Although Feng Huzhou just turned sixty this year, his ntal state is remarkable, and he hardly looks like a man past his sixties.
If one didn’t know his actual age, many would think he was only forty-seven or forty-eight.
Thanks to his perpetually smiling deanor and profound shrewdness, he earned the nickna "Smiling Buddha."
"Secretary Feng, I’ve finally t you!"
Wu Liang was so emotional upon eting Feng Huzhou that he nearly burst into tears.
This expression of finding salvation in the face of imminent disaster was far too genuine to be faked.
"Mayor Wu, what brings you to ?"
Feng Huzhou, though his face remained full of smiles, was filled with confusion inside.
He barely knew the man, so what was this all about?
Motioning for Wu Liang to sit, Feng Huzhou poured him a glass of water.
Wu Liang wasted no ti, gulping down the glass in one go before hurriedly speaking.
"Secretary Feng, I’m begging you for help! There’s a collapse at a black coal mine in Qingshi County, two people died, and I’m sowhat involved. You must help get through this crisis!"
The smile at the corner of Feng Huzhou’s mouth montarily froze as his sense of bewildernt deepened.
In his heart, he told himself: I hardly know this man, why should I help him?
Seeing Feng Huzhou’s silence, Wu Liang assud he thought it was a difficult predicant, so he imdiately added.
"If you can help through this crisis, I can give you an extra three hundred thousand."
"Three hundred thousand? What are you even talking about?"
Wu Liang thought Feng Huzhou was putting on an act, so he quickly replied.
"Don’t worry, there’s no one else here. The reason I ca to you first when trouble arose is because I completely trust you."
As Wu Liang’s words escalated in absurdity, the smile slowly faded from Feng Huzhou’s face.
"I have no idea what you’re talking about. I have other matters to attend to; please leave!"
Seeing Feng Huzhou issue an explicit order to leave, the fury in Wu Liang’s eyes imdiately ignited.
"This is truly disappointing! Earlier, I gave you three hundred thousand to help secure the Tianhai Municipal Committee Secretary position. When you failed , I didn’t even bring it up! Now that I’m in trouble, you’re acting like you don’t owe anything?"
Feng Huzhou was taken aback, asking him incredulously.
"Are you certain I took your three hundred thousand?"
"Definitely, the money was transferred by my wife through an overseas bank to Chen Bin."
Having been a public official for many years, Wu Liang naturally knew that there should be no trace when it ca to gifting money.
Thus, whenever transferring funds or receiving paynts, he would always have his wife open a new account abroad under a false identity.
Once a transaction was complete, the account would be imdiately closed, ensuring absolute safety.
Now hearing that Feng Huzhou refused to acknowledge it, he suddenly felt a twinge of regret. In hindsight, he should have left evidence behind.
Scratching his head, Feng Huzhou felt increasingly clueless.
"Whoever you gave the money to, go find them. I don’t know this Chen Bin at all."
"Secretary Feng, given the urgency of the situation, you’re still putting on an act! If you think three hundred thousand isn’t enough, I can add another seven hundred thousand. As long as you help survive the Qingshi Mountain coal mine issue, I’ll have my wife transfer the funds imdiately!"
Never in his life had Feng Huzhou taken such unjust pressure, and he slamd the table in anger.
"Let repeat myself: I’ve never received any benefits from you, nor do I know this Chen Bin. If you dare spout nonsense again, I’ll have security toss you out right now!"
At this point, Wu Liang was desperate and livid, pointing angrily at Feng Huzhou and shouting.
"Fine, you’re denying it, huh? If anything happens to , you won’t get away with it!"
With that, he stord out and slamd the door.
Sitting on the sofa, Feng Huzhou felt utterly baffled by Wu Liang’s behavior.
But judging by the man’s deanor, it seed he truly had sent so sort of gift.
Could it be that soone was using his na to deceive outsiders?
In an instant, the na Chen Bin ntioned earlier by Wu Liang flashed through Feng Huzhou’s mind!
Walking out of the office, Wu Liang was equally puzzled by Feng Huzhou’s reaction.
Having lived for decades, his skill in reading people was already impeccable.
