The news came from an internal public WeChat account called "Hu Yang Inspection."

It is the top authoritative public account for disciplinary work throughout Hu Yang Province, aimed at the Party and government system.

It usually posts news on Friday mornings and is sometimes jokingly referred to as "Black Friday" for officials who are about to fall from grace.

Unfortunately, the protagonist of this Black Friday was the Yangzhou City Secretary, Ma Xudong, suspected of serious violations of discipline while serving as Deputy Mayor, Executive Deputy Mayor, and Mayor—corrupt lifestyle, collusion between officials and businessmen, abuse of power, vast unaccounted wealth, and maintaining improper relations with others. He has been placed under double regulation, and all knowledgeable Party and government officials are encouraged to actively provide clues and cooperate in the investigation and evidence collection.

Although she had known the outcome in advance, Lu Yuqing couldn't help but shed tears, "Big sister, why is my life so hard?"

Lu Yumei couldn't help but stretch out her hand, embracing her sister, patting her extremely fragile back, and soothingly said, "When you're in officialdom, you are not in control. Who can say for sure whether their team really stands correctly, or what will or will not happen tomorrow? Just the other day they were talking about promoting Ma Xudong, and suddenly, he's fallen, right? You shouldn't be too scared. Look at this notice; nothing mentioned here happened while he was serving as Mayor of Yangzhou. That means, everything here remains unaffected, including his wife and secretary, right? Ha, although it might influence you a bit, it's not like you're going in as well, right? At most, it's just that your and Liu Zhizhong's prospects don't look good."

Lu Yumei really knew a lot about these things, being an official's wife!

Lu Yuqing nodded but didn't know what else to say.

Not sad? Impossible!

After being widowed for many years, she had only remarried for a few months. Oh, snap, her husband was going to be imprisoned again, probably for life this time?

Moreover, Lu Yumei said, "Yuqing, do you know why I don't like Zhang Zhenglong? No matter how attentive he has been recently, I will never be moved by him."

"Why?"

Lu Yuqing was indeed curious.

Of course, she glanced again at Zhang Zhenglong's previous parking spot. He had left quickly after breakfast today, seemingly because of some important matters at the company.

Lu Yumei let go of her sister, looked at the now-empty parking spot, and said, "He's too fat; I don't fancy dating a pig, but that's secondary. Mainly, when your brother-in-law was alive, he said that the Yangzhou Zhang Family was becoming increasingly domineering and might one day fall into extreme misfortune. If certain matters were exposed, the Zhang Family would be finished. Of course, as to what these matters were, he didn't have the chance to say before he died unexpectedly. Although your brother-in-law wasn't exactly a saint, indulging in all sorts of vices, I trust his judgment. So, would I marry Zhang Zhenglong? Impossible! I'd rather stay a widow for life."

Lu Yuqing nodded, pursing her lips, looking at her elder sister with some admiration, "Hmm, big sister, I also think you're right. In this world, who remains an Emperor forever? The Zhang Family has held Yangzhou for over thirty years, maybe the day will come when their luck changes and they will fall."

"Mm, it's possible, just a matter of opportunity. If such an opportunity arises, the Zhang Family will collapse utterly, having nowhere to even cry. You shouldn't think too much about Ma Xudong either, since you weren't married for long, and luckily you aren't pregnant. When the time comes, if you can leave, just do so. The Zhang Family hasn't fallen yet, and you were once their daughter-in-law, so the impact on you won't be too big. If they ask you to cooperate with the investigations, then cooperate, there won't be a problem. As for Liu Zhizhong, well... Hongyang has always been displeased with him, so his issues might be quite serious."

Lu Yuqing thought for a moment and said, "Big sister, Zhizhong is actually a decent man and truly more than a match for Zhao Yan. It's just unfortunate that Ma Xudong has harmed him! Honestly, I hate to see him neglected and unable to use his abilities."

Lu Yumei responded with a stern face, "Forget it, Yuqing, just focus on yourself. It's because he is too capable that his fate is harder, isn't it strange? It's better if Yan'er ends her marriage with him. Fortunately, when Ma Xudong wanted to transfer her back to the city for work, Yan'er didn't agree, otherwise she'd be affected too. Haven't you noticed? Liu Zhizhong seems to have the potential to bring disaster."

"Ah? Disaster?" Lu Yuqing didn't understand, even giving a wry smile, feeling that her sister really had too deep of a bias against Liu Zhizhong.

"Have you ever thought about the leaders Liu Zhizhong followed over the years, and how they ended up?"

Lu Yumei shook her head with a serious face, looking somewhat perplexed, "During his college days, wasn't he considered the Dean's favorite disciple? In school, he was like the Dean's assistant, nearly got a direct promotion to master's and PhD, right? And what happened to the Dean? Wasn't he sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery, embezzling public funds, and moral decay?"

"After graduating, he followed our Old Zhao, and your brother-in-law died unexpectedly."

"Now, having followed your husband, and your husband has just fallen, probably for life again?"

Lu Yumei said, feeling overwhelmed, "If he follows any leader after this, who would dare accept him? I suspect there's something wrong with his ancestral grave, carrying bad luck, right? Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore; it feels like a strange fate. Let's leave it at that for now. You should head back to the City Committee, and I should go home. After climbing the mountain, I need to wash off all this sweat. The sun is getting hotter too, truly a tormenting weather!"