176: Chapter 176 Secretary Wang Takes the Blame, Wang Hongtai Dies Unexpectedly (Part 1)

Inside an interrogation room in the Procuratorate, Secretary Wang leaned back on the sofa, his left leg crossed over his right, shaking it unconsciously, revealing his inner agitation. He shifted his hips from time to time, as if trying to find a sliver of comfort in this oppressive environment.

"Good evening, Secretary Wang. Our conditions here are simple, please bear with us." Opposite him, a uniformed Supervisory Commissioner handed Secretary Wang a cup of tea, then looked at him with a smile and continued, "I'm sorry to bother you so late. But as you know, it's our duty; when the higher-ups give instructions, we have to work overtime through the night."

Secretary Wang crossed his arms over his chest, his brow slightly furrowed, looking exhausted. He glanced at the tea but didn't reach for it, responding weakly, "Comrade Commissioner, let's skip the pleasantries. If there's something, just say it." As soon as he finished, he couldn't help but yawn, the impatience on his face becoming more obvious.

"Alright." Seeing this, the Supervisory Commissioner stopped the preamble and said directly: "Since Secretary Wang is so straightforward, I won't beat around the bush. Early this morning—no, to be precise, around 11 PM last night—another post about Hongtai Construction Co., Ltd.'s illegal activities appeared on the internet. I think Secretary Wang should know something about this, right?"

Hearing it was about 'Hongtai Construction' again, Secretary Wang's heart tightened. He thought to himself: That anonymous whistleblowing post was clearly banned, how could it reappear? Is there some new trouble? However, when the Procuratorate went to his house, he was sleeping. He just threw on his clothes and left with them, without even having the chance to look at his phone. Unclear about the current situation, Secretary Wang could only act calm and respond: "Comrade Commissioner, if Hongtai Construction is breaking the law, you should go to their legal representative or the person in charge. Why did you bring me here? I am Vice Mayor Qian's secretary, not Hongtai Construction's legal representative!"

The Supervisory Commissioner smiled slightly and explained gently: "Secretary Wang is right; other departments are investigating Hongtai Construction. However, the information we have suggests that Secretary Wang has a close relationship with Wang Hongtai, the chairman of Hongtai Construction. So, we'd like Secretary Wang to help us recall if you've met with Mr. Wang Hongtai or had any communication recently?"

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Secretary Wang's heart tightened, and his expression grew more solemn. "Could it be that something happened to Wang Hongtai?"

"Secretary Wang, you don't need to be so nervous." The Supervisory Commissioner's tone was calm, but his gaze was sharp. "Wang Hongtai should also be undergoing questioning right now." As he spoke, he picked up a document from the nearby desk. This document was identical to the one in the city government conference room—it was the post leaked online.

The Supervisory Commissioner skillfully flipped to the last page, turned the document around, and showed it to Secretary Wang. His finger tapped lightly on the screenshot on the page, his eyes fixed on Secretary Wang as if trying to see through his heart. "Secretary Wang, if I'm not mistaken, this person should be you, right? What is your relationship with Wang Hongtai, the chairman of Hongtai Construction? What did you talk about in the teahouse that day?"

As soon as Secretary Wang saw the screenshot, he panicked. The matters discussed in the teahouse that day were far too significant. Vice Mayor Qian, the Zhao Family of the Capital—any one of them alone was enough to get him in serious trouble. He didn't know how to answer.

He tried to remain calm, pretending to be in deep thought, and reached for the document to look through it carefully. His eyes darted quickly through the text. After a minute or two, he basically grasped the situation: although the post was detailed, it didn't directly involve Vice Mayor Qian. It seemed the whistleblower's target wasn't Vice Mayor Qian. However, the screenshot on the last page made him suspicious. It was the scene of him and Wang Hongtai meeting in the teahouse. That teahouse was clearly owned by Vice Mayor Qian's wife; how could surveillance footage have leaked? Even if there was a recording, it shouldn't have been leaked. Was it Wang Hongtai's doing? But it wouldn't benefit him; he had no reason to do it. So, besides him and Wang Hongtai, only Wang Hongtai's secretary was present that day. Could it be him? But why would he do that?

