“Secretary Li, that night, I assigned Lu Yi Ke to a position to monitor Ding Yi Zhen.”
“Specifically, Lin Hua Hua, the head of the Comprehensive Department, and Zhou Zheng, the investigator, entered the hotel as drivers.”
“Lu Yi Ke, along with others, waited in the car outside the hotel, ready to apprehend Ding Yi Zhen at any moment.”
“Due to the angle, Lin Hua Hua and Zhou Zheng’s seating position allowed them to see only Ding Yi Zhen’s back.”
“As everyone knows, the driver’s seat is the worst, always the furthest from the main table.”
“After receiving a mysterious phone call, Ding Yi Zhen claimed he needed to prepare materials for Governor Liu and left the reception.”
“Coincidentally, someone at the same table struck up a conversation with Lin Hua Hua, Zhou Zheng helped to deal with it, and their attention shifted away from Ding Yi Zhen.”
“Again, coincidentally, Ding Yi Zhen asked Director Wang to toast the investors in his place, and Director Wang took over Ding Yi Zhen’s position, confusing Lin Hua Hua and Zhou Zheng who were responsible for surveillance.”
“By the time Lin Hua Hua and Zhou Zheng realized something was wrong, reported it to Lu Yi Ke, and Lu Yi Ke reported it to me, and I instructed them to act immediately, it was too late. Ding Yi Zhen had already left the hotel.”
“Secretary Li, we did make a mistake in losing track of Ding Yi Zhen. Our Anti-Corruption Bureau’s work indeed had shortcomings. I am willing to take responsibility, make a deep self-criticism, and accept the organization’s punishment.”
Chen Hai truthfully reported the situation that night. He did not exaggerate or alter the facts, but spoke out exactly what he knew after the incident.
Li Da Kang nodded silently. Chen Hai was indeed an honest and good person, he did not shift the blame to his subordinates, Lu Yi Ke and Lin Hua Hua, and without a word, took responsibility.
But this was not enough. Li Da Kang was not trying to retaliate against Chen Hai, but to protect him. A self-criticism or punishment was not enough, he needed to move Chen Hai away from his current position.
“Chen Hai, the work of your Anti-Corruption Bureau is not just short of a mistake, in my opinion, you’ve become complacent, careless in your work, and there is a serious dereliction of duty in the matter of Ding Yi Zhen.”
“If I’m not mistaken, Lin Hua Hua and Zhou Zheng are lovers? Otherwise, there’s no reason why someone would strike up a conversation with Lin Hua Hua, and Zhou Zheng would abandon his task of watching Ding Yi Zhen, helping Lin Hua Hua deal with the person who was hitting on her.”
“Your position was already bad, only able to see Ding Yi Zhen’s back. Then you should have been more careful, neither Lin Hua Hua nor Zhou Zheng’s attention should have left Ding Yi Zhen simultaneously, am I right?”
“Lin Hua Hua and Zhou Zheng didn’t even know when Ding Yi Zhen left, by the time they realized something was wrong, Ding Yi Zhen was gone for God knows how long. What is this, if not a serious dereliction of duty?”
“And Lu Yi Ke, what was she doing with a group of people waiting in the car? At the very least, she should have deployed personnel to watch all the exits of the hotel, adding another layer of insurance to prevent Ding Yi Zhen from escaping.”
“Instead, she blindly trusted Lin Hua Hua and Zhou Zheng to keep an eye on Ding Yi Zhen, without taking any countermeasures against Ding Yi Zhen’s possible escape, she just sat in the car with a bunch of people, waiting foolishly. What is this, if not a serious dereliction of duty?”
“If only Lin Hua Hua and Zhou Zheng had been a bit more attentive, if only Lu Yi Ke had been more cautious, Ding Yi Zhen would not have been able to leave the reception unnoticed, let alone escape to another country on a plane!”
“Chen Hai, Lao Ji, I don’t want to speculate maliciously and say that anyone intentionally let Ding Yi Zhen escape, but shouldn’t you conduct a self-examination and severely punish those responsible, to avoid repeating this mistake in the future?”
Li Da Kang’s tone was heavy. In his previous life, when he watched this TV series, he was extremely dissatisfied with Lu Yi Ke and Lin Hua Hua’s nonchalant attitude, as if they had done nothing wrong.
They let a major criminal suspect from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate Anti-Corruption Bureau escape, and still had the audacity to act so righteous. Li Da Kang was completely dumbfounded. In his previous life, he could only vent his frustration in the comments section.
Now that he had the opportunity, Li Da Kang must, while protecting Chen Hai, also give Lu Yi Ke, Lin Hua Hua, and Zhou Zheng a lesson, so that they understand how serious their mistakes were.
Qi Tong Wei hesitated for a moment, and again agreed with Li Da Kang: “Chief Prosecutor Ji, Chen Hai, I think Secretary Da Kang is right, even the five of us are suspects, could our prosecution team also be suspected?”
