"A small incident has been delayed for more than a month... I know your intentions are good, but have you thought about it? We have a lot to do. How big is the country? How many similar things happen every day? Can we just stand by and watch morality, conscience, and humanity be destroyed and trampled on, gradually lost and even completely extinguished in the world? Can you wait? Can those suffering people wait?"
Xu Zhengyang grew increasingly angry as he spoke, his hands clenching and unclenching, finally suppressing his rage. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking out through the open door at the chaotic white expanse, sighed, shook his head, and said in a rather intimate tone, "Since you entered the City God's Mansion, I haven't made anyone a ghost messenger. I've always encouraged you to think and observe more, and you have indeed changed a lot. But fundamentally, why can't you get rid of your so-called 'big picture'?"
"Gods are beings that transcend the world and exist above any law or state."
"You are capable, possess extraordinary wisdom, have a broad vision, and a grand perspective... I have always admired and even respected you, which is why I intend to give you an important position!"
"Do you understand?"
After thinking for a long time, Li Haidong finally nodded and said, "Understood."
"You'll be in charge of this matter again. Don't disappoint me again..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zhengyang's figure disappeared from the government office of the prefectural god.
Li Haidong remained kneeling, pondering Xu Zhengyang's earlier words and how he should act in the future...
...
After assigning Wang Yonggan to carry out some punitive actions, Xu Zhengyang directly instructed Li Haidong to continue to severely punish the old woman and her family after this incident. Having vented his anger, Xu Zhengyang was able to consider things more calmly.
Especially the momentous event of the Investiture of the Gods!
In conclusion, if we're talking about bestowing titles upon gods now, only Li Haidong is truly qualified to be one. Otherwise, who would be the best candidate? Su Peng, Wang Yonggan, and some kind of ghost messenger are at best suited for their current roles. On a grander scale, they could be made minor officials like the Earth God, but that's a matter for the future. Whether or not they'll be appointed as Earth Gods or similar officials is still uncertain.
Now, Xu Zhengyang needs to arrange for someone who can handle all the affairs under the jurisdiction of the prefectural government and has sufficient coordination and management skills to deal with even the most complicated matters in an orderly manner.
Who else but Li Haidong?
In truth, Li Haidong had absolutely no malicious intent; he was simply too attached to maintaining the human government institutions that he had long held dear.
It seems that a suitable person is indeed needed to supervise his actions from the sidelines.
While Xu Zhengyang was considering these issues, an event that was destined to cause a sensation occurred that evening in Yueshan City.
The old woman's daughter suddenly went berserk at home, smashing things and muttering curses at herself and her mother who was lying in bed recovering from injuries. Then she ran into the street, shouting incoherently, "What a terrible thing I've done! I deserve it! I deserve to die a horrible death! My mother, brother, and the whole family are no good people! They're extorting money from us..."
When the police arrived at the scene after receiving a report, they watched helplessly as the woman slammed her head against a metal lamppost several times before collapsing to the ground covered in blood.
The police rushed over, helped the injured person up, and called for an ambulance. Soon, the ambulance arrived.
However, the woman had already stopped breathing.
The police immediately launched an investigation and surprisingly discovered that the woman had shown no signs of anything unusual before the incident. Her husband, seeing her suddenly going crazy, cursing and smashing things at home, got angry and kicked her out of the house. However, she unexpectedly committed suicide after running away.
When the husband rushed to the scene, hearing the murmurs of the onlookers and recalling his wife's earlier outbursts at home, he collapsed to the ground, muttering in a daze:
"What a terrible thing..."
Volume Six, Chapter 313: A Rare Guest Arrives
As the old saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles.
People have become accustomed to the spread and discussion of such gossip, especially when the story of Chen Hanzhe being extorted after saving someone was being hotly debated. The elderly woman's daughter's mysterious suicide further astonished and drew public attention. It's said that the woman, while committing suicide, kept blaming and cursing herself, saying that she and her family had committed terrible sins and deserved a terrible death…
As we've discussed before, the internet is indeed very powerful these days, so powerful that even people of high status and position have to be wary of it.
Because the speed and scope of that propaganda were so vast. Public opinion and popular sentiment, in fact, represent a significant amount of prestige for a certain social class.
It's just a face!
Many of the ugly things that could have been covered up in the past could now be exposed at any time, making them known to everyone, which is very shameful.
The Chen Hanzhe incident was already widely circulated online, with countless netizens expressing their dissatisfaction and indignation in the comments. With this bizarre event, well, it immediately sparked another wave of discussion online. However, this wave is nowhere near the even more shocking climax that will follow in a few days.
But let's leave that aside for later.
After Xu Zhengyang gave all the instructions, he left Yueshan City the next morning.
