Spy wars start with lurking Secretary Hong

Chapter 455 Internal Monitoring, I Understand

Zhou Yi's face showed no emotion, but his heart tightened.

Once Gao Bin, that old fox, becomes suspicious, he's like a wolf that's smelled blood; he won't stop until he's taken a piece of flesh.

He secretly rejoiced, thankful that Hong Zhi had been incredibly resourceful last night and had sent people to rescue Gu Qiuyan from that horrible place, Wolf Head Cliff.

Otherwise, given Gao Bin's current treacherous and relentlessly pressing demeanor, even if he had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be able to escape.

"What? Inconvenient?"

A hint of displeasure appeared on Gao Bin's lips.

Zhou Yi knew that Gao Bin would not let this go easily; sooner or later, he would have to stretch out his neck.

"No, what's so inconvenient about having dumplings?" In front of Gao Bin, he picked up the phone on the table and started dialing.
"It's me. Ask Qiuyan to answer the phone."

"Tell him to stop acting like a child and that we have serious business to discuss!" Zhou Yi deliberately raised his voice, his tone full of impatience and suppressed anger.

After saying that, he turned to Gao Bin, who had a look of amusement on his face, and explained, "Section Chief, please don't laugh at me. We had a little argument last night over something trivial. Pregnant women are just prone to being temperamental, and she's still throwing a tantrum at me now!"

Gao Bin squinted, said nothing, and just stared at the telephone receiver, the suspicion in his eyes almost tangible.

He suspected that the person on the other end of the phone wasn't Gu Qiuyan at all.

Perhaps it was a stooge arranged by Zhou Yi in advance, or... perhaps it was that servant Liu Ma pretending.

A moment later, a lazy yet slightly aggrieved female voice came from the other end of the phone; it was Gu Qiuyan.

"What's going on? Making such a racket so early in the morning, can't a person have a moment's peace!"

Zhou Yi cleared his throat and adopted a more consultative tone: "Qiuyan, it's like this, Section Chief Gao and a few colleagues from the department would like to come to our house for a casual lunch, what do you think..."

Before he could finish speaking, a glint flashed in Gao Bin's eyes, and he suddenly reached out and snatched the phone receiver from Zhou Yi's hand.

"Sister-in-law, I am Gao Bin."

Gao Bin's voice instantly became enthusiastic, and he said with a smile, "Nothing else, it's just that I was thinking that since Captain Zhou returned to Harbin, neither I nor the brothers in the department have paid him a visit yet."

"Besides, everyone's been craving your dumplings."

"We've come here today to bother you, so please don't find us annoying!"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Gu Qiuyan's slightly weak and nasal voice: "Section Chief Gao, you're too kind."

"Since you've already spoken, how could I not welcome you? It's just that I'm not feeling well, and I'm afraid I might not be able to entertain you properly. Please don't take offense."

The voice is correct, it's Gu Qiuyan.

A hint of disappointment flashed through Gao Bin's mind, but his face still wore that warm smile.

"Sure, sure, we'll head over at noon!"

After hanging up the phone, Gao Bin put the receiver back in its place, and the doubt on his face seemed to have dissipated considerably.

He patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder: "Old Zhou, look at Qiu Yan, she's so warm and friendly. Pregnant women are like that, their tempers are unpredictable. Your sister-in-law was like that back then too."

“Sigh, women are not all the same. Qiu Yan can’t compare to my sister-in-law,” Zhou Yi said with a hint of bitterness.

"Okay, then you go ahead and get busy. We'll go to your place together at noon," Gao Bin said with a smile.

"Yes, Section Chief." Zhou Yi nodded and turned to leave the office.

Watching Zhou Yi's departing figure, Gao Bin sat back down in his chair and lit his pipe.

He was lost in thought.

Could it be that I am really overthinking?
Logically speaking, a woman falling from such a high cliff would have a very low chance of survival.

Last night, he even sent someone to restart the surveillance of Zhou Yi, but they didn't see anything unusual.

Perhaps Gu Qiuyan had indeed gone home long ago.

But his intuition told him that things were not that simple.

If there are too many coincidences, they are no longer coincidences.

No, I must go and see for myself at noon.

No sooner had Zhou Yi left than Lu Ming slipped in, his face showing eagerness and a hint of seeking credit.

"Section Chief, how is it going?"
"Am I right? Captain Zhou is definitely up to something! Is Gu Qiuyan not home?"

"You guessed wrong, Gu Qiuyan is at home." Gao Bin exhaled a smoke ring calmly.

