Three educated youths of similar age who shared common interests.

In those formidable years, they offered each other support and forged a deep friendship through adversity.

They spent a total of over four years together.

After four years, their time in the countryside ended, and they each went their separate ways.

Chen Zhiguo hailed from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners; after a few years of further study, he returned to Changming County. At that time, the medical facilities in Changming County were poor, and he wanted to use his abilities to save more lives.

After returning to Dongshan City, Ding Yuan also entered officialdom.

Since he started later than Tan Yandong, his career wasn't as smooth.

Despite being far apart,

the brotherly bond between the three remained unchanged.

To some extent, their relationship had transcended life and death.

At this point,

Ding Yuan's gaze grew hazy.

He looked at Chen Fang and said, "Do you know? In the second year of being sent to the countryside, an epidemic swept through Yangmei Town. Many people fell ill at that time. Tan Yandong and I were on the brink of death, about to die, when your father, despite being sick himself, went up the mountains and tasted various herbs. In the end, he came up with a prescription that saved many of us, including Tan Yandong and me."

He paused, then added, "Apart from being brothers who would die for each other, he was also our savior."

In Chen Fang's memory,

he had known Tan Yandong from a very young age because of his father's friendship with him.

However, he did not know Ding Yuan.

Only now did he learn that at that time, Ding Yuan had always been in Dongshan City.

The change in events happened nine years ago.

That year Chen Zhiguo took his wife back to the provincial capital to visit relatives. By then, Chen Zhiguo had already earned recognition as an expert physician. After returning, he was worried and met with Tan Yandong briefly before both of them died soon after.

At that moment,

Ding Yuan looked at Chen Fang and asked, "Do you know how your parents died?"

Chen Fang nodded and said, "My godfather told me that they were returning from a medical trip when they encountered terrible weather and accidentally fell to their deaths from a mountain."

Ding Yuan said, "Yes, the cause of death was indeed so, but Tan Yandong did not tell you that your father had a premonition that something bad would happen to him."

"What?"

Chen Fang suddenly became agitated.

He looked at Ding Yuan incredulously, as Ding Yuan's words suggested another meaning—that the death of Chen Zhiguo and his wife might not have been an accident.

Ding Yuan nodded slightly and said, "Your parents' death was, in fact, not an accident but a murder!"

Boom!

Chen Fang's mind was struck as if by thunder, and he stood there stunned.

His entire being seemed as though his soul had been drained.

"Is their death related to their last trip to the provincial city to visit relatives?"

Chen Fang suddenly asked.

Ding Yuan nodded as a confirmation.

He took a deep breath and said, "During the time Chen Zhiguo went back to the provincial capital to visit relatives, a major incident occurred in the city. It was this incident that led to the murderous calamity that befell your parents."

"Does this matter have to do with Jiang Chuo?"

Chen Fang asked.

Ding Yuan nodded again and said, "Yes, it has to do with Jiang Chuo."

That year Jiang Chuo was 47 years old, which was the fifth year since he joined the political scene. At that time, he was the deputy mayor of Rongjiang City in the provincial capital.

At this point, one cannot help but mention Jiang Chuo's background.

Jiang Chuo, too, came from a poor family but he had turned his life around through education.

At the age of 27, he became the youngest professor at Rongjiang University of Science and Technology.

That same year, a wealthy young lady took a liking to him. Although this young lady wasn't particularly attractive, her family had a strong background—as her father was Wang Qitai, the then Organizational Department Minister of Rongjiang City.

This young lady's name was Wang Taotao.

After marrying Wang Taotao,

Jiang Chuo began his meteoric rise.

By his 30s, he was already in the upper echelons of Rongjiang University of Science and Technology's management.

In his early 40s, he quickly assumed the role of vice president of the university.

At 42, with the machinations of his retiring father-in-law, he formally entered politics and became the deputy mayor of Rongjiang City.

The story returns to Chen Zhiguo.

News had it that Chen Zhiguo was back to visit his family.

