Chapter 9

**Update Time: July 1, 2012**

**Brothers, come and give me a red ticket to burst my bubble? Brothers who forgot to bookmark the new book, please click to bookmark it!**

Chen Mingde had only been in Donghua for half a year, and his family had stayed in the provincial capital without following him. He ate and lived in Nanyuan. Shen Huai, fearing that Chen Mingde would be watched too closely, did not move into Nanyuan but instead "endured the hardships" by living in the government dormitory...

At the corridor entrance stood two police officers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. In the hall, two doctors in white coats and two young girls assigned to duty in Building 6 by Nanyuan Hotel were standing. The girls, who had not experienced much, were now pale-faced, seemingly frightened by what had happened.

Shen Huai was also deeply shocked, thinking to himself that "when it rains, it pours" must be describing his current situation.

In the morning, he had just beaten up Zhou Dazui, the brother-in-law of Ge Yongqiu, relying on Chen Mingde's support to make Ge Yongqiu and his brother-in-law swallow their anger. He never expected that Chen Mingde, who had been supporting him, would suddenly die of illness in the afternoon...

What a cruel twist of fate!

Shen Huai followed Zhou Yu upstairs and no longer paid attention to the round buttocks of her long pants as she lifted her foot.

The second floor was the living room. Through the half-open door, Chen Mingde could be seen lying straight on the bed in the bedroom, with the sheet already covering his face, confirming that he had indeed passed away.

Shen Huai had no particular feelings for Chen Mingde, but the sight before him was still shocking.

Yesterday morning, Chen Mingde had called to inquire about his injuries, and now it was his turn to lie straight on the bed. Life's changes were truly unpredictable.

Party Secretary Wu Haifeng stood in the outer living room with his hands on his waist, his face dark with a stormy look, making people instinctively want to avoid him.

Ge Yongqiu, the manager of Nanyuan Hotel Peng Yong, and the doctor leading the emergency team were all standing there, reporting the rescue efforts to Wu Haifeng...

"How did you take care of the leader's life? When Mayor Chen returned to rest at noon, why didn't you care or ask? How can I explain this to the provincial authorities?"

Wu Haifeng's reprimand was not loud, but it carried the power of a thunderstorm in a low-pressure cloud. His finger almost touched Ge Yongqiu and Peng Yong's faces as he spoke.

"Also, who exactly entered and exited Building 6 at noon? You must report this truthfully, without any ambiguity..."

As the director and deputy director of the municipal reception office, Ge Yongqiu and Peng Yong would naturally be the first to be held responsible for such a major incident.

Leaders nowadays have short tempers, and Wu Haifeng rarely showed mercy when reprimanding people.

"Mayor Chen specifically instructed that no one should disturb him when he returned."

Peng Yong's face was very pale. Although he usually acted arrogantly, even with prepared explanations, he still trembled in front of the furious boss.

"By 2 PM, I hadn't seen Mayor Chen come out, so I came to check. It was my mistake, Secretary Wu, you can scold me however you want, but no one expected this to happen. No one mentioned that Mayor Chen had heart disease. As for who entered and exited Building 6 at noon, no one paid attention. The two staff members responsible for Building 6 during the day had taken a break and left after hearing Mayor Chen's instructions, and were not in Building 6 for a while..."

"Chaos! You must control the news and prevent it from spreading. Don't let outsiders gossip."

Wu Haifeng's furious reprimand was followed by a pause, his hand supporting his chin, and he said nothing more.

From the conversation between the Party Secretary and Peng Yong, Shen Huai sensed something suspicious.

He was not the same Shen Huai as before. He had experienced both glory and humiliation at the city steel plant over the years, and the significant ups and downs in his life had made him think more deeply about life and see through problems more clearly than ordinary people.

Shen Huai and Zhou Yu stood at the door, and seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he slipped into the bedroom and lifted the corner of the sheet to look at Chen Mingde's body.

At first glance, Shen Huai was startled: Chen Mingde, with a pale face and no signs of life, was completely naked under the sheet...

Shen Huai stood there in shock: the naked body of a member of the municipal party committee and vice mayor dying in a hotel room would be a shocking news and political event for Donghua!

No wonder Wu Haifeng was asking with a dark face who had entered and exited Building 6 before this happened.

"Shen Huai, what are you doing in there?" Wu Haifeng only noticed Shen Huai entering the bedroom at this moment, and his voice suddenly became sharp, ordering him to come out.

Shen Huai could feel Wu Haifeng's strong distrust of him. The attention of everyone made his face burn, but before leaving the room, he noticed a small, not very obvious puddle of water in the corner of the shower wall, and the floor was slightly damp. He had a sudden thought: could Chen Mingde have had a heart attack while showering?

Chen Mingde had heart disease and a bad habit of taking cold showers. The doctor had warned him that taking cold showers in cold weather could easily stimulate his heart, but he never took it seriously. If there were no other suspicious points, this would be the most plausible explanation for why Chen Mingde was naked and dead in the room.

To be fair, Shen Huai, as the secretary, had not been diligent enough:

He had not reminded Chen Mingde to avoid cold showers in cold weather, had not informed the city about Chen Mingde's heart condition, and had not ensured that Nanyuan always had hot water ready for Building 6...

