Chapter 47: My Brother Is in Trouble

“I still don’t understand the meaning of those three sentences you mentioned.”

Jiang Hu arrived at the hospital room early in the morning, persistently pestering Yang Dong for an answer.

It was already eight-thirty on the second morning, yet he remained perplexed. After turning it over in his mind countless times, he decided simply to come and ask Yang Dong directly, bringing breakfast with him as well.

But Yang Dong ate his breakfast in silence, refusing to say a word, much less offer an explanation.

This infuriated Jiang Hu—was he being made fun of for lacking brains?

After finishing his meal, Yang Dong glanced up at the calendar on the wall.

Today was March 13, 2008, five days before the conclusion of the National People’s Congress.

This also meant there were five days left for a resolution in Secretary Yin’s case.

It had been eleven days since his car accident, and he’d been hospitalized all this time.

During these eleven days, it truly felt impossible to leave. Outside, the supervisors sent by the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection kept tabs on everything but his eating, drinking, and bathroom visits. Even stepping out for a walk around the hospital grounds was forbidden.

Had he not known the disciplinary committee's investigation protocols in advance, Yang Dong might have suspected he was under house arrest.

Ring ring!

Just as he tossed his breakfast trash into the bin, his phone rang.

He was puzzled—who would be calling so early?

He glanced at the caller ID: a landline from his hometown.

Was something happening at home?

Yang Dong frowned, confused.

It was still March, and in the rural northeast, the long winter was not yet over—what matter could arise at home?

He answered the call and held the phone to his ear.

“Is this Dad or Mom?”

Though the call came from the family phone, he couldn’t be sure who was on the line.

“Xiao Dong, sob... Your brother’s in trouble!” His mother’s voice came through, weeping and telling him that something had happened to his younger brother.

Yang Dong’s body tensed at once, the bad news catching him completely unprepared.

“Mom, don’t cry—tell me slowly, what happened to my brother?”

Though anxious, Yang Dong kept his composure, calmly asking his mother, Du Yuxiang, for details.

His brother was a senior in high school—what could possibly have happened?

Sitting on the heated brick bed, Du Yuxiang wiped her tears, did her best to stifle her sobs, and spoke to her eldest son.

“This morning, your brother was on his way to school in the town. Right at the school gates, a group of thugs stopped him and beat him up. He’s already been taken to the hospital—his leg is broken! Your father has gone to the local police station to report it.”

Hearing this, Yang Dong’s heart immediately sank.

In that instant, he sensed something was wrong.

His brother, Yang Nan, was honest and quiet—he only studied and never courted trouble. How could he have been assaulted by street thugs at the school gates?

There had to be more to this; it was likely connected to himself.

He’d made plenty of enemies lately, but few would have both the audacity and means to orchestrate something like this.

Was it Xu Yuncai? Or Wu Jiancai?

Or someone else, using his family as a means of retaliation?

Xu Yuncai probably wouldn’t act now—given the ongoing congress, anyone with a shred of political sense wouldn’t make a reckless move.

Was it Wu Jiancai, then? The chairman of Construction Materials Industries, a true underworld figure who kept dozens of “security guards” on his payroll—thugs, in reality.

Wu Jiancai wielded considerable influence in Lingyun City’s underworld. On the streets, he was known as Brother Wu.

For years, there had been a saying in Lingyun City: “The sky of Lingyun, the earth of Lingyun—Brother Wu is both sky and earth. Three years a Party Secretary, two years a mayor, but in the end, this city belongs to Brother Wu.”

“Mom, don’t worry—I’ll come home right away.”

Yang Dong gathered his thoughts and spoke, soothing his mother’s nerves.

Then he hung up and looked at Jiang Hu. “My brother’s in trouble.”

“Yes, I heard,” Jiang Hu replied grimly—the call had been loud enough.

“This is definitely an act of revenge,” he said, drawing on his experience in the criminal police unit. “But who’s behind it?”

