The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

What he needed to do was help Yang Qunjie secure the position of County Mayor of Guangshou County.

Doing so had two benefits.

Firstly, by helping Yang Qunjie, he could establish a connection with Tang Guozheng.

Of course, he knew that because of the Hou Family incident, both Yang Qunjie and Liu Yi harbored a natural hostility towards him.

But politics was very pragmatic.

If the benefits someone brings outweigh the disadvantages, even a deep-seated enmity can be temporarily put aside.

Chen Fang, who had always refrained from taking sides, had to change his strategy upon arriving in Shangqing City. If he were to be suppressed by both the top and second-in-command, his work couldn't proceed.

So, he chose to temporarily lean on the powerful tree that was Tang Guozheng, show his own worth, and thus, maneuver between the top and second-in-command, surviving in the gaps.

Secondly.

Once Yang Qunjie secured the County Mayor position of Guangshou County,

any investigation he conducted into the Baizhang Town dance troupe case could garner some support.

Working on the case would naturally be more effective with less effort.

Furthermore, the last point was that Yang Qunjie's securing the County Mayor position of Guangshou County could accelerate the breakdown between Tang Guozheng and Liu Yi. The more fiercely they fought, the higher the chance of benefiting as a bystander.

Step by step, it was indeed a dazzling plan. After he finished explaining his plan,

Mei Yiru was left speechless.

She truly hadn't expected that after just a few days in Shangqing City, Chen Fang already had such a perfect plan.

"Currently, the candidates for the County Mayor position of Guangshou County are fixed on two people: one is Yang Qunjie, arranged by Tang Guozheng, the other is Gu Zhengliang, arranged by Liu Yi. The other day, Tang Guozheng hinted to me that there were issues with Gu Zhengliang's lifestyle. Have you heard these rumors?"

Chen Fang asked.

Mei Yiru nodded.

She smiled and said, "Not only have I heard, but probably no one in the county committee compound hasn't."

"Oh? Tell me about it..."

Chen Fang said eagerly.

"I have to tell you first, these are just things I've heard, I can't say for sure if they're true..."

Mei Yiru prefaced her remarks.

Then she started to recount what she knew.

Gu Zhengliang, aged 40, a deputy-level cadre, currently serves as Deputy Secretary-General of the City Government Office.

This person had no particular background.

However, he had another identity; he once served as the secretary of Zhong Youlu, the Political Consultative Conference Chairman.

Never underestimate the role of Zhong Youlu.

Before becoming the chairman, he was the Mayor of Qianzhou City. Back then, Liu Yi was his Deputy Mayor.

In other words, they knew each other in Qianzhou and maintained a quite good relationship.

It's undeniable that Zhong Youlu was indeed farsighted.

Before retiring, he learned from superiors that he was to be transferred to Shangqing City as Political Consultative Conference Chairman.

He immediately found a way to transfer his secretary, Gu Zhengliang, to the Shangqing City Government Office to serve as Deputy Secretary-General of the City Government.

That was the first step.

Next.

He used his connections to transfer Liu Yi to Shangqing City to serve as Deputy Mayor.

In other words.

Liu Yi's ability to firmly establish himself in Shangqing City owed a great deal to Zhong Youlu.

Later, Liu Yi rose to the position of Mayor, and with Zhong Youlu's help, that's how he managed to stand in opposition to Tang Guozheng.

Liu Yi's faction even became known as the "Qianzhou Faction."

And because of this.

Although Gu Zhengliang was only a Deputy Secretary-General, his status in the City Government Office was quite high.

Even the City Government Secretary-General Lv Xiaoyang had to show him some respect.

Perhaps because of this foundation.

Gu Zhengliang conducted himself with impunity, with a penchant for "loving married women."

While he's known for being a philander, he's not interested in just any woman; even if a stunning beauty were placed before him, he wouldn't be moved. But when it came to the wives of his subordinates or colleagues, as long as they had any slight appeal, he wouldn't let any slip by.

This leads to the "scandal" that took place half a year ago in the City Government Office.

The protagonists of this story, besides Gu Zhengliang, include another Deputy Secretary-General named Li Ba.

This Li Ba is 47 years old, several years older than Gu Zhengliang, but he has a young and pretty wife named Lin Jingfang.

Lin Jingfang, aged 36, is a good eleven years younger than Li Ba. Because of her beauty, Li Ba is known in the office as a "wife-pampering maniac."

More than half a year ago.

On Li Ba's way home from work, he had a minor traffic accident.

The issue wasn't serious, but he injured his ankle, so he took leave to stay in the hospital.

During his hospitalization.

Gu Zhengliang visited Li Ba in the hospital on behalf of the office.

It might have been better if he hadn't visited, but once he saw Lin Jingfang, they hit it off instantly.

At the time, Lin Jingfang was taking care of her husband in the hospital, and though Gu Zhengliang originally intended only to offer sympathy, seeing the stunning Lin Jingfang stirred up his restless heart.

As for Lin Jingfang, she wasn't particularly virtuous either.

After all, Li Ba was getting on in years, lacking vigor in certain respects. How could she not sense Gu Zhengliang's lustful gaze?

After this incident.

Gu Zhengliang intentionally got closer to Li Ba.

Gradually, the two became quite intimate.

Since then, Gu Zhengliang would frequently drop by Li Ba's home for meals, and Li Ba, ever the hospitable host, would always present him with fine food and drink.

After a while, Li Ba noticed something was amiss.

His wife, who had seemed perpetually listless, suddenly appeared vibrant and lively, always meticulously dressed and adorned in revealing outfits before each visit from Gu Zhengliang.

Though he sensed something was going wrong.

Li Ba had no evidence.

So, he installed a hidden camera in a discreet location at home while Lin Jingfang wasn't there.

The day after Gu Zhengliang's next visit.

Upon checking the recordings, Li Ba felt as though his world crumbled.

While not a heavy drinker, Li Ba had excellent composure when intoxicated.

Whenever Gu Zhengliang visited, the two would share a drink, with Li Ba doing his utmost to keep up. Often, before the dinner ended, he would already be dead drunk.

It was the same that day.

Under Gu Zhengliang's repeated toasts.

Within less than half an hour.

Li Ba was already groggy.

With both Lin Jingfang's and Gu Zhengliang's help.

He was laid to rest on the living room couch.

Just as his snores filled the room,

Gu Zhengliang pulled Lin Jingfang into his arms and began exploring her body.

The two fiery bodies entwined, first indulging in passionate kissing, then swiftly and skillfully stripping each other's clothes off for some action.

Had it merely been an affair,

Li Ba wouldn't have been quite as livid.

What enraged him was the manner in which they conducted their affair, which almost made him explode on the spot.