249: Chapter 249 Hou Liangping in Action

Hou Liangping quickly waved his phone at Zhong Xiaoai, raised a finger to his lips, and then pressed the answer button, putting on a smiling face. "Dad, it's Liangping."

Secretary Zhong's steady voice came from the other end of the line. "Have you been to see Qian Bugou?"

Hou Liangping quickly replied, "Yes, I saw him and talked to him. He explained some of the details from back then."

"Mhm, go on." Secretary Zhong's tone was calm and unhurried.

Hou Liangping cleared his throat and said, "The person who handled that money back then was Gao Qiqiang of the Qiangsheng Group. And Gao Qiqiang did it on behalf of Zhao Yang."

"Zhao Yang?" Secretary Zhong's voice sank slightly. "Which Zhao Yang?"

"The current Chief Procurator of the Handong Provincial Peoples Procuratorate, Zhao Yang," Hou Liangping replied.

There was a long silence on Secretary Zhong's end before he slowly said, "There is no need to investigate this matter any further."

Hou Liangping was startled. "Dad, why not investigate?"

Secretary Zhong's voice suddenly grew cold. "Are you questioning me?"

Choking on his words, Hou Liangping quickly explained, "Dad, I wouldn't dare. I just... don't quite understand why."

Secretary Zhong's tone grew stern. "You will naturally understand in the future. This matter is settled. Give the phone to Xiaoai."

"Al-Alright." Hou Liangping's expression visibly slumped as he handed the phone to Zhong Xiaoai.

Zhong Xiaoai took the phone, her voice much calmer. "Dad, go ahead."

"Xiaoai, you should have some idea of how things are," Secretary Zhong said, softening his tone. "The current situation in Handong Province is very complex. Secretary Sha Ruijin went to Handong Province with the heavy responsibility of fighting corruption, aiming to eradicate those corrupt elements promoted by Former Secretary Zhao Lichun. At this critical juncture, we absolutely cannot create new complications. You understand this, right?"

Zhong Xiaoai quickly said, "Dad, actually, I don't agree with Hou Liangping investigating this either. And I don't think the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate would ever agree to reopen the case anyway. After all, this case also involves our Discipline Inspection Commission's past work."

"It's good that you understand." Secretary Zhong was visibly relieved. "Zhao Yang has no connection whatsoever with Former Secretary Zhao Lichun. In this critical period, we must absolutely not provoke him. Keep a close eye on Hou Liangping for me, and don't let him act recklessly."

"Don't worry, Dad," Zhong Xiaoai replied. "Is there anything else?"

"No. Hang up."

Hanging up the phone, Zhong Xiaoai turned to look at Hou Liangping and said word for word, "Dad has spoken. Listen to him."

"Mhm..." Hou Liangping muttered gloomily. With a dark expression, he lowered his head and continued to shovel food into his mouth, his mind beginning to race...

Zhong Xiaoai was also full of worries. She absolutely did not believe that Zhao Yang would commit corruption—how could her white moonlight be that kind of person? She absentmindedly took a few bites, put down her chopsticks, and stood up. "I'm full. I'm a bit tired today, so I'm going to rest first."

Hou Liangping was taken aback. "So early?"

"Yes, I have a bit of a headache." Zhong Xiaoai frowned. "Clean up the dishes when you're done, and sleep by yourself tonight."

With that, she walked straight into the master bedroom, gently closing the door behind her. The master bedroom had an en-suite bathroom, so she didn't need to leave the room at all to wash up or sleep. This meant that Hou Liangping could only sleep in the other bedroom tonight.

Returning to the room, Zhong Xiaoai opened the official website of the Handong Provincial Peoples Procuratorate. Looking at the handsome face on the screen, her eyes gradually grew moist. She gently stroked the screen and whispered, "You can't possibly be a corrupt official. No, I must find an opportunity to ask you... But what excuse should I use to look for you? Zhao Yang, why are we not destined to be together? Why..."

As she spoke, tears slid down her cheeks once more.

In the dining room, Hou Liangping absentmindedly stuffed food into his mouth. He didn't notice Zhong Xiaoai's unusual behavior at all, his mind entirely occupied with playing out the investigation of Zhao Yang over and over again.

Although Secretary Zhong had spoken, he really didn't want to let it go just like that. His intuition told him that there was definitely something deep behind that money, and he had to dig deeper.

Going through normal channels was obviously out of the question. As a division chief, it was impossible for him to bypass ranks to investigate Zhao Yang, a high-ranking official at the deputy provincial level.

After thinking it over, he decided to start with the Qiangsheng Group first—beginning with the flow of funds from that money back then. He pondered for a moment, and a slight smirk suddenly appeared on his lips: to check bank transaction records, banks only recognized official paperwork, so having a district-level Procuratorate in the Imperial Capital step in would be enough.

He lightly tapped the table and muttered under his breath, "First, set up a whistleblower to report Qiangsheng Group to the district Procuratorate, and then have the district Procuratorate file a case. That way, I can investigate it legitimately... Yes, let's do it that way."

He quickly got up, cleared the dishes, and efficiently cleaned up the house. Then, he pulled out his phone's contact list and began searching through it line by line.

...

Three days later.

Deputy Chief Procurator Wu Zhihui of the Imperial Capital's Xihai District Procuratorate, along with Procurator Hao Wenming, arrived at the bank where Qian Bugou had processed his loan back then.

The two of them presented the "Legal Document for Assisting in Property Inquiry" stamped with the official seal of the district Procuratorate and said in a professional manner to President Ma of the bank, "We have received a real-name report that Qiangsheng Group is suspected of an improper transfer of benefits. We have formally filed a case and need to verify the transaction records under Gao Qiqiang of Qiangsheng Group."

President Ma took the document, verified it carefully, and nodded. "Alright, I will cooperate with your work. I will personally take you there."

With President Ma's cooperation, Wu Zhihui and Hao Wenming successfully retrieved Gao Qiqiang's bank transaction data. They printed out all the details regarding the loan amount, time nodes, and fund flows from that period into a booklet and left the bank with it.

Returning to the entrance of the district Procuratorate, Wu Zhihui handed the thick stack of documents to Hou Liangping, who had been waiting there for a long time. Hou Liangping smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Old Wu, once this matter is cleared up, you'll take the top credit. I will recommend you to my father-in-law."

Wu Zhihui full of gratitude, said repeatedly, "You are too polite, Division Chief Hou. It is my honor to do things for you."

What they didn't know, however, was that the moment Wu Zhihui and the other man stepped out of the bank's main entrance, President Ma made a phone call: "Brother Qiang, it's me. People from the Xihai District Procuratorate were just here and took all the transaction records from when you processed your loan with us back then."

At this moment, Gao Qiqiang had just come out of Secretary Li Dakang's office. He had just revealed to Secretary Li Dakang his plan to build a High-Tech Smart Logistics Park in Jingzhou and support high-quality local suppliers. Secretary Li Dakang was very interested in this, and the two of them had talked for over an hour.

President Ma's news made Gao Qiqiang freeze for a moment, and then his face darkened. "What did you say? People from the Xihai District Procuratorate? What do they want with those things?"