He knew that the capital would soon know he had arrived in Yueshan City and was paying attention to such a small matter. Consequently, some local officials would inevitably find out, making it inconvenient for Xu Zhengyang to stay there. Did he really have to put on a show and hold a meeting with the local officials?
That would be ridiculous... They might escalate the situation and drag the Li family into it, giving them a severe dressing down.
After all, you're not a government official; you're still an ordinary citizen.
However, Xu Zhengyang didn't expect that the incident of him slapping the court staff member in a fit of rage at the traffic police would quickly spread online. Because the traffic police and related personnel hadn't prepared cameras or other equipment beforehand, the post circulating online only described the conversation inside the room at the time and the subsequent events.
The poster will naturally add some exaggerated techniques with strong artistic and literary elements to achieve a more exciting and thrilling effect.
Netizens were in an uproar, exclaiming that this was even more exciting than online fantasy novels! It was a real-life version.
...
In the spacious and bright living room, afternoon sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the natural wood floor gleam. The room lacked the chill of autumn, instead feeling the warmth of late spring.
Xu Zhengyang sat on the sofa, flipping through the newspaper. It contained news reports about the various achievements of this year's crackdown on organized crime, as well as news of a high-ranking official in a certain region being placed under investigation for suspected corruption. Xu Zhengyang paid close attention to these reports. There were no political factors involved; after all, he wasn't a politician. What he cared about was understanding how the governing bodies of society handled such situations. This would allow him to improve the work of the various levels of the state government in the future, ensuring a more harmonious relationship with ordinary people and avoiding direct confrontation.
Of course, this is difficult, almost impossible.
Because Jingniang Lake is quite far from Fuhe City, and Xu Neng usually works for a construction company, he spends most of his time living in Fuhe City. After lunch, Yuan Suqin asked Zhu Jun to drive her and her nanny, Xiao Zhou, back to her hometown, Shuanghe Village. At her age, her personality was hard to change; she had a courtyard in Shuanghe Village, and if she didn't go back every few days to check on it and tidy it up, she wouldn't feel at ease.
Thus, only Xu Zhengyang and his wife, along with Qingling and Li Chengzong's family of three, lived in this villa.
Contrary to expectations, Qingling spent her days exercising and staying in the small courtyard where Li Chengzong and his family of three lived.
No one would want to bother disturbing Xu Zhengyang and Li Bingjie's sweet time together.
"Zhengyang, is the person mentioned in this post you?"
Li Bingjie, who was sitting at the computer desk in the northeast corner of the living room, suddenly turned her head and asked with a smile.
Xu Zhengyang responded, stood up, smiled, and walked over: "Let me see which posts are talking about me?"
Upon reaching her, Xu Zhengyang put an arm around Li Bingjie, his cheek pressed against her soft black hair and delicate ear. Smiling, he reached out and took her hand from the mouse, letting her scroll through a post for him to see.
The post describes the conflict between Xu Zhengyang and Qu Haobo.
The post received numerous replies, resulting in over six hundred comments.
Xu Zhengyang smiled and said, "Yes, it's me."
"Is that person really that bad?" Li Bingjie tilted her head back, resting the back of her head on Xu Zhengyang's shoulder, and asked with a soft smile.
"Would I hit a good person?" Xu Zhengyang asked, looking down as he lightly kissed Li Bingjie's forehead.
"Um."
It was a heartwarming scene...
Xu Zhengyang's phone rang. He kissed Li Bingjie, patted her shoulder, then took out his phone, turned around, walked to the glass door, and pressed the answer button.
"Zhengyang, I have some things to take care of at the company, so I'm turning off my phone."
Chen Chaojiang's usual cold voice came through the phone.
"Um, where are you now?" Xu Zhengyang asked.
"He came back the day before yesterday and stayed at Ronghua Group."
“I live near Jingniang Lake. I’ll put my work aside and come here first.”
Without any hesitation, Chen Chaojiang said, "Okay, I'll be right there."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Zhengyang rubbed his forehead and stood at the door looking outside.
The villa's main entrance faces north, with a small hill to the south. From the stone path inside the villa's courtyard, you can walk out of the resort to the backyard, and after going up the hill and walking a little west, you can reach the picturesque Jingniang Lake. To the north of the main entrance are some orchards outside the resort, as well as some trees and grass, with a wide asphalt road leading to the national highway in the middle.
It was late autumn, and yellow had covered most of the vegetation. A bleak autumn wind blew, leaves fell in droves, and the grass and trees stood desolate.
Wang Yonggan's voice echoed in my mind: "Sir, a black Audi A6 is approaching."
"Understood." Xu Zhengyang replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. He scanned the Nine Provinces Record with his mind in an instant, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He already knew who the visitor was.