Seeing Secretary Wang remain silent with a furrowed brow, the Supervisory Commissioner coughed to break the silence: "Secretary Wang, please cooperate with our investigation. Rest assured, we just want to know the truth. Tell us what you know, without any concerns."

Reminded by the Supervisory Commissioner, Secretary Wang snapped out of it. He smiled awkwardly and laughed it off, saying: "Ah, it was several days ago. My memory is a bit fuzzy, I really can't remember."

Saying that, he gently put down the Materials and looked up to meet the Supervisory Commissioner's gaze. After clearing his throat, he continued: "That day, I was mainly representing Vice Mayor Qian to convey the spirit of the city's meetings to Chairman Wang. Now that our Shanghai is aiming to become a cultural tourism innovation city, some urban greening upgrade projects are about to start. Vice Mayor Qian is busy with a myriad of affairs and can't do everything personally. So, I ran the errand for him to convey the spirit to the lower enterprises and have them come up with some feasible plans."

At this point, an awkward expression suddenly appeared on Secretary Wang's face. He paused and continued: "By the way, I also talked with Hongtai Construction about municipal engineering construction. Hongtai Construction had several municipal engineering projects that were done with advanced funds. Recently, the city's finances have been a bit tight, and the city still owes them several payments that haven't been settled. Isn't Hongtai Construction preparing to go public? They've urged for these receivables several times. I originally planned to go to their company to find Chairman Wang, but as luck would have it, he was out discussing business, so we agreed to meet at the teahouse."

After finishing, Secretary Wang added: "Comrade Commissioner, having tea and talking about work shouldn't count as a violation, right?"

"Drinking tea certainly isn't a violation," the Supervisory Commissioner nodded, but then changed the subject. He took out his phone, opened the video from the whistleblowing post, and handed it to Secretary Wang. "However, Secretary Wang, the content in this video seems to differ a bit from what you just said?"

Secretary Wang was stunned. He hadn't expected there to be a video in addition to the screenshot.

He quickly uncrossed his legs, leaned forward involuntarily, and watched the video content with a deep frown.

As the footage played, cold sweat began to break out on Secretary Wang's forehead. He was shocked; the video was clearly edited. The parts mentioning Vice Mayor Qian and the Zhao Family of the Capital were skillfully cut out. The entire event was twisted into him soliciting a ten-million-yuan bribe from Hongtai Construction as "toll money" to speed up the audit process for their IPO.

"No," after the video finished, Secretary Wang snapped his head up, his gaze moving from the phone screen to the Supervisory Commissioner's face. He asked in shock: "Where did you get this video? This is a complete frame-up! That's not how things were at all!"

The Supervisory Commissioner looked at him calmly and signaled him not to get excited. "Secretary Wang, please calm down. Our technical staff has analyzed this video in detail and did find traces of editing. Because of this, we invited you here, hoping to clear things up completely. Tell us truthfully what you and Wang Hongtai talked about in the teahouse that day. Also, at the start of the video, what documents were in that Envelope you gave to Wang Hongtai?"

"This..." Secretary Wang was momentarily speechless and fell into deep thought. He couldn't say, and he didn't dare to easily reveal the content of his conversation with Wang Hongtai. Just as he was hesitating and didn't know how to answer, the door to the interrogation room was suddenly pushed open.

A middle-aged man poked his head in and looked around the room. Upon seeing the newcomer, the Supervisory Commissioner immediately stood up, went to meet him, and closed the door to the interrogation room before saying politely: "Chief Prosecutor Xiao, why did you come personally?"

Chief Prosecutor Xiao Yugang held a Black Leather Notebook, a kind smile on his face, and asked back: "What? I can't come?"

"Chief Prosecutor Xiao, you've misunderstood, I didn't mean that." The Supervisory Commissioner waved his hands hurriedly to explain, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Alright, I'm just joking with you, don't be nervous." Xiao Yugang said with a smile. "I came over to understand the situation. How are things progressing on your end? The other minor characters brought back together have already confessed everything they should, and even things they shouldn't have."

"They all confessed so quickly?" The Supervisory Commissioner's eyes widened, asking back in disbelief.

