Chapter 325 The Invisible Smoke of War
The news that Feng Jianguo was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission at his mother's 80th birthday party spread like wildfire throughout Beijing the very next day.
Especially in the internal reference, although it was only mentioned briefly, it stirred up a huge wave.
Everyone in the health system was on edge, and those who had been close to Feng Jianguo were especially anxious, fearing they would be next.
The atmosphere in Courtyard No. 1 became somewhat subtle.
When the women in the compound saw Su Wantang again, their eyes held not only the previous envy but also a genuine sense of awe.
Everyone knew perfectly well why Feng Jianguo had fallen from grace. It was all because he had offended the new daughter-in-law of the Lu family.
This is no docile kitten; it's clearly a shrewd tiger.
However, while some people hold it in awe, others disagree with it.
Zhao Lijuan, who recently moved into Courtyard No. 3, felt that this was her opportunity.
Her husband, Lao Zhao, had spent half his life working in the Health Bureau. Only because Feng Jianguo was dismissed and the position became vacant did he manage to move up a small step.
This made Zhao Lijuan extremely proud.
She felt that Su Wantang's removal of Feng Jianguo was like giving her family a great gift, but then she thought that Su Wantang was too arrogant and attracted too much attention.
If she could outrank Su Wantang in this compound after her husband had just taken over, then who would dare to look down on Zhao Lijuan in the future?
With this in mind, Zhao Lijuan began to organize her tea party again.
This time, under the guise of "celebrating her husband's promotion," she sent out invitations to everyone, and personally delivered the last one to the Lu family's door.
"Comrade Su, are you at home?"
When Wang Ma opened the door and saw Zhao Lijuan again, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Zhao Lijuan was dressed even more eye-catching today. She wore a royal blue polyester shirt, which made her already full upper body look even more voluptuous. She wore white trousers that tightly hugged her round and perky buttocks. With each step she took, her waist swayed gracefully, as if she could steal people's souls.
She had a smile on her face, but her posture was much more elegant than last time.
“Wang Ma, I’ve come to invite Comrade Su to my home for a cup of tea. My husband just mentioned it, and all the women in the compound are saying they want to congratulate me, except for Comrade Su.”
Meng Wan happened to be walking out of the living room when she heard this, and a hint of displeasure appeared on her face.
The way they're saying it makes it sound like if they didn't go, they'd be disrespecting her man.
"Lijuan, Wantang is heavily pregnant, I'm afraid..."
“Professor Meng, you can’t say that.” Zhao Lijuan interrupted Meng Wan directly, her eyes fixed on the room.
“We’re bound to run into each other all the time. And our old Zhao is in the same system as Brigade Commander Lu, so we’ll be dealing with each other a lot in the future. If Comrade Su hadn’t come, people would have thought she looked down on our old Zhao.”
These words were full of threats.
Meng Wan's face darkened.
Just then, Su Wantang, supporting her back, slowly walked down the stairs.
She glanced at Zhao Lijuan at the door and a smile suddenly bloomed on her face.
“Madam Zhao is right, then I will respectfully comply.”
"Wantang?" Meng Wan asked with some concern.
Su Wantang smiled reassuringly at her, her eyes seeming to say: Mom, don't worry.
She knew that some flies would buzz even louder the more you chased them away. It was better to let them stumble onto the web on their own, get rid of them all at once, and enjoy some peace and quiet.
The tea party is scheduled for the afternoon.
Zhao Lijuan's house was packed with people, mostly newly promoted wives of officials.
Surrounded by a group of people, Zhao Lijuan, holding a teacup, was beaming and had become the center of attention.
"Sister Lijuan, you are so lucky to have such a young and promising Director Zhao."
"That's right, that's right. We'll have to ask Director Zhao to take good care of my husband in the future."
Hearing these flattering remarks, Zhao Lijuan's mouth practically stretched to her ears, and she waved her hand, saying, "Of course, of course!"
Just then, there was a noise at the door.
