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

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 the loan approval a kickback beforehand if you want our bank to approve your loan?

Hearing Ouyang Qing still trying to justify herself, Li Dakang sneered, "That's no excuse for accepting bribes! Don't think I don't know. Your salaries and bonuses at the bank are already quite high, and you get internal commissions on large loans. Isn't that enough for you? Ouyang Qing, you're 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, even with yours?"

"What's it to you what my money is!"

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, since the anti-corruption bureau has already taken notice of 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 you 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 see."

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. That person 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!"

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 get a 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 brain.

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 very angry 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.

Once 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, let me ask you, what are you doing as the director 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 dared to do this? I'll call them back right now!"

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