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

Yingying led Lu Ming back to the private room floor of the hot spring. When they passed the private room where Han Jinlai and Tingting had been intimate last time, Lu Ming suddenly stopped.

He stood at the doorway and could faintly hear moaning coming from inside.

Seeing that he was standing still, Yingying looked up at the private room number and secretly thought to herself that something was wrong, fearing that Lu Ming would barge in.

"Secretary Lu..."

"Is Mayor Han inside?"

"Well... I'm not quite sure."

"Hehe, lead the way."

"Yes."

Yingying breathed a sigh of relief and led Lu Ming through a maze of turns to a private room.

She knocked gently on the door, then slowly pushed it open.

There was a tea table on the tatami mat in the private room, and Qian Kuo was sitting cross-legged on the side wearing a bathrobe.

After Lu Ming went in, he sat down directly opposite Qian Kuo.

Qian Kuo chuckled and poured him a cup of tea, saying, "It's genuine Da Hong Pao, have a taste."

Lu Ming picked up the cup, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp, saying perfunctorily, "Good tea, good tea indeed!"

Qian Kuo chuckled and poured him another cup, then asked, "Yingying said Secretary Lu wanted to see me?"

Lu Ming said, "Han Jinlai came to see me today. Does Chairman Qian know?"

Qian Kuo knew Lu Ming was displeased when he heard Lu Ming address Han Jinlai by his full name, so he nodded and said, "I know, I sent him."

Lu Ming grinned: "Does Chairman Qian know that he only relayed half of his message?"

Qian Kuo raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and asked, "Only half of it?"

Lu Ming said, "He gave me the documents and told me to go find Mayor Yu to sign them."

"Chairman Qian should know very well that if this kind of thing is discovered, it won't just be a matter of being expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office; I'll be sentenced to prison!"

"Of course, as long as the money is there, I'd accept anything, even life imprisonment or the death penalty, let alone jail time."

"But does Chairman Qian know what Han Jinlai told me?"

Qian Kuo, still smiling, asked, "What did you say?"

Lu Ming said with a grim expression, "He didn't say anything!"

"They just dump the documents on me and tell me to sign them!"

"They told me about the situation and the risks, but they didn't tell me about the benefits."

"Was I wrong to say he only relayed half the message?"

Qian Kuo frowned slightly, then comforted him, "Mayor Han was probably too busy and forgot to mention it."

"Forgot? Hah, Chairman Qian, do you think I'd believe that? If I hadn't come here today, wouldn't the money that should have been mine have ended up in Han Jinlai's pocket?"

Qian Kuo chuckled and smoothed things over: "It's a misunderstanding, Secretary Lu, please calm down and have a cup of tea. I'll invite Mayor Han over right away so we can have a chat."

After saying that, Qian Kuo took out his phone and made a call.

"Mayor Han, you're still here? That's perfect, come over and have a cup of tea. Secretary Lu is here too."

Putting down his phone, Qian Kuo looked at Lu Ming: "Secretary Lu, please wait a moment, Mayor Han will be here soon."

Lu Ming grunted in response, lit a cigarette, and puffed on it with a disgruntled expression.

Han Jinlai was about to get on the bus when he suddenly received a call from Qian Kuo.

When he heard that Lu Ming was also there, he guessed that it must be because of what happened that morning.

As soon as Han Jinlai entered the private room, he could clearly sense that something was wrong.

Lu Ming stared at him menacingly, his eyes seeming to be filled with venom.

He walked over and sat down. Qian Luo poured him a cup of hot tea, then asked, "Mayor Han, when you went to see Secretary Lu this morning, was there something you forgot to tell him?"

Han Jinlai, completely bewildered, asked, "What do you mean, Chairman Qian? I don't quite understand."

Lu Ming sneered and cursed directly, "Old man, still pretending?"

"You want me to go to jail for something, without paying a single penny? You think you can get something for nothing?"

"You bastard, do you think I'm a fool?"

"I'll take the risk, you take the money? You're really good at thinking up ideas!"

"If I hadn't come to see Chairman Qian today, would you have embezzled my share of the money?"

"Fuck you, give me a coin!"

Lu Ming became more and more agitated as he cursed, and finally stood up and poked Han Jinlai's forehead with the hand holding the cigarette, ash falling all over his face.

Han Jinlai stood up abruptly and shouted angrily, "Lu Ming, watch your mouth! You're just a lowly secretary at the section chief level, how dare you curse and point fingers at me like that?"

"Holy shit!"

Lu Ming threw down his cigarette butt, grabbed the ashtray, and was about to smash it on Han Jinlai's head.

Fortunately, Qian Kuo reacted quickly and grabbed Lu Ming's arm, preventing the conflict from escalating further.

"Secretary Lu, don't act rashly."

"Mayor Han, please sit down as well."

With a clatter, Lu Ming casually tossed the ashtray onto the ground.

He pointed at Han Jinlai with a ferocious expression and shouted, "I call you mayor and you think you're something special? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? What kind of person are you?!"

Han Jinlai's forehead veins throbbed, and he was about to retort when Qian Kuo suddenly raised his voice and said, "Enough!"

He gave the two of them a disapproving look and said, "Give me some face and sit down to talk this over."

Lu Ming said coldly, "I will naturally give Chairman Qian face."

Then, Lu Ming pulled out a chair and sat down.

Han Jinlai's chest heaved with anger, his heart burning with fury, but he ultimately held back.

He had just sat down when he heard Qian Kuo say, "Mayor Han, apologize to Secretary Lu."

Han Jinlai could hardly believe his ears and exclaimed incredulously, "I apologize to him?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Qian Kuo's cold gaze. In the end, he could only suppress his displeasure and reluctantly said, "Secretary Lu, I'm sorry, I apologize to you!"

Lu Ming snorted coldly and turned to look at Qian Kuo: "Chairman Qian, whether or not you apologize is irrelevant; what matters is the money."

"He wants to take my share. What should we do?"

Qian Kuo asked, "Secretary Lu, how much will it take to appease you?"

Lu Ming said, "Chairman Qian, how could I possibly set such a price?"

"You're willing to be friends with me because you value my position as the mayor's secretary, aren't you?"

"Since you asked me to do this, you should name your price."

"Am I right, Mr. Qian?"

Qian Kuo chuckled, pondered for a moment, and then offered 30 million.

"Thirty million?"

Lu Ming chuckled and said, "Chairman Qian, you're a seasoned businessman, you should know very well that risk and reward must be proportional."

"He couldn't have gotten this done without me!"

"And when things come to light later, I'll be the one held accountable and imprisoned."

"The money I received is not safe; it could be recovered at any time."

"But it's different for you. Once the money goes into your pockets, you can't get it out unless you take it out yourself."

Lu Ming said so much, but the core meaning was just one thing.

Too little money!

Qian Luo nodded in deep agreement and offered again: "Fifty million."

Lu Ming smiled and said, "Chairman Qian, I've looked at this company. Its market value is close to three billion, and it also owns a piece of land worth three hundred million."

Qian Luo narrowed her eyes, realizing that Lu Ming was planning to ask for an exorbitant amount...