Feng Huzhou’s reaction earlier truly didn’t resemble a performance.
Could it be that Chen Bin was using Feng Huzhou’s na to intentionally deceive him?
But after careful consideration, that seed unlikely.
Chen Bin was rely a minor secretary; how could he dare to muster such boldness?
Furthermore, Feng Lei had explicitly said before that if anything happened, just find Chen Bin.
Thinking of this, Wu Liang concluded that Feng Huzhou had undoubtedly accepted the money but was unwilling to help now.
anwhile, in the Tianhai Municipal Committee Secretary’s office.
Cao Sanjin asked Deng Jiabao, "Is there any new progress with Huang Ming?"
The latter sighed softly.
"Nothing yet; no matter what I ask, he stubbornly refuses to speak."
"What about his secretary? Has he said anything?"
"Sa story—I suspect they’ve coordinated in advance."
"Looks like we’ll need to take a tougher approach."
Deng Jiabao looked at Cao Sanjin in shock, slightly dumbfounded.
"Using torture might not be appropriate, right?"
"Torture? No, I an we need a strategy to convince Huang Ming to talk sooner."
After pondering briefly, Deng Jiabao nodded.
Returning to his office, he swiftly issued orders to change interrogation tactics, demanding that Huang Ming and Zhou Jiajun’s cases be broken within two days!
Sure enough, ard with statents from Xie Shan and Xu Huwen, and constant psychological pressure from Deng Jiabao, Zhou Jiajun was the first to yield.
Ever since Zhou Jiajun had slept with Xu Huwen, he had not been aligned with Huang Ming.
Though he enjoyed Xu Huwen’s services daily, he always felt uneasy.
Fearing their affair might be exposed.
Now, with the chance to take down Huang Ming, he decided to deliver the fatal blow.
Even if Huang Ming didn’t end up in jail, he would still face dismissal.
Only if he were reduced to an ordinary person could Zhou Jiajun genuinely feel at ease.
After securing Zhou Jiajun’s confession, Deng Jiabao imdiately placed the evidence in front of Huang Ming.
Initially, Huang Ming assud this was a setup intended to sow discord, but when he saw the signature section bearing Zhou Jiajun’s handwriting, he finally couldn’t hold back and fell to his knees with a loud thud.
"I’ll confess, I’ll tell you everything! Please, I beg you, give a chance to atone for my cris!"
Huang Ming had initially been waiting for Wu Liang to pull strings and save him, but as ti dragged on, there was no movent whatsoever.
Moreover, those close to him had confessed—if he didn’t speak now, he’d truly lose his opportunity.
With a cold sneer in his heart, Deng Jiabao responded.
"Had you realized this sooner, things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated. Get up and write everything you know down, don’t leave out a single detail!"
To secure leniency, Huang Ming confessed not only about the black coal mine incident but also about bribes given to Wu Liang, docunting it all ticulously.
Since this matter implicated the mayor, Deng Jiabao did not dare to make any unilateral decisions, imdiately reporting the situation to Cao Sanjin.
Cao Sanjin, in turn, sped straight to the province to inform Peng Shaobo.
When Peng Shaobo received the news, he was furious.
He ordered the Provincial Disciplinary Inspection Commission to imdiately establish a task force to investigate Wu Liang.
Moreover, the matter was assigned to the Provincial Disciplinary Committee Secretary for direct oversight.
The following morning.
As soon as Wu Liang stepped into his office, he was taken away by the Provincial Disciplinary Inspection Commission’s investigative team.
Upon hearing the news, Xu Tai imdiately called Wang Jun.
He relayed the details of the incident.
Wang Jun chuckled, saying, "I believe it won’t be long before I’ll have to address you as Mayor Xu."
Xu Tai didn’t say much and directly hung up the phone.
However, in contrast to Wang Jun’s cheerful deanor, Chen Bin’s expression grew increasingly grim.
He promptly found Xu Ruoxuan and used her phone to contact Feng Lei.
After explaining the situation, it didn’t take long for investigators from the province to arrive.
This ti, the person being apprehended was none other than Chen Bin!
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