"Of course. Interrogation is all about the golden 24 hours, especially these surprise night interrogations; they're the easiest way to achieve a Breakthrough in their psychological defenses. Of course, those are minor characters; a little intimidation and they all behave. You have the Vice Mayor's secretary here, so I thought I'd come and see if you need help." Xiao Yugang explained.

"Oh, that's wonderful. Chief Prosecutor Xiao, you really are a savior," the Supervisory Commissioner remarked. "Secretary Wang's psychological resilience is indeed strong; he hasn't panicked at all so far. I just showed him the whistleblowing video from the online post. He said it's a frame-up, and the technical side confirmed there are traces of editing and synthesis. However, what they specifically talked about is still unknown; Secretary Wang hasn't confessed yet."

"Alright, in that case, let me talk to him. You go take a break." Xiao Yugang said, making a move to enter the interrogation room.

"How can I let you do that? How can I trouble you to handle this personally, Chief Prosecutor Xiao?" The Supervisory Commissioner said, feeling a bit bad.

"Oh, it's fine. Go on. I have instant noodles in my office. Go make two bowls, and bring one to me while you're at it." Xiao Yugang waved his hand and said.

"Hehe, alright then. Thank you for your hard work, Chief Prosecutor Xiao. I'll bring the noodles to you once they're ready." The Supervisory Commissioner didn't suspect anything and turned to walk quickly toward Xiao Yugang's office.

After the Supervisory Commissioner left, Xiao Yugang stepped into the room.

Secretary Wang's eyes lit up when he saw the newcomer. Xiao Yugang was considered part of Vice Mayor Qian's faction. They had eaten and drunk together several times in private and were fairly familiar with each other. However, just as he was about to stand up and greet him, Xiao Yugang raised a hand to stop him.

Xiao Yugang had two large words written on his palm: 'Hold out.' Secretary Wang was stunned for a moment, then his expression returned to normal.

With a gentle smile on his face, Xiao Yugang sat in the seat the Supervisory Commissioner had just occupied and looked at Secretary Wang calmly. He spoke slowly, pretending they weren't that familiar: "Secretary Wang, is it? Have you contacted Vice Mayor Qian yet?"

Secretary Wang shook his head slightly, his brow furrowed. Before he could speak, Xiao Yugang continued on his own: "True, those leaders should still be in a meeting at the city government right now. I heard Secretary Zhong is presiding over it personally. This meeting... I reckon even if you wanted to contact him, Vice Mayor Qian wouldn't have time to take your call."

He sighed deeply, a look of emotion on his face, and continued: "This whistleblowing post has really caused a storm. Do you know how many people were brought to our Procuratorate along with you?"

Secretary Wang shook his head again, a hint of confusion in his eyes. Xiao Yugang continued: "Let me count for you... Housing and Construction Bureau, Industry and Commerce, Urban Management, Transportation, Fire Department... Ah, all in all, there must be over a dozen."

"They're all because of Hongtai Construction?" Secretary Wang finally spoke, his tone full of doubt. He didn't quite understand Xiao Yugang's meaning and just followed the conversation.

"Exactly." Xiao Yugang nodded, his face becoming serious. "The leaders have seen the Materials released by the whistleblower, and they are quite targeted. The reason we invited you here is mainly because you're in that edited video. Just tell us about your conversation with Wang Hongtai, the chairman of Hongtai Construction, that day. Once we clarify the situation, it shouldn't be too big of a problem." He said, looking straight into Secretary Wang's eyes.

"I'll have to think back carefully on that." Secretary Wang responded, pretending to be in thought.

"Mhm, that's understandable." Xiao Yugang nodded in understanding. "How about this," he said, opening the Black Leather Notebook he carried and taking out a pen clipped inside. Then he took a piece of paper from the desk and handed it to Secretary Wang. "Just write down everything from that day. Why you met Wang Hongtai at the teahouse, what you talked about after meeting, what documents were in that Envelope..." He listed the things they needed to know one by one, while intentionally placing his Black Leather Notebook face down nearby and signaling to Secretary Wang with his eyes.

After doing this, he stood up and said: "You write first, I'm going to the door for a smoke." With that, he turned and walked toward the door.

The moment the door closed, Secretary Wang's heart rate suddenly accelerated.