freenovelworld Chapter 1114 The Hunt
Chapter 1114 The Hunt
"Oh, please don't misunderstand. I mean, do you think you and your wife need to discuss some private family matters?" Hou Liangping said very generously, "The law is not without human sentiment. I don't think this little bit of time is against the rules."
Guo Huai-ren was incredibly perceptive; he instantly saw through Hou Liang-ping's thoughts.
The other party wasn't showing any compassion; they clearly had ulterior motives, trying to use the family's relationship to break down his defenses and find weaknesses.
What a clever little monkey!
Guo Huai-ren remained expressionless and said calmly, "There's nothing to explain. We are both members of the Red Star Party, and there are no private matters between Red Star Party members."
I believe the organization is fair; it will not let a bad person go unpunished, nor will it wrong an innocent person.
Hou Liangping nodded upon hearing this, said nothing more, and raised his hand to signal to his subordinates beside him.
Two investigators stepped forward and gestured for Madam Guo to leave. Madam Guo's face turned pale, but she didn't dare to say anything. She just glanced at Guo Huai Ren with lingering affection and guilt before being led away from the house.
The heavy wooden door clicked shut, making the atmosphere in the living room even more stagnant, as if only Hou Liangping and Guo Huai-ren were left facing each other across the space.
Hou Liangping sat down again opposite Guo Huai-ren, leaning forward slightly and fixing his gaze on the other man with intense intensity.
He knew very well that Guo Huai-ren was a tough nut to crack. If he couldn't break through his wife's defenses, he would have to attack head-on.
No matter what, we must not give up halfway through this encirclement and attack.
This was his attack on the senior student. Now that he had launched the attack, he had to achieve something, otherwise the senior student would only look down on him more.
"Director Guo, due to your wife's involvement in the case, we have no choice but to question you in accordance with the law. Would you be available to cooperate now?"
Hou Liangping's tone dropped from feigned gentleness to a sharp, businesslike edge.
Guo Huai-ren sat upright, his tone still calm: "I know very little about her affairs."
"If you hadn't brought this up in front of me today, I might never have known she would do such a thing."
"Director Guo, what you're saying doesn't seem quite right," Hou Liangping raised an eyebrow, his tone clearly questioning. "She's your wife, your spouse of decades. As far as I know, you two are a well-known model couple in Yantai. How could you not know that?"
Guo Huai-ren said, "We wouldn't call ourselves a model couple. We've just gone through thick and thin together for decades, and that's how we've built up some affection for each other."
However, the affection between husband and wife is not directly related to whether or not they know each other.
Who doesn't have their own secrets in this lifetime?
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his eyes and looked directly at Hou Liangping. His tone suddenly changed, and he asked with a half-smile and a hint of sarcasm, "Director Hou, take yourself as an example. Do you dare to say with your hand on your chest that you and your wife know each other one hundred percent? I think that's not necessarily true."
These words struck like a needle, catching Hou Liangping off guard and causing his expression to change slightly.
The past of Jiangchang County suddenly came flooding back to my mind.
He recalled that when he was the deputy secretary of Jiangchang, Zhao Xiaohui secretly turned the "specialty park" into a "special" park, which eventually caused a great uproar in the city.
Hou Liangping felt a surge of anger rising within him, almost causing him to break down.
Fortunately, he was a seasoned veteran, and after a moment he suppressed the turmoil in his heart and took a deep breath.
"That's true. When I was the deputy secretary of Jiangchang, I often couldn't take care of my family."
At that time, I was just a deputy division-level cadre. I imagine you, as the municipal party secretary in charge of Yantai, must have been even busier.
In that case, let me give you a proper report on the situation we have found so far.
We found that during the bidding process for key livelihood projects in Yantai City, your spouse repeatedly went directly to the city's bidding office under the name of "Guo Huai-ren's family member" to coordinate matters, and even put pressure on the person in charge of the bidding office in front of them, explicitly demanding that your nephew's company receive "special treatment".
Furthermore, several on-site witnesses signed testimonies confirming that she had privately told key staff members of the bidding office: "My husband has already given his approval, so you just need to do as he says."
Intimidated by your authority, how could those staff members dare to disobey? In the end, they had no choice but to give the green light against their will, and thus, this important livelihood project, which should have been awarded through open and fair bidding, was privately transferred to your nephew's company.
I don't know about these things. Are you aware of them?
