Chapter 1596: Feel Wronged for You
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Minister Qiao… Sorry, I’m used to calling you that. I can’t change this habit and I have never thought of changing it. Comrade Qiao, I really feel wronged for you. I feel wronged for myself as well. We have clarified that what happened in the past had nothing to do with you. On what basis did the leaders pull you down and pull Deng Wenchang up? Compared to you, Deng Wenchang is really much worse off. He’s not as capable as you and his character isn’t as good as yours. He doesn’t even handle things as fairly as you!”
Once he saw Qiao Nan, Li Dawei started to scold Deng Wenchang. It was like how he scolded Qiao Nan every time he met Xu Xinming. “I just don’t understand why the leaders would promote a person like Deng Wenchang. Comrade Qiao, I really couldn’t help but find it unfair for you. All these years, you have been working hard even if you have not performed meritorious deeds. How could they still treat you like this when they know that you were obviously not in the wrong?! I’m just as unlucky as you are. Minister Deng Wenchang eliminated me from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first just after he got this position. Both of us are just too unlucky.”
Deng Wenchang was now his and Qiao Nan’s common enemy. He hated Deng Wenchang. Qiao Nan must have hated him even more. “If I have just a bit of authority, Comrade Qiao, I will definitely do everything I can to let you continue to be the minister of foreign affairs. Comrade Qiao, in my heart, only you’re the minister. Who is Deng Wenchang?!”
After hearing Li Dawei ‘express his loyalty’, Qiao Nan had coincidentally finished packing the things in her office.
Qiao Nan moved out from the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ office. Instead of sitting back in her old position, she changed to another office. “After saying so much, let me ask you one thing. Do you know exactly how Deng Wenchang became the minister of foreign affairs? Do you also know how I was pulled down from the position?”
“Didn’t the leaders decide on this?” Li Dawei was stunned. What was there to know about? There was only this possibility.
Qiao Nan smiled and drank a sip of water to soothe her throat. “The leaders? Comrade Li, you seemed to have forgotten one thing.” What did her father-in-law do? What did her husband do?
With her father-in-law and husband around, was it that easy for her to lose the position of the minister?
Li Dawei was right about one thing. Qiao Zijin’s matter had been explained clearly and Qiao Nan didn’t have any moral integrity issues. Actually, she could continue to be the minister of foreign affairs. If someone wanted to pull her down from this position at this time, that would be by force. Who dared to do that? Wouldn’t they be afraid that her father-in-law and husband would look for them for trouble?
If someone dared to force her, her father-in-law and husband would dare to force them.
“Then… then, what is it?” After Qiao Nan’s reminder, Li Dawei suddenly remembered that although Qiao Nan’s family didn’t have a strong background, her in-laws did. Oh, right. Qiao Nan’s father-in-law was the old chief. Her husband was the new chief. Qiao Nan didn’t do anything wrong. Who would dare to pull her down from the position of the minister?
Seeing that it was rare that Li Dawei listened to her words, Qiao Nan was kindhearted enough to enlighten him. “It’s because of me. I was the one who wanted to step down from this position. n.o.body ordered me to do so. As for Deng Wenchang, if I didn’t recommend him, he wouldn’t be promoted as well. If I were to step down, of course I had to recommend a talent to the leaders. I feel that Deng Wenchang is quite good. The leaders also acknowledge Deng Wenchang’s capabilities. As such, Deng Wenchang became the new minister.”
Unfair?
She had recommended Deng Wenchang herself. How was it unfair? Furthermore, she was the one who wanted to step down from this position. It had nothing to do with others.
“You… you?” Qiao Nan stepped down from her position because she wanted to and she was the one who recommended Deng Wenchang. Why? Since she was stepping down, why must she push Deng Wenchang up?
He remembered that when Deng Wenchang and Qiao Nan entered the ministry, both of them didn’t get along well with each other. Why did Qiao Nan help Deng Wenchang and not think of others when there was such a good opportunity now? There were so many talents in the ministry and a lot of them were younger than Deng Wenchang. On what basis did she not recommend others but only Deng Wenchang?
If the person Qiao Nan had recommended was himself back then, would he have been the one to move into the minister’s office today after receiving the notice instead of Deng Wenchang?
Upon thinking about this possibility, Li Dawei was furious. They had similarly offended Qiao Nan, treated Qiao Nan as an eyesore, and gone against Qiao Nan. On what basis did Qiao Nan only recommend Deng Wenchang and not mention him at all when there was such a good opportunity? Why did Qiao Nan only provide a name at this time instead of a few more so that the leaders could have a choice?
In this case, was Deng Wenchang the leaders’ top candidate? Qiao Nan was the one who had clearly named him! As such, saying that the new minister was being elected was just Qiao Nan’s own words!
Seeing that Li Dawei’s eyes widened and were full of accusations, Qiao Nan became happy. “You didn’t say it, but I understand. It can’t be said that it was just my own words. Deng Wenchang is quite capable, and he is above you. You can’t deny this point. Also, I haven’t been the minister for a long time, but I have done a lot of work. I do have some authority to speak about this. It’s rare that the leaders think highly of me and are willing to use the person I’ve recommended. How would I waste such an opportunity? As for what you have in mind, you have to work hard yourself. If Deng Wenchang commits a big mistake and your performance is exceptionally outstanding, the next appointed minister might be you.”
It was impossible for her to recommend Li Dawei. At the critical moments, Li Dawei kept hindering her. Deng Wenchang’s performance surprised her quite a bit. Not only did he try to calm the hearts of the people in the ministry during that sensitive time, but he also found someone to communicate with those media who were reporting indiscriminately, asking them to stop making reports and headlines of her matters with Qiao Zijin.
It could be said that during the most chaotic times, Deng Wenchang had been helping her. He had even used his ident.i.ty as a senior to personally suppress Li Dawei.
Aside from Deng Wenchang’s own efforts, Qiao Nan’s willingness to recommend Deng Wenchang was highly related to his performance during this period of time.
It didn’t make sense that Deng Wenchang could let go of their hostile relations.h.i.+p to focus on the ministry and help her but she wasn’t willing to give Deng Wenchang an opportunity to perform. Without her, this opportunity to perform would have belonged to Deng Wenchang in the first place.
It was a little late. However, at the very least, this opportunity had been returned to its rightful owner.