Chapter 993: Chapter 963:
After entering Minister Luo’s office, Minister Luo smiled and said, "You were the second person to enter the scene and investigate the case last night. What are your thoughts?"
"I do!" Zhang Yantong nodded and said, "The case is obviously a murder, so we need to start with Minister Zhang’s adversaries. I believe the case will be solved quickly!"
"Is that so?" Minister Luo smiled faintly and said, "Tongtong, you’re one of the cadres I have high hopes for. You’ve been a Criminal Police Captain for several years, with abundant experience in this field, and your father is an old classmate of mine, haha..."
"Minister Luo, if you have something to say, just say it!" Zhang Yantong nodded.
"Alright, according to our investigation last night, Ye Chen and a group of his men are the prime suspects!" Minister Luo said, looking directly at Zhang Yantong. He clearly observed the change in her emotions from the look in her eyes. The emotional shift indicated some issues but could not entirely explain them.
"Is that so?" Zhang Yantong was taken aback, her face turning a bit pale. After all, being young, speaking with someone like Minister Luo was stressful, especially since she had no idea what evidence Minister Luo had. What if he had solid proof? Any explanation would be useless, leading to a loss of trust from the organization.
"Tongtong, I know Ye Chen is your husband, but everyone is equal before the law!" Minister Luo pulled a cigarette from its pack, placed it in his mouth, and said with a faint smile, "You are a public official, so you must be aware of this matter!"
Zhang Yantong didn’t know how to refute, but indeed, in the face of facts, she couldn’t abuse her power for personal gain, undermining judicial fairness. Minister Luo sat in front of her, speaking earnestly, making Zhang Yantong unsure how to respond. She lowered her head, suddenly an idea flashed through her mind, and she hurriedly said, "Minister Luo, maybe you didn’t know!"
"Oh? What do you mean?" Minister Luo asked in surprise. Could there be something he didn’t know? Although promoted from another city in Z province, he was quite knowledgeable about the whole province’s affairs. Especially regarding everything about Zhang Kaiguo, he was well-informed. Ye Chen is Zhang Yantong’s husband, Zhang Kaiguo’s son-in-law—this relationship was Minister Luo’s primary concern. However, if he could use this opportunity to overthrow Zhang Kaiguo, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. If he couldn’t, at least tarnishing Zhang Kaiguo wouldn’t be a bad thing.
So, Minister Luo had a slight plan in his mind, but he didn’t overestimate the feasibility of this plan. Zhang Yantong was unaware of Minister Luo’s thoughts, looked at him calmly, then smiled and said, "Uncle Luo, you didn’t come to my wedding, did you?"
"I didn’t, but I heard about it!" Minister Luo chuckled and said, "I heard two Central bosses attended, right?"
"That’s right!" Zhang Yantong nodded, smiling, "Then Uncle Luo, do you know who those two Central bosses were?"
"I don’t know!" Minister Luo shook his head.
"Let me tell you. One is Pang Zhenhua, the Commander of the Nanjing Military District, and the other is Chen Dekai, the Vice President of the country!" Zhang Yantong’s smile was radiant. She was sure that with these two people speaking out, they could definitely handle Minister Luo.
Sss...
Minister Luo took a deep breath. There are many bosses from the Central, and it’s said that even a small official from Beijing can overpower a Provincial Party Secretary in other provinces. This indicates that the political atmosphere in Beijing is too heavy, full of nepotism. That’s why many people refer to Beijing officials as Central bosses. Minister Luo had heard about it at the time but had only scornfully laughed it off.
Now it seems he had entirely underestimated Ye Chen and Zhang Kaiguo. Minister Luo asked curiously, "Is that true?"
"Isn’t it?" Zhang Yantong smiled like a flower, "Perhaps Minister Zhang doesn’t know, but Commander Pang had a prized mentee named Ye Hai, who was the youngest Major General in China. Ye Hai was a talented young man highly favored by Commander Pang, who had long considered him his successor. Unfortunately, fate was unpredictable, and Ye General passed away. But perhaps you are unaware that Ye General had a son?"
"Ye Hai? Major General Ye’s son? Could it be Ye Chen?" Minister Luo was stunned, taking a sharp breath, his face changing repeatedly. If this were true, his plan to suppress Ye Chen to overthrow Zhang Kaiguo would be completely unworkable.
"That’s right!" Zhang Yantong nodded and said, "Even though Commander Pang didn’t say much publicly, in private, he has long recognized Ye Chen as his god-grandson. Otherwise, do you think Ye Chen could have killed Zhang Bufen with his own hands and faced no consequences?"
"Hmm...something’s fishy!" Minister Luo nodded.