"That shouldn't be the case." Lu Ming frowned.

"Section Chief, there was a man and a woman, and Gu Qiuyan wasn't in the mountains at the time. We were missing one person, which fits the hypothesis of falling off a cliff."

"I suspect there are a few possibilities. First, the voice on the phone was fake; they hired someone to impersonate it!"

"Secondly, Gu Qiuyan did fall, but she didn't die. She was just seriously injured and can still speak! Zhou Yi must have used some method to secretly bring her home!"
"Section Chief, think about it. Wolf Head Cliff is so high. Even if someone is a Golden Immortal, they would be badly injured if they fell off!"

"Gu Qiuyan, a pregnant woman, can be lively and healthy without any problems? Nobody believes that!"

"I think we have to go to his house to find out the truth and see for ourselves! I won't believe it until I see him!"

Gao Bin took a puff of his pipe, nodded, and a hint of approval flashed in his eyes.

Although Lu Ming is a greedy and stupid dog, he can be quite ruthless when he bites.

What you said makes sense.

"I've already made plans with Captain Zhou to have dumplings at his house for lunch today," Gao Bin nodded.

……

Meanwhile, Hong Zhiyou was in his office, legs crossed, chatting with Liu Kui.

"Section Chief Hong, you have to be my judge!" Liu Kui said indignantly, slamming his teacup down on the table. "That old Qiu is a complete scoundrel!"

"What did Lao Qiu do to offend you?" Hong Zhiyou asked with a smile, offering him a cigarette.

Liu Kui took the cigarette, his anger rising. "Didn't you introduce him to a few items last time?"
"He clearly promised me that price, but then he turned around and sold it to someone else at a higher price!"

"That bastard is trying to raise the price on the spot, he has no sense of morality at all!"

He got angrier and angrier as he spoke: "Now look what's happened, this guy is using the Japanese to back him up and has become a middleman in Harbin!"

"I heard that he knows a group of tomb raiders in Fengtian who specialize in bringing those dirty things dug out of graves to Harbin to sell! This is a business of robbing people's ancestral graves, it's so despicable!"

"Zhiyou, you have to take care of this. I know you're the one in charge at the Harbin docks!" Liu Kui leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Antiques are different from other things. The way he's doing it has broken the rules, and no one can play with them anymore!" He lit a cigarette, somewhat annoyed.

Hong Zhi flicked his cigarette ash and said slowly, "Old Liu, calm down."

"Old Qiu is a favorite of the military police now, we can't afford to offend him."

"Besides, we all eat from the same pot, so let him make a fuss if he wants. Anyway, he won't be staying in Harbin for more than a few days."

He sneered inwardly.

That's exactly how we want Lao Qiu to play, the bigger the better.

Only by letting him lower his guard and stay in Harbin, indulging in his get-rich-quick dream of reselling illicit goods, can we avoid the sensitive period surrounding Lai Wenbin's murder.

Only after the storm had passed could the Anti-Japanese Alliance's anti-traitor squads have a chance to strike.

When the time comes, a traitor involved in the black market antique trade will die in a gangland feud, his body left to rot in the streets, and no one will be able to say anything about it.

Even if Shibuya Saburo and the Security Bureau want to investigate, it won't involve him.

This is called "using someone else's knife to kill someone, and dying a worthy death."

……

noon.

Gao Bin and his group arrived at Zhou Yi's house by car.

"Mmm, it smells so good! I smelled dumplings as soon as I walked in. It smells like Chinese New Year." Gao Bin, who was always in control, humorously created a festive atmosphere.

"Don't even mention it, my mouth is practically watering," Liu Kui laughed.

As Zhou Yi called out, he shouted loudly upstairs:

"Qiuyan, Section Chief Gao and his colleagues are here. Come down and greet them!"

Gu Qiuyan responded listlessly from her bedroom upstairs:
"Oh dear, I'm not feeling well, I'm very dizzy, so I won't go down. Please take good care of Section Chief Gao and the others for me."

Gao Bin and Lu Ming exchanged a glance, a subtle glint of shrewdness flashing in each other's eyes.

The sound made sense.

The street performers over there are very skilled at these kinds of acts; they need to be seen by people.

The servant, Liu Ma, served steaming dumplings with pickled garlic and vinegar, which looked incredibly tempting.

"Aunt Liu, go and urge her." Zhou Yi frowned, looking somewhat annoyed that Gu Qiuyan was being inconsiderate.

“Okay.” Aunt Liu went upstairs.

After a moment, he didn't dare to speak, but just shook his head.

