Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

Special needs ward on the top floor of the First People's Hospital of Handong Province.

Gao Yuliang was drinking porridge in a rather awkward posture.

Wu Huifen sat on the edge of the bed, holding a bowl of thick vegetable and lean meat porridge. She skimmed off the foam with a small spoon, replaced it with a long straw, and carefully handed it to his mouth.

Although his posture was pathetic, Gao Yuliang felt more comfortable at this moment than he had at any other day in the past ten years.

As Zhou Zhengming walked in with his briefcase, the ward door was pushed open. He saw Gao Yuliang frowning as he swallowed a mouthful of porridge like he was sucking on jelly.

"Secretary Gao, you seem to have a good appetite."

Zhou Zhengming pulled up a chair and sat down, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

Gao Yuliang swallowed the porridge with difficulty and let out a long breath: "Team Leader Zhou, if you had someone plaster cast you up on the bed and you couldn't move, relying on this plastic tube to keep you alive every day, you would also find that this bowl of porridge is more delicious than anything else."

"That means our provincial hospital's 'medical miracle' is being maintained very well." Zhou Zhengming smiled, his gaze sweeping over the pile of medical monitors.

"Thanks to the organization, we can still breathe for now."

"Your phrase 'thanks to the organization' sounds like it carries a hint of resentment to me," Zhou Zhengming raised an eyebrow.

Gao Yuliang raised his eyelids and said in a low voice, "Then let me put it another way—thanks to Secretary Sha's thick sheet metal, the shock absorption of that No. 1 Hongqi car is indeed first-class."

Caught off guard, the young discipline inspection cadre next to him who was in charge of taking notes on the conversation quickly bit his lip tightly, pretending to look down at his notebook, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold it in.

Zhou Zhengming almost laughed out of anger.

This guy, even wrapped up like a mummy in bed, still couldn't resist trying to sow discord between Sha Ruijin and others.

Wu Huifen was a very perceptive person. Seeing this, she immediately pulled out a tissue to wipe Gao Yuliang's mouth, and stood up, saying:

"You guys talk about work, I'm going out for some fresh air."

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Wu." Zhou Zhengming nodded politely.

As the ward door clicked shut, the atmosphere inside instantly shifted from a visiting mode to a confrontational one.

Zhou Zhengming unzipped his briefcase, took out two documents still warm from the printer, and waved them in his hand:

"Here's the latest update. Zhao Donglai just came out of the Liang family compound, and Liang Lu has already signed a 'Declaration of Waiver of the Right to Dispose of the Body'."

Qi Tongwei's relatives back home will soon be able to collect his ashes and bring them back to Yantai. Your melodramatic "carrying a stretcher to collect the body" act is no longer necessary.

Gao Yuliang paused slightly.

What was the Liang family's reaction?

"Liang Lu was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; she absolutely refused to sign, thinking it was bad luck."

Zhou Zhengming stared intently into Gao Yuliang's eyes. "But Liang Qunfeng came out on crutches and forced her to sign the papers. Zhao Donglai brought a dual-camera body camera, and he recorded every single word of Liang Lu's heartless words as she tried to distance herself from him."

After listening, Gao Yuliang let out a soft sigh of relief: "Old Liang is still the same Old Liang. He's calculated this better than anyone else."

"Oh? Why do you think he forced his daughter to submit?" Zhou Zhengming asked with great interest.

"Because if we don't sign, the scene will be worse than a dead body," Gao Yuliang sneered.

"The daughter of a former provincial political and legal affairs secretary refused to cooperate with the public security authorities in handling the remains of a suspect. Normally, this would be called 'even an upright official finds it hard to settle a family dispute'; but at this critical juncture when the supervisory team was stationed, this is 'openly defying organizational procedures' and 'an extremely egregious political attitude'!"

Gao Yuliang paused, his gaze sharp as a knife:

"Liang Qunfeng isn't afraid of Qi Tongwei's ghost knocking on the door in the middle of the night; what he's afraid of is the document on your supervisory team's desk!"

As long as the Liang family's reputation can be preserved, let alone forcing his daughter to sign something, even if he were to go to the funeral home on crutches right now to bow to Qi Tongwei, he'd squeeze out a couple of tears on the spot!

Zhou Zhengming couldn't help but slap his thigh: "Look how incredibly accurate he is."

"Stirring things up in the big pot of political and legal affairs in Handong, how can it not be approved?" Gao Yuliang sighed, a rare trace of sorrow flashing in his eyes.

"Qi Tongwei hates the Liang family the most in his life, but he can't live without the Liang family the most in his life either."

While alive, he was treated like a dog, choked and chained to the door. He was shot and killed, and even then, he had to sign documents to appease them. Pathetic, utterly pathetic.

The fact that such a vulgarity came out of the usually gentle and refined Gao Yuliang's mouth startled Zhou Zhengming.

Before Zhou Zhengming could reply, Gao Yuliang changed the subject: "Alright, the matter of the dead is settled, let's talk about the living. Since Zhao Donglai is gone, shall we hand over the on-site video recording of Lone Eagle Ridge to you as well?"

Zhou Zhengming nodded and waved another document in front of Gao Yuliang:

"It's been submitted. Hou Liangping did indeed commit serious procedural violations before and after entering the scene, and even conducted a highly provocative interrogation of Qi Tongwei when Qi was extremely emotionally unstable. Once this video is submitted, it will be enough to give Hou Liangping a hard time."

"Have a drink? Team Leader Zhou, you underestimate my prized student." Gao Yuliang sneered and shook his head repeatedly. "This procedural flaw is nothing compared to his 'righteous' facade."

"How so?"

"I know Hou Liangping very well. His greatest skill in life is 'using motives to pressure procedures'."

