In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong

For a moment, Li Dakang didn't know what to do, and after a long while, he finally exhaled a breath of stale air.

"I understand, Donglai. Keep this a secret for now!"

After saying that, Li Dakang hung up the phone.

Sitting in his empty house, Li Dakang looked around; the silence was eerily profound.

He took a deep breath before calling Ouyang Qing.

"Hey, where are you!"

"I want you to take care of it!"

Ouyang Qing retorted directly.

"We've caught the person who was following you. It's Chen Hai, the deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Tell me honestly, did you embezzle or accept bribes?"

Upon hearing this question, Ouyang Qing fell silent instantly.

Chapter 77 Concentrated Firepower Ji Changming

Ouyang Qing's silence was undoubtedly the last straw that broke Li Dakang's back. In an instant, Li Dakang sighed heavily and slumped onto the sofa.

Aren't you going to tell the truth?

After a long silence, Ouyang Qing finally spoke after Li Dakang asked in a cold tone.

"Yes, I did receive the money!"

But that's an industry norm. Isn't it normal to give the bank staff responsible for loan approvals a kickback beforehand?

Hearing Ouyang Qing still trying to justify herself, Li Dakang sneered and said, "This is not a reason for you to accept bribes! Don't think I don't know that your salaries and bonuses at the bank are already quite high, and you also get internal commissions on large loans. Isn't that enough for you? Ouyang Qing, you are too greedy!"

"I'm greedy? Do you know how much it costs to send your daughter to study abroad every year?"

"Didn't I already give you my salary and bonuses? Isn't that enough with what you've already given me?"

"What does my money have to do with you!"

Ouyang Qing retorted, her voice filled with righteous indignation.

Li Dakang was so angry he laughed when he heard this.

“I’m not calling you to argue. The anti-corruption bureau has already got their eyes on you.”

What needs to be done next is how to handle this. I don't want my daughter to have to go to prison to see me when she comes back to China..."

Just a moment ago, Ouyang Qing was fearless and undaunted, but her tone softened instantly upon hearing Li Dakang's words.

"You're a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and the Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, surely you can protect me?"

"I don't know... Go home right now, and I'll handle whatever you do. All you have to do is cooperate!"

"I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Li Dakang took a deep breath and then dialed Chen Luo's number.

It was 9:30 p.m., and Chen Luo was naturally still awake. Receiving Li Dakang's call so late at night made Chen Luo curious.

"Hey, Secretary Dakang."

"Secretary Chen! I hope I'm not disturbing you at this hour?"

Chen Luo shook his head and said, "It's nothing. Secretary Dakang must have something urgent to tell me at this time."

"Ugh!"

Li Dakang sighed first, and then said, "Secretary Chen, there is indeed something I need to discuss with you."

These past few days, my wife discovered that someone was secretly following and investigating her. This afternoon, I asked the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau to investigate, and it turned out that someone was indeed secretly investigating my wife—it was Chen Hai, the deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate!

Upon hearing this, Chen Luo understood.

“Secretary Dakang, I was unaware of this matter. Chief Prosecutor Changming did not report it to me.”

It's highly likely that Chen Hai acted on his own initiative; he's completely disorganized, undisciplined, and lawless!

Li Dakang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; as long as it wasn't Chen Luo who ordered the investigation, things would be much easier.

“Secretary Chen, this kind of thing can’t be entirely blamed on you. Comrade Chen Hai had already had similar problems in the Ding Yizhen incident. However, none of us expected that Chen Hai, having learned his lesson, would still dare to act so recklessly and violate regulations.”

"Secretary Dakang, don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter!"

Chen Luo's words reassured Li Dakang.

"Okay, then I'll wait for Secretary Chen's news."

After hanging up the phone, Li Dakang finally regained his composure. Some things, since they have already happened, there is no need to complain or argue endlessly.

It is a fact that his wife, Ouyang Qing, accepted bribes. Regardless of whether he divorces her or sends her to prison, Li Dakang knows that his political career is over.

The review process for officials at the vice-provincial or provincial/ministerial level is extremely rigorous; it's not something that can be easily bypassed with a divorce!

What Li Dakang needs to do now is to make Chen Hai pay the price for provoking him! At the same time, he should try to lighten the charges against Ouyang Qing. As for whether or not to divorce, it doesn't matter much anymore. It's just a matter of whether to transfer her to a sinecure now or retire in a few years when she reaches the appropriate age.

Taking out a cigarette, Li Dakang could only use this method to temporarily numb his mind.

