Michelle's second uncle, Liu Ming, worked at the television station. He had only been a deputy section chief, but recently his luck had turned, and he was abruptly promoted to Section Chief.

It was rumored that his promotion came directly from Zhang De, a member of the County Party Committee Standing Committee and the head of the Propaganda Department. Considering Zhang De's current good relationship with Mi Zhiguo, Michelle's second uncle attributed this breakthrough entirely to Mi Zhiguo's influence.

He believed Mi Zhiguo had specifically put in a good word for him, allowing him to take this crucial step.

This time, however, he was mistaken. Zhang De's decision to promote him was entirely due to Zhang Yang's connections. Liu Ming was keen to cultivate relationships with anyone connected to Zhang Yang.

Once Michelle and Zhang Yang were married, he would also be Zhang Yang's uncle-in-law. Establishing a connection sooner was better than later; this small favor he was doing for himself might prove beneficial in the future.

While Liu Ming was rushing home, Mi Zhiguo and Zhang De were both seated in the County Party Committee meeting room.

Also present were Zhou Guocheng, the Secretary of the County Party Committee; Hu Haiming, the Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee and Director of the Public Security Bureau; and Yu Wensheng, the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee.

Both Mi Zhiguo and Zhang De kept their heads lowered, and Zhou Guocheng's expression was grim.

Yu Wensheng, a municipal leader, had come down unexpectedly for just one matter: the prior poisoning incident at the Mi Ji Congee Shop. That case had already been concluded, but unexpectedly, it had been escalated to the municipal level, leading the city to dispatch a senior official specifically to investigate.

"Old Zhou, we worked together before. You were always such a steady individual; how have you become like this?"

Seated in the head chair was Yu Wensheng, speaking without the slightest courtesy. The "Old Zhou" he addressed was Zhou Guocheng, the County Party Secretary.

"Secretary Yu, I made a mistake this time. I accept the criticism!"

Zhou Guocheng shook his head helplessly. While he was the top leader in the county, before his superiors, he was just a subordinate soldier; the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee held a significantly higher rank.

It was true that Yu Wensheng mentioned working together, but it wasn't a direct reporting relationship; they were merely in the same system. Despite this, Yu Wensheng saying so still made Zhou Guocheng feel uncomfortable.

Yu Wensheng spoke again, "When something goes wrong, you can't just think about admitting fault. One dead, twelve injured, malicious poisoning—this is no minor affair. In the bright light of the Republic, such evil acts still occur. This must be investigated thoroughly to the end. Not a single lawbreaker should be spared!"

"Secretary Yu, we have already clarified this case. The chef at Mi Ji Congee Shop, Shao Cheng, intentionally poisoned the food. Shao Cheng has confessed, and we have recovered the remaining arsenic. Furthermore, the legal representative of Mi Ji Congee Shop, Mi Zhicheng, has provided compensation, and the victims' families have no further objections!" Director Hu Haiming of the Public Security Bureau interjected quickly. Since this was a poisoning case, it naturally fell under their jurisdiction.

Hu Haiming was a veteran of the Lishan County Public Security Bureau. After the previous bureau chief left in disgrace, the city directly promoted him. Although becoming a permanent official had been his dream for years, the experiences of the previous two directors had instilled in him a deep sense of caution upon his appointment. He only focused on his work, daring not to show any arrogance.

Because of his low profile and pragmatism, the work of the Lishan County Public Security Bureau had progressed remarkably well over the past few months. Some improper practices had been corrected, earning them commendations.

"The poisoner was the chef—are you certain you investigated his true motive? Why commit such a horrifying act? And what about the legal representative of Mi Ji Congee Shop—does he bear any other responsibility? I heard he only paid a small amount in damages. Was there any favoritism or obstruction of justice to downplay the matter? This is a major case with extremely negative repercussions and absolutely cannot be handled superficially!" Yu Wensheng pressed on. Mi Zhiguo suddenly looked up, and Zhou Guocheng, Zhang De, and Hu Haiming all glanced toward him.

