Me! A high-ranking official!

"That's enough!" Xu Qingqing suddenly spoke up. She had been leaning against Qi Xiongwen's chest, watching Zhao Jianguo and Cao Wenting confront each other like a spectator, with a hint of impatience on her face.

Hearing Zhao Jianguo curse, Qi Xiongwen's face darkened instantly. He broke free from Qi Xiongwen's embrace, walked up to Zhao Jianguo in his slippers, crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and looked at him with a gaze that seemed to be scrutinizing him from above.

"Zhao Jianguo, who are you calling names? You're just a country bumpkin, what right do you have to insult me? Look at yourself, what can you do with the little money you earn in a month? You hesitate for half a month before buying a bag, and you have to check the price before going out to eat. I've been with you for two years, two years! Do you know how I've lived these past two years? My best friend's husband drives an Audi and lives in a villa. Her husband earns more in a year than you earn in ten years! When I go out to meet up with them, all they talk about is where they went on vacation and what brand of bags they bought. I can't even get a word in edgewise!"

"Besides writing those lousy reports, what else can you do? Can you satisfy my material needs or my emotional needs? You can't even satisfy my physical needs in bed, and you still have the nerve to criticize me here!"

This statement was so blunt that even Qi Xiongwen, who was standing to the side, burst out laughing.

Xu Qingqing turned around and glared at him, scolding Qi Xiongwen for his inappropriate laughter. She then turned back and continued to berate him:

"Let me tell you, Zhao Jianguo, I married you against my will. Do you know how much I drank that wedding night? I couldn't have brought myself to drink without it! Who do you think you are? Do you think you're good enough for me? You should take a good look at yourself. You're just average-looking, average-built, average-capable. What's so great about you?"

Zhao Jianguo's eyes were bloodshot, and he let out a furious growl: "Xu Qingqing, you......."

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Xu Qingqing interrupted him directly: "Why do you think I had a miscarriage last year? You think I accidentally fell down? Let me tell you, I took the medication myself!"

The living room suddenly fell silent. Zhao Jianguo stared at the other person with wide eyes, unable to believe his eyes.

"I took abortion pills!" Xu Qingqing said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Because I don't want to have your children at all. You're not worthy of me having your children. You're just a country bumpkin; what good genes could you possibly have? Why should I carry on your family line?"

Zhao Jianguo swayed, as if he had been hit in the chest with a heavy hammer.

That child, when Xu Qingqing got pregnant last year, he was so happy that he couldn't sleep for three days. He cooked her different kinds of delicious food every day. When she wanted something sour in the middle of the night, he ran all over the county to buy sour plums. He took care of all the big and small things at home.

He was hoping to have a baby this year, so that life would have something to look forward to. But then, when it snowed, Xu Qingqing insisted on going out to see the snow with her best friend. He couldn't stop her. After a while, Xu Qingqing called back to say that the baby was gone. He cried and comforted Xu Qingqing, saying that it was okay, that they were still young and could have another baby later.

It turned out to be medication.

"And...!" Xu Qingqing lowered her head, glanced at her stomach, and touched it. A look he had never seen before appeared on her face—a gentle, sweet expression, radiating maternal warmth.

"I'm pregnant with Xiongwen's child again. Originally, I was thinking that we could make it work, since you didn't know anyway. You could help me and Xiongwen raise the child, and we could separate when the child grew up. But now that you've found out, that's fine. It's over. It saves me from having to look at your face every day. It's disgusting."

Zhao Jianguo stood there, trembling all over, roaring with an almost frenzied rage:

"You...you mother and daughter...you have no shame...I must spread this far and wide...I want the whole county to know...what kind of people your Cao family is..."

Cao Wenting's expression finally changed, revealing a coldness that came from having her bottom line crossed.

"Zhao Jianguo." The voice wasn't loud, but every word carried an air of authority, as if he were speaking to a suspect from an interrogation chair: "You'd better think carefully before you speak."

She took a step forward, and at that moment, the demeanor of a deputy secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission was fully revealed... Her back was straight, her eyes were piercing, and she exuded an aura that made people dare not look directly at her.

"Although you've been suspended from your work, you're still a public official and under the supervision of the Discipline Inspection Commission. If you dare to say anything out of line, I can exercise the Commission's power right now to investigate you. Your lifestyle and moral character are all within the Commission's jurisdiction. Do you want to give it a try?"

Hearing the abuser use the disciplinary regulations to pressure him, Zhao Jianguo couldn't help but laugh in anger. He straightened his chest, realizing that after being suppressed in this family for so long, he was no longer afraid. He was Zhao Jianguo!

"Cao Wenting!" He called her by her first name, no longer calling her "Mom": "Do you think you're the only one in the Discipline Inspection Commission? Do you run the Discipline Inspection Commission all by yourself?"

Cao Wenting's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You investigated me?" Zhao Jianguo walked towards her step by step, his eyes filled with violence.

"I'm going to report you to the Discipline Inspection Commission right now, by my real name. I'll report you directly to the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission. If the Municipal Commission can't handle you, I'll go to the Provincial Commission, then the National Commission. Don't think I don't know about your bribery. Do you think nobody knows how much the Construction Group gave you? Don't forget, I'm your son-in-law. Even though you've never treated me well, my status as your son-in-law is real! Just because others don't know doesn't mean I don't know! You were my mother-in-law, and I could pretend I knew nothing. Now that you're not my mother-in-law, guess whether I know or not!"

Cao Wenting's expression changed drastically, revealing a hint of panic and shock, but she quickly regained her composure.

"You dare!" Cao Wenting slammed her hand on the coffee table, her voice suddenly rising: "Zhao Jianguo, if you dare to act recklessly, I'll make sure you can't stay in the system for even a day!"

"Then let's give it a try!" Zhao Jianguo's voice was even louder than hers, as if he wanted to shout out all the pent-up emotions of the past two years: "Let's see who dies first!"

Cao Wenting's eyes darted around quickly, then she suddenly gave Qi Xiongwen a wink, her lips barely moving as she uttered two words: "Hold him down!"

Qi Xiongwen reacted quickly, rushing towards Zhao Jianguo. His thick arm reached out like a vise to grab Zhao's collar.

Zhao Jianguo was already on guard. While he was talking to Cao Wenting, he kept an eye on Qi Xiongwen out of the corner of his eye. The moment he saw Cao Wenting wink, he knew that Cao Wenting was going to do something bad. He suddenly bent down, grabbed a chair from the ground, and threw it at Qi Xiongwen with all his might.

The chair spun through the air and flew out. Qi Xiongwen instinctively reached out to block it, but the chair leg slammed into his arm, causing him to stumble back a step with a muffled groan.

In those two seconds, Zhao Jianguo turned and ran, rushing out the door and slamming it shut!

Cao Wenting's voice came from inside the room: "Quick, chase after him! Don't let him get away!"

He turned around, leaning against the door, and quickly pulled the keys from his pockets. He found the largest security door key, inserted it into the lock, and gave it a sharp twist.

With a "click," the door was locked.