The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Jiang Yiqiu tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and finally fell asleep just before dawn.

I was woken up by my phone ringing. I picked it up and saw it was my mother, Zhang Qingrong, calling. I checked the time; it was eight o'clock.

"mom"

"Yi Qiu, have you come down yet?"

"I'm getting ready now."

"Hurry up, the banquet starts at 10:30, everyone is waiting for you."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yiqiu washed up, drove to get her makeup done, and when she came back, she changed into a dress that accentuated her curves.

Looking at the time, it was 9:10. Jiang Yiqiu quickly drove towards Fushan Town.

She adjusted her mood and understood Chen Shi's actions. Being a leader is not easy; many eyes are watching, especially at this critical juncture. To run for executive deputy county head, one must make choices.

Once my mood calms down and the gloom in my heart is swept away, I connect my phone to Bluetooth and listen to music while driving to pass the time.

The phone rang, and Jiang Yiqiu glanced at it; it was his father, Jiang Huazhou, calling.

"dad"

"Xiao Qiu, where are you?"

"We've arrived at Shangying Town. It should take another half hour or so."

"Wu Zi, drive slowly. We'll start the feast after you arrive."

"Dad, don't wait for me, you guys start the meal first."

Jiang Huazhou sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "Hasn't Chen Shi returned?" "Don't wait for me, it's not 'us'!"

"I was just about to tell you this. Chen Shi has something to take care of in Yizhou and doesn't have time to come back. You know his current situation; he's running for executive deputy county head and is campaigning everywhere. As his family, we should understand him."

"Dad, Mom's upset that Chen Shi isn't coming back. You need to try and comfort her."

"Dad understands. You can focus on driving. Leave the rest to me."

Jiang Huazhou hung up the phone and found the busy Zhang Qingrong: "Come to the room for a moment."

Zhang Qingrong said, "I need to arrange for everyone to serve the dishes. If there's anything else, we'll talk about it later."

Jiang Huazhou gave Zhang Qingrong a look. With the tacit understanding between the couple over the years, Zhang Qingrong knew that something urgent had happened and quickly followed him into the room.

Jiang Huazhou locked the door from the inside and whispered, "Chen Shi is using his connections in Yizhou to run for executive deputy county magistrate. He doesn't have time to come back. As family, we should understand and support him."

Zhang Qingrong looked aggrieved, and tears streamed down her face.

"Chen Shi is just a section-level leader. He doesn't even have time to get married. Would he die if he took a few days off?"

If all the relatives and friends come and you don't see the groom, people will laugh at you.

Our Xiaoqiu is beautiful, well-educated, and a leader. I called Chen Shi, and if he doesn't come, the wedding is off. I refuse to believe that Xiaoqiu can't find someone better than Chen Shi.

Zhang Qingrong took out his phone to make a call, but Jiang Huazhou grabbed him.

"Calm down. You need to know, Xiao Qiu was able to become the executive vice principal of No. 1 Middle School because of her connections. Our quarry is doing so well, while other quarries are about to go bankrupt. Whose connections did that give her?"

Chen Shi isn't refusing to come; he has important business to attend to. If he becomes the executive deputy county head and joins the standing committee, our quarry can be expanded to the county seat.

Most of the relatives and friends who came today didn't actually want to meet Chen Shi or get closer to him. From Chen Shi's perspective, it's normal that they didn't come.

When you are powerful enough, no one will dare to laugh at you or make excuses for your absence. A leader is a leader; they can skip work or even their wedding.

Zhang Qingrong still felt very wronged. Her daughter was so outstanding, yet her wedding couldn't be a big affair. They could only have a few tables, and the groom didn't even show up.

Jiang Huazhou comforted her, saying, "Don't cry. Today is your daughter's wedding, a joyous day. Crying is bad luck."

Jiang Huazhou glanced at his watch; it was 10:40.

"Let's start the meal. Xiao Qiu will arrive a little later, and I'll explain to everyone."