However, when Shen Huai walked out of the bedroom, he glanced at the bathroom, which was quite tidy, and became even more suspicious: could he really have died in a woman's arms?

It was impossible. He and Chen Mingde had been in Donghua for half a year, and he had not seen Chen Mingde hook up with any women! Could Chen Mingde have kept some things from him?

*************

"Since you were injured a few days ago at the city steel plant, you should focus on recovering. Don't get involved in Mayor Chen's funeral arrangements; the city will assign a specialist to handle it..."

As a provincial-level official, Chen Mingde's sudden death from illness and the suspicious circumstances surrounding it meant that the funeral arrangements would not be simple. The provincial authorities would send someone to Donghua immediately.

Shen Huai, as Chen Mingde's secretary, should have been involved, but Wu Haifeng, who had heard about his behavior in the province and in Donghua, did not trust him and immediately decided to exclude him.

The major changes and shocks of the past two days had already toughened Shen Huai's nerves. After hearing Wu Haifeng's words, he left without a word.

As he was about to go down the stairs, Zhou Yu glanced at him, her bright eyes hiding a hint of schadenfreude.

This bitch! Shen Huai cursed in his heart and deliberately slowed his steps as he went down the stairs.

After a while, he heard Zhou Yu's voice: "Maybe Mayor Chen had a heart attack while showering and tried to get medicine, but didn't make it in time..."

"Building 6 does not supply hot water at noon, and Mayor Chen knew this. He had even complained about it twice to the reception office, which is recorded. I had planned to install a separate solar water heater for Building 6 in a few days, but it didn't happen..." Peng Yong deliberately lowered his voice, but Shen Huai, standing in the stairwell, heard every word clearly.

Shen Huai was startled. Peng Yong's words raised his suspicions:

If Chen Mingde indeed died from a heart attack while showering, then being naked when the attack occurred would be a beneficial explanation for everyone.

Peng Yong was the first to enter the room. Even if he did not see the puddle of water in the corner of the shower wall, he should not have rushed to deny the possibility that Chen Mingde had a heart attack while showering.

Only Zhou Yu and Peng Yong were speaking in the room, and their conversation was brief. Wu Haifeng, Ge Yongqiu, and others remained silent, creating a tense atmosphere like the calm before a storm...

The previous Shen Huai would not have been able to detect anything from Zhou Yu and Peng Yong's brief conversation, but the current Shen Huai, from the moment he went upstairs, had already noticed many suspicious points.

Chen Mingde being naked and dying from a heart attack in the room had multiple explanations.

The two most likely scenarios were: 1) he had a heart attack while showering, couldn't get his medicine in time, and died suddenly; 2) a more ambiguous and dirty scenario...

Even if there was no strong evidence to support either possibility, from the perspective of managing the situation, it would be best to lean towards the first scenario:

If Chen Mingde died from a heart attack while showering, his family and the provincial authorities could handle the funeral and memorial service according to procedure, and Donghua would not be left with any negative consequences.

Zhou Yu did not enter the bedroom or the bathroom, but she directly guessed that Chen Mingde might have died from a heart attack while showering, showing that she, as a woman, understood the rule of "minimizing major issues and trivializing minor ones, avoiding unnecessary trouble."

Peng Yong's intention was too obvious, almost directly denying the possibility that Chen Mingde had a heart attack while showering.

If Chen Mingde did not have a heart attack while showering, why was he naked when he died in the bedroom?

This would lead to many speculations.

Shen Huai was certain that Peng Yong's words were not purely factual.

The city steel plant, as a large state-owned enterprise, was a microcosm of the modern political arena, with all the open and hidden struggles and intrigues. Shen Huai had learned enough about the treacherous nature of human beings—almost instinctively, he concluded that Peng Yong was intentionally muddying the waters.

Why did Peng Yong want to muddy the waters?

Why did Wu Haifeng remain silent?

Even if there was no evidence that Chen Mingde's death was related to a scandal, as the Party Secretary of Donghua, Wu Haifeng should have tried to cover it up.

The previous carefree Shen Huai would have thought: Chen Mingde is dead, and he can't stay in Donghua anyway. Why should he care whether Chen Mingde died from a heart attack while showering or in a woman's arms?

Chen Mingde was the secretary of the old man and considered part of the Song family's political network. If he really died in a woman's arms, it would have a negative impact on the Song family's reputation and the development of its members and disciples—this would have been what the previous Shen Huai would have hoped for.

But the soul in this body had changed. The current Shen Huai still hoped to gain the Song family's forgiveness and to find shelter under their influence, so he could not let the situation deteriorate to the worst possible outcome.

What were Wu Haifeng and Peng Yong planning to do?

They would not directly say that Chen Mingde died in a woman's arms, as there was no evidence of such a woman or any strong evidence—by insisting that Chen Mingde died suddenly from a heart attack while naked in the room at noon, they would be sufficient.

People tend to assume the worst about others, which would be enough to destroy Chen Mingde's posthumous reputation.

But what benefits would this bring to Peng Yong and Wu Haifeng?

**End of Chapter**