Yu Wensheng had clearly come prepared this time.

Everyone knew exactly who the legal representative of Mi Ji Congee Shop was: Mi Zhicheng, Mi Zhiguo's biological younger brother.

And who was Yu Wensheng? He was the elder brother of Yu Wenwu and the uncle of Yu Yong.

Years ago, Yu Yong and his father were severely crushed by Zhang Yang, resulting in Yu Yong becoming insane and currently residing in a psychiatric hospital. Yu Wenwu had still not managed to make a comeback and remained idle at home.

That past incident, seemingly a conflict between Zhang Yang and the Yu family, was actually ignited by the Mi family.

It would have been fine, but recently the Mi family had suddenly announced publicly, almost ensuring everyone knew, that Zhang Yang was going to get engaged to Mi Xue. Yu Wenwu, who already held resentment toward the Mi family, could not tolerate this news when he heard it.

He approached his elder brother, the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, who could easily put pressure on a Deputy County Head. Fortunately, there was an old, suppressed case in Lishan County involving Mi Zhiguo. Yu Wensheng decided to use this case as leverage to personally descend upon Lishan.

Simply put, he was here to cause trouble for Mi Zhiguo.

"Secretary Yu, I can guarantee that this matter was handled fairly and justly; there was absolutely no favoritism or obstruction of justice. All of Mi Zhicheng's penalties were administered according to regulations. Director Hu just stated that the victims' families are satisfied!" Zhang De stepped forward to explain, as Mi Zhiguo remained silent.

After returning from Changjing, Zhang De had become a steadfast supporter of Mi Zhiguo. Seeing Yu Wensheng aggressively target Mi Zhiguo now, he immediately voiced his support.

Yu Wensheng was powerful, but Mi Zhiguo’s in-laws were the Zhang Keqin family. With the impending engagement, that connection was far more influential than Yu Wensheng’s, so Zhang De was not particularly afraid.

Zhou Guocheng and Hu Haiming looked at Zhang De with some surprise. They knew Zhang De and Mi Zhiguo were close, but they hadn't expected Zhang De to be so close as to openly defy Yu Wensheng on Mi Zhiguo's behalf.

Yu Wensheng was clearly there to confront Mi Zhiguo, and Zhang De’s action was certain to displease him.

"Since when did the Propaganda Department start overseeing matters belonging to the Public Security Bureau?" Yu Wensheng glanced at Zhang De and suddenly said coldly. This single sentence clearly indicated Yu Wensheng's attitude. He was highly displeased that Zhang De had stepped forward. As a member of the Municipal Party Standing Committee and Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, he was two ranks above Zhang De, allowing him to speak less politely.

Zhang De met a rebuff but didn't seem to mind. He simply turned his head away and stopped speaking. In his mind, he was inwardly sneering. Yu Wensheng was clearly using this incident to stir up trouble. If the confrontation was about something else, it would be one thing, but to arrive right after Zhang Yang and Mi Xue announced their engagement clearly showed Yu Wensheng intended to make things difficult for the Mi family.

The real underlying cause was Zhang Yang. Yu Wensheng had fixed his sights on Zhang Yang. Instead of showing fear, Zhang De felt a spark of excitement. Yu Wensheng had no idea who was truly behind Zhang Yang; if he knew, even three times his current courage wouldn't allow him to show up here to discuss this matter. Zhang De might not measure up to Yu Wensheng, but Yu Wensheng was far inferior to Zhang Keqin.

"Let me explain," Mi Zhiguo finally spoke. He understood now. Yu Wensheng's target this time was explicitly him.

The Yu family was signaling their profound displeasure with the engagement between Zhang Yang and Mi Xue, or perhaps they intended to sabotage the marriage entirely, preventing the union. If Mi Zhiguo insisted on proceeding with the engagement, Yu Wensheng would very likely seize this opportunity and pursue it relentlessly, as Mi Zhicheng was, after all, Mi Zhiguo's own brother.

