At the Pinnacle of Power: The Female Leader and Her Chief Advisor

"You dare hit me?"

The junior clerk who was beaten was furious and was about to rush forward to fight back, but Xu Zhipeng stopped him.

"Secretary Xu, please don't stop me, I'm determined to..."

"What do you want? If he hits you, wouldn't you call the police?"

"Why don't you go to the hospital for a checkup and a medical examination to determine the extent of your injuries?"

Upon hearing Xu Zhipeng's words, the junior clerk's mind immediately opened up.

Yes, he hit me, I have to call the police!

Once the injury assessment is done, they can easily fabricate a minor injury and file a criminal case directly.

That son of a gun will be fired from his job!

Moreover, if you want my forgiveness, then you'd better hand over the money obediently.

It's impossible to sign without at least 100,000 or 200,000 yuan.

The junior clerk pulled out his phone, his face contorted with rage, and said, "Lu Ming, let's hope you're still this arrogant when the police arrive!"

"I'll show you what a terrible price you'll pay for offending me!"

"cost?"

Lu Ming chuckled, then took out his phone, opened a video, and handed it to Xu Zhipeng.

"Secretary Xu, please enjoy!"

After saying that, Lu Ming walked down the steps and started smoking in the green belt next to him.

Xu Zhipeng picked up his phone, confused. When he saw himself and Song Chuhe in the video, his expression changed drastically.

This is a picture of myself and Song Chuhe in the office yesterday!

How...how...how was this recorded?

Xu Zhipeng's face turned pale, and his mind went blank for a moment. It was the voice of the junior staff member next to him that pulled him back to reality.

"Hello, I need to call the police..."

"Don't report it!"

Xu Zhipeng snatched the phone and hung up.

The junior clerk looked at Xu Zhipeng with a puzzled expression, not understanding what was going on. Wasn't it you who suggested calling the police?

Then, under his puzzled gaze, Xu Zhipeng quickly went downstairs and walked up to Lu Ming.

Xu Zhipeng stared intently at Lu Ming and whispered, "Where did you get this?"

Lu Ming looked at Xu Zhipeng with a half-smile. He could tell that this deputy secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, who was at the level of a division chief, was very nervous at this moment.

Lu Ming took a deep drag and blew the smoke into Xu Zhipeng's face.

Xu Zhipeng's expression changed, and he was about to start cursing, but he managed to hold back.

Lu has something on him now, so he must restrain himself!

Lu Ming took the phone back and said, "Secretary Xu, do you think it's better for me to give this video to Secretary Qiao or Mayor Jiang?"

Xu Zhipeng's face was frighteningly dark.

Damn it, this Lu Ming actually threatened me?

He suppressed his anger and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

This video absolutely must not be seen by Secretary Qiao or Mayor Jiang.

Otherwise, his future would be completely ruined!

Yesterday, Xu Zhipeng was puzzled as to why Song Chuhe would say those things out of the blue.

However, Song Chuhe jumped off the building right after he finished speaking, so he didn't think much of it.

Now that Lu Ming has brought the video over, he finally understands.

Song Chuhe did it on purpose!

The purpose was to get this conversation recorded by the surveillance cameras!

What frustrated him most was that even though he knew Song Chuhe did it on purpose, he couldn't clarify the situation.

This is truly like mud falling into your pants; even if it's not poop, it still looks like poop.

Lu Ming slowly said, "Tell me, who is trying to frame Mayor Song?"

Xu Zhipeng's expression shifted as he hesitated, unsure whether to tell Lu Ming.

Lu Ming didn't urge him, because he knew that Xu Zhipeng would definitely tell him.

As he expected, after much deliberation, Xu Zhipeng finally chose to compromise.

"There are two sets of materials for the report."

"One of the documents was about accepting bribes. It was anonymously sent to the Discipline Inspection Commission last week, claiming that there was a large amount of gold and cash in Mayor Song's home."

"The other one was about having illicit relationships; it was sent to the disciplinary committee yesterday."

"As for who reported it, I don't know. I only know that after the Discipline Inspection Commission received the report and investigated it, it handed it over to the Municipal Party Committee Office."

"After the municipal party committee reported to the provincial discipline inspection commission, it quickly received a reply from the provincial party committee, which required that Mayor Song be placed under investigation."

Lu Ming scoffed and sneered, "Does Secretary Xu think I know nothing? So he thinks he can just make up some excuse to get rid of me?"

The Discipline Inspection Commission receives at least 800 to 1,000 anonymous tip-offs every day. With such a small staff, how can they possibly keep up with all of them?

How did I happen to see Mayor Song at such a perfect moment?

Xu Zhipeng waved his hand, feigning innocence, and said, "That's just how it is. There's nothing I can do if you believe me."

"I really don't know who is targeting Mayor Song. All I know is that after the report was submitted, Secretary Lin of the Municipal Party Committee convened a meeting of the Standing Committee, where he decided to conduct a secret investigation into Mayor Song."

"Once the investigation is complete and the evidence is conclusive, Secretary Lin will report it to the provincial authorities."

"Mayor Song is, after all, a department-level cadre. Without the approval of the provincial party committee, our municipal discipline inspection commission has no authority to take action against him."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming frowned.

Xu Zhipeng said so much, but the core meaning is just one thing.

That is, the two regulations imposed on Mayor Song were not the intention of any one leader in Songxi, but a decision made jointly by all the leaders in Songxi.

Seemingly worried that Lu Ming might not understand, Xu Zhipeng explained further: "As you know, Mayor Song's existence has already affected the interests of too many people."

"It doesn't matter who reported him. What matters is that after seeing the report, not a single leader in Songxi stood up to oppose it. Everyone wanted Mayor Song to stop serving as mayor."

Lu Ming initially thought Mayor Song had offended a certain leader, but he never expected that she had offended the entire Songxi officialdom.

To be honest, it's quite a failure to be an official to this extent.

However, Lu Ming did not think that Mayor Song had done anything wrong.

The entire Songxi officialdom is at fault!

They were all in cahoots, so Song Chuhe, the only one who wanted to do something worthwhile, became the odd one out.

This shows that the problems in the officialdom of Songxi are already quite serious.

Lu Ming changed the subject and asked, "Who's behind Li Wen?"

Xu Zhipeng looked somewhat awkward and shook his head, replying, "I don't know."

Seeing Lu Ming staring intently at him, Xu Zhipeng forced a smile and said, "I really don't know. All I know is that she used to work at the Lanting Club."

"Lanting Club?"

Lu Ming felt that the name sounded familiar.

It seems that when he first became Song Chuhe's secretary, someone invited him to visit once.

However, he wasn't interested in that kind of place, so he's only been there once so far.

The Lanting Club is a very high-end establishment, not something that ordinary people can afford.

In this club, as long as you have money, you can enjoy all kinds of services.

However, what Lu Ming didn't expect was that Li Wen used to work there.

Although Xu Zhipeng didn't say it explicitly, Lu Ming had obviously already guessed what Li Wen was doing inside.

She was strikingly beautiful and clearly couldn't possibly be a menial worker.

If I'm not mistaken, he's been doing all sorts of shady dealings.

Lu Ming suddenly remembered that Li Wen had met Mayor Song during an investment promotion event.

How could a woman who works at a club possibly be in that kind of place?

The only possibility is that someone deliberately arranged this!

Lu Ming asked, "Was he deliberately arranged to get close to Mayor Song?"

Xu Zhipeng said, "I already said I don't know."

"How did you know she works at the Lanting Club?"

Xu Zhipeng's face instantly became even more embarrassed. After a long pause, he forced himself to say, "She...she served me inside!"