Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

Hou Liangping?

Xia Qing realized that this wasn't the nominal male protagonist, Hou Liangping, the son-in-law of the Zhong family, an ordinary citizen, and the director of the Investigation Department of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (with deputy director-level treatment).

Why would he interfere at this time?

With insufficient intelligence at the moment, Xia Qing gave instructions to the person on the other end of the phone:

"Minister Lei, please take your colleagues back first. I'll make a couple of phone calls to ask around."

"Understood, Minister."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Qing immediately opened the list of cadres in Handong and found the phone number of Ji Changming, the president of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate.

"Hello, is this Chief Prosecutor Ji? I'm Xia Qing from the Organization Department."

Upon hearing that it was Xia Qing, the Organization Minister, who was calling personally, Ji Changming replied very politely:

"Minister Xia! Hello! What are your instructions?"

"Here's the thing, I'd like to ask Comrade Hou Liangping, who, along with people from the Anti-Corruption Bureau, forcibly interrupted our cadre evaluation process and took the cadre being evaluated away without any instructions from higher authorities or following proper procedures. Are you aware of this?"

Xia Qing's tone was extremely cold and serious, clearly indicating an attitude of handling business and investigating to the end.

This sudden news left Ji Changming stunned.

He never expected that Hou Liangping would actually dare to do such a thing.

Hou Liangping originally came to Handong with the authority of the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Anti-Corruption Bureau.

As soon as they arrived, they started making a fuss, demanding that Ji Changming give an explanation for Ding Yizhen's escape, and then wanting to launch a large-scale anti-corruption campaign in the Handong area.

Ji Changming had to use all his persuasion to finally calm Hou Liangping down for a while.

Unexpectedly, Hou Liangping heard from somewhere that some of the cadres involved in the recent "unfreezing" of cadres in Handong were involved in corruption.

Hou Liangping immediately perked up and wanted to investigate, so he applied for the necessary permits from Ji Changming.

Ji Changming was not as naive as Hou Liangping. Of course he knew that the freezing and unfreezing of cadres was the result of a high-level power struggle between Secretary Sha, Secretary Gao, and even Minister Xia.

Now that Secretary Sha has signed the document to restart the investigation of frozen cadres throughout the province, it shows his stance.

Unfreezing cadres is the top priority at present, and the normal procedures should be followed.

Hou Liangping's intervention at this time, under the pretext of investigating corruption, will not only cause trouble for himself but also for the provincial procuratorate.

Therefore, the cunning Ji Changming has consistently refused to approve the paperwork for Hou Liangping, and these days he has been avoiding Hou Liangping under the pretext of "going out to handle cases".

Thinking that the work of unfreezing cadres was almost over, and that Secretary Sha would need the procuratorate to step in, he would then come out to work.

Unexpectedly, Hou Liangping dared to act without his approval as the top leader.

This completely messed up the work of the Organization Department.

They even ignored Secretary Sha's instructions.

By the way, having offended Xia Qing, I wonder if I'll also offend Sha Ruijin.

Ji Changming, holding the phone, suddenly felt his legs give way and slumped into his office chair.

He really wanted to call Hou Liangping back immediately and send him back to the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

But Hou Liangping's identity was too special.

Although he was only at the division chief level, he was one deputy director-general and one director-general level away from the level of the chief prosecutor of his provincial procuratorate.

But his wife, Zhong Xiaoai, and the Zhong family have a powerful background.

If Zhong Xiaoai came to Handong, not only would I, the chief prosecutor, have to show her respect, but even Gao Yuliang would have to give her some leeway.

This is too difficult.

Ji Changming rubbed the bridge of his nose with his right hand, thought for a long time, and then replied to Xia Qing on the other end of the phone:

"Minister Xia, this matter is a serious dereliction of duty on my part. I apologize. I will conduct a thorough investigation immediately..."

Xia Qing naturally understood the unspoken meaning behind Ji Changming's words.

