I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

After leaving Qian Cheng's house, Fang Zhiwen felt increasingly uneasy.

Zhou Min has likely sided with He Ying.

The materials she had—the transfer records of 1160 million yuan, the ledger of land expropriation compensation, and the original contracts of Hongda Commerce—would be useless to He Ying no matter how much additional material he provided or how many false accounts he made.

He picked up his phone and dialed Fang Mingyuan's number.

It rang three times before being answered.

"Brother, there's one more thing."

"explain."

"Zhou Min may have sided with He Ying. She probably knows about the assault. And there's the matter of the 1160 million yuan, the land expropriation compensation, and the Hongda Trading company—she's been involved in too many things."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure. But she hasn't come to work these past two days, and she's not answering her phone or replying to messages. Qian Cheng said she might have overheard the phone call that night."

Fang Mingyuan fell silent again.

"Brother, if she really did give the materials to He Ying..."

"I understand," Fang Mingyuan interrupted him. "Stay calm and don't panic."

Fang Zhiwen hung up the phone, his heart sinking.

Stay calm.

How can we stabilize it?

……

Meanwhile, Fang Mingyuan was sitting in his office.

Fang Zhiwen's phone call made him realize that things were more serious than he had thought.

If Zhou Min really sides with He Ying, then what He Ying holds might be enough to make it impossible for Fang Zhiwen to recover.

He needed to know how far Zhao Gang had progressed in his investigation.

Fang Mingyuan picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Tie Jun, this is Fang Mingyuan."

On the other end of the phone came the voice of Wu Tiejun, the deputy county head and director of the public security bureau, with his usual polite tone: "County Head Fang, what's the matter?"

"Tiejun, I need to ask you something. Did Zhao Gang arrest two people early this morning?"

Wu Tiejun paused for a moment.

"County Chief Fang, yes, that's true. Two thugs from Liuhe Town are suspected of committing intentional assault."

"Has it been reviewed?"

"Well..." Wu Tiejun's voice was hesitant. "I don't know much about the interrogation."

Fang Mingyuan's fingers tightened slightly.

"You're the deputy county head and also the police chief, how could you not know about the interrogation?"

"County Chief Fang, Zhao Gang led the arrests according to procedure. But the specific details of the interrogation were reported directly to County Chief He by the Criminal Investigation Team." Wu Tiejun's tone was somewhat embarrassed. "I only found out afterward."

Fang Mingyuan was stunned.

"You only found out afterward?"

"Yes. Zhao Gang's actions this morning were not approved by the bureau, nor was I notified. He reported directly to County Chief He."

Fang Mingyuan held the microphone and remained silent for a long time.

Wu Tiejun is the deputy county head and director of the public security bureau, in charge of the county's public security system.

Zhao Gang was his subordinate.

But now, Zhao Gang arrests people without his involvement, and he knows nothing about the interrogations.

What does this mean?

This means that He Ying has already made Zhao Gang her man.

Moreover, it wasn't just Zhao Gang—He Ying bypassed the normal procedures of the entire public security system and directly commanded specific actions.

"County Chief Fang? County Chief Fang, are you still there?"

"exist."

Fang Mingyuan's voice returned to calm.

"Tie Jun, Zhao Gang is one of your men. He bypassed you and reported directly to County Chief He. Are you just going to let this go?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"County Chief Fang, He Ying is the county chief, and she directly intervenes in cases; I can't stop her."

"You are the police chief, you have your responsibilities."

"I know. But in this matter... County Chief He followed the normal procedures. She is the top official in the county government and has the authority to intervene in important cases. Zhao Gang reported to her, and there were no procedural problems."

Fang Mingyuan closed his eyes.

Normal procedure.

He Ying followed the procedure step by step, and he couldn't find any fault with her.

This is the most terrible.

"County Chief Fang, is there anything else?"

"there is none left."

"Then I'll hang up."

Fang Mingyuan put down the microphone, leaned back in his chair, and fell into deep thought.

He thought of someone—Wang Tiejun, a member of the county party committee standing committee and secretary of the political and legal affairs committee, his political ally.

Wu Tiejun is Wang Tiejun's man, so if he speaks, Wu Tiejun should at least give him some face.

The problem now is that Wu Tiejun isn't being disrespectful; he genuinely doesn't know.

Because He Ying bypassed him.

Fang Mingyuan picked up the phone again and dialed Wang Tiejun's number.

"Secretary Wang, it's me."

"County Chief Fang."

Have you heard about Zhao Gang arresting people?

"I've heard about it."

"Director Wu said that Zhao Gang's actions were reported directly to He Ying, and he was unaware of them beforehand, only finding out afterward."

Fang Mingyuan tapped his fingers twice on the table.

"Secretary Wang, Wu Tiejun is your man, are you just going to let him be sidelined like this?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"County Chief Fang, Wu Tiejun's powerlessness isn't his problem, it's He Ying's problem. She bypassed the Public Security Bureau and directly commanded the Criminal Investigation Team, which is against procedure."

She said it was a normal procedure.

"Normal procedure?" Wang Tiejun sneered. "County Chief Fang, do you believe that?"

Fang Mingyuan did not answer.

"Wu Tiejun is the director of the Public Security Bureau, and the Criminal Investigation Team is his subordinate. He Ying bypassed him and directly commanded Zhao Gang, which is overstepping her authority. If this were brought up at the Standing Committee meeting, she wouldn't be able to justify her actions."

Fang Mingyuan paused for a moment: "Is it appropriate for me to bring this up? Won't others think I'm interfering with the investigation?"

"County Chief Fang, what are your plans?"

Fang Mingyuan thought for a moment.

"Let's hold off for now. Let's see how far Zhao Gang has progressed in his interrogation before making any decisions."

"Okay. Call me anytime if you need anything."

Fang Mingyuan hung up the phone, sat behind his desk, and stared at the documents on it.

Wu Tiejun was unaware of the details of the interrogation.

Zhao Gang bypassed him and reported directly to He Ying.

This shows that He Ying has completely taken control of this line.

As he thought about this, he suddenly realized a problem—what exactly were He Ying's permissions?

She is the county head, not the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, nor the director of the Public Security Bureau.

She can inquire about cases, but she cannot directly command specific actions.

But Zhao Gang listened to her.

Why?

Because Zhao Gang trusted her?

Because Zhao Gang felt that following her would lead to a better future?

Or is it because—Zhao Gang also has something on him?

Fang Mingyuan was completely baffled.

All he knew was that He Ying's influence in Qingshun County was much deeper than he had imagined.

She wasn't fighting alone; she had a group of people around her—Su Wanqing, Zhao Gang, Chen Dapeng, and others whose names she didn't know.

Meanwhile, Fang Zhiwen was about to collapse, Qian Cheng was preparing to flee, Zhou Min might have already defected, Lao Nie had severed ties, Wang Tiejun was of no help, and Wu Tiejun had been sidelined.

What does he have left?

Fang Mingyuan picked up the cigarette case, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

The smoke slowly dissipated in the office.

"Old Nie, now we only have Old Nie left."

"Didn't he want to cut it?"

"The things I've left behind aren't just for show!"