Then let them offer their loyalty!

Both of these vice ministers were close confidants of Yan Chen and Lai Shun. After Qiu Tu became minister, they had been working quietly in their own little spheres, except when Qiu Tu summoned them.

Basically, they're adopting an attitude of neither doing anything right nor cooperating.

But now that Lai Shun and Yan Chen have gotten into trouble, the two of them immediately changed their tune and took the initiative to come over to Qiu Tu to curry favor.

Qiu Tu didn't try to kick the two of them out.

After all... he had no personal grudges against either of them, and both were quite capable. With them around, the political department could operate more smoothly.

As a great man once said: Make more friends and fewer enemies.

Qiu Tu is willing to develop relationships with subordinates who are from different factions but have no inherent conflicts and are quite capable.

Therefore, he also poured a cup of tea for the two of them, which can be regarded as a sign of "cooperation".

When Qiu Tu saw the two off, he also checked their loyalty.

Zhang Jian: 31, Cai Peiyuan: 34.

These are all within the normal range for normal subordinates. As long as Qiu Tu's orders are compliant and reasonable, they will carry them out diligently.

Qiu Tu felt that was enough..

And just like that, the morning passed in the blink of an eye.

Soon it was noon.

At 11 a.m., Qiu Tu received a call from Director Zhao, who said that people from the prefecture had come and invited Qiu Tu to a meeting in the high-rise conference room on the 12th floor.

Having already prepared himself mentally, Qiu Tu quickly straightened his clothes and then led Tan Huimin up to the 12th floor.

At this time, the 12th floor was completely under lockdown, with two rows of guards standing on both sides of the elevator.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu and Tan Huimin go upstairs, one of the cold-faced young men in plain clothes lingered on Qiu Tu for a moment before saluting and stepping aside.

Qiu Tu's gaze lingered on the cold-faced young man for a moment, then he nodded and led Tan Huimin to the high-level conference room.

As soon as Qiu Tu arrived at the conference room door, he heard Liu Xiong Yuan, the old man, shouting and cursing!

"You fucking farted!"

"You're like a pig with a scallion stuck in its snout, trying to act all high and mighty! The deputy director died in your motorcade, and you just dismiss it all with a damn 'accident'?"

"Let me tell you! It's only because Speaker Huang specifically called me to calm down, otherwise I would have shot you dead!"

Upon hearing that vulgar national essence, Qiu Tu remained unfazed, his expression unchanged.

Tan Huimin's eyes widened in surprise, and she kept turning to look at Qiu Tu. She seemed to want to ask Qiu Tu if she had misheard. Was this some big shot from the prefecture who didn't give Yan Chen any face at all, directly pointing his finger at her and cursing her?

Qiu Tu shook his head slightly at her, indicating that he would explain to her when they got back. He then stood at the door and listened for a while without going in to disturb her.

It wasn't until Liu Xiongyuan had been cursing Yan Chen for twenty or thirty seconds and finally started drinking water to soothe his throat that Qiu Tu secretly chuckled and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door to the high-level conference room was opened from the inside.

A familiar face appeared in front of Qiu Tu.

She wore light makeup, her eyes were full of affection, and the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, exuding charm with every glance.

It was none other than... Liu Fuping.

Today, Liu Fuping was wearing a judge's uniform. The somewhat oversized uniform concealed her alluring figure.

But this did not diminish her charm; on the contrary, it made people even more eager to explore the unknown secrets and allure hidden beneath every inch of her fabric...

Upon seeing Qiu Tu, Liu Fuping's eyes lit up slightly. She instinctively brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek and said softly, "Old leader, long time no see~"

Those alluring eyes and the faint smile playing on her lips instantly transported Qiu Tu back to all sorts of embarrassing scenes they had shared in the office, the bedroom, and the car.

Back then, Liu Fuping was quite the little glutton; her every bite was incredibly satisfying for Qiu Tu...

Although a beautiful scene appeared in his mind, Qiu Tu did not show it on his face. He smiled and nodded, then said, "Judge Liu, it's been a long time."

Having likely overheard the conversation at the door, Liu Xiongyuan inside also shouted in his hoarse voice, "Qiu Tu! Is Qiu Tu here?!"