Wang Qitai, who was nearly seventy, suddenly dropped by and requested Chen Zhiguo to come to his house to treat his daughter, Wang Taotao's illness.

He said that Wang Taotao had been bedridden for a while, and after many hospital visits, nothing had helped; she was now at death's door.

Chen Zhiguo was a doctor.

In terms of treating and saving people, he naturally didn't hesitate.

He promptly went with his wife.

After diagnosing Wang Taotao, Chen Zhiguo could only express his helplessness before leaving without a word.

"So, my parents' deaths are related to this medical treatment?"

Chen Fang asked.

Ding Yuan nodded his head.

He said, "Your parents were smart people. After diagnosing Wang Taotao, they discovered an anomaly. Wang Taotao's illness wasn't natural."

"What do you mean it wasn't natural?"

Chen Fang asked.

Yu Zhengchuan, who was beside him, said, "It means someone poisoned her."

"Poisoned?"

Chen Fang asked in surprise.

Ding Yuan nodded and said, "It was a very rare poison, one that even the official hospital equipment couldn't detect, but your parents noticed it. However, they couldn't cure this poison and, sensing that there was definitely something wrong, the two of them kept silent."

After returning to Changming County, Chen Zhiguo shared the incident with Tan Yandong; he suspected that the poison was administered by Jiang Chuo.

"Why would my father be so sure of that? He didn't see Jiang Chuo poison her, did he?"

Chen Fang inquired.

Ding Yuan replied, "This poison had a perverse effect; the victim would be paralyzed and weak, unable to even speak. When Chen Zhiguo initially diagnosed her, Jiang Chuo wasn't present, but halfway through, Jiang Chuo returned, repeatedly preventing your parents from diagnosing her and even scolding your father as a quack. He was very agitated at the time."

It was clear from this.

Jiang Chuo's behavior was extremely abnormal at the time.

It was for this reason that Chen Zhiguo got a sense of crisis.

The day after confiding in Tan Yandong, Chen Zhiguo and his wife fell from a cliff, marking the end of a generation's medical genius.

Having heard the entire story,

Chen Fang fell silent.

After long contemplation, he asked, "So, you believe that it was Jiang Chuo who had someone carry out the act, is that right?"

"It's not a matter of belief; it's the conclusion Tan Yandong and I arrived at after our investigation,"

Ding Yuan stated.

After the death of the Chen couple, Tan Yandong secretly began an investigation, discovering that the name of the person who had asked the Chen couple to go up the mountain to treat the illness didn't actually exist at all. Plus, with Wang Taotao dying after three or four days, all these abnormalities made them increasingly feel that there were too many suspicious points.

Next,

they started to hire people to investigate Jiang Chuo's various activities in the provincial capital.

They had no idea until they checked, which was a shock.

During the years Jiang Chuo was a leader at the university, he had kept many mistresses. After he entered politics, these women scattered to various places, becoming tools for him to curry favor with the powerful and to amass wealth, among them was Xiao Xiao.

"So, Xiao Xiao was just one of them?"

Chen Fang questioned.

Ding Yuan nodded, confirming, "That's right."

Having discovered these anomalies, Tan Yandong and Ding Yuan decided to seek revenge for Chen Zhiguo.

But taking action against a vice mayor in the provincial city was easier said than done.

Tan Yandong searched for a long time until he finally found a lead.

"This lead, it's related to Tian Shaoguang, isn't it?"

Chen Fang questioned.

A hint of surprise flickered in Ding Yuan's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

He confirmed, "That's right, it's related to Tian Shaoguang."

At that time, Jiang Chuo, in Rongjiang City, was in charge of land and resources, and Tian Shaoguang had prospered under Jiang Chuo's patronage. Tian Shaoguang was a direct beneficiary of Jiang Chuo's influence and certainly knew a lot. So, they focused their attention on him.

Their idea was simple at the time: To take down Jiang Chuo, they only had one option, and that was to get close to Jiang Chuo through Tian Shaoguang and, after obtaining evidence against him, drag him down from his position.

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