To get closer to Li Da Kang, and stir the water even more, Qi Tong Wei went all out, not sparing any effort to offend Ji Chang Ming and Chen Hai. This was the price, there’s always a price to pay for what you gain.
Li Da Kang chuckled inwardly, and took the opportunity to say: “Chief Qi suspects that the prosecution team is suspect, I agree with that point. Secretary Yu Liang, for a better investigation, I suggest that Chen Hai’s work be suspended.”
Suspending Chen Hai’s work was not Li Da Kang’s intention, all he needed was to remove Chen Hai from the position of director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. As the saying goes, ask for the moon and get the stars, in any case, someone will surely negotiate for Chen Hai.
As expected, Ji Chang Ming was anxious: “Secretary Da Kang, just because the prosecution team is suspected, does that mean we should suspend Chen Hai’s work? The five of us are all suspects, should we all be suspended?”
Li Da Kang said calmly: “Lao Ji, you’re in a hurry again. That’s not your usual style. It seems you’re quite protective of Chen Hai! I can state that if the organization asks me to suspend my work, I will fully cooperate!”
This move left Ji Chang Ming speechless. He couldn’t speak up for Chen Hai anymore. If he continued to defend Chen Hai, it would be considered unprincipled protection. Li Da Kang had already stated that he would be willing to suspend his work, why not Chen Hai?
Qi Tong Wei hesitated for a while, but ultimately decided not to go head-to-head with Li Da Kang this round. Suspending work was too extreme, it was not necessary. He would let Li Da Kang and Ji Chang Ming wrestle with each other, and anyway, Ji Chang Ming couldn’t win against Li Da Kang.
Chen Hai, however, was more courageous than Qi Tong Wei. He gritted his teeth and said: “Secretary Gao, Secretary Li, Chief Prosecutor Ji, if the organization requires me to suspend my work and cooperate with the investigation, I will unconditionally comply!”
Gao Yu Liang, who had been silent, finally had to speak up and play the role of a peacemaker: “Secretary Da Kang, suspending his work is too severe. How about this, transfer Chen Hai to a different position?”
Gao Yu Liang, of course, was on Chen Hai’s side. On the one hand, Chen Hai was Gao Yu Liang’s student when he worked at Han Dong University, and on the other hand, Gao Yu Liang used to be Chen Hai’s father, Chen Yan Shi, subordinate.
However, the Anti-Corruption Bureau did make a serious mistake, and there was indeed a suspicion of intentional release of Ding Yi Zhen. There were too many suspicious points in Ding Yi Zhen’s escape, everything was possible.
Therefore, Gao Yu Liang had to be cautious. At the very least, he had to transfer Chen Hai from his current position. Otherwise, if it was later discovered that the Anti-Corruption Bureau really released Ding Yi Zhen, Gao Yu Liang would be in trouble.
It was true that Gao Yu Liang wanted to protect Chen Hai, but this old fox would never sacrifice his own political life for Chen Hai. Transferring Chen Hai to a different position was the safest option, allowing him to advance or retreat.
Li Da Kang deliberately pretended to be pondering, and after a moment of consideration, stated: “I agree with Secretary Yu Liang’s opinion, transfer Chen Hai to a different position, as long as it doesn’t affect the subsequent investigation.”
Gao Yu Liang nodded and turned to Ji Chang Ming: “Lao Ji, what do you think?”
“I have no objection.” Ji Chang Ming sighed. Li Da Kang was making a big deal out of it, deliberately trying to expose the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s weakness, and there was evidence to support it. Transferring Chen Hai to a different position was the best outcome.
There was nothing he could do, Li Da Kang was a member of the Provincial Standing Committee, but Ji Chang Ming wasn’t. Ji Chang Ming had far less power than Li Da Kang, and he had been caught by Li Da Kang. Ji Chang Ming could only sigh in despair.
Gao Yu Liang looked at Chen Hai. Seeing that the matter was settled, the only thing Chen Hai could do was express his compliance: “Secretary Gao, Secretary Li, Chief Prosecutor Ji, I will unconditionally comply with the organization’s arrangement.”
It’s always a different story when someone holds higher office. Although Chen Hai was a full-fledged official at the ministerial level, the same rank as Qi Tong Wei, and only half a rank lower than Li Da Kang’s vice-ministerial level, Li Da Kang was a member of the Provincial Standing Committee, and Chen Hai did not have the confidence to challenge him.
Even Gao Yu Liang had to respect Li Da Kang’s opinion, saying: “Secretary Da Kang, Comrade Chang Ming, please wait a moment, I need to report this matter to Secretary Sha.”
This was a necessary procedure, Li Da Kang nodded, his attitude was quite open-minded. He had done what he had to do, if Sha Rui Jin didn’t agree, it could only be blamed on Chen Hai’s bad luck.
…