“No matter who it is, daring to target my family has crossed my bottom line,” Yang Dong said, his voice and expression unnervingly calm.

Yet that very calmness betrayed the depth of his anger.

To attack his family was to declare a fight to the bitter end.

“Chief, I have a personal matter—I need to return home,” Yang Dong said, pulling out the Municipal Commission’s contact phone and directly calling Wei Chonghu, the leader of the investigation team and First Deputy Secretary of the Commission.

He bypassed the two deputy leaders. In the world of officialdom, overstepping ranks was taboo, but he had no other choice.

Wei Chonghu sensed the tension in Yang Dong’s voice, frowning as he asked, “What personal matter?”

Wasn’t Yang Dong recuperating in the hospital? Why the sudden need to return home?

Did he not understand the investigation team’s protocols?

During an investigation, unauthorized contact with the outside was strictly forbidden.

“My younger brother attends high school in Xia Shui Town. This morning he was ambushed by thugs at the school gate—his leg was broken,” Yang Dong replied, hiding nothing.

He knew full well that unauthorized outside contact violated confidentiality rules.

But with his brother hurt, he had no choice.

“Yang Dong, you’re the leader of the Tenth Task Force. If you leave your post to go home, it puts the Commission in a difficult position.”

“You attended the formation meeting—you know the rules and the confidentiality requirements. During an investigation, you can’t just make outside contact.”

“If everyone on the team left because of family matters, there’d be chaos.”

“If word got out to officials under investigation, it could tip them off.”

“If someone fled or committed suicide, who would bear that responsibility?”

“Sometimes, individual interests must yield to the organization’s needs and the greater good,” Wei Chonghu counseled patiently.

Yang Dong was usually willing to put the group first, but not in this case.

He was unyielding.

“Sir, I’m willing to accept the consequences,” he declared.

“But I must go home.”

If he couldn’t even protect his family, what business did he have being an official?

He might only be a low-level civil servant now, but regardless, with his brother in trouble, as the elder brother, he had to return.

Especially since this had happened because of him.

“You young people...” Wei Chonghu scratched his head, clearly troubled.

The mayor, the party secretary, and both he and Xu Yuncai had all tacitly agreed to wait for the congress to end before convening the Party Standing Committee to continue their tussle over Yin Tiejun’s case.

Now, with Yang Dong’s brother hurt, his return home could shatter that delicate political truce.

Still, with Yang Dong insisting, Wei Chonghu had to respond.

Whatever the case, Yang Dong had been the main force in clearing Yin Tiejun’s name.

Only yesterday, his superior had even offered rare praise for Yang Dong.

“All right, if you must return, take Lu Yike with you. She’ll supervise your every move.”

“But you only have three days—after that, you must return to the city.”

Wei Chonghu offered a compromise: Lu Yike would monitor Yang Dong to prevent any leaks.

He had little choice—he knew Yang Dong was telling the truth and that his family really was in trouble.

But others didn’t know that.

Rumors could be deadly, and others would exploit the situation.

If Xu Yuncai’s faction seized on this and made an issue of it, the balance of power could shift.

If they focused on the breach of confidentiality, they would be in the right.

Then neither he nor Guan Mushan could protect Yang Dong.

This wasn’t about power; sometimes, being in the right was invincible.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll return within three days,” Yang Dong promised.

He appreciated Wei Chonghu’s willingness to take a risk for his personal matter.

He would remember this favor.

“Secretary Wei, isn’t this too risky?” In Wei Chonghu’s office, Liu Shan and Su Tongzhou were present.

Both had overheard the phone call, their faces dark.

Yang Dong’s return would surely cause a stir—something they could ill afford.

As for his breach of protocol, they no longer had the energy to dwell on it—this was already a major incident.

But Wei Chonghu’s face showed none of his earlier heaviness; he seemed restored to his usual self, even smiling faintly.

He said to his two confidants, “We’re all human. Who could remain calm and rational when family is in danger?”

“Let him go.”