252: Chapter 252 Wants to Change Son-in-Law

Wheatfield imitated his mentor sitting on the podium, pointing downward with a look of exasperation, and said with pained sincerity: "In the academic world, you pose no threat to me; but in the field of education, you will ruin my reputation."

Shen Kang was stunned, then couldn't help but laugh loudly: "You might not know yet, Director Qi Tongwei, Chen Hai, and Hou Liangping are known as the 'Three Heroes of Handong University' and are the pride of Handong University."

Wheatfield rubbed his forehead and laughed along: "Alright, alright, enough of that. Now we can rest easy—Hou Liangping is just sick in the head, crazy for performance results."

"Then how should we handle this?" Shen Kang asked, "Let him go?"

Wheatfield shook his head: "Lock him up for two days to teach him a lesson. Leave the rest to me."

Shen Kang chuckled, a glint of mischief flashing in his small eyes: "Then I will teach this Rebellious Disciple a good lesson on behalf of Professor Gao."

Hou Liangping disappeared without a sound.

At first, Zhong Xiaoai thought he had gone to execute some secret mission, but after more than a day passed with no news, she felt something was wrong and hurriedly called the Anti-Corruption Bureau to find Director Qin Siyuan. The result was that he told her Hou Liangping was neither at work nor on any mission.

Zhong Xiaoai hurriedly told Secretary Zhong that they needed to call the police immediately, fearing that Hou Liangping had been harmed—after all, given the nature of his work and his usual style of conduct, he had offended far too many people.

Secretary Zhong temporarily suppressed the matter, telling her to wait a while longer. He was worried that if it turned out to be a false alarm, the Zhong Family would be disgraced.

But several days passed, and there was still no news of Hou Liangping.

Secretary Zhong finally realized the situation was dire. Just as he was about to pick up the phone to call the police, his cell phone suddenly rang. He glanced down at the number, and his eyelid twitched instantly.

Although this number had always been in his contacts, he had never dialed it, and he absolutely did not hope to receive a call from it. He never expected that the owner of this number, Zhan Jingqi, would actually take the initiative to call him.

Secretary Zhong took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, pressed the answer button, and said in as steady a tone as possible: "Secretary Zhan, hello, today..."

"Secretary Zhong, let's not beat around the bush." Zhan Jingqi's tone was exceptionally serious, "You and I have reached this age, and the juniors in our families have all grown up. They should learn the rules that need to be followed. Lest the adults in the family get laughed at along with them."

Secretary Zhong's face darkened, and anger surged up in him.

Although the department where Zhan Jingqi worked was indeed more powerful, the two held equal ranks. Just as he was about to retort, the matter of Hou Liangping's disappearance flashed through his mind, and his heart sank sharply—could this matter be related to Hou Liangping?

He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice: "Secretary Zhan, feel free to speak more clearly. Could it be that a junior from the Zhong Family has offended you?"

"If it were just a simple offense against me, I wouldn't be interested in haggling with a junior." Zhan Jingqi's tone was indifferent, but his voice was suffocating, "But there are some things that even you, Secretary Zhong, are not privy to. Yet your good son-in-law went to investigate them with such gusto. Secretary Zhong, what exactly is the Zhong Family trying to do? Can't you stay within your own territory without reaching your hands into mine?"

Secretary Zhong's pupils constricted sharply.

Although he still didn't know exactly what it was, he guessed that most likely Hou Liangping had privately investigated things he shouldn't have known about. He immediately thought of the "Qian Bugou" case that Hou Liangping had mentioned before, and his heart sank inch by inch.

Clearly, the vague parts of the case files from back then did not hide corruption or asset loss, but rather certain special existences that only a very few people were qualified to know about.

Those things belonged to the secret front, each one a huge landmine, an absolute restricted zone for outsiders.

Secretary Zhong remembered clearly that at the time, fearing complications and creating unnecessary enemies, he had specifically warned Hou Liangping not to investigate. But Hou Liangping clearly didn't listen to him and went to investigate anyway.

Secretary Zhong rubbed his forehead hard and sighed inwardly.

It looked like Hou Liangping had probably vanished into thin air.

Zhong Xiaoai would likely have to look for another husband, and Hou Haoran would have to change his surname.

However, that might be for the best; he had never been very satisfied with Hou Liangping anyway.

So he let out a long sigh and said in a hoarse voice: "Secretary Zhan, I won't beat around the bush either. The junior is frivolous and didn't listen to me. Since he has violated taboos, it is only right that he receives punishment. I will properly constrain the juniors in the future. Can you... leave his body intact? Let him leave with some dignity."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other end of the line fell silent instead.

There was no sound on the other end, and Secretary Zhong's heart sank even further. He slowly shook his head, his voice dropping even lower: "Secretary Zhan, could it be..."

"Ahem." When Zhan Jingqi spoke again, his tone suddenly became somewhat subtle, "This Hou Liangping is the son-in-law of your Zhong Family, right?"

"Yes." Secretary Zhong sighed deeply, "It is my failure to discipline him."

"Then take him back and discipline him well." Zhan Jingqi said unhurriedly.

Secretary Zhong was stunned for a moment, and it took a while for him to react: "Hou Liangping is still alive?"

Zhan Jingqi snorted coldly: "We are a law-abiding department. The matter of Hou Liangping overstepping his boundaries has already been cleared up. He just doesn't understand the rules; it doesn't amount to espionage. Besides, not all spies have to be executed. On the contrary, Secretary Zhong, looking at your indifferent attitude just now, I almost thought Hou Liangping wasn't the son-in-law of your Zhong Family."

That was hasty! A layer of black lines immediately appeared on Secretary Zhong's face.

Beyond the embarrassment, a strange thought involuntarily flashed through his mind—when he heard that Hou Liangping wasn't dead, why did he feel a hint of regret? Could it be that in his subconscious, he really wanted to change his son-in-law?

He hurriedly shook his head vigorously, pushing these improper thoughts down, and said: "Listening to your tone, I thought he had caused some earth-shattering trouble."

"The matter was indeed not small." Zhan Jingqi's tone became serious again, "I don't think your son-in-law is suitable to stay in the capital anymore. He doesn't understand the rules at all; if he stays here, who knows when he might poke an even bigger hole for you. Additionally, I think the Zhong Family's awareness regarding security needs to be strengthened—there are two projects that you shouldn't participate in this time, to avoid causing any more jokes."

Secretary Zhong's brows knit together sharply. It had come; it had come after all.

If Hou Liangping had died, this matter would have ended there.

But since Hou Liangping didn't die, the Zhong Family had to pay a real price.

Making Hou Liangping leave the capital meant cutting off his career; those two projects meant cutting flesh from the Zhong Family. He immediately guessed which two projects they were; those were worth billions.

A wave of unwillingness surged in his heart, and he couldn't help but ask in a deep voice: "Secretary Zhan, can you tell me what exactly Hou Liangping investigated?"

...

I am revising the text, rewriting from the beginning. Interested readers can listen from the beginning to see if there are any major flaws in the revision. Thank you all.