...
About two minutes later, the phone call finally ended.
Huang Youjun's hands trembled slightly as he returned the phone to Qin Ning.
"Young Master Qin... I am truly sorry. I... I shouldn't have taken matters into my own hands..."
Before he could finish, Qin Ning waved his hand impatiently. "Get out. Have someone bring the food over, and don't ruin our mood for eating."
"Yes, yes, Young Master Qin, I will take care of it right away."
Hearing this, Huang Youjun finally breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling as if he had been granted amnesty, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and scurried away.
Before long, several waiters brought the dishes over. Qin Ning and his companions did not pay much mind to the minor episode that just occurred, chatting as they ate.
Meanwhile.
In another private dining room just opposite.
Several middle-aged men had arrived. Huang Youjun was also there, looking a bit absent-minded, clearly not having fully recovered from what had just transpired.
Leading the group was a potbellied middle-aged man.
Jiang Xingzhou, the director of the provincial Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
Beside Jiang Xingzhou stood a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old named Shi Wenjie. He was his liaison and secretary. Holding a briefcase, he frowned at Huang Youjun and said, "Little Huang, why did you arrange such a small private room?"
"Director Jiang, Secretary Shi, I am truly sorry. It was my poor arrangement. The largest private room was booked in advance by someone else, so I have to ask you to make do with eating here today," Huang Youjun said with an apologetic smile.
His mind was still completely preoccupied with wondering just what kind of background that Young Master Qin had.
"Then can't you just go over and ask them to switch rooms?"
Shi Wenjie spoke up, "Director Jiang finally managed to find the time to visit your Nanxi County, and this is how you host him?"
"This..."
Hearing this, Huang Youjun found himself in a dilemma, and sweat beaded on his forehead once more.
Having no other choice, he carefully recounted the incident that had just occurred to them.
"Oh?"
After listening, Jiang Xingzhou was slightly taken aback. "Are you saying that the person in that private room knows your Secretary Yu?"
He was a little surprised. Who was Yu Yongchang?
He was the top official of Shuishan City.
For someone to be acquainted with him, it was highly likely that they possessed an extraordinary background as well.
However, if that was all there was to it, he still wouldn't think too highly of the other party.
After all, he was from a provincial bureau. In terms of rank, he was on equal footing with Yu Yongchang.
What he was curious about now was, who could the person in that private room be?
Could it be another leader from the province?
With this thought, Jiang Xingzhou stood up and said, "Let's go. Come with me to see which comrade it is. We might even know each other."
With that said, the group walked right out of the private room.
At the same time, Qin Ning and the others, who were eating and chatting, were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.
He frowned slightly and said, "Come in."
Then, Jiang Xingzhou and his group walked in, with Huang Youjun following behind, whispering something into the other man's ear.
After listening, Jiang Xingzhou's gaze couldn't help but size up Qin Ning with curiosity before he said, "I am Jiang Xingzhou from the provincial bureau. I wonder..."
"Is there a problem?" Qin Ning looked at him.
Seeing that the other party had directly interrupted him, Jiang Xingzhou immediately frowned, a look of displeasure appearing on his face.
At this moment, Qin Ning turned his gaze to Huang Youjun and said indifferently, "Did I or did I not just say not to come over and disturb our meal?"
"This..."
Hearing this, Huang Youjun immediately looked troubled.
He felt like he was caught in the middle, unable to please either side.
On one side was someone who could directly converse with Yu Yongchang, and on the other was a leader from the province whose rank was equal to Yu Yongchang's.
When immortals fight, mortals suffer.
Today, he truly experienced this firsthand.
"Heh, we just came over to say hello. There's no need to be so cold, is there?" Jiang Xingzhou's temper was starting to flare up.
Although he didn't know the exact background of the other party, at the end of the day, it was just a young man.
Even if he really was a relative of Yu Yongchang, he shouldn't be so arrogant, right?
He was, after all, an existence on the same level as Yu Yongchang. When had he ever been treated like this by such a young man?
"Say hello? Am I familiar with you?"
Qin Ning looked at him. Judging from his facial features, this man was an absolute parasite through and through. Since they had crossed paths, the man could only consider himself unlucky.
Without waiting for Jiang Xingzhou to say anything, he pulled out his phone and made a call right in front of him.
"I heard you're keeping Brother Tang company on a tour. Why did you suddenly think to call me?"
The puzzled voice of Elder Zeng came through the phone.
Qin Ning didn't waste any words and directly said, "Jiang Xingzhou of Xi Province is unfit for his position. A parasite like him needs to be removed."
Hearing this, Elder Zeng nodded. He never doubted Qin Ning's words in the slightest and said, "Alright, I understand. I'll have someone handle it immediately. You shouldn't just call me every day; when are you coming to the capital to have a few drinks with me and Elder Liu?"
"Ha, once I'm done with things here and have some free time, I'll make a trip over. I was just planning to visit Yun Shan and the others anyway. Yes, alright, we'll talk more when we meet."
After chatting casually with Elder Zeng for a few more sentences, Qin Ning finally hung up. He then swept his gaze toward Jiang Xingzhou and said indifferently, "Get lost. You can call your family to say your goodbyes."
"Heh, what a big tone for a young man. I'd like to see what you can do to me with just a single phone call."
Jiang Xingzhou scoffed disdainfully. Leaving behind that sentence, he had no intention of staying any longer. He turned around and led Huang Youjun and the others back to their own private room.
Back in their private room, Shi Wenjie frowned slightly, feeling a sense of unease in his heart. He couldn't help but say, "Director Jiang, that kid didn't look like he was joking. Why don't we..."
"I'll make a call and ask," Jiang Xingzhou said.
With that, he took out his phone, found Yu Yongchang's number, and dialed it directly.
"Old Jiang? Why are you looking for me all of a sudden?"
Yu Yongchang, who had just spoken on the phone with Qin Ning ten minutes ago, was currently dealing with some documents. Seeing the caller ID, he asked curiously.
"Haha, Old Yu, I've arrived in your Shuishan City. It's been quite a while since we last saw each other, so I was wondering when we could grab a drink." Jiang Xingzhou started with some pleasantries, not mentioning the matter directly.
"Oh? You're in Shuishan City?"
Yu Yongchang was immediately stunned upon hearing this. Just as he was about to say something, as if he suddenly thought of something, his brows furrowed. "You aren't in Nanxi County right now, are you? Together with Huang Youjun?"
"Heh, yeah, we were just about to eat. However, we ran into a bit of a situation just now, and I wanted to ask you about it," Jiang Xingzhou said with a smile.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
