The Beautiful County Magistrate
Chapter 181: If I’m not welcomed here, there’s always a place for me elsewhere!

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: If I’m not welcomed here, there’s always a place for me elsewhere!

Lan Qianrong’s words left the entire conference hall in shock.

Just now, the reason Xu Qianli had struck Zhang Kuisan was no secret to anyone, it was all for Lan Qianrong’s reputation.

Yet, there she was, having just been helped by Xu Qianli to deal with Zhang Kuisan, and she was proposing to dismiss Xu Qianli from his position, completely and utterly. Was this some sort of joke?

Or was she merely putting on an act?

Sun Yan cleared her throat, "County Magistrate Lan, don’t you think the punishment for Xu Qianli is too harsh? Although he did hit Zhang Kuisan, there was a reason for it, Zhang Kuisan was spreading rumors and slandering you, he deserved it!"

With Sun Yan taking the lead, many others chimed in agreement, each hoping to curry favor.

In their minds, Lan Qianrong would certainly take the opportunity to relent and withdraw the punishment for Xu Qianli.

However, contrary to what everyone expected, Lan Qianrong’s expression turned icy, and with a chilling look, she surveyed the crowd and suddenly burst out in anger!

"Don’t bother trying to persuade me, my mind is made up, Xu Qianli must be relieved of all his duties!"

"I believe this punishment is very appropriate for him. Anyone who dares plead on his behalf should not blame me, Lan Qianrong, for not being polite!"

"As the Jiang City Magistrate, I am without a secretary and it’s inconvenient for my work, so I’ve decided to appoint Director Huang Ling from the secretary division as my secretary."

Everyone was dumbfounded.

They all thought she was just posturing, but it turned out she was serious.

She had just kicked Xu Qianli to the curb and immediately picked a new secretary, leaving him no way out. This move was ruthless!

Lan Qianrong had only recently arrived in Jiang City and had no foundation at all. During this time, she was completely marginalized by Zhang Kuisan and rendered powerless.

Her turnaround today was entirely due to Xu Qianli.

Xu Qianli had accomplished such a significant deed for her, and yet here she was, coldly dispatching him after using his services, it was outrageous!

Thinking of how Zhang Kuisan had insinuated they were intimately involved, if there was any truth to that, how could Lan Qianrong be so cruel?

In light of this development, it was uncertain how Xu Qianli would handle it.

Lan Qianrong’s gaze had already fallen on Xu Qianli, "Xu Qianli, do you accept the punishment?"

Xu Qianli remained silent, just quietly watching Lan Qianrong.

He easily read from the depths of Lan Qianrong’s eyes a sense of vindictive satisfaction, along with intense hatred.

Clearly, this woman loathed him, hated him to the bone!

The reason she hated him so deeply was undoubtedly because of what happened the night they first met. To put it plainly, it was she who, in confusion, took the initiative and ended up sleeping with him, allowing him to become her first man.

Xu Qianli now understood that Lan Qianrong could not come to terms with that night and had always wanted to take her revenge on him.

On the other hand, she had wanted to use him to deal with Zhang Kuisan and gain control over the County Government.

That’s why she played her hand by promoting him first, waiting for him to deal with Zhang Kuisan before kicking him away.

Now that he had gone through great lengths to help her settle the issue with Zhang Kuisan, giving her all the power, she no longer had any concerns and immediately took action against him.

The method she used was identical to the way Zhang Kuisan had formerly suppressed him: dismissing him from all positions, pulling the rug out from under him completely.

Concealing her true intentions, first by using someone to eliminate her enemies and then discarding her tool, her tactics were truly ruthless.

Faced with such a situation, Xu Qianli couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

"I really am an idiot," I thought to myself, "how could I have failed to see the hate Lan Qianrong harbored against me? I was so foolishly devising strategies for her, helping her lay out everything to take control of the big picture. I was as stupid as a pig!"

This woman, with such a deep mind and relentless methods, is the legitimate Jiang City Magistrate, and definitely a more difficult opponent to deal with than Zhang Kuisan.

In the past, faced with such an opponent, Xu Qianli would have definitely crumbled.

But now, there isn’t the slightest trace of fear in his heart!

"Lan Qianrong, you used me to get rid of Zhang Kuisan and then kicked me to the curb, wanting to bury me completely so I could never recover, right? Well, I’m not interested in fulfilling your wish!"

"Just watch me—Xu Qianli is like an indestructible cockroach, not only indestructible but also one who will someday climb to heights you will never reach, and I will step on you!"

After a long silence, Xu Qianli said, "I accept County Magistrate Lan’s punishment decision."

The meeting hall erupted into whispers.

Xu Qianli had done so much for Lan Qianrong, and after she kicked him away, he showed no dissatisfaction, calmly accepting the punishment of being stripped of all his positions. Why was he behaving this way?

With his capabilities, he could have definitely contested Lan Qianrong, even escalating the matter to the County Committee to let Ge Changhong arbitrate with justice.

Given the relationship between Ge Changhong and him, along with the fact that Lan Qianrong was truly unreasonable this time, Ge Changhong would surely have taken his side, making Lan Qianrong take back her decision to strip him of his duties.

But he just accepted it so, didn’t he have any other thoughts?

Xu Qianli’s response greatly surprised Lan Qianrong.

She thought Xu Qianli would become angry, outraged, lose control, and furiously question her about her actions. She never expected him to calmly accept his punishment.

No, this was not what she had anticipated.

After being used then discarded by her, shouldn’t Xu Qianli be angry? Why was he so calm?

Back at the Regent Hotel, after being seduced by Xu Qianli and losing her purity in a haze, Lan Qianrong thought of revenge.

She came up with what she considered the perfect and most cruel method of revenge, leading to a series of events that followed.

Now she had thought she had played her hand, and Xu Qianli was supposed to be furious, so why was he like this?

While Lan Qianrong was puzzled, Xu Qianli stood up.

"Since I’m no longer the Director of the Jiang City County Government Office, I have no right to participate in the Jiang City County Government executive meetings. I will excuse myself from this meeting."

With those words, Xu Qianli gave Lan Qianrong a deep look, then left the hall, heading back to his office to pack up his things.

The once helpless him, when brought down by Zhang Kuisan, had no way out, humbly struggling to survive, lingering in the County Government for over a month with everyone stepping on him.

The present him, though brought down by Lan Qianrong, didn’t care at all. If this place didn’t welcome him, then he’d find somewhere that did—Xu Qianli surely had better opportunities ahead.

Xu Qianli was busy packing when the door suddenly opened, and a figure appeared at the entrance. Huang Ling, chest out and striding confidently, entered the office with her head held high.

Xu Qianli said, "Why didn’t you knock before entering?"

Huang Ling, with a smug look on her face, smirked as she began to speak.

"Knock? Why should I knock?"

"I have now been promoted to be Secretary for County Magistrate Lan, and by the rules, I’m to take over the position of Director of the Government Office, meaning this office is now mine, Huang Ling’s."

"I’m just returning to my own office. Should I knock on the door for that?"

"As for you, you’re no longer the County Chief Secretary, no longer the Government Office Director, with not a single official position left. If you dare to act so arrogantly in front of me again, I would not mind putting you in your place!"