Chapter 1208 - 1205: Investigation
If he wanted Xie Tianyi to tell the truth, Zhang Wenhui had plenty of ways. With his current skills, he could easily force Xie Tianyi to confess, but he didn't want to do that.
Alcohol is a great thing. Once you get someone drunk, you can ask them anything you want.
It seemed the only way to get Xie Tianyi to speak the truth was to get him drunk. It might even yield unexpected results.
Zhang Wenhui thought about this and said to Xie Tianyi, "Brother Xie, I'm very happy to meet a friend like you today. Let's drink to our hearts' content. Waiter, bring two bottles of Moutai."
In no time, the waiter brought in two bottles of Moutai. Zhang Wenhui opened the cap, poured a full cup for Xie Tianyi, and then filled one for himself. Holding up his cup, he said, "Brother Xie, I'll finish mine first."
Xie Tianyi, who already wanted to connect with Zhang Wenhui, raised his cup readily and downed it in one go.
Song Xiaojia, who was watching on the side, understood Zhang Wenhui's intentions. As soon as Xie Tianyi finished, she poured him another full cup, poured one for herself as well, and flashed a charming smile, saying, "Young Master Xie, I toast you too."
After speaking, she boldly finished her cup of alcohol.
Xie Tianyi chuckled and said, "How could I refuse a toast from such a beautiful lady as Miss Song?"
With that, he tilted his head back and drained his cup.
Yin Soul, now inside Zheng Hongbing's body, controlling his thoughts, picked up his own cup and toasted Xie Tianyi with a large drink. Three large cups amounted to half a bottle of Moutai, yet Xie Tianyi seemed unaffected.
This guy's alcohol tolerance was surprisingly good, thought Zhang Wenhui inwardly. However, both Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia were practitioners. Even if they drank a pound or two of alcohol, they would expel the alcohol from their bodies using inner Qi, so there was no such thing as getting drunk for them.
Under the continuous toasts from Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia, along with Yin Soul controlling Zheng Hongbing to join in, it wasn't long before the two bottles of Moutai were emptied.
More than half of these two bottles had gone down Xie Tianyi's throat.
Seeing this guy still showing no reaction, Zhang Wenhui couldn't help but admire his drinking capability. He immediately ordered two more bottles of Moutai for a new round of bombardment on Xie Tianyi.
This time, no matter how great Xie Tianyi's tolerance was, he couldn't withstand; his state of drunkenness was now nine-tenths apparent.
Now was the time. Zhang Wenhui, pretending to be heavily drunk, put his arm around Xie Tianyi's shoulder and said, "Brother Xie, it's my good fortune to have you as a friend."
Xie Tianyi laughed and said, "Brother Zhang, I... I will rely on you from now on."
Zhang Wenhui laughed, "Brother Xie, no worries. As long as there's a path for me, Zhang Wenhui, to eat, there's a way for you too. By the way, brother, you mentioned earlier that Secretary Tang Yumeng won't last long as the City Committee Secretary. What's that about?"
Clearly intoxicated at this point, Xie Tianyi no longer cared about his words having consequences, and said, "Brother Zhang, I'll tell you, there's no chance for Tang Yumeng as the City Committee Secretary, no chance. I used some methods to ensure she'll never recover in this lifetime."
At this point, Song Xiaojia quietly took out her phone, turned on the video, and recorded everything Xie Tianyi was saying and doing.
Zhang Wenhui guided Xie Tianyi's conversation, saying, "Little brother, can you tell your brother what methods you used?"
Xie Tianyi then candidly revealed the entire plot he and Chen Mingguo had hatched to frame Tang Yumeng, leaving Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia increasingly shocked as they listened.
Xie Tianyi and Chen Mingguo's plan was incredibly malicious. If he hadn't had any suspicions today, Tang Yumeng might really have been falsely accused with no chance of recovery.
As the saying goes, the net of heaven is vast and sparse, but nothing escapes it. This serendipitous encounter by Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia saved Tang Yumeng.
After listening to everything Xie Tianyi said, Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia left behind Xie Tianyi and Zheng Hongbing, who were both dead drunk, retrieved Yin Soul, and headed back to the city bureau after leaving Fuqing Building.
By this time, it was already past eleven o'clock at night. Zhang Wenhui immediately called Director Hu, saying he had something very important to discuss.
Director Hu had already gone to bed by then. Upon receiving Zhang Wenhui's call, he got up out of bed and arrived at the bureau in less than half an hour.
Once at the bureau, Director Hu immediately asked Zhang Wenhui to come to his office.
Song Xiaojia didn't follow this time. She sent the recorded video to Zhang Wenhui's phone and then went back home.
Director Hu's Office.
As soon as Zhang Wenhui entered, he showed the video to Director Hu. Watching the video, Director Hu's expression grew increasingly grave. After watching it, he looked at Zhang Wenhui and said, "Old Zhang, tell me the truth, who else has seen this video?"
Zhang Wenhui said, "Director Hu, this video was taken by Song Xiaojia, and only she has seen it."
Director Hu said, "Good, now tell me in detail what's going on here?"
Zhang Wenhui didn't want Director Hu to know about his own trip to the Emperor Nightclub to capture the Yin Soul. He lied, saying, "Director Hu, today we received a tip-off that there's gambling happening at the Emperor Nightclub. Xiao Jia and I went to investigate, and unexpectedly, I saw Xie Tianyi with Chen Mingguo together."
Then, Zhang Wenhui recounted everything that happened afterward to Director Hu.
After listening, Director Hu looked at Zhang Wenhui with a serious expression and said, "Old Zhang, this matter is highly significant. We need to see Secretary Tang first thing tomorrow morning."
Zhang Wenhui agreed, nodding, "Alright."
That night, Director Hu didn't go home. He stayed with Zhang Wenhui in the office until dawn. The matter was too grave, troubling Director Hu deeply.
The next morning, before work hours began, Director Hu and Zhang Wenhui arrived at the City Committee, but they didn't see Tang Yumeng after waiting for a while.
Director Hu asked Tang Yumeng's secretary about what happened at the committee meeting the previous day, and quickly left with Zhang Wenhui to Tang Yumeng's house.
Tang Yumeng rarely had such leisure time to sleep in. She hadn't gotten up yet. Hearing the knock on the door, she hurriedly got up, tidied herself, and opened it.
Seeing Director Hu and Zhang Wenhui, Tang Yumeng was a bit surprised. After inviting them inside, she sat down on the sofa and asked Director Hu what had happened.
Director Hu showed the video that Song Xiaojia had recorded to Tang Yumeng. The more she watched, the angrier she became. She couldn't believe that Chen Mingguo and Xie Tianyi were behind this.
The matter was serious. To clear her name, Tang Yumeng decided to go to the Provincial Committee to find Secretary Liu immediately.
Fearing that something might happen to Tang Yumeng on the way, Director Hu had Zhang Wenhui accompany her to the Provincial Committee, both for her safety and as a witness to explain the incident to the provincial leaders.
After nearly three hours of bumpy travel, at eleven thirty in the morning, Tang Yumeng and Zhang Wenhui arrived at the Provincial Committee building.
During the journey, Tang Yumeng had already informed Secretary Liu of her urgent report but hadn't mentioