Zhang Xiaohui has recently been busy running around with her mother to deal with matters concerning her father, Zhang Lihua. Unfortunately, now that Zhang Lihua has fallen from grace, even though his cri hasn’t been fully proven, those who once surrounded him are reluctant to be associated with him.
The saying goes, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall falls, everyone pushes." In such a dire situation, everyone knows that anyone associated with Zhang Lihua is dood. Those with slightly unclean hands fear being implicated, and naturally, they avoid him like the plague, not daring to bring calamity upon themselves.
Zhang Xiaohui understands this logic, but she still feels frustrated.
Before anything went wrong, her father was so prestigious in Fucheng that no one would dare speak rudely to him. Everyone would flatter and fawn over him.
Now that her father is in trouble, these people run faster than rabbits, afraid of getting involved. She approached a few of her father’s old friends, but they either avoided her or ca up with excuses, refusing to help.
Zhang Xiaohui was fuming inside, yet couldn’t vent her anger, so she had no choice but to return ho with her mother.
Upon returning ho, they were greeted with more trouble. Two court officials, ard with identification and docunts, were waiting at their doorstep. They stated that the disciplinary committee had discovered a large, unexplained sum in the Zhang Family’s accounts, thus their accounts would be frozen, and the family house would be sealed.
If evidence of Zhang Lihua’s bribery and abuse of power were confird, he would definitely be subject to detention and interrogation. At that point, the Zhang’s house would be auctioned off by the court, and their assets would be confiscated.
When Mother Zhang heard this news, she was completely stunned and couldn’t handle it; she fainted on the spot.
Zhang Xiaohui, seeing this, was also terrified. Fortunately, the court officials reacted quickly and imdiately called for ergency dical services.
The court officials, accustod to such situations, were unfazed by Mother Zhang’s collapse and promptly transported her to the hospital, all while continuing to perform their duties.
"You are Zhang Xiaohui, right? Your mother is now ill, but you are still part of your household, so we hope you can cooperate with our court’s work. We will temporarily seal the house, and we hope you understand the regulations. Until things are clarified, please do not return there to live. Moreover, all movable and immovable properties under your parents’ nas have been frozen by the court. Please understand, we are just following procedures and not targeting individuals."
The two officials spoke in a flat tone.
Zhang Xiaohui nodded chanically. It was only after the court officials left that she rembered sothing and hurriedly called her husband.
Zhang Xiaohui considered herself a very strong-willed person, usually having definitive opinions, never panicking over minor issues.
However, with such a major event unfolding today, no matter how assertive Zhang Xiaohui was, she was shaken. Her hands trembled so much she couldn’t even hold her phone properly. Compelling herself to be calm, Zhang Xiaohui quickly dialed her husband’s number.
But what puzzled Zhang Xiaohui was that although the call went through, no one answered.
She called several tis, but no one picked up. Zhang Xiaohui was suspicious, realizing it was past ten in the morning and her husband should have been at work. She tried calling the company.
Unexpectedly, it was not Jiang Weide who answered but his secretary, Linda.
"Madam,"
Linda greeted respectfully on the other end.
Zhang Xiaohui, having no ti for pleasantries, directly asked, "Why are you answering the phone? Where’s your boss?"
Linda paused for a mont before responding, "The boss didn’t co to the office today. Sothing seems to have delayed him. There was supposed to be a eting this morning that had to be canceled."
Zhang Xiaohui frowned, "Did you call his phone?"
Linda nodded, "I did, but no one answered."
Zhang Xiaohui felt uneasy, reaching up to massage her temples, "Got it. You go ahead with your work, but don’t ntion this to anyone."
Without waiting for a response from the secretary, she hung up the call.
Zhang Xiaohui, increasingly anxious, looked at her unconscious mother in the hospital bed. Thinking it over, she arranged for a hospital caregiver to watch over her, grabbed her bag, and hurried ho.
On the way, Zhang Xiaohui called the housemaid, asking, "Is Sir ho?"
The maid, who had noticed sothing was off that morning but dared not speak up, froze at Zhang Xiaohui’s call, and finally spoke up:
"Sir ca ho last night, but this morning, when Sister Liu and I prepared breakfast, he didn’t co down to eat. I went upstairs and checked, but he wasn’t there."
Zhang Xiaohui’s face imdiately darkened, "Sir isn’t ho? When did he leave? How could both of you sleep so soundly that you didn’t even know when he left?"
The maid, a bit flustered, quickly explained, "It’s because Sir didn’t drive out, the car is still in the garage. We don’t know when he left, and Sister Liu and I thought he went out for morning exercise, so we didn’t pay much attention. But now it’s past ten, and he still hasn’t returned."
Zhang Xiaohui’s expression grew even more grim, and she said into the phone, "Understood, I’ll be back." She hung up and sped away.
Ignoring several red lights, she rushed back to Jiang’s Villa, where she imdiately spotted Jiang Weide’s favorite car parked in the garage. If leaving, he would surely drive it, but now it sat in the yard, and Zhang Xiaohui instinctively felt sothing was off.
Upon entering the house, Zhang Xiaohui saw two anxious maids standing in the hall, heads down, nervously twisting the hems of their aprons.
Not knowing the full situation, Zhang Xiaohui refrained from venting her anger on them and headed straight upstairs, first to the bedroom. Seeing it neat and tidy, she frowned.
"Auntie Zhang, co up here. Did you clean this house? Did you tidy up this room this morning? Did Sir sleep here last night?"
Zhang Xiaohui asked urgently.
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