Su Wantang appeared at the door, arm in arm with Meng Wan.
Meng Wan wore an elegant cheongsam, her temperament as refined as an orchid, a testament to decades of scholarly refinement.
Su Wantang was wearing a loose, light blue maternity dress. She wore no makeup, but her skin was so white it glowed. Her protruding belly enveloped her in a soft halo.
The room fell silent for a moment as soon as the two appeared.
Several of the ladies who were originally surrounding Zhao Lijuan immediately lit up, abandoned Zhao Lijuan, and went to greet her warmly.
"Oh, Professor Meng, you've come too!"
"Comrade Su, your belly looks quite big, you must be five or six months along, right?"
"Please sit down, please sit down. There are cushions here."
Meng Wan is a renowned professor at a university in Beijing, with countless students. Many of the children present, and even the students themselves, have attended Meng Wan's classes.
Su Wantang, on the other hand, is the rightful daughter-in-law of the Lu family and the apple of Lu Jingyan's eye.
These two people carry far more weight than the wife of a newly appointed logistics director.
Zhao Lijuan's smile froze on the spot.
Her fingers, which were holding the teacup, turned slightly white.
After everyone had finally taken their seats, Zhao Lijuan cleared her throat and deliberately steered the conversation in one direction.
“Hey, I’m telling you, we women should just stay home, be dutiful wives and mothers, that’s the proper thing to do.”
As she spoke, her eyes glanced at Su Wantang, intentionally or unintentionally.
“Some young people nowadays, relying on their own abilities, always think about showing their faces and going out to do business, acting like men.”
A lady who was on good terms with her immediately chimed in: "That's right, a woman should ultimately prioritize her family."
Seeing that others were agreeing with her, Zhao Lijuan spoke even more enthusiastically, raising her voice to make sure everyone present could hear her.
"Especially some women, even with a big belly, are always going out and hanging out with shady characters. If you didn't know better, you'd think the men in their families are incompetent and can't afford to support them!"
...
Meanwhile, in the private room of Tangdixuan.
Qin Zheng sat upright and personally poured tea for the middle-aged couple in front of him.
This couple are the family members of the patient who was recently poisoned by the rare "Dream of the Red Chamber".
"Manager Qin, thank you so much, Mr. Bai. If it weren't for him, my husband, Lao Zhang... sigh!" The man said, his eyes reddening.
He took a brocade box from his wife and pushed it in front of Qin Zheng.
“This is a piece of warm jade passed down in our family. It’s not very valuable, but it’s good for your health if you wear it close to your body. We really don’t know how to thank Mr. Bai for saving our lives. Please be sure to convey this small token of our gratitude to him.”
Qin Zheng couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to accept it.
During their casual conversation, the man brought up the incident again, still feeling lingering fear.
"It's strange, but we later realized that the sachet that caused the harm was left behind by a distant nanny we fired many years ago. That nanny was dishonest; she stole things and ran away, but we never expected her to leave behind such a menace."
The wife beside her nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, I remember now. That nanny was all mysterious, always saying she believed in some god who could protect people. Later, I heard from the villagers that she went to a place called something like... Eagle's Nest, but I don't know what it was for."
The moment the words "Eagle's Nest" were uttered, Qin Zheng's hand, holding the teacup, suddenly paused.
...
After Zhao Lijuan's veiled criticism at the tea party, the whole room fell silent.
All eyes, whether intentionally or unintentionally, were fixed on Su Wantang.
Everyone could tell that these words were directed at her.
Meng Wan turned pale with anger and was about to retort.
Su Wantang reached out and gently pressed the back of her hand.
She calmly picked up the teacup in front of her, brought it to her lips, and gently blew on the steam rising from the rim.
From beginning to end, she didn't even glance at Zhao Lijuan out of the corner of her eye.
His nonchalant demeanor made it seem as if the other person wasn't talking about him, but rather a completely unrelated joke.
That posture, that look in their eyes, clearly said two words:
That's it?
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