Gao Yuliang's eyes were cold. "Faced with this video, he will definitely tell the organization with great remorse: he did it to prevent the suspect from continuing to endanger society, to save lives, because the situation was extremely critical at the time, and he was only thinking about the interests of the people, and he didn't care about those formalities at all!"

Gao Yuliang stared at Zhou Zhengming, his words hitting the nail on the head: "As long as he holds the banner of 'loyalty' and 'justice' high enough, the most he'll get is an internal disciplinary action of 'impatient and irregular handling of the case.' With a little more support from the Zhong family behind the scenes, once the storm has passed, he'll still be that lone hero fighting for justice!"

Zhou Zhengming leaned forward slightly, his smile fading. "Then, in Secretary Gao's opinion, what should we investigate?"

"Investigate who wielded this imperial sword!" Gao Yuliang suddenly raised his voice, pulling at the bandages on his chest and gasping for breath, but he didn't seem to care.

"After he was parachuted into Handong, who was secretly feeding him information? Who gave him the green light at crucial moments? Who helped him bypass the normal procedures of the Handong Provincial Party Committee and the Discipline Inspection Commission?!"

Gao Yuliang took a breath, his words as firm as iron:

"Team Leader Zhou, Hou Liangping was never a lone hero. He was a 'clay bodhisattva' who was forcibly elevated to a pedestal by a group of people with ulterior motives!"

Now that I've overturned this sedan chair, your supervisory team can't just focus on punishing the fallen sedan chair bearers. You need to investigate who hired the musicians and who set off the firecrackers for them along the way!

The young cadre next to him took notes silently.

Zhou Zhengming was silent for a moment, then gave Gao Yuliang a deep look: "After going through all this trouble, in the end, you're still going to stick to your guns on the Liang family?"

"It wasn't me who bit it; the mine was already buried there." Gao Yuliang's voice deepened, carrying a sense of oppression.

"You can use Liang Lu's refusal to sign as a starting point to dig deeper. Why does she hate Qi Tongwei so much? Is it merely because Qi Tongwei later embezzled and accepted bribes? No!"

Gao Yuliang gritted his teeth: "It's because the Liang family never treated Qi Tongwei as a human being from beginning to end! That shocking kneeling on the playground of Handong University back then, in other people's eyes, was the beginning of Qi Tongwei's moral depravity, but in the Liang family's eyes, it was their pinnacle declaration of power! It was their medal of victory for using public power to force a good woman into prostitution!"

The ward was deathly silent, with only the monotonous beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor.

Gao Yuliang continued his barrage, firing off a full-blown attack: "Qi Tongwei later turned into a bastard. He acted as a protector for the Shanshui Group, and he deserved to die, I agree with that. But your supervisory team can't just look at the evil consequences he caused, and ignore the poisonous roots he planted back then!"

How did a drug enforcement hero, shot three times, become a madman on Lone Eagle Ridge? Was there serious injustice in the appointment of officials? Was there cruel retaliation for abusing public power? Doesn't this constitute corruption?!

Zhou Zhengming nodded slowly, his eyes growing increasingly profound: "You want to use Qi Tongwei's funeral arrangements as an entry point to settle old scores with the Liang family. Corruption in personnel management is the greatest corruption."

"It's not that I want to, it's that Qi Tongwei's life is already incurred by this old debt that must be settled!" Gao Yuliang said sternly.

"But don't forget, Qi Tongwei also owes someone a life," Zhou Zhengming coldly reminded him.

"Chen Hai is still lying in the hospital in a vegetative state. No one can absolve him of this blood debt."

Gao Yuliang was silent for a few seconds, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes: "I didn't intend to whitewash him. Those who deserve to be executed should be executed, and those whose crimes should be classified should be classified. I just feel that since he's dead, this account must be settled thoroughly from beginning to end. Just because he later became corrupt doesn't mean we can comfortably pretend that no one threw mud at this anti-drug hero back then!"

Looking at the old man wrapped up like a mummy on the hospital bed, Zhou Zhengming suddenly realized that this old fox wasn't entirely acting at the moment.

When Qi Tongwei was mentioned, the grief and anger in his eyes were genuine.

Gao Yuliang took a deep breath to calm himself down, then pointed with his chin to the bowl of porridge on the table: "Team Leader Zhou, I'll give you another clue for free."

"I'm all ears."

"When investigating the Liang family, don't start with economic corruption. That old fox Liang Qunfeng is careful with his reputation; he might not have any serious financial issues." Gao Yuliang raised his eyelids, his gaze intense. "Check their personnel files!"

Zhou Zhengming's brow twitched suddenly.

"Team Leader Zhou, go through those yellowed file folders. Those signatures and official seals on those papers are a thousand times dirtier than the banknotes in Zhao Dehan's villa refrigerator!"

Zhou Zhengming stood up abruptly, packed the materials back into his briefcase, and said swiftly and decisively, "I will deliver Secretary Gao's suggestion to Team Leader Qin exactly as it is."

As Zhou Zhengming reached the ward door, he stopped, turned back to look at Gao Yuliang, and gave him a half-smile:

"Gao Yuliang, the information you're providing is getting increasingly inflammatory, and the fire is getting bigger and bigger. Aren't you afraid that this fire will eventually get out of control and burn you to ashes too?"

"Team Leader Zhou, the fire has already reached my bedside. If I don't pour gasoline on them now, am I supposed to just lie here quietly and wait to be roasted into a crispy suckling pig?"

Zhou Zhengming chuckled, a rare occurrence for him: "You old comrade, you have too many worries on your mind. You're really not suited to lying in a hospital bed."

"I think so too." Gao Yuliang sighed helplessly, glancing at his stiff body.

"The main problem is that this cast is really affecting my performance."