"The Mi Ji Congee Shop involved in this case is owned by my brother, Mi Zhicheng, but the incident genuinely had nothing to do with him. It was an act of revenge by the chef against the manager. Moreover, afterwards, Mi Zhicheng provided a total of two hundred and eight thousand yuan in compensation. Whether for the fatality or for those poisoned, everyone received compensation, all according to established regulations!" Mi Zhiguo spoke slowly, showing no fear.

Had it not been for his previous trip to Changjing, he might now be deeply worried, perhaps even forced to compromise under Yu Wensheng’s pressure. However, having understood everything, he genuinely felt no fear. Like Zhang De, he wasn't afraid of Yu Wensheng using this issue to vent his anger. If the matter truly escalated, Yu Wensheng would be the one to suffer the consequences. If Yu Wensheng’s true goal was to disrupt the engagement, then the escalation would benefit him, requiring no further action from their side.

"Slap!" Yu Wensheng suddenly slammed a document in his hand onto the table, glaring at Mi Zhiguo, shouting in fury, "Regulations? What regulations? One dead, twelve injured—is twenty thousand enough to settle it? Is a human life worth just twelve thousand yuan?" Anyone unfamiliar with the situation would think he was standing up nobly for the common people. Those who understood the context knew this was nothing more than settling a personal score and deliberately creating trouble.

Yu Wensheng was truly furious right now. He was indeed there to cause trouble, and what could Mi Zhiguo do about it? Mi Zhiguo was much lower in rank and had to listen to him. He had expected that with his personal arrival and a few stern words, the smart Mi Zhiguo would immediately understand what was required: cancel the engagement and allow the Yu family to save face. The downfall of Yu Yong and his father originated from the attempt to engage with Mi Xue. If Zhang Yang and Mi Xue were allowed to successfully announce their engagement smoothly, the Yu family's honor would be utterly lost.

"Bang!" The office door suddenly flew open, and Secretary Xiao Chen of Zhou Guocheng rushed in frantically.

"What are you doing? Don't you know we are in a meeting?" Zhou Guocheng shouted angrily. Not only was this a meeting, but it was a meeting with a superior leader present, and the secretary bursting in like this caused him to lose face. At that moment, he even considered replacing his secretary. Managing subordinates was a measure of a leader's capability, especially someone as close as a secretary. If the secretary was incompetent, the leader was deemed incompetent as well. His secretary had committed a grave error today. To make such a fundamental mistake in front of a leader was unforgivable.

"Se-Secretary Zhou, I have an urgent matter to report to you, I momentarily forgot myself!" Secretary Xiao Chen looked flustered, rubbing his hands together, standing there looking utterly terrified.

"What is it?" Zhou Guocheng frowned again. Xiao Chen glanced at the other people in the meeting room, hesitating to speak.

"Say it immediately, or you can report to the archives room right now!" Zhou Guocheng’s voice involuntarily grew louder. This secretary had no sense of propriety, wanting to speak privately while a superior was present—it was utterly improper. Zhou Guocheng was truly entertaining the idea of replacement now.

Secretary Xiao Chen jumped, startled, and quickly said, "I'll say it, I'll say it! My classmate, Zhao Lei, just called me. He said he saw Secretary Zhang in Lishan. I asked him several times, and he is completely certain it was Secretary Zhang. So I rushed in to report to you!" Xiao Chen spoke quickly. Zhou Guocheng looked momentarily confused, "Secretary Zhang? Which Secretary Zhang?"

"Secretary Zhang Keqin of the Provincial Party Committee!" Xiao Chen added quickly. Mi Zhiguo and Zhang De both sprang to their feet instantly, expressions of relief and excitement mixed on their faces.

Second update. State is very poor today; I'm suffering terribly from an allergic reaction. Just two updates for today for now. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian to cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)