Guo Huai-ren shook his head. "I don't know. I, Guo Huai-ren, have been in politics for more than 30 years. I have worked my way up from a grassroots staff member to where I am today. I have always abided by Party discipline and national laws, and I have always kept public and private matters separate. I have never used my position to seek any personal gain for any of my relatives, and I would never condone my family members to do such outrageous things that disregard Party discipline and national laws and harm the interests of the masses."
If I had known she had such thoughts and actions, I would have stopped her immediately. I wouldn't even have needed the disciplinary committee to intervene; I would have confessed to the organization myself.
Hou Liangping scoffed upon hearing this, and said sarcastically, "Director Guo is indeed worthy of being a municipal party secretary; his level of awareness is exceptionally high."
Guo Huai-ren understood Hou Liang-ping's sarcasm, but he wasn't annoyed.
"I know you don't believe me, because if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't believe it either."
Actually, no matter how much I explain now, it's useless. What's done is done. She made a mistake, and I, as her husband, am not without blame, even if I knew nothing about it.
Let Party discipline and national law, and let the evidence speak for itself.
Hou Liangping looked at Guo Huai-ren, his scrutiny deepening. He knew that Guo Huai-ren was using a feigned retreat as a tactic, seemingly admitting to being "unable to shirk responsibility," but in reality, he was still firmly upholding his bottom line of "complete ignorance."
This hunt is far more difficult than he imagined; it seems he needs to find a new breakthrough.
Hou Liangping was unaware that while he was engaged in this head-to-head hunt with Guo Huai-ren at Yantai, a hunt targeting him was quietly brewing in the capital, and would then strike with thunderous force in Handong.
……
Let's go back three days to the time in Beijing, to the office building of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
As usual, the staff in the petition office sorted through the complaint letters sent from all over the country and submitted through online platforms.
In today's rapidly developing electronic information industry, as an important part of the country, such a network platform was built several years ago.
There were only a handful of complaint letters, just over a dozen.
Reporting via the internet is still extremely rare these days.
First, the popularization of electronic information is not yet sufficient. Second, people have a weak legal awareness and always maintain a sense of awe towards the government. Very few people would use, or dare to use, such means.
A staff member scrolled through the computer screen with the mouse, reading through letters reporting on county and city-level issues.
Without hesitation, the staff forwarded these reports to the relevant authorities and provided a verification and handling opinion.
Just when the staff member thought the day's work was about to end, an online whistleblower letter titled "Joint Report, Matter of Great Importance" caught the staff member's eye.
Upon opening it, the complaint letter was quite lengthy, exceeding ten thousand words.
The staff didn't think much of it at first, but they became increasingly alarmed as they read on.
The content directly targets Hou Liangping of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate, and the words are full of sharp accusations.
The letter not only detailed how Hou Liangping, during his tenure as deputy secretary of Jiangchang County, transformed what was originally a tourist attraction—a "specialty park" for ethnic minorities—into a "specialty" park.
It also directly accused Hou Liangping of using the name of anti-corruption to clear political obstacles for his father-in-law during his tenure as director of the Jingzhou Anti-Corruption Bureau, launching a purposeful and targeted anti-corruption campaign, and turning the anti-corruption work into a political struggle to eliminate dissidents.
Even more shockingly, the whistleblower letter was accompanied by several photos at the end.
Not only were there hundreds of signatures and handprints, but there were also heartbroken scenes of victims' families holding banners demanding a thorough investigation from higher authorities.
The staff in the petition office dared not delay and quickly reported the matter of the complaint letter to the director of the petition office. After reading it, the director's expression changed drastically. He immediately signed an "urgent" document and reported it up the chain of command, eventually sending it to the desk of the main leader of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
In the evening, an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Commission for Discipline Inspection was convened.
The atmosphere in the conference room was extremely tense. The leaders present each held a copy of the whistleblower letter, their brows furrowed as they carefully read through every word.
"Everyone is familiar with the name Hou Liangping, right?" The Secretary of the National Commission for Discipline Inspection, who was presiding over the meeting, put down the documents in his hand and spoke in a deep voice.
"Isn't that the young man who received the award here two months ago?" someone asked.
"That's right, it's him. In the past few years, he has handled many major cases in Jingzhou and his achievements are quite outstanding. Two months ago, he was recommended by Handong Province and selected as an outstanding anti-corruption and discipline enforcement vanguard of the year. I was the one who presented him with the award."
But now, this joint letter of accusation accuses him of abusing his power for personal gain, engaging in corruption, and pursuing political achievements based on political connections. The letter also subtly points to Zhao Lichun, the governor of Handong Province. What are your thoughts on this?
