pdf-ebookys Chapter 72 Hou Liangping Enters the Game, and I've Just Hidden My Trump Card
Chapter 72 Hou Liangping Enters the Game, and I've Just Hidden My Trump Card
Building No. 2, Provincial Party Committee Compound.
The morning mist hadn't yet dissipated when Gao Yuliang stood before the French windows of his study. The pruning shears he used for trimming bonsai trees had been hanging motionless in mid-air for quite some time.
A few sparrows were chirping and chattering in the old locust tree outside the window.
Gao Yuliang felt irritable.
Just ten minutes ago, he received a message that wasn't delivered through official channels: the Zhao family's old butler had been arrested and his entire gang wiped out by Qi Tongwei last night. Moreover, instead of being sent to a detention center, he was being held directly in the city bureau's underground interrogation room.
"Click."
The scissors snapped shut, and a section of a once-thriving pine branch fell onto the table.
Gao Yuliang put down the scissors, took off his glasses, and rubbed his temples wearily.
The trouble is big.
That old housekeeper, Old Huang, was a long-time associate of Zhao Lichun. This man possessed far more knowledge and wisdom than that incompetent woman, Zhao Xiaohui, and it was far more deadly. Qi Tongwei, this lone wolf, had bitten right at the heart of the problem, striking directly at the major artery.
If Lao Huang can't hold on, the Zhao family's foundation in Handong will be shaken.
The Zhao family is wavering...
Gao Yuliang's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table.
He was thinking about himself.
Over the years, although the Han University Gang and the Zhao family have not been united, the transfer of benefits is like a lotus root in mud—even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. If the Zhao family's big ship sinks, the whirlpool will be too big, and Gao Yuliang's small boat will probably capsize as well.
Cutting is necessary.
Gao Yuliang put his glasses back on, and his gaze behind the lenses became exceptionally calm, even ruthless.
That's politics.
When it comes to crucial moments, all personal relationships are meaningless. To keep their positions, they'll throw everything away.
He picked up the red secure phone on the table and skillfully dialed a number.
"Hello, is this Ryohei?"
On the other end of the phone, Hou Liangping had just arrived at the provincial procuratorate office and was reviewing the case files related to Dafeng Factory. His voice clearly betrayed surprise when he received Gao Yuliang's call.
"Professor Gao? It's me. What instructions do you have so early in the morning?"
Gao Yuliang's face broke into his signature refined smile, his tone steady and firm: "Liangping, I have something to report to you. Last night, the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau made a major move, arresting a key suspect in a murder-for-hire case. This case is very serious, involving the Zhao family."
"The Zhao family?" Hou Liangping's voice rose a few octaves. "Teacher, you mean...?"
"My meaning is very clear," Gao Yuliang said earnestly. "No matter who is involved, no matter how deep their background, everyone is equal before the law. Your anti-corruption bureau and the procuratorate must intervene early and make the case airtight. You can't be timid just because the suspect has a special status."
Hou Liangping tightened his grip on the phone.
Is the sun rising in the west?
He knew his mentor all too well. Gao Yuliang always valued balance and political influence, so why was he being so radical this time, actively trying to draw fire to the Zhao family?
"Teacher, this case is still in the police investigation stage. Would it be against the rules for us to get involved now?" Hou Liangping asked tentatively.
"We'll handle this as a special case." Gao Yuliang's voice turned serious. "Although Comrade Qi Tongwei is capable, he is, after all, a member of the public security system, and there are some pressures he might not be able to withstand. You're going to support him and also to ensure judicial fairness. Liangping, you must remember, some malignant tumors, when it's time to remove them, we can't be lenient."
After hanging up the phone, Hou Liangping stared at the receiver in his hand, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.
Remove the malignant tumor?
Is Teacher Gao going to uphold justice by turning down a family member, or is he trying to use someone else to do his dirty work?
However, Hou Liangping quickly put these doubts aside. He had come to Handong with the imperial warrant to investigate thoroughly. Since Gao Yuliang had offered him a way out, why wouldn't he take it?
"Xiao Lu!" Hou Liangping shouted towards the door, "Notify Division One to pack your things and come with me to the Municipal Public Security Bureau!"
……
The underground interrogation room of the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau.
The air here was so suffocatingly polluted, a mixture of musty and bloody smells.
Qi Tongwei sat behind the iron table, toying with the USB key he had found in Lao Huang's house. He wasn't wearing a police uniform; his shirt collar was open, and he exuded a roguish and gangster-like air.
Across the iron railings, the old butler, Uncle Huang, looked ashen-faced.
After a night of intense work, the man in his sixties was nearly exhausted. His head drooped, his lips were cracked and chapped, and his hands trembled uncontrollably in his handcuffs.
"Old Huang."
Qi Tongwei spoke, his voice not loud, but it sounded particularly jarring in the enclosed space: "It's dawn."
Uncle Huang shuddered but didn't say anything.
"Do you know what dawn means?" Qi Tongwei took a cigarette from the pack, but didn't light it. He just held it to his nose and smelled it. "It means that Zhao Xiaohui at the Shanshui Manor should be awake by now. Or rather, she didn't sleep at all."
"What do you want to say..." Uncle Huang's voice was hoarse, like two rough pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.
"I want to say, you've been stuck here all night, did your master even send one person to ask if you were alive or dead?" Qi Tongwei sneered, throwing his cigarette on the table. "I just received a notification that people from the Provincial Procuratorate are arriving soon. Hou Liangping is personally leading the team, saying it was personally instructed by Secretary Gao Yuliang."
Upon hearing the name "Gao Yuliang," Uncle Huang's cloudy eyes suddenly darted around.
"Did Secretary Gao... give these instructions?"
"Yes." Qi Tongwei leaned forward, his eyes seemingly able to see through people's hearts. "What is Gao Yuliang doing? Someone as smart as you can't be unaware, right? The Zhao family is treating you like a piece of rotten meat that must be cut off. They're handing you over so they can clean themselves up."
"Impossible... The old man wouldn't abandon me..." Uncle Huang muttered to himself, his mental defenses beginning to crack.
"Zhao Lichun?" Qi Tongwei scoffed. "Is he still in Beijing for a meeting? Do you think he'd risk political consequences by going head-to-head with Sha Ruijin and the Ye family for the sake of a mere butler like you? Old Huang, stop dreaming. In the eyes of those big shots, you're just a chamber pot. Once you're full and smelly, they'll throw you far away."
Qi Tongwei stood up, walked to the iron railing, and lowered his voice.
"Do you want to die in their place, or do you want to save your own life?"
Uncle Huang suddenly looked up at Qi Tongwei.
"I told you... can you survive?"
"Death is inevitable, but punishment is unavoidable. At least, we can protect your grandson abroad." Qi Tongwei played his final trump card. "You transferred all that shady money abroad to pave the way for your grandson, didn't you? If the Zhao family falls, do you think they'll let your grandson, who knows so many secrets, go free?"
This sentence became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Old Huang's body went limp, and he slumped into the interrogation chair. Tears mixed with the grime on his face streamed down, making him look both pitiful and hateful.
"I'll tell you... I'll tell you everything..."
For the next half hour, the only sounds in the interrogation room were the scratching of pens on paper and Lao Huang's intermittent confessions.
Qi Tongwei's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened.
What Lao Huang vomited was even more explosive than he had anticipated. It not only involved the Zhao family's money laundering network, but also directly implicated a long-standing case in the officialdom of Handong—the approval of the Crescent Lake Food City project.