Turning around and walking to Li Bingjie's side, Xu Zhengyang smiled and said, "Bingjie, don't sit in front of the computer for too long, your eyes will get tired easily. Go back to your room and lie down, someone will be here in a while."
"Okay." Li Bingjie obediently stood up and walked lightly, like a cloud, towards the bedroom on the second floor.
Xu Zhengyang walked to the sofa and sat down, picking up the newspaper to continue reading.
A short while later, Qingling and Li Chengzong walked in one after the other, and Qingling went straight upstairs.
Li Chengzong walked up to Xu Zhengyang and whispered, "Zhengyang, Wen Qin, the governor of Hedong Province, and Wang Duanhong, the former president of Hedong University, have arrived..."
"Oh, let them in," Xu Zhengyang nodded and said.
"Okay," Li Chengzong replied and turned to leave.
Two minutes later, Li Chengzong entered first, followed by Wang Duanhong, a white-haired man wearing glasses. Another man, who looked energetic and was in his fifties, also entered.
Wang Duanhong carried two exquisite gift boxes in his hands. As soon as he entered, he lowered his head and looked up at Xu Zhengyang with a somewhat awkward expression and a forced smile on his face. On the other hand, Governor Wen Qin had a calm smile on his face and exuded an aura of authority without anger.
Unfortunately, Xu Zhengyang did not stand up to greet them politely because of their status. He casually put down his newspaper and greeted them with a calm and casual expression: "A small temple cannot accommodate a great Buddha. Governor Wen has come to visit. I am sorry for not welcoming you properly."
A hint of annoyance crept onto Wang Duanhong's face.
Wen Qin frowned slightly. Then, he smiled magnanimously and said, "Yesterday, when I was inspecting work in Fuhe City, they repeatedly recommended that I visit the Jingniang Lake Scenic Area. They also said that Ronghua Group, a large conglomerate in our province, has developed a top-notch villa scenic area here. I couldn't resist their recommendation, so I came to take a look... I heard that you, Zhengyang, are currently living here, so I thought I'd stop by to visit... What? You're not welcome?"
"No, please sit down," Xu Zhengyang said with a smile, raising his hand.
Wen Qin's smile betrayed a slight hint of displeasure, but he wasn't truly angry at Xu Zhengyang's rudeness. He walked over and sat down on a sofa to the side. Wang Duanhong naturally followed, placing the gift on the long glass coffee table. He then put on a fake smile and sat down next to Wen Qin on the sofa.
Without letting them explain their purpose, Xu Zhengyang didn't bother with any pleasantries. Like a reckless young man who lacked manners, he leaned back on the sofa, looked at Wang Duanhong, and said bluntly and without any emotion, "Why didn't you go to prison?"
"Um?"
Wen Qin and Wang Duanhong were both taken aback.
“I remember telling you to turn yourself in…” Xu Zhengyang narrowed his eyes, a cold glint in them.
"It's not really a confession. I only had minor issues in that area; I didn't commit any crimes. I'm currently suspended from my duties and reflecting on my actions," Wang Duanhong said awkwardly.
Wen Qin was very dissatisfied with Xu Zhengyang's attitude. He smiled like an elder and said, "Zhengyang, I just came here to visit you today. Principal Wang is an old friend of mine, so I'm going to put aside my pride and apologize to you on his behalf. Let's just forget about the unpleasantness and misunderstandings from the past. What do you say?"
"Well, there's nothing between us." Xu Zhengyang nodded and waved his hand.
Seeing Xu Zhengyang's attitude, Wen Qin and Wang Duanhong felt slightly relieved. Wen Qin continued, "I've already called Vice Minister Li to ask for his opinion..." As he said this, Wen Qin still harbored some doubts. He really didn't understand why Vice Minister Li cared so much about the opinion of their son-in-law. He mentioned it with a somewhat troubled tone, saying that if Xu Zhengyang could understand, he would have no objections.
Volume Six, Chapter 314: I Won't Give Face to Anyone
The Vice Minister Li that Wen Qin mentioned was, of course, Li Bingjie's second uncle, Li Ruiqing.
When Wen Qin heard what Li Ruiqing said, he secretly thought to himself, “Your Li family has been thriving lately. You’ve really become so powerful and arrogant. Even your son-in-law, who has no official position, has to send someone to apologize when he has a conflict with someone.”
This is clearly not the kind of refinement and magnanimity that someone in a high position should possess.
Could it be that there are some other unknown conflicts between Wang Duanhong and this son-in-law of the Li family?
Wen Qin privately inquired with Wang Duanhong, but Wang Duanhong said that he and Xu Zhengyang were complete strangers. He only met this seemingly righteous, young, and impulsive son-in-law from a powerful and wealthy family after the incident at Hedong University. Of course, the circumstances of their meeting and the unpleasant events that followed were truly embarrassing and difficult to recount…