"Come in! Let's talk!"

Upon hearing Old Man Liu's voice, Qiu Tu responded, then turned to Tan Huimin and gave her a few instructions, telling her to wait outside before following Liu Fuping into the high-level conference room.

The high-level conference room was now full of people. Several high-ranking officials who hadn't died or been arrested were among them.

The delegation included Director Yan Chen, Deputy Directors Tang Feifei and Yu Zhengyi, Special Operations Department Director Lin Ting, Personnel Department Director Shi Youxin, and Public Security Department Director Guan Weihua.

Of the original nine top executives, only six remain, a truly tragic situation.

And all of this is inextricably linked to Qiu Tu...

This made the way the top executives looked at Qiu Tu incredibly complicated.

But Liu Xiongyuan came here to support Qiu Tu, so upon seeing Qiu Tu, Liu Xiongyuan showed a smile for the first time since arriving at the New Territories City Investigation Department.

The dark-skinned old man waved to Qiu Tu and then said with a smile, "Qiu Tu, you did a great job this time."

"The coalition went too far this time, actually assassinating the deputy director in the street, and they even succeeded."

"Fortunately, you captured the Joint Special Forces team immediately afterward."

"Otherwise, the state will be criticized by the shelter for this."

As soon as Qiu Tu entered the meeting room, Liu Xiongyuan set the tone for the Political Department's work: meritorious.

This effectively absolves Qiu Tu of responsibility in this matter.

After all, the Political Department is responsible for intelligence work, and the attack on the director is partly due to the Political Department's failure to perform its duties properly.

The high-ranking officials present were all shrewd individuals, so they looked at Qiu Tu with complicated expressions once again.

However, this does not include Yama.

This soon-to-be-retired local tyrant of the New Territories sat in his seat, eyes downcast, like a Buddha who had passed away.

Qiu Tu took in the attitudes of the senior executives present.

If he wasn't mistaken, Liu Xiongyuan's visit this time likely had two purposes.

First, we need to hold people accountable for Lai Shun's death.

Second, the transfer and appointment of Yan Chen were announced.

Moreover, given the old grudge between Liu Xiongyuan and Yan Chen, he was definitely using this as an excuse to hurl insults at the New Territories City's high-ranking officials.

That's why the atmosphere at the scene was so tense.

However... this has nothing to do with Qiu Tu. After all, he's a close confidant of Liu Xiong Yuan. Liu Xiong Yuan would never criticize him, no matter who he criticizes.

Besides... wasn't Liu Xiong Yuan planning to use this as an excuse to make trouble? Then I can just provide him with some firepower...

Regardless of whether it will work or not, let's stir up the water first.

Isn't Yan Chen now in a Buddhist-like state, no longer caring about the mess left by the New Territories City Investigation Department?

Then I'll drag him down! Let him wander around this mess for a bit!

Thinking this, Qiu Tu's gaze lingered on Yu Zhengyi for a moment, then he smiled and said to Liu Xiong Yuan,

"Thank you for the compliment, Speaker. Arresting spies and dealing with anti-government armed groups like the Alliance is simply the job of our Political Department."

"Moreover... the death of Deputy Director Lai has caused immense grief to everyone in our Political Department."

After finishing his sentence, Qiu Tu paused, then said with some regret, "If we had explained things more clearly when we reported back then, and handled things more carefully, perhaps this tragedy wouldn't have happened."

The old fox Liu Xiongyuan keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Qiu Tu's words, so he said "Oh?", glanced at Yan Chen, and then asked, "What does Minister Qiu mean by that?"

"What I mean by 'listening to you' is... that there's more to the story than meets the eye regarding Deputy Director Lai's death?"

Upon hearing Liu Xiong Yuan's words, Qiu Tu feigned ignorance and looked at the others in the conference room before saying, "Speaker, this matter... no one has reported it to you?"

He said with a surprised look, "I have already reported to Director Yan that his convoy was going to be attacked."

“I thought Director Yan would definitely change his route or itinerary. But to my surprise, he didn’t. Instead, he sent Director Lai to the meeting in his place.”

