Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

As Liang Lu stepped out of Gao Yuliang's VIP ward, the cold wind in the corridor made her shiver.

In my mind, Gao Yuliang's words, "Don't go to high places, the wind is strong in the corners," kept buzzing like a tight headband.

This deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, who had spent his entire life teaching and scheming in officialdom, gave Liang Lu a cruel lesson in politics with his body covered in casts.

In the game of Handong, if you want to survive, you have to be more willing to risk everything than anyone else; but if you seek death and die in a meaningless way, you'll just be providing your opponents with something to laugh about.

She walked step by step toward the intensive care unit (ICU).

The waiting area for family members outside the ICU was eerily deserted.

Two weeks ago, if Liang Qunfeng had just had an appendectomy, the corridor would have been packed with bureau-level officials carrying fruit baskets and queuing to sign in. Even the flies in the corridor would have been allowed to fly in if they were deputy division-level officials.

But now, the empty bench is completely deserted, not even a ghost in sight.

There were no students weeping bitterly, and no subordinates pledging their loyalty.

In the few hours following the Liang family's incident, the vast officialdom of Handong displayed an astonishing "speed of dismantling."

At the end of the bench sat only a young man in a dark jacket—Kobayashi from the supervisory team.

He was looking down at his phone, typing rapidly, when he heard the sound of high heels. He looked up and gave Liang Lu a businesslike nod.

"Comrade Liang Lu, the chief physician is inside. Old Liang just woke up. Please go in. Don't stay too long."

Liang Lu didn't say anything, changed into a sterile isolation gown, and pushed open the heavy door.

The lines on the monitor flickered weakly, emitting a monotonous "beep-beep" sound.

On his sickbed, Liang Qunfeng, who once wielded immense influence in the political and legal circles of Handong and whose every move shook the entire province, now huddled under the white blankets, looked like a hollowed-out piece of dead wood.

An oxygen tube was inserted into his nose, and his breathing was very weak.

Upon hearing the noise, Liang Qunfeng's eyelids trembled for a long time before he managed to open them a crack.

When he saw that it was Liang Lu, his withered lips trembled violently.

He watched as Zhao Donglai dragged his two sons away from the house like dead dogs, and the anger that surged through him completely shattered his mental defenses.

"Lu...Lu..."

The old man's voice was faint, carrying a stubborn resentment, as his withered fingers scratched at the bedsheets.

"Go...go to the capital...and say...Handong is carrying out political persecution...and have him...protect Wentao..."

Liang Lu stood by the bed, looking at the man she had relied on for half her life.

In the past, she might have panicked and run out to call for help.

But Gao Yuliang's cold political lesson had already chilled her to the bone.

"Dad, stop making a fuss."

Liang Lu's voice was surprisingly calm, without tears or hysterical complaints. "I called his number on my way to the hospital. It was a disconnected number."

The heart rate on the monitor jumped a few beats faster in an instant, emitting a short alarm.

Liang Qunfeng's cloudy eyes suddenly bulged, and a strange "clucking" sound came from his throat:

"That...that Sha Ruijin...he wouldn't dare not protect us...the evidence of his collusion with us to suppress Gao Yuliang...is still in the safe in my study...that's his Achilles' heel..."

"Dad, don't you know?" Liang Lu leaned down and said slowly.

"According to the information provided by the supervisory team, Sha Ruijin has confessed everything. He explained in detail to the supervisory team how he formed an alliance with our family. He used our Liang family as a scapegoat, and now he can't even protect himself."

"As for the things in your study..."

Liang Lu gave a desolate smile. "When the supervisory team arrested my eldest and second eldest brothers, they had already sealed off the entire house, inside and out. All the cards you've accumulated your whole life are now on the supervisory team's table."

Liang Qunfeng's eyes widened instantly, and he gasped for breath.

"Dad, Gao Yuliang is right, times have changed."

Liang Lu's voice was soft, "Your tricks of using privilege to oppress people and using leverage to control them are outdated. Qi Tongwei dared to curse God when he died, who can you curse now?"

The monitor's alarm began to sound shrilly, and the red lights flashed wildly in the ward.

Liang Qunfeng stared intently at the ceiling, and at this moment, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in his previously unfocused eyes.

His withered hand suddenly burst forth with astonishing strength, grabbing Liang Lu's wrist.

That hand was cold and stiff.

"face……"

His lips moved, and with the last of his strength, he squeezed out a few words from his throat, "Don't let...the Liang family...be...a laughingstock..."

These were his last words in this world.

There was no guilt, no remorse.

The moment he finished speaking, the strength in his hand suddenly gave way, and his entire arm slammed heavily onto the edge of the bed.

After a series of urgent alarms, the waveform on the monitor turned into a glaring horizontal straight line.

"drop----------"

The director rushed in with several doctors, shoved Liang Lu aside, and began performing pointless chest compressions and electric shocks.

"Prepare for defibrillation! 200 joules! Get out of bed!"

"Again! Three hundred joules!"

Liang Lu was half-pushed and half-pulled out of the emergency room by the nurses.

She slid slowly down the cold wall and onto the chair in the corridor.

There was no loud crying, only covering her face with her hands, letting out suppressed sobs.

A bottle of chilled mineral water was handed to her.

Liang Lu raised her tear-filled eyes and saw Xiao Lin.

His face showed neither mockery nor sympathy, only a businesslike calmness.

"Have some water."

Xiao Lin turned on the water. "Secretary Gao said that if you hold something cold in your hand, you're less likely to go crazy. My condolences for Elder Liang's passing."

After saying that, he took out his phone from his pocket and quickly edited a text message and sent it out in front of Liang Lu.

The screen's dim light illuminated his young yet cold face, displaying only a single, brief line of text:

[Team Leader Zhou, Liang Qunfeng's condition is critical; they are currently undergoing emergency treatment.]

Less than five seconds later, Zhou Zhengming's reply appeared:

[Received. Keep a close eye on Liang Lu. If she dies, notify the Civil Affairs Bureau and the funeral home. Keep Liang Qunfeng's funeral simple, with no mourning hall or memorial service. Strictly prohibit any former subordinates from using this opportunity to form a network of liaisons.]