yancun had realized what was going on.

Then, with a beaming smile, she handed him the wrapped roast duck, saying, "Senior brother, have a taste!"

Zhang Yancun took the roast duck that he usually loved to eat and ate it absentmindedly, but he couldn't taste anything in his mouth.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

I finally figured out a key question.

This junior brother rarely asks me for anything, so why did he go to all this trouble to treat me to a meal and reveal such important information to me?

He squinted and said with a smile, "Junior brother, have you been busy with your studies lately?"

Liu Junbo's handsome face fell. "I'm very busy."

"So besides studying, what else have you been busy with lately?"

Liu Junbo poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Senior brother, there really is something."

Zhang Yancun straightened up. "Tell me about it."

Liu Junbo casually recounted the whole story of how Xu Yunfeng and the others were beaten.

Zhang Yancun searched his memory. He did have a vague recollection of this matter. Liu Wenyuan had called him a few days ago to report that Old Zhou had given his regards.

"Senior brother, Xu Yunfeng is from Northeast China. He's fine, but he works for Li Xiangdong."

"I'll introduce Xiang Dong to you later. Don't let his young age fool you; he's incredibly talented, and even Governor Liu and Old Chen admire him."

Zhang Yancun gasped in surprise. Who was this guy?

He actually has connections with both Governor Liu and Old Chen!

It's not impossible that this person knows Governor Liu, given his connection to Liu Junbo. However, if Old Chen is also connected to him, then it's worth considering.

Liu Junbo watched as Zhang Yancun, the usually stoic director, rolled his eyes. After a long pause, he finally said, "Alright, since he's a promising young man and a good friend of yours, how about this? We're not strangers, so come to my house for dinner tomorrow night! I'll have your sister-in-law make dumplings for you!"

"Alright! Then I'll trouble you, sister-in-law."

"Bang--"

"Cheers!"

The two baijiu cups clinked together, and the dense foam of liquor swirled in the air before quickly sliding back into the cups.

——————

It was midnight at Zhou Yicheng's house.

Zhou Yuyu sat on the sofa, sobbing softly. Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes were red and swollen, and there was a very obvious handprint on her face.

Jiang Li no longer resembled the dignified and elegant noblewoman she once was. Her once jet-black hair was now mottled with black and white, and her smooth skin had become much looser.

She clutched her chest, and two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks.

Her graceful posture, her slender neck like a swan, and her sorrowful aura made her seem like a glass statue that would shatter at the slightest touch.

Normally, Zhou Yicheng would be heartbroken and would agree to any request she made.

But now, the hero is past his prime, and those he used to disregard have started to treat him with indifference.

He couldn't resist his daughter Zhou Yuyu's soft pleading, so he called Liu Wenyuan again. Who knew that the guy didn't agree immediately, but instead hesitated and made excuses!

Finally, he told himself to let him focus on recovering and taking care of his health, and not to worry about these mundane matters.

These words angered him so much that he slammed down the phone on the spot.

An indescribable sense of sorrow welled up from the bottom of my heart. This is what they mean by "when people leave, the tea cools down."

The once vigorous Zhou Yicheng suddenly looked several years older. He slumped down in his bedroom and closed the door tightly.

Outside, Zhou Yuyu and Jiang Li cried for a while, but when they saw that there was no response from the bedroom door, they stopped crying.

Zhou Yuyu tugged at her mother's clothes and cried softly, "Mom, Deyi has been locked up in the detention center for several days. I went to see him this morning, and he... he... he stinks! He said the place he lives in is infested with lice and fleas, which crawl into his clothes and bedding at night, making it impossible for him to sleep. He's also not getting enough to eat in there, and he's lost a lot of weight! Mom, you have to find a way to save him!"

Jiang Li glanced helplessly at her beautiful but foolish daughter, gently stroking her soft, dark hair with her right hand. "Yuyu, you're eighteen now, it's time you became sensible. Song Deyi's family has fallen on hard times, so don't waste your energy on him anymore. Although your father has retired, his old subordinates will still give him some face. We can find a promising young man from among them..."

"don't want!"

Zhou Yuyu suddenly jumped up from the sofa, shouting at the top of her lungs, "I don't want to! You were the one who said that Deyu's family was powerful and influential, and that I should spend more time with him! It was you! Now that he's no longer successful, you want me to abandon him and find someone else!"

How can you be so snobbish!

"Mom, do you even understand what feelings are?!"

"This is about feelings, you can't just throw them away like that."

Jiang Li was so angry with her daughter that her lips trembled, but she couldn't say a word.

That silly girl!

What emotion can be more important than wealth and power?

She knew that her daughter was going through puberty and wouldn't listen to her at all; no matter what she said now, her daughter wouldn't believe her.

They won't turn back until they hit a brick wall.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Jiang Li composed herself and said coldly, "Then you can go save Song Deyi yourself. I don't have the ability!"

Zhou Yuyu trembled all over. She couldn't believe that her mother, who had always given her whatever she wanted, could say such cold words.

good!

I'll go by myself then!

She glared at her mother with hatred before striding away from the Zhou family home.

Looking at the empty house and the door that was rattling loudly from being slammed by her daughter, Jiang Li suddenly felt that her whole life was a joke.

All that scheming and plotting, and this is the result it all came about.

No!

She tried her best to pull herself together.

I've been through countless worse situations than this, and I've survived them all, haven't I?

So, she can do it again this time.