Chapter 11: A Stranger?
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In Jiang Zhaoyang’s eyes, his father had always been exceptionally strict with him.
There had never been any indulgence, despite his being an only child.
From childhood onward, all his father had given him was sound guidance and education—teaching him how to conduct himself and how to handle affairs.
Even when he was attending university, his living expenses were carefully rationed.
His father would not give him a single extra cent.
The result was that Jiang Zhaoyang developed frugal habits.
Two years earlier, after graduating from a prestigious 985 university, he had been expected to take a position in the County Party Committee Office.
That would have been perfectly reasonable.
After all, another graduate who had come to the county with him, this one from a 211 university, had entered the County Party Committee Office.
Jiang Zhaoyang had graduated from the more prestigious 985 university and was also a government-selected trainee. No one would have dared to criticize the arrangement.
But his father had refused.
He had insisted that Jiang Zhaoyang go down to the townships to gain experience.
It was meant to strengthen his experience in grassroots administration—a period of tempering and training.
Jiang Zhaoyang had not objected.
He knew that sooner or later, he would rise to the upper levels.
But now that his father had been placed under investigation, Jiang feared he might never have the chance to recover.
“Mom, why did this happen? Weren’t there any warning signs?”
Zhou Jing sighed. “Secretary Su was transferred away. He’s taken up a post at the Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.”
Jiang Zhaoyang understood instantly. When a new ruler came to power, he brought his own people.
His father and Su Chaohan, the County Party Secretary, had been university classmates and had always enjoyed a close relationship.
Su Chaohan’s sudden transfer had undoubtedly shattered the county’s former political balance.
As county magistrate, Zhang Chaosen was now preparing to purge those who did not belong to his faction.
Zhang Chaosen had long coveted greater power.
Now that Su Chaohan was gone, he would naturally seize the opportunity to consolidate his position and build a team of loyal supporters.
And Jiang Zhaoyang’s father had become a thorn in his side.
But if all Zhang Chaosen wanted was to sideline him, why had he resorted to such ruthless measures?
Or did his father truly have some compromising evidence in Zhang Chaosen’s hands?
For the moment, Jiang Zhaoyang could reach no conclusion.
Only now did he awaken as if from a dream. Lin Weiquan’s attitude toward him had been far more complicated than he had imagined.
The reason Lin Weiquan had shown him no mercy, violated the unwritten rules, and suppressed him at every turn was not merely that he believed Jiang Zhaoyang belonged to Fu Zhengliang’s faction.
More importantly, Lin Weiquan had wanted to offer County Magistrate Zhang Chaosen a pledge of allegiance.
Jiang Zhaoyang remembered Lin Weiquan’s meaningful smile.
At last, he understood what it had truly meant.
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“Where is Dad being held? I want to see him. Even if I can only look at him once.”
“Son, it’s not that I don’t want you to go. You can’t see him now.” Zhou Jing’s words were filled with helplessness and bitterness.
After a pause, she added, “Son, go and visit Xiaowen.”
“Uncle Liu and your father have shared a deep friendship for thirty years. Perhaps he can offer you some guidance and lend you a hand.”
A warm current stirred in Jiang Zhaoyang’s heart.
He knew that at this critical moment, apart from his family, Xiaowen and her family were the people he could rely on most.
The Xiaowen Zhou Jing mentioned was Jiang Zhaoyang’s fiancée, Liu Wen.
The two had grown up together. They had been childhood sweethearts, innocent and inseparable.
They had been classmates in elementary school, middle school, and high school, parting only when they went to university.
Jiang Zhaoyang had been admitted to a prestigious 985 university, while Liu Wen had managed to enter only an ordinary second-tier university within the province.
Whenever the holidays arrived, they would eagerly rush to see each other and share the details of their lives.
After graduation, Liu Wen passed the civil service examination and became an official at the County Medical Insurance Bureau.
Their fathers, too, were close friends.
Liu Wen’s father, Liu Huang, was a deputy director of the County Forestry Bureau.
The marriage between the two families could be described as perfectly matched, a union of complementary strengths and mutual benefit.
Many people in the county had high hopes for the couple.
Whenever they appeared in public, they attracted countless admiring and blessing-filled looks.
Thinking of all this, Jiang Zhaoyang nodded and said to Zhou Jing, “Mom, I understand.”
“I’ll go to Xiaowen’s house right away.”
With that, he turned and left home, setting out for the Liu residence.
The Liu family did not live far away.
It took only a little over ten minutes on foot.
Jiang Zhaoyang was young and moved with vigorous strides, walking quickly.
He hurried through several familiar streets.
Before long, he arrived at an upscale residential complex.
It was a famous garden community in the county, where the residents were either wealthy or influential.
The surroundings lived up to its reputation: luxuriant trees cast deep shade, and the air was heavy with the fragrance of flowers.
Every building exuded an unmistakable air of distinction.
Following a meticulously landscaped path, he came to an imposing residence.
The building stood head and shoulders above the others in the county.
He entered Unit One, took the elevator, and went directly to the door of Apartment 1301.
This was Liu Wen’s home.
Jiang Zhaoyang pressed the doorbell.
The world behind the door seemed to be asleep, wrapped in profound silence.
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After quite some time, the door finally opened slowly.
The moment it opened, Jiang Zhaoyang’s eyes met those of an elegant, dignified middle-aged woman.
She was Liu Wen’s mother, Zhu Jieyu.
She wore a refined qipao. Her figure was graceful, her features gentle as water, as though she had stepped out of a painting.
Yet when she looked at Jiang Zhaoyang, there was a trace of barely perceptible coldness in her eyes.
“Hello, Auntie.” Standing before that familiar door, Jiang Zhaoyang spoke with his customary warmth and courtesy.
But Zhu Jieyu, his future mother-in-law, responded like a basin of winter water, instantly extinguishing the warmth in his heart.
She did not welcome him inside with her usual radiant smile.
Instead, her face bore an indescribable distance, as though Jiang Zhaoyang standing before her were a complete stranger.
“Whom are you looking for?” Her voice was calm and cold, without the slightest hint of her former warmth or intimacy.
The words struck Jiang Zhaoyang like an invisible sword, making his heart jolt violently.
He froze, utterly at a loss.
Auntie Zhu had always been so fond of him.
Whenever he visited, she would take his hand and ask affectionately about how he had been.
Sometimes she would even tease him, saying that she hoped to hold a grandchild soon.
Why was she acting today as though she did not know him at all?
She was his future mother-in-law. How could she possibly not know why he had come?
Could she truly have no idea?
He came here every week!
A sense of foreboding began to spread through him.
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he forced a smile and explained, “Auntie, I’m here to see Xiaowen. It’s the weekend.”
The eyes that had once been filled with maternal affection now seemed veiled by a thin mist, revealing nothing of her emotions.
Her silence wounded him more deeply than any words could have.
Jiang Zhaoyang felt a frustration and confusion unlike anything he had ever experienced.
A chill rose from the depths of his heart.
Could it be that he had done something wrong?
Or had some misfortune befallen the Liu family?
“There’s no need. Xiaowen isn’t here. You should go back.” Zhu Jieyu’s tone remained cold, but it carried an unmistakable finality.
Just then, a clear female voice came from inside the apartment.
“Is that Zhaoyang?”
Jiang Zhaoyang’s heart tightened.
Unable to believe his ears, he turned toward Zhu Jieyu. “Auntie, Xiaowen is here?”