Chapter 31: Xiang Zhuang's Sword Dance Aims at Peigong

Upon hearing the familiar address, Ma Guangming's heart trembled, but he quickly regained control of his shock and calmly said, "Go on, I'm listening."

Du Long said, "I know of a secretary at the municipal government who colluded with someone else to take some photos at Ming Cui Garden, villa number 304. I wonder if Mayor Ma is interested?"

Ma Guangming's anger burned inside him, and he said in a deep voice, "Du Long, what exactly are you trying to say!"

Du Long said, "Mayor Ma, don't be angry. I'm trying to help you. If you don't believe me, just call your secretary over and question him. Tell him that a letter meant for Zhang Xing accidentally fell into your hands, and there are twenty-five photos in the letter..."

Ma Guangming clenched his teeth and spat out two words: "Zhang Xing?"

Du Long said, "Yes, it's Zhang Xing. I don't know what he's trying to do, but he doesn't have the photos. Everything is in my hands. I can swear it's not me who took them. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Mayor Ma, just a simple investigation will reveal who did it. Since you've been so good to me, I took the initiative to get the evidence. When you have time, we can meet and destroy everything."

Ma Guangming felt the gravity of the situation. Although Du Long's words were hard to verify immediately, the fact that he knew the address meant that his secret was out. Thinking of the consequences if the matter were exposed, Ma Guangming saw his bright future suddenly plunged into darkness. He shuddered, his breathing quickened, and he asked nervously, "Are you sure you have everything?"

Du Long was also anxious. Hearing Ma Guangming's heavy breathing, he felt a weight lift off his chest and said confidently, "I have everything."

Ma Guangming wasn't so confident and immediately countered, "Are you sure?"

Du Long said, "I'm sure! And I've already warned the person who took the photos. He won't dare to leak a word. As for Secretary Zhang, you'll have to handle it yourself."

Ma Guangming's heart calmed a bit, and he said, "Alright, I'll call you after work. I have a meeting to attend now. Let's leave it at that."

Just as Ma Guangming was about to hang up, Du Long hurriedly said, "Mayor Ma, don't hang up yet. I have two more things to report."

Ma Guangming was surprised and said, "More things? Then go on."

Du Long said, "I want to report my colleague Feng Weiwu, who uses his uncle's position as the vice mayor of Yuming City to openly oppress his colleagues and claim their achievements."

Hearing that it involved Vice Mayor Feng Jianwen of Yuming City, Ma Guangming finally became interested. Given the limited time, he said, "Du Long, are you talking about yourself? Do you have any evidence?"

Du Long said, "Party Secretary and Director of the Public Security Bureau, Sun Guozhong, and Deputy Director Lu Hongguang are both well aware of this. Lu Hongguang even has our police station's report, which was originally meant to commend me, but it suddenly became Feng Weiwu's achievement. I can't understand this."

Ma Guangming said, "Sun Director will be in the meeting later. I'll help you look into it. If your words are verified, I'll make sure to right the wrong! Is there anything else? I really need to go to the meeting."

Du Long said, "There's one more thing..."

Zhang Xing knocked on the door and said softly, "Mayor Ma, the small meeting room is waiting for you."

Ma Guangming glanced at Zhang Xing. This guy was usually respectful, but he never expected him to play such a trick behind his back. He grunted and said to Du Long, "I'm going to the meeting. If it's not urgent, I'll call you after the meeting."

Du Long thought that the third matter wasn't urgent, so he tactfully said, "Alright, I'll wait for your call."

Ma Guangming hung up the phone and said to Zhang Xing, "Zhang, go to the small meeting room and ask for a few minutes off for me. Let the secretary start the meeting. I'll make a call and then come over."

After Zhang Xing left, Ma Guangming immediately called Deputy Director Lu Hongguang of the Public Security Bureau. Lu Hongguang was one of Ma Guangming's confidants, and he told the truth when Ma Guangming asked about the matter.

The second office of the municipal committee, known as the small office, was where the Yuming City Party Committee members gathered every Monday at 2:30 PM. This was a regular meeting, and most of the time, everyone just reported on their work from the previous week. Therefore, Ma Guangming's few minutes of tardiness wasn't a big deal.

When Ma Guangming entered the meeting room, Party Secretary Wang Shuwei was still giving a long speech. Ma Guangming smiled at Wang Shuwei and quietly sat down in his seat.

Wang Shuwei didn't like tardiness, and neither did any leader. He glanced at Ma Guangming and finally ended his speech, saying, "Comrade Guangming, everyone has been waiting for you. I heard there was a problem at the Tieling mine in Wuxi County. What's going on?"

Ma Guangming smiled and said, "I only received a call from the Wuxi County Committee this morning. I didn't expect the secretary to already know. According to the information I have, a mass fight broke out at the Tieling mine in Wuxi County yesterday afternoon. The root cause seems to be a dispute over underground mineral rights. I've instructed the Wuxi County government to resolve the issue quickly and properly. It shouldn't escalate further. A more detailed report should be available tomorrow, and we can decide then."

Ma Guangming paused and continued, "Now, let me talk about the progress of the work I've been overseeing recently..."

There hadn't been any major events in Yuming City recently, so Ma Guangming briefly summarized his recent work. Then it was Vice Mayor Feng Jianwen's turn. Feng Jianwen was mainly responsible for public security, justice, ethnic and religious affairs, safety production, petitions, and urban management. He gave a brief summary of the recent security situation in Yuming City. Just as he was about to talk about other aspects of his work, Ma Guangming suddenly interrupted him.

Ma Guangming smiled and said, "Jianwen, you said the security situation in Yuming City is excellent. I think that's a bit exaggerated..."

Feng Jianwen frowned, and Ma Guangming continued, "Everyone has heard, right? My father suddenly had a heart attack and was hospitalized. Do you know why he had a heart attack?"

Everyone had heard about Ma Guangming's father being hospitalized, but some were just curious, while others wanted to visit him. Unfortunately, he was discharged that night, so it didn't happen. No one had delved into why he was hospitalized.