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Yan Chen, who had been keeping his eyelids drooping and remaining unmoved, suddenly opened his eyes!

He slowly raised his head to look at Qiu Tu, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent!

He clearly hadn't expected that even though he was prepared to back down and leave the New Territories, Qiu Tu still wasn't going to let him go! Instead, he was trying to drag him down with him!

They still resorted to such dirty framing tactics!

What he didn't notice was that Yu Zhengyi, standing beside him, upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, slowly closed his eyes, gently clenched his fists, and took a deep breath...

Clearly, Yu Zhengyi hadn't expected Qiu Tu to dare to expose this matter.

'Isn't he afraid that Yan Chen will fight to the death...?'

The atmosphere in the conference room became incredibly tense after Qiu Tu's words. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop...

Upon seeing this scene, Liu Xiongyuan glanced at Yan Chen, who looked like she had just lost her mother, and then at Qiu Tu, a smile suddenly appearing on his face.

He coughed, composed himself, and then glared at Yan Chen with his fierce eyes, asking, "Director Yan, is what Minister Qiu said true?"

"Did you know beforehand that the Allied Forces would attack your convoy?"

Upon hearing Liu Xiongyuan's question, even Yan Chen, who was usually very composed, felt his chest heave rapidly with anger.

He didn't look at Liu Xiong Yuan, but instead stared coldly at Qiu Tu, and slowly said, "Vice Speaker Liu... I think some things shouldn't be based solely on the opinions of a few individuals."

"Things require evidence..."

-------

Two chapters, 10,000 words each! Last day, please vote with monthly tickets!

Chapter 332 The Death of Secretary Bai (10,000 words, please vote!)

Although Liu Xiongyuan deeply resented Yan Chen for letting the murderer of his son go, as the vice speaker of Dongye Prefecture, he still had to handle official matters impartially.

Therefore, faced with Yan Chen's reasonable demands and arguments, he did not refute them, but instead slowly looked at Qiu Tu.

His dark face was like an old pine tree sculpted by time, with deep and hard wrinkles, each one seemingly recording past hardships and struggles.

"Minister Qiu, what do you have to say?"

Qiu Tu was not surprised to hear Liu Xiongyuan's words.

He looked intently at Liu Xiongyuan and said confidently, "Chairman Liu, of course I have evidence."

"If there is no evidence, wouldn't this be a false accusation?"

Seeing Qiu Tu's confident expression, Liu Xiongyuan nodded slightly. Then he pointed to Qiu Tu's seat and said, "Then sit down and we'll talk slowly."

Qiu Tu responded and walked towards his seat.

After sitting down, Qiu Tu looked around at the senior executives present.

The behavior of the senior executives present was actually quite interesting.

Yan Chen's eyes were deep and dark, like two bottomless ancient wells, filled with anger and majesty.

This was a rare instance of him losing his composure.

Yu Zhengyi had his eyes closed, his hands clenched tightly under the table, as if he were having a fierce internal struggle.

Compared to the others, Lin Ting was less cunning. Plus, he was Yan Chen's devoted follower, so he looked at Qiu Tu with a worried expression, then at Yan Chen.

As for Guan Weihua and Shi Youxin, they were more composed.

Although they were from the same faction as Yan Chen, had worked with him, and had received his favor, they were not exactly his trusted confidants.

Therefore, even if Yan Chen gets into trouble, it won't affect them too seriously.

Even so, there was some unease on their faces.

After all, everyone knew that Lai Shun's death was a bombshell. It brought all the shady infighting and dirty dealings within the New Territories City Investigation Department into the open.

Adding to the fact that it coincided with the establishment of Dongye Prefecture, no one knew how the prefecture planned to handle the matter.

They originally planned to downplay the incident and make it disappear before the people in the state noticed, hoping to get it over with quickly.

But now it seems... Qiu Tu clearly doesn't want this matter to end so simply.

Then, everything will be out of control. Everyone will become incredibly dangerous.

Because nobody knows if the bomb will explode on them...

After surveying everyone's gaze, Qiu Tu turned his attention to Liu Xiong Yuan and slowly said, "Speaker, my evidence consists of the two reports I submitted."