Zhou Yi glanced at Gao Bin with a helpless expression, then sat down and said, "It's rare for Section Chief Gao and everyone to come to my house. Let's eat first, these dumplings will lose their flavor if they get cold."

During the meal, everyone toasted and drank, and the atmosphere seemed lively, but undercurrents were actually swirling.

Gao Bin took a sip of his drink, put down his chopsticks, and looked at Zhou Yi with a smile, saying, "Old Zhou, do you know why I'm so good at catching spies?"

"Why?" Zhou Yi asked with a faint smile.

"Looking at a person's face and palm is a real art; sometimes you can tell what they're thinking just by looking at them." "Section Chief Gao, can this red ticket really have their identity written on their forehead?" Lu Ming chimed in, trying to be the straight man.

"Section Chief Gao sees everyone as a red flag," Liu Kui said with a hearty laugh after a few sips of wine.

“That’s right. Only by assuming they are red tickets can you follow this line of thought to speculate on various possibilities and clues, and the truth often lies within them.” Gao Bin nodded, deeply agreeing.

"Of course, the facial features are a joke."

"But I do know a little about palmistry, at least I can tell whether a child will be a boy or a girl."

"When Grandpa Zhiyou was alive, our Gao family used to eat this kind of food, and I learned a little bit from him."

"I can't say about other things, but I can be pretty accurate about whether it's a boy or a girl."

He pointed upstairs: "How about I take a look at my sister-in-law? To see if this first pregnancy is a boy or a girl."

Zhou Yi quickly waved his hand, feigning a troubled expression: "Section Chief Gao, Qiu Yan likes foreign art and science, I'm afraid this is..."

The more he declined, the more suspicious Gao Bin became, and his face showed displeasure.

Hong Zhiyou, who was watching closely from the side, knew that the time had come.

He laughed loudly: "Hey Lao Zhou, you're being too polite!"
"My uncle doesn't easily tell fortunes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why don't you go upstairs and discuss it with your sister-in-law?"

“Alright, since Section Chief Gao is so kind as to grant me this request, I’ll go upstairs and call her.” Zhou Yi nodded and got up to go upstairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, the bedroom door was ajar.

He pushed open the door and entered. Gu Qiuyan was sitting in front of the dressing table, looking nervous.

"He wants to read your palm," Zhou Yi said in a low, serious voice.

"My hands..." Gu Qiuyan subconsciously withdrew her hands.

When she fell off the cliff, her palms were covered in cuts and scratches from branches and rocks, and they couldn't withstand close inspection.

"Gao Bin became suspicious and wouldn't give up until he saw the person."

"Falling off such a high cliff and emerging unharmed? Who would believe that?" Zhou Yi frowned.

"This person is like a persistent ghost."

"How about I play a tune?" A glint of light flashed in Gu Qiuyan's eyes.

“Hong Zhiyou just gave me a new piece of music, which came in handy.”

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, then nodded: "This is a good opportunity."

He turned and went downstairs, his face now showing the same troubled and helpless expression: "Qiu Yan... she's very particular, she insists on tidying up first."

Gao Bin smiled kindly: "It's nothing, we're the ones who have disturbed you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Qiuyan appeared at the railing on the second floor.

She changed into a fitted velvet winter dress, her hair was meticulously styled, and she exuded an air of sophistication with the aloofness of an intellectual.

Her face was lightly powdered, cleverly concealing most of the bruises, but upon closer inspection, faint purplish-black marks could still be seen at the corners of her eyes.

A pair of pure white silk gloves completely covered her hands.

"Section Chief Gao, I'm not feeling well, so I won't go down. I'll play a piece for everyone as a sign of respect."

Her voice carried a hint of detachment and resentment.

Gao Bin didn't want to press the matter further, so he could only back down gracefully: "You're very kind, sister-in-law."

Gu Qiuyan gracefully walked to the piano in the living room and sat down.

She took a deep breath, enduring the stinging pain in her fingertips, and placed her hands on the piano keys.

The melodious sound of the piano then flowed into the room.

Gao Bin, who was in the living room downstairs and couldn't see what was going on upstairs, gave Hong Zhiyou a wink: "Don't you know how to play too? Go up and show off your skills."

His eyes held a command, signaling Hong Zhiyou to observe more closely.

Hong Zhi understood immediately and stood up with a smile.

As the song ended, Gu Qiuyan said softly, "I've made a fool of myself. Please give me your feedback."

Her eyes held a hint of wariness towards Hong Zhiyou.

Zhou Yi rarely talked to her about Hong Zhiyou. Her impression of Hong Zhiyou was that he was talented but somewhat frivolous.

Hong Zhi smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you're just making a fool of yourself. There's no one in Harbin who can play the piano."

"It's been a long time since I played, so I'm a bit rusty. It's all Zhou Yi's fault. I asked him to ask you for a piece, but he kept dragging his feet," Gu Qiuyan said politely with a smile.

"Next time your sister-in-law needs a song, just call me and I'll bring it over to you."

Hong Zhiyou walked to the piano, his fingers gliding lightly across the keys, and a cheerful Turkish March immediately brought back the slightly cold atmosphere.

After finishing his performance, he bowed slightly and then walked downstairs.

"Section Chief Gao, you two keep talking, I won't disturb you any longer." Gu Qiuyan greeted him coldly from the second-floor railing, then turned around, secretly sighed, and returned to her bedroom.

"Captain Zhou, with a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for!"
"Qiu Yan is beautiful and knowledgeable. In this world, women like her are extremely rare," Gao Bin praised, wiping his mouth.

“Beautiful women are usually hard to please. If it weren’t for my family’s wealth, my salary from the police department wouldn’t be enough to cover my expenses,” Zhou Yi chuckled.

"Making money is all about spending it on women."

Lu Ming interjected, his tone evasive, "Captain Zhou, I just noticed your wife has some bruises on her face, is she alright?"

Zhou Yi's face instantly darkened, and a cold sigh curled at the corner of his mouth: "Alas, family scandals should not be aired in public. It's not worth mentioning. I'm sorry for making you all laugh."

"Alright, Lu Ming, once you're settled down, there will be plenty of trivial matters to deal with. Every family has its own problems."

"Captain Zhou, thank you for the hospitality. I see everyone has eaten enough, so I won't disturb you any longer." Gao Bin stood up, greeted everyone, and prepared to leave.

The atmosphere in the car on the way back was somewhat tense; clearly, the result disappointed and puzzled Gao Bin and Lu Ming.

Lu Ming adjusted his hat and broke the silence: "It's incredible that Gu Qiuyan can still play the piano."

"He fell off such a high cliff and acted like nothing happened."

Gao Bin, puffing on his pipe, slowly said, "You're reasoning from the perspective of guilt. If she wasn't the telegraph operator, everything makes sense."

Lu Ming shook his head: "Then how do you explain the injury on her face?"

He glanced at Hong Zhiyou beside him, his tone softening.

"Zhiyou, I know you and Zhou Yi are close."

"But the section chief and I are just doing our job. Having dumplings together is better than dragging someone into the interrogation room."

"This is also a sign of respect for Captain Zhou, don't you think?"

Hong Zhi nodded in agreement: "Internal oversight, I understand."

Lu Ming felt relieved and moved closer:
"When you went up there just now, didn't you notice anything amiss?"

"Your fingering is fine, you play very steadily, and you don't seem to be injured."

“But the bruises on her face…” Lu Ming pressed.

Hong Zhi smiled and lowered his voice.

“Zhou Yi made the call. She came home very late last night, and the two of them had a fight.”

Lu Ming's eyes lit up: "How did you know? Did Captain Zhou tell you?"

Hong Zhi smiled mysteriously and looked out the window:

"Didn't you hear him say that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public? How can a man say such things?"

"I... naturally have my own channels."

Lu Ming and Gao Bin exchanged a glance, both understanding each other without saying a word.

Gu Qiuyan is beautiful, and her romantic affairs are no secret.

It seems plausible that a woman like her would have some private contact with Hong Zhi.

Gao Bin's face suddenly darkened, and he turned to Lu Ming: "Now that the person is back, what were your people doing last night?"
"Didn't they say they didn't see Gu Qiuyan?"

His voice was like ice, causing the temperature inside the car to drop sharply.

Lu Ming's forehead was covered in cold sweat: "Maybe...maybe he went to the restroom, or maybe he dozed off and missed it..."

"Let me tell you," Gao Bin sneered.

"They played cards all night in their room last night!"

"Go back and manage your people properly. If you can't lead a team, then don't lead a team anymore."

He slammed his pipe against the car window frame and vented his anger on Lu Ming.

"Yes, Section Chief, I'll deal with those bastards as soon as I get back," Lu Ming said, sweating profusely.

As we were talking, a hissing sound came from the car radio.

A police officer's voice rang out urgently.

"Reporting to Section Chief Gao, the soldiers have discovered a female corpse and her belongings at the foot of Wolf Head Cliff. Please proceed to the scene immediately!"

……

(End of this chapter)