A thorough investigation means investigating first and then making a decision, but it's difficult to take action against Hou Liangping.

After all, Hou Liangping's status was special.

With the Zhong family as his backing and the imperial sword brought by the emperor, he was powerful and influential.

It will be difficult for Ji Changming to take drastic measures in the short term.

However, for Xia Qing, the third generation of the Xia family...

He also looked down on this son-in-law of the Zhong family.

Even if we were to truly compare the Xia family and the Zhong family on the table...

The Zhong family would never dare to directly challenge the Xia family!

Xia Qing pondered for a moment.

He knew that Ji Changming was a very capable and shrewd cadre.

His ability to rise to the position of deputy ministerial-level head of the procuratorate in Handong is enough to prove his competence.

Ji Changming was also in a difficult position with Hou Liangping. He didn't need to put on airs at this time and force the other party to give him an explanation.

It's better to have one more friend than one more enemy.

Having figured this out, Xia Qing's tone softened considerably, and she smiled at Ji Changming, saying:

"Chief Prosecutor Ji, you're too kind. I'm just here to inquire about the situation; please don't take it to heart. Besides, I understand that some comrades have special statuses, making it difficult for you to carry out your work. When the cadre unfreezing process reaches its final stage, those cadres with problems will still require your procuratorate's intervention!"

Hearing Xia Qing say this, Ji Changming relaxed a lot, as long as Xia Qing wasn't there to interrogate him.

Otherwise, being caught between the Xia and Zhong families would be enough to torment this old man to death.

So Ji Changming quickly pressed his advantage and said:

"Minister Xia, thank you for your understanding! I will ask Hou Liangping about the situation when he returns and I guarantee I will give you a satisfactory answer."

Having roughly grasped the situation, Xia Qing said:

"In that case, thank you very much, Chief Prosecutor Ji. I'm so grateful for your trouble! By the way, I heard you enjoy drinking tea. I'll bring some fine tea from Beijing to visit you another day. It's grown by my relatives, and it's very fragrant."

"Oh, okay, okay! Thank you, Minister Xia! Let me know when you come, and I'll have my wife cook some nice dishes at home!"

"It's a promise, it's a promise."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries and then hung up the phone.

As Ji Changming listened to the beeping sounds coming from the microphone, he thought to himself:

They were both from powerful families; one was called Chief Prosecutor Ji, and the other simply called him Old Ji.

It seems that those who grow up in large families are far more capable than those who marry into the family later in life...

Xia Qing had roughly figured out the situation.

The arrest was not initiated by the provincial procuratorate.

At the same time, advancing the work of unfreezing cadres is also urgent for Sha Ruijin, and once completed, the relevant experience materials and the nationwide promotion of typical examples will also earn Sha Ruijin credit.

Qi Tongwei was also removed from the list, and Sha Ruijin had no reason to interfere.

It appears that this was purely Hou Liangping's personal act.

He somehow learned that some cadres had problems during the process of "unfreezing" their employment.

Driven by a desire for quick success and an eagerness to make a name for himself, Hou Liangping disregarded the opposition from his superiors and acted arbitrarily, breaking the rules in his actions.

During this trip, Hou Liangping broke several taboos, practically dancing in the leader's minefield.

Of course, this is also quite consistent with Hou Liangping's personality.

Xia Qing had many ways to handle it, but then she thought about it again.

I came to Handong to do my job and achieve results; only when the overall situation is stable can I have room to demonstrate my abilities.

The situation had been briefly balanced. If we were to take action against Hou Liangping at this point, it might displease Zhong Xiaoai and the Zhong family, causing the situation in Handong to change again, which would be detrimental to our work.

There is no need to create friction with the Zhong family at the moment.

It's better to handle it in a gentler way.

Thinking of this, Xia Qing dialed the phone number of the liaison officer for the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission:

"Hello, this is Xia Qing from the Organization Department. I'm looking for Secretary Yu Liang..."