Zhang Qingrong could still distinguish what was important and, suppressing her grievances, said to Jiang Huazhou, "If Chen Shi isn't coming, surely his family will. It's almost eleven o'clock, and they still haven't shown up."

"Chen Xing called earlier and will be here soon. Let's go and greet the guests first."

At this moment, Chen Xing drove Chen Jianhua, Chen Jianyong, Wang Xiufen, and the two children into Jiang Huazhou's courtyard.

Following behind was Zhang Gao's car, inside which sat Chen Ai, Chen Yanshi, Wang Guihua, and their two children.

When Jiang Huazhou saw Chen Shi's family arrive, he pulled Zhang Qingrong along and walked up to greet them with a big smile.

"In-laws, please come inside."

Chen Yanshi felt that Chen Shi had done something wrong. He hadn't even shown up for such a big event as his wedding. He looked at Jiang Huazhou with a guilty expression and said, "Huazhou, I'm sorry. Chen Shi is just too busy with work and didn't have time to come back. I hope you can understand."

Jiang Huazhou smiled and said, "My dear in-law, you're being too polite. Chen Shi is a leader and is very busy, which is normal. We'll just set up a few tables; whether he comes or not won't make any difference. Please come in."

Wang Guihua, not seeing Jiang Yiqiu, asked, "Has Yiqiu not returned either?"

Zhang Qingrong replied, "It's on its way, it'll be there soon."

Wang Xiufen whispered in Chen Xing's ear, "Jiang Huazhou and Zhang Qingrong are really good-natured. Even though the groom didn't come to their daughter's wedding, they still greeted her with smiles. When they came, I was really afraid that if they found out that Chen Shi wasn't coming back, the wedding would be called off."

"Everyone is as petty and narrow-minded as you."

Chen Xing quickly followed him inside, while Wang Xiufen muttered under her breath, "Me, petty?"

She followed them inside. If it were her own daughter getting married and the son-in-law didn't come, she wouldn't let her daughter go through with the wedding. It's a matter of face; it's clearly disrespectful.

Jiang Huazhou and Zhang Qingrong warmly received Chen Yanshi and his party, and arranged for them to sit at the head table.

Zhang Qingrong pulled Jiang Huazhou aside: "Explain to your relatives and friends that Chen Shi is busy with work and can't come."

Jiang Huazhou whispered, "Don't explain these things. The more you explain, the easier it is for people to misunderstand. Have you ever seen a leader who is late and still has to explain to his subordinates?"

Zhang Qingrong thought about it and realized it made sense. Explaining would only be a cover-up, and others might not care. But if he explained, it would only attract attention.

"Serve the dishes and begin the meal," Jiang Huazhou said loudly to the kitchen staff.

There were quite a few people who came, including relatives and friends of the Jiang family, some leaders from the town, and teachers from the central school. No one saw the bride and groom, and no one mentioned them.

Jiang Yiqiu arrived home at 11:20. Jiang Huazhou and Zhang Qingrong went to greet their daughter, while Chen Yanshi and his family also went to pick up Jiang Yiqiu.

As Jiang Yiqiu got out of the car, everyone's eyes were on her. She got out of the car alone, and everyone was looking around for Chen Shi.

Ma Guoliang and Zhang Youcai sat at the same table. Zhang Youcai whispered, "Director Ma, it seems that Director Chen didn't come back with us."

"That shouldn't be the case," Ma Guoliang said softly. He still wanted to greet Chen Shi and show his face.

When Wang Guihua saw Jiang Yiqiu, she smiled broadly and said, "Yiqiu, you're so beautiful! Quickly hand out wedding candy to everyone."

Zhang Qingrong hurriedly asked Jiang Yishan to get the wedding candies, and then followed Jiang Yiqiu to distribute them table by table.

The wedding was very lively. Jiang Huazhou prepared a truckload of fireworks and set them off outside. He wanted to tell everyone in the town that his daughter was getting married to a section-level leader.