Official Career Storm

Chapter 1727: Chapter 1727:

The room was under surveillance, with colleagues from the Political and Legal Committee and the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee in the adjacent room, watching the surveillance screen. Song Guanchao had no privacy whatsoever.

Squeak.

The door was pushed open, and Secretary Hu Yaling of the Political and Legal Committee and Secretary Bao Qi of the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee walked in.

They glanced at the surveillance images on the computer screen and asked, "Has Song Guanchao confessed?"

The junior officer in charge of monitoring shook his head, "Director Song said he didn’t do it."

The two simply hummed without further inquiry, "Keep an eye on it, report to me immediately if anything happens."

"Understood."

After the two secretaries left, a junior officer from the Political and Legal Committee looked at the others and murmured quietly, "Isn’t what we’re doing not in line with procedure?"

The others stiffened slightly upon hearing this and glared at him, "Don’t talk nonsense."

The procedure for detaining Song Guanchao was obviously irregular; if even junior officers like them could see it, would the two secretaries not see it?

But since the secretaries weren’t saying anything, was it their place to criticize?

The officer realized he had spoken out of turn and immediately fell silent, eyeing the surveillance quietly.

...

The two secretaries left the hotel without much exchange and each got into their cars and left.

Hu Yaling leaned against the back seat, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. The secretary in the front passenger seat said, "Secretary, Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee’s procedures seem non-compliant."

Hu Yaling simply hummed softly.

The secretary continued, "Director Song is not someone easy to deal with; he’s stubborn and forthright, regardless of the rank of the person opposite him. I heard that when he was serving as Mayor Wu’s secretary in Lingjiang, he dared to oppose both the Mayor and the Secretary at that time."

The more Hu Yaling listened, the deeper her brows furrowed, "What are you trying to say?"

The secretary said, "I mean, the evidence in the hands of the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee is likely insufficient, and the procedures for detention are lacking. It may not be a big deal for someone else, but this is Song Guanchao. He is inflexible. So even facing the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee, he probably won’t submit and will likely become a stickler, potentially escalating the situation."

"So, I think we should do things by the book to avoid giving Director Song any reason to target us."

Hu Yaling coldly responded, "The Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee is conducting the investigation; I’m merely assisting them."

The secretary smiled, "That’s true, but Director Song has that kind of temper... he wouldn’t care that much."

After he spoke, he kept silent.

He is Secretary Hu Yaling’s secretary, and if Song Guanchao targets Hu Yaling, he too would be affected.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t risk angering Hu Yaling by saying these things.

After a few moments of silence in the car, Hu Yaling said, "To the City Government."

Upon hearing this, the secretary knew that Secretary Hu had taken his suggestion to heart.

The car arrived at the City Government, and the secretary accompanied her to the outside of Wu Qiangwei’s office.

He waited outside for about twenty minutes, and Hu Yaling came out, her expression noticeably softer and more relaxed.

When Shu Xue went in to tidy up the tea set, Wu Qiangwei said, "Have Wu Ming get the car ready."

"Okay."

Shu Xue carried out the tea set and called Wu Ming to have him bring the car around.

A few minutes later, Shu Xue accompanied Wu Qiangwei into the car.

"To Fuli Hotel," Wu Qiangwei said.

Hu Yaling had just come to her, telling her that the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee had conducted an initial interrogation of Song Guanchao, and Song Guanchao denied all allegations.

And it seemed the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee did not have particularly strong evidence.

Currently, Song Guanchao was being detained in the hotel.

And the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee was only responsible for providing personnel to assist the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee’s investigation, not for direct involvement.

Several things sounded related, but what Hu Yaling said was jumbled, as if pieced together.

Wu Qiangwei immediately understood what she was trying to convey.

The detention procedures of the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee were non-compliant, and this had nothing to do with the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee, nor with Hu Yaling, and there were no personal grievances involved.

The non-compliant detention procedures were an issue with the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee, and also had nothing to do with the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee.

In short, Hu Yaling was just coming to clarify.

However, this inspired Wu Qiangwei.

Since things were non-compliant, that could be the breakthrough needed to make the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee release him.

The car arrived at the hotel, and Wu Qiangwei went to the room where Ji Wei, dispatched by the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee, was staying.

Knock knock.

Squeak.

Ji Wei opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see Wu Qiangwei standing in front of him, "Mayor Wu?"

Wu Qiangwei smiled and immediately asked, "Is Director Song cooperating?"

Ji Wei showed a hint of a wry smile, "To be honest, he’s not cooperating at all."

"Oh?" Wu Qiangwei asked, "In what ways is he not cooperating?"

"Director Song has a bad attitude," Ji Wei offered a vague excuse.

Wu Qiangwei asked, "May I ask, Mr. Ji, is the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee investigating Director Song mainly because a reporter felt physically threatened and blamed Director Song?"

"That is indeed what the whistleblower claimed," Ji Wei, now having guessed her purpose, responded cautiously.

Wu Qiangwei asked, "So, besides the whistleblower’s account, there’s no other evidence?"

Ji Wei smiled, "Right now, there’s only the informant’s testimony. But since it involves personal safety, and it’s a real-name report, the leaders of the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee are paying particular attention to the case, otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent us here personally."

"But rest assured, Mayor Wu, if it’s found unrelated to Director Song, he’ll soon be able to return to his work. However, during the investigation, we still hope the City Government can cooperate with our work."

His tone was soft, and his attitude was good, making it hard for Wu Qiangwei to erupt.

Most importantly, the Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee indeed seemed to be here just to follow procedures.

The only thing that perplexed Wu Qiangwei was the decision to detain Song Guanchao.

Because according to procedure, in the absence of evidence, he shouldn’t be detained.

If there was a conflict between Ji Wei and Song Guanchao, or any external interference, such a decision wouldn’t be surprising.

But Ji Wei and Song Guanchao had just met; there were no grievances or conflicts between them, so he had no reason to target Song Guanchao.

After the conversation, she could also feel that Ji Wei simply wanted to clarify quickly, then return to the Central Disciplinary Committee to report back.

After pondering for a few seconds, Wu Qiangwei said, "I will have the municipal bureau send someone over later to protect Mr. Ji."

Ji Wei was about to say it was unnecessary, but then realized Wu Qiangwei wasn’t really sending people to protect him but was indeed worried about coercion in the guise of an interrogation against Song Guanchao, thus protecting Song Guanchao.

"Thank you, Mayor Wu." He nodded with a smile.

Wu Qiangwei did not request to meet with Song Guanchao. They both belong to the City Government, and logically, Wu Qiangwei should avoid suspicion during the period Song Guanchao is being investigated.

Back in the car, Wu Qiangwei still felt a bit uneasy.

But she could think of no solution, so she had to wait for Ji Wei to clarify, and let Song Guanchao go.

...

After dinner, the colleagues from the Disciplinary Committee and the two who accompanied them entered the room, looked at the surveillance on the screen, and asked a few unrelated questions.

"Mr. Ji, will there be another interrogation tonight?" A Disciplinary Committee staff asked.

Ji Wei shook his head, "Let him rest; we’ll ask again tomorrow."

After speaking, he returned to his room.

He leaned back in his chair, his phone resting on the table.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop, his eyes fixated on the phone.

Suddenly, the phone screen lit up, and an unknown number called in.

A trace of a smile curved up at the corner of Ji Wei’s lips, "It’s here."

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