"Then...does Minister Luo still think this case is related to Ye Chen?" Zhang Yantong smiled faintly. Initially, she was a very righteous person, very averse to bureaucratism, but now even she couldn’t help being tainted by some bureaucratic air. There is no choice; if not adapted to the officialdom, you would only be eliminated by it. If you don’t learn bureaucratism, you can only be oppressed by it.
"No, no!" Minister Luo immediately shook his head and said, "How could this case be related to Ye Chen, what a joke. That Criminal Police Captain, I don’t know how he investigated, just messing around. Later, I’ll have him removed and replaced!"
Minister Luo is furious. That bastard didn’t investigate Ye Chen’s identity clearly before submitting the case result to me. What if Ye Chen is convicted, wouldn’t I be the one losing my position?
"Forget it, let’s not blame others!" Zhang Yantong waved her hand and said, "I’m going to handle the case now. Minister Luo, if you have time, you can go take a look!"
"Ah, never mind, I... I have other official duties to attend to, you go ahead with your work!" Minister Luo quickly waved his hand. He was in no position to deal with this case; he had to quickly retrieve the report he had submitted, otherwise, it would be troublesome once it got escalated.
Zhang Yantong left Minister Luo’s office and turned to head to the criminal investigation department. The team leader there was still boasting to everyone, saying excitedly, "Hehe, it all started with the surveillance at the entrance. We tracked their entry through the footage, and combined it with on-the-spot fingerprint analysis, we can find them!"
"But how can fingerprints be conclusive? If you haven’t caught the suspect, you can’t compare the fingerprints, right?" The criminal police asked out of curiosity.
"Haha, people who do this kind of thing are typically river and sea bandits, so their information is in the fingerprint database!" The criminal police team leader grinned broadly and said, "So, as soon as we compare it in the fingerprint database, we immediately find those suspects!"
"Wow, the team leader is amazing!" Everyone cheered in unison.
At this moment, Zhang Yantong walked in, and the scene immediately fell silent. Everyone looked at Zhang Yantong. Although she was from the same system, she was not from the same department. There was some unfamiliarity between them; however, they had long known of Zhang Yantong’s reputation. The criminal police team leader chuckled and said, "Director Zhang, what brings you here?"
"Weren’t you the ones who asked me to assist with the case?" Zhang Yantong responded with a calm smile.
"Well..." The team leader was immediately taken aback. To assist with solving the case, in a certain sense, this case was practically solved by Zhang Yantong. He was merely observing some things on the side. Standing right in front of him, Zhang Yantong left the team leader at a loss for words. His eyes darted around, and then he said, "Director Zhang, I have already reported the case to Minister Luo. I believe Minister Luo will soon issue instructions!"
"Yes, Minister Luo has indeed issued instructions!" Zhang Yantong nodded and said, "Director Luo said he wants to take your cap off."
"Impossible!" The team leader immediately denied, "It’s one thing not to reward me; how could they remove me from my position?"
"Haha, if you don’t believe me, go and ask Minister Luo!" Zhang Yantong gave a faint smile.
The team leader immediately ran out. The office fell silent, all the police officers lowered their heads to work, each staring at their computer, completely treating Zhang Yantong like a transparent person. They did not dare meet Zhang Yantong’s sharp gaze, let alone look into her eyes. She was like a female War God, scanning the entire office. When her gaze swept over them, they clearly felt a piercing look.
Soon, the team leader scurried back with a wry smile, looking at Zhang Yantong, he said, "Director Zhang, thank you just now for pleading for me!"
"It’s nothing, in the future, be more careful in your work; not everyone is willing to help you." Zhang Yantong looked at him and said coldly, "If you encounter your adversary, I guess you’d be packing your bags to go home!"
"Yes, yes!" The team leader immediately nodded and muttered, "Director Zhang, then... how should we handle this case?"
"Why don’t you ask Minister Luo, why are you asking me?" Zhang Yantong looked at him puzzled.
"Minister Luo, well... Minister Luo said he has handed this case over to you!" The team leader was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Now, the problem was, this case had become a hot potato, and no one was willing to take it on. Originally, he hoped this case would earn him merit, but now that seems dashed.
"Did Minister Luo really say that?" Zhang Yantong’s lips curled slightly, revealing a mysterious smile.
"Yes, he really said that!" The team leader immediately nodded.
"Alright then!" Zhang Yantong looked seriously at the team leader and said, "Now, immediately destroy all the evidence. Also, the report needs to be revised. I’ll tell you specifically how to do it; try to make the evidence chain from the scene into a vicious cycle!"
"Got it!" The team leader immediately nodded.