At Chen Luo's home, after hanging up Li Dakang's call, Chen Luo immediately called Ji Changming.

This was already the umpteenth time Chen Luo had called Ji Changming about the anti-corruption bureau...

"Hello, is this Comrade Changming?"

"Hello, Secretary Chen!"

Ji Changming, who was at home, was already familiar with what Chen Luo's tone meant, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Comrade Changming, is your procuratorate trying to break away from the leadership of the provincial party committee? Are you going to do whatever you want in Handong, and investigate whomever you want?"

Sure enough, the first thing they did was to slap a huge label on him, and Ji Changming realized the seriousness of the matter!

"Secretary Chen, absolutely not! Our procuratorate has always been under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee!"

"Really? Just now, Secretary Dakang called me. He was furious because Chen Hai, the deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of your procuratorate, had been secretly following and investigating his wife, Ouyang Qing."

Isn't this breaking away from the leadership of the provincial party committee?

Unauthorized investigation of the family members of a provincial standing committee member and the secretary of the Jingzhou municipal party committee—regardless of whether Ji Changming was aware of it or not—is a serious breach of organization and discipline!

The impact was extremely negative!

The worst part is that Chen Hai, the deputy director, was caught red-handed by the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau. How embarrassing!

Ji Changming, you need to investigate this matter thoroughly now. I will report this to the Provincial Party Committee. That's all!

Chen Luo didn't swear at all, but Ji Changming would rather Chen Luo swear a few times than see this impending storm.

"You fucking idiot Chen Hai!"

After his outburst, Ji Changming, panting heavily, called Hou Liangping, the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

When the call connected, Hou Liangping joked, "Old Ji, is it an important case you're calling me at this hour?"

"Hou Liangping!"

A single rebuke sent Hou Liangping's brain completely blank.

"Hou Liangping, I'm asking you, what are you doing as the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau? Who gave your Anti-Corruption Bureau permission to investigate Secretary Dakang's wife, Ouyang Qing, without authorization!"

Let me tell you, Secretary Chen just called to ask me about this, and I know absolutely nothing about it!

Hou Liangping, if you don't want to work here anymore, just say so. Write a report, I'll sign it, and you can get out of here as soon as possible!

Upon hearing this, Hou Liangping turned pale; he knew that Chen Hai had been exposed.

"Chief Prosecutor Ji, please calm down. I really had no idea about the unauthorized investigation of Ouyang Qing that you mentioned!"

"Think about it, who is Ouyang Qing? She's the wife of Li Dakang, a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and the Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee. Even if I had a million lives, I wouldn't dare to conduct an investigation on my own!"

"You really didn't know?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Changming's anger subsided somewhat.

"Inspector Ji, it's absolutely true, I really had no idea. Tell me, who had the audacity to do this? I'll call them back right now!"

"Ha! You don't need to call him anymore, it's Chen Hai. He's already been arrested by the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau."

Chapter 78 Ouyang Qing chooses to surrender

"My God! It was him!?"

Hou Liangping sounded extremely shocked; even Ji Changming couldn't tell if it was true or false.

“Ji Jian, recently Deputy Director Chen Hai has not been paying attention to the work of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. I have been basically in charge of the work of the bureau by myself. I really did not expect that Deputy Director Chen Hai would investigate Secretary Li Dakang’s wife privately!”

Chen Hai called me in the afternoon, saying he was investigating a big case, which might very well be this one!

Having completely absolved himself of any responsibility, Hou Liangping could only silently mourn for Chen Hai in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Ji Changming hung up the phone immediately, since Hou Liangping said he was unaware of the matter and further questioning would yield no results.

call!

After letting out a long sigh of relief, Hou Liangping couldn't help but smile broadly; he had been very careful in handling this matter.

The fact that Chen Hai was instructed to investigate Ouyang Qing was done in the car, without recording or filming, means it was all just hearsay.

All subsequent communication was conducted through his mobile phone, which had been specially modified by the Zhong family. It was designed to only make calls without recording, and even the call logs were kept confidential and could not be accessed.

"From now on, I'm firmly in my position as the head of the anti-corruption bureau!"

............................................................

Li Dakang's home.

As soon as Ouyang Qing, who had rushed over, opened the door, she smelled a strong odor of smoke in the air.

The living room lights were off, and the only light in the pitch-black house was the flickering glow of a cigarette butt on the sofa.

With a snap, the light was switched on, and Ouyang Qing nervously sat down on the sofa opposite Li Dakang.

Li Dakang stubbed out his cigarette and then looked at his wife, whom he had been married to for decades.

"Dakang, how's the situation?"