"Impossible, Guo Ruiliang doesn't have the guts for this."

Jiang Tuo said, somewhat incredulously.

Sun Zhenggang nodded.

He said, "I thought the same, but when I questioned him, he absolutely refused to say anything. There's nothing I can do."

"What about Wang Liuqing? Isn't she with you…"

Jiang Tuo stopped mid-sentence.

He didn't continue with what he was going to say next.

Sun Zhenggang sighed deeply and said, "She also wouldn't reveal the specifics. Both of them simply claimed they were too drunk."

Even though the facts were right in front of him,

Jiang Tuo still found it hard to believe.

After a long moment of contemplation, he asked, "Could it be Chen Fang pulling the strings?"

Sun Zhenggang sneered.

He said, "Come on, Old Jiang, let's not jump at shadows. Chen Fang arrived with us, didn't he? Even if he wanted to play tricks, he couldn't have arranged a meeting with Wang Liuqing, let alone Guo Ruiliang. If it were him, he would have admitted it by now."

That made sense.

Chen Fang had been in Guanghe County for less than a month. Did he have that much influence?

Jiang Tuo took a deep breath.

He said, "No matter what, at this critical juncture, this scandal is quite problematic. If this gets out, both Guo Ruiliang and Wang Liuqing might be done for. It would be a huge loss for us."

Sun Zhenggang nodded.

He said, "Indeed, it's very troublesome. So you need to ensure Guo Ruiliang's successor is reliable. I'll keep an eye on Wang Liuqing's replacement. We can't let all our efforts go down the drain."

After saying this,

Jiang Tuo glanced around, lowered his voice and asked, "Zhenggang, do you think your father might have found out and deliberately orchestrated this, killing two birds with one stone?"

Sun Zhenggang was taken aback.

Then he shook his head and said, "Impossible. I've been around my father constantly. His closest aides are now my people. If he had found out, I would have been the first to know."

This relieved Jiang Tuo.

He said, "It's for the best that he hasn't discovered anything. That puts my mind at ease. Alright, let's leave it here for today, and let's meet less frequently from now on to avoid arousing suspicion."

After leaving these words,

Jiang Tuo hurriedly turned and left.

This conversation indicated,

there were secrets between Jiang Tuo and Sun Zhenggang, kept even from Sun Yangqian.

In reality, this was indeed the case.

As mentioned before, Sun Yangqian was 54 this year, while Sun Zhenggang was already 29.

Within Sun Yangqian's group,

Sun Zhenggang was nominally the Crown Prince.

But in terms of power, he was restricted everywhere.

He couldn't decide on personnel, the development direction, or even his position. He was outranked by some of Sun Yangqian's old hands.

The four main industries he managed—gambling, drugs, prostitution, and alcohol—none were genuinely entrusted to Sun Zhenggang.

Nearing his thirtieth year,

he essentially had no assets of his own.

Added to Sun Yangqian's strict parenting,

where anything beneath expectations earned him a beating or scolding,

resentment built up in Sun Zhenggang over time.

Similarly,

Jiang Tuo, a county magistrate who had to bow and scrape to Sun Yangqian daily, harbored his own discontent. Under his instigation, he and Sun Zhenggang secretly formed a small faction.

They networked,

gathered followers.

Without Sun Yangqian's knowledge,

they brought many of his loyalists under their command, listening to their orders.

Like Wang Liuqing and Guo Ruiliang,

both of whom they had already bought over.

Chen Fang, unwittingly in doing a good deed through ill-intent,

helped Sun Yangqian by getting rid of these two major threats.

Of course,

this internal discord,

also gave Chen Fang the opportunity to break the deadlock later on.

Early the next morning,

Chen Fang had just entered his office when he saw a crowd gathered at the door.

Focusing his gaze,

he saw that Disciplinary Committee Secretary Zhou Feng and Organization Department Minister Deng Xingyong were among them.

This was surprising, considering these were Jiang Tuo's staunch loyalists.

County Party Office Director Ma Shizhen rushed over, saying, "Secretary Chen, you're finally here. I told them you hadn't arrived yet, but they waited at the door, and I didn't know what to do."

Chen Fang smiled.

He said, "It's alright, Director Ma, go ahead with your work."

Ma Shizhen looked at Chen Fang with some confusion.

He didn't know what was happening either.

Nearly a month had passed since Chen Fang assumed office,

and his office had been almost deserted.

After all, Chen Fang's reputation in the county was not great. People said that besides being infatuated with women, he had no real skills.

No matter what issue arose,

everyone generally sought out Jiang Tuo to resolve it.

But overnight,

the situation had changed.

It was bewildering.

This wasn't hard to understand though, as there were no big secrets in the political arena. What happened last night at the Qianbaidu Nightclub had already caused a commotion by morning.

"Secretary Chen, you're here..."

"Good morning, Secretary Chen."

"..."

As soon as they saw Chen Fang, everyone crowded around.

Their faces were filled with smiles, which made Chen Fang feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Is there something urgent?"

Chen Fang asked with a warm smile.

"Secretary Chen, I came to report some work."

"Secretary Chen, I also have some work to update you on."

Officials from various departments and towns said excitedly.

Chen Fang, still smiling, said, "Everyone, I have a standing committee meeting shortly. If you want to report work, you might have to wait. Please tell Director Ma first, alright?"

"Sure, sure, Secretary Chen, you go ahead. We'll come by later."

The sensible ones laughed and left.

Seeing the situation, the less perceptive ones also left reluctantly.

Zhou Feng and Deng Xingyong were about to leave too when Chen Fang said, "Secretary Zhou, Minister Deng, you're just in time. I have something to discuss with you both."

The two exchanged a glance and followed Chen Fang into his office.

Chen Fang personally poured water and brought it over to them.

They immediately stood up to receive him.

After inviting them to sit,

Chen Fang said to them, "There are two matters. The first one concerns Comrade Qu Hongying. Secretary Zhou, you should be the most familiar with this. Can you tell me the details?"

Upon hearing this,

Zhou Feng started to sweat.

He was involved in Qu Hongying's case too.

He had heard about Guo Ruiliang's incident, which is why he came in a hurry to brief Chen Fang.

"S-S-Secretary Chen... this matter..."

Chen Fang saw his discomfort.

With a smile, he said, "Secretary Zhou, to be honest, I've already learned some of the details from other sources. Don't feel pressured. These things happen between men and women. We all make mistakes. What matters now is how we report Guo Ruiliang's situation to the upper-level People's Congress."

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