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

At the same time.

Wen Yiyan hosted a banquet for cadres from the provincial association in a private room of the canteen in the provincial party committee compound. There were one director and nine deputy directors, plus Wen Yiyan himself, filling a large table.

"Chairman Lian, let's have another one."

Wen Yiyan raised her glass and invited him again, her attitude firm, displaying the domineering demeanor of a drinking tyrant who wouldn't allow anyone to refuse.

"Comrade Yi Yan, hold on! Hold on!"

The provincial association chairman, Lian Fenghuo, hurriedly waved his hand, his right hand constantly rubbing his abdomen. Each glass of water he drank caused a burning pain in his stomach, and his expression showed a hint of resentment. He was already so old, yet he still had to suffer like this.

The other nine weren't in much better shape; they hadn't touched a single dish, and had gone through countless cups of plain water. This bastard really wasn't worried at all about them getting into trouble at the table.

"That won't do!"

Wen Yiyan shook his head vigorously, and with a friendly smile, pulled the other person's sleeve, "Chairman Lian and several other comrades have not seen each other for a long time, I must entertain them well."

"Just one word!"

Lian Fenghuo couldn't hold back any longer and spoke sincerely, "What's wrong? Just tell us. We'll definitely answer all your questions without hesitation."

"Hey, what could possibly be wrong with me?"

Wen Yiyan seemed not to understand anything and kept adding water to everyone's cups.

"No, no, this won't do!"

Lian Fenghuo hurriedly covered the cup with one hand and punched Wen Yiyan's thigh hard with the other. His eyes were filled with suppressed anger, warning and a hint of pleading. I am still your old leader, and I still am. You bastard, don't go too far.

We've also heard about Comrade Tianhen's situation.

Seeing Wen Yiyan put down the bottle, Lian Fenghuo took the initiative to speak, "We also feel grief and anger over this heinous incident. To be honest, before you called me, I had already gathered the provincial association's leadership team for questioning, and it has absolutely nothing to do with us."

The other nine nodded in agreement.

Four of them were provincial association members who had reached the retirement age, and two others had previously served as municipal party secretaries. Their transfer before retirement was considered a promotion. All four were representatives of the United Front and had absolutely no need to get involved in such a high-profile event.

For them.

A safe landing is better than anything else.

Only in this way can the resources they have passed on be passed on more smoothly; otherwise, they will no longer be a help to their successors, but a shackle.

This is absolutely unacceptable.

Having reached their level, they have experienced ups and downs over the decades, and they understand better than anyone whether short-term gains are worthwhile or long-term development.

"Comrade Yiyan!"

Lian Fenghuo was very sincere, and his words were straightforward and simple. "I know that with Chen Guohua in the lead, it's normal for you to have doubts about us. Put yourself in my shoes; if I were in your position, I would feel the same way."

"But not doing it is not doing it."

"We are willing to cooperate with the provincial party committee in the investigation. As for this water, we really can't drink it anymore; we're too old to handle it."

He was being watched by ten pairs of eyes.

Wen Yiyan showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He shifted his chair closer to Lian Fenghuo and said, "Old leader, I can't distrust you, no matter who else I trust!"

Lian Fenghuo took a deep breath upon hearing that the bastard was still willing to admit it, but he dared not miss a single word.

"But as you said..."

"The nature of what happened to Comrade Tianhen is too heinous. Moreover, after on-site investigation, it was not a spur-of-the-moment act, but a long-planned scheme. Such methods must be brought to justice, not only to seek justice for Comrade Tianhen, but also for our own sake."

This statement came out.

Lian Fenghuo's pupils twitched upon receiving only preliminary information. He exchanged glances with the others. No wonder, no wonder, the provincial party committee and government were so furious this time. They, too, would not have been able to tolerate it.

This is blatant provocation against Handong!

"You, our former full-time deputy secretary and former vice governor, along with Chairman He and Chairman Zhou, have also worked in the provincial government for many years. Chairman Ye, you are the former Minister of Organization. You are all veterans of Handong and know Handong better than anyone. So I would like to ask you your thoughts: who is most likely to take the risk of going against the grain to do this?"

Wen Yiyan first called out names one by one before asking questions, leaving them no room to refuse.

The ten people looked at each other, their eyes gleaming, clearly having guessed who the candidate would be.

"Why!"

Lian Fenghuo sighed, "Comrade Ye Yang, why don't you tell Comrade Yi Yan your guess? Otherwise, we might have to sleep here tonight."

"Chairman Ye?"

Wen Yiyan's eyes lit up, and she immediately swept her gaze over.

"I'm just guessing."

Ye Yang gave a bitter smile. Everyone already knew, but he had to be the one to say it. What could he do?

Having a high rank makes you awesome, but if you're so capable, why don't you use your skills on Wen Yiyan!

"This person must be familiar with Comrade Tianhen's investigation progress and be able to know his itinerary. As far as I know, Comrade Tianhen did not take the expressway but the national highway when he entered Hao County for investigation. I'm afraid he had already sensed the danger in advance."

"In addition, this person must be related to Dong Qing or the Lin family. Because Comrade Tianhen was investigating Dong Qing in the early stages of the case, he was the one who felt the most threatened and was the most eager to break the deadlock."

Ye Yang paused here, "If you pull out all the cadres of sufficient rank in Handong, there's only one person."

He didn't say his name.

But everyone present understood.

"he?"

Wen Yiyan still found it unbelievable. Was it really necessary? The entire Lin family had been wiped out; was it really necessary for him to carry out such a brutal revenge?

Besides, the two aren't that close, are they? Saying it's for the Yao family gives them more reason to retaliate than for the Lin family.

"Ahem, what I mean is that he's definitely involved, not that he's the one who did it."

Seeing that Wen Yiyan had misunderstood, Ye Yang quickly corrected him.

Wen Yiyan was even more puzzled.

"It could be someone close to you."

Meeting the other person's confused gaze, Ye Yang took a sip, swallowed it with a burning sensation, and... habitual actions can be deadly, making his stomach feel even worse.

"There's something that even the current Standing Committee members in Handong might not know."

Ye Yang said quietly, "They divorced a long time ago, but now they're still living together despite being divorced."

What!

Wen Yiyan's eyes widened.

The others also turned to look, as they were unaware of this news.

"I only found out by accident that he had a young wife and a child outside the marriage."

Ye Yang continued, "It happened eight years ago, but I secretly checked the child's age. The two of them probably started seeing each other much earlier, probably back in Luzhou."

"After all, we're divorced, so we're free to date."

"The woman also found someone outside, someone from the same workplace, and coincidentally, he also has the surname Lin."

"You guys only caught the ones at home last time, but you didn't catch the ones outside the home. They're like fish that slipped through the net."

Ye Yang stopped there.

Wen Yiyan stood up abruptly. "What's your name?"

"Lin Zhengxin!"