A disciplinary committee leader waved the letter of complaint, saying, "This letter contains detailed information and has been signed by hundreds of people. I think we can't believe it all, but we can't completely dismiss it either. I suggest that an investigation team be dispatched immediately to investigate."
Another leader from the Discipline Inspection Commission chimed in, "I agree. Hou Liangping is currently the deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate and is also the son-in-law of the governor of Handong Province. His connections are extensive."
We must launch an investigation as soon as possible, find out the truth, give the public an explanation, and also give the organization an answer.
If the accusation is true, it constitutes a violation of the law and must be dealt with seriously. If it is a false accusation, Hou Liangping's innocence must be cleared, and the person who made the false accusation must be brought to justice.
The meeting room was filled with lively discussions, and every opinion revolved around the core goal of "finding out the truth."
Ultimately, the Standing Committee unanimously decided to immediately establish a special investigation team to secretly travel to Handong Province to conduct a comprehensive, detailed, and secret investigation into the issues alleged in the whistleblower letter, and to get to the bottom of the matter.
Once everyone agreed on the terms, the next step was to select the members of the investigation team.
After careful consideration, the final choice was made to Zhong Xiaoai.
Zhong Xiaoai had worked at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for a long time, was experienced in handling cases, was meticulous, and acted decisively. More importantly, Handong Province was the area under the jurisdiction of her father, Zhong Wei.
Having her lead the investigation would not only ensure the fairness and authority of the investigation to the greatest extent possible, but also reduce unnecessary obstacles to the investigation team's work in Handong Province.
At the same time, it is important to maintain a proper balance to prevent the investigation from getting out of control.
Upon receiving the task, Zhong Xiaoai did not hesitate at all, and simply said in a deep voice, "I guarantee to complete the task."
A day later, at Beijing Airport, an ordinary civilian aircraft quietly took off and flew towards Handong Province.
Zhong Xiaoai, leading a special investigation team from the National Commission for Discipline Inspection, arrived quietly at the airport in Jingzhou, the capital of Handong Province, dressed in plain clothes.
Without flowers, without a welcome, and without even informing the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection of Handong Province in advance, the investigation team walked out of the airport, got into a pre-arranged vehicle, and drove straight into an ordinary hotel in Jingzhou City. They checked in as ordinary tourists and quietly settled down in Handong.
A secret investigation into Hou Liangping was thus launched.
……
As evening fell, after finishing his day's work, Lü Liang was about to walk back to his residence in the procuratorate compound when he received a call from his wife saying that his father was ill and that he should come over as soon as possible.
Lü Liang hurriedly drove to his parents' house.
His parents also lived in Jingzhou, in an ordinary high-rise apartment building that he had bought with his savings over many years.
He hurriedly took out his keys and opened the door. As soon as he entered, he didn't hear the crying and panic he had imagined. Everything seemed peaceful, with only a faint aroma of tea filling his nostrils.
Lü Liang's brows furrowed instantly.
Having worked in the procuratorate for many years, he had developed a strong ability to observe and be vigilant. The atmosphere at home seemed a bit off.
Passing through the entryway, the living room lights were on, and several unfamiliar figures were sitting on the sofa, chatting with my parents.
His wife was standing to the side, holding a teapot, carefully pouring tea and refilling water for the group, with a slightly restrained smile on her face.
All of them were dressed in casual clothes, with upright posture and a solemn aura that kept strangers at bay.
Lü Liang sensed that it was a unique aura from someone who had long worked on the front lines of politics and law.
Hearing footsteps, everyone in the living room turned around and their gazes fell on Lü Liang, calm yet scrutinizing.
Lü Liang paused in the entryway, his eyes instantly filled with wariness. He slowly walked into the living room, his gaze sweeping over the strangers, his voice low and clearly guarded: "And you are?"
As he spoke, he discreetly pulled out his phone and switched it to dial mode behind his back, ready to respond to any unexpected situations.
These people, who could enter his home so quietly and make his wife so reserved, must be extraordinary individuals.
A woman sitting in the middle of the sofa, dressed in a simple black trench coat, with her long hair tied up, her eyes cool and her demeanor capable, slowly stood up.
She looked at Lü Liang with no extra expression on her face, and simply took out a red ID card from her bag and handed it to Lü Liang: "Comrade Lü Liang, hello."
We are staff members of the National Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. I am Zhong Xiaoai, the head of the investigation team. We have some questions we would like to ask you, and we hope you can cooperate.