In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

Hou Liangping sat blankly in the conference room, still a little dazed, not understanding why everything had changed so suddenly.

Ouyang Jing was acquitted.

Instead, Lu Yike and the other two who were investigating the case, along with Lin Zhengfa and Yao Xinyi, were ordered to be investigated for their integrity issues.

"Director Hou!"

Zhou Zheng pushed open the door and entered. "Director Li of the Supervision Department and Team Leader Huang of the Discipline Inspection Group have arrived."

Without waiting for a reply.

A large hand grabbed Zhou Zheng by the back of his collar and pulled him aside.

Two heavy, dark figures entered one after the other.

"Director Hou Liangping from Beijing?"

Li Guohua glanced at him as if he were being appraised, his voice serious, but it inexplicably made Hou Liangping feel very uncomfortable, as if he were being mocked to his face as a son-in-law of the Zhong family who was not worthy of respect.

"I am."

Hou Liangping stood up. "What brings you two here?"

"Director Hou, we're old acquaintances, so let's not beat around the bush."

Huang Hao pulled Li Guohua down to sit by himself, his smiling face resembling that of Maitreya Buddha, but his small eyes gleamed with a shrewd light. "Secretary Li and I reviewed the interrogation records of Comrade Ouyang Jing. Comrade Ouyang Jing mentioned Dong Qing, Gu Beilou, and Lu Wucheng. Why wasn't any further investigation conducted into these three individuals?"

"Is it because they're concerned about their entanglements with other officials in the Anti-Corruption Bureau and don't want further investigation? Or is it to make it easier for them to distance themselves?"

"no."

Hou Liangping replied curtly.

He was seething with anger. He had handled so many cases in the capital without ever being interrogated, but after only a few days in Handong, he was being treated like this.

His men had all left, and there was no one left to use.

"Upon learning of the situation, I immediately halted the interrogation of the relevant personnel. The reason for not conducting an in-depth investigation was twofold: firstly, there wasn't enough time, and secondly, apart from Ouyang Jing's testimony, she did not provide any other evidence."

"Team Leader Huang, as the former director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, you should understand that the worst thing you can do when handling a case is to spread resources to deal with unexpected concurrent cases. So my approach is to first concentrate the limited resources to solidify Ouyang Jing's chain of evidence."

As the conversation progressed...

Hou Liangping gradually came to his senses, no longer stiff at first. He crossed his arms and leaned forward, making it seem less like a conversation and more like a report meeting to distribute credit.

"Of course, I did not give up on the idea of ​​creating a case. Considering the close relationship between the anti-corruption bureau officials, I had them prepare personal identification materials first."

"I just got back from the provincial party committee right at the start of the quarterly inspection and got a good scolding from them."

"As for the deeper relationship between the two sides..."

Hou Liangping paused slightly, then spread his hands and said, "As you all know, I've just started working in Handong and I don't know much about the interpersonal relationships here."

"Secretary Li!"

Huang Hao turned around with a smile, "Director Hou is indeed a cadre from the Supreme People's Procuratorate and a student of Secretary Gao. He knows how to do things properly and follows the procedures in every move. I don't think there are any problems."

Li Guohua nodded in agreement.

"We'll be going now."

Huang Hao suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Director Hou, will you continue investigating the bribery case involving Dong Qing and the other two?"

"nature!"

Hou Liangping nodded, "The Anti-Corruption Bureau is responsible for combating corruption and bribery. No matter who it is, they will be held accountable for breaking the law."

it is good!

A chilling smile appeared on Li Guohua's face. "Team Leader Huang and I will continue to pay attention to this matter."

The two left quickly.

Hou Liangping's face quickly darkened, and he slammed his fist on the table. Damn it, he'd been tricked again.

But this time it was alright...

As long as Ouyang Jing doesn't say anything out of line, this matter will be resolved after investigating the three unlucky guys.

His daughter, Xiao Ai, can handle it!

"Director Hou!"

Zhou Zheng, who had been left at the door, cautiously poked half of his body in again and called out, "The people from the Third Investigation Division have arrived and are waiting for you in the conference room."

"knew!"

Hou Liangping felt a surge of irritation. "You can go down now."

Li Guohua and Huang Hao, who had just left, were like menacing ghosts, wandering throughout the entire procuratorate.

This included, but was not limited to, visits to Ji Changming, Lin Zhengfa, and Lu Yike, and finally, the interrogation room where Ouyang Jing had visited not long ago.

Yao Xinyi sat there calmly.

"Judge Yao seems to be in a good mood?"

Huang Hao greeted him with a smile.

"I don't deserve to be called Judge Yao by Team Leader Huang, I've already retired."

Yao Xinyi's short hair, paired with a fitted plaid coat, made her look simple and capable. Her sharp eyes didn't seem like the depth one would expect at her age.

"Judge Yao is indeed a veteran in the political and legal system; he understands the organization's regulations for cadres very well, but..."

Huang Hao's voice suddenly turned cold, "Comrade Yao Xinyi, your actions are not as straightforward as you claim."

"Team Leader Huang, I don't understand."

Yao Xinyi pulled her coat tighter, her gaze meeting Yao's but her expression unyielding. "The two discipline inspection leaders sent me to the anti-corruption bureau, so they must have found something involving me or my family."

"Let's put it more clearly!"

"I wouldn't have answered the question incorrectly in my panic."

What a troublesome guy!

Huang Hao was startled. He took Yao Xinyi to the anti-corruption bureau's interrogation room and deliberately left her out for a while. This was his intention, but he didn't expect it to put any psychological pressure on her.

pat!

Li Guohua went straight to the point, revealing the existence of the recording pen, and asked directly, "Is the female voice in the recording pen yours? Comrade Yao Xinyi."

"It's me!"

Yao Xinyi narrowed her eyes.

Her private conversation with Ji Changming was recorded and ended up in the hands of the Discipline Inspection Commission.

"So, do you have anything to explain?"

Li Guohua continued to ask.

"I did meet with Chief Prosecutor Ji about Yi Ke's matter, but it was not because I was a senior student and I pressured her. Rather, it was because Yi Ke was not involved, or from the perspective of the discipline inspection commission, there was no clear evidence to prove that Yi Ke was involved in Chen Hai's case. Therefore, I had some ulterior motives."

Yao Xinyi sincerely admitted her mistake, looking obediently like she was about to be punished. "I know there was nothing wrong with my behavior, but loving and protecting my child is a mother's nature."

"The organization can discipline me."

"I accept it all."

Li Guohua gave a cold laugh:

"Protecting children is not an excuse to abuse influence, just like how Chen Yanshi used the excuse of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers at Dafeng Factory to organize workers to violently resist demolition."

"At their core, they all fall into the trap of remaining inactive after retirement and abusing their power."

Yao Xinyi's expression finally changed.

Who is Chen Yanshi now? An armed reactionary, with the same crime as him…

In a sense, it has already expressed an attitude.

This is definitely not a simple conversation or interrogation, just going through the motions on the surface. They really want to completely destroy him.

No! That's bad!

She's just a retired judge; what's the point of killing her?

Yao Xinyi felt a chill run down her spine as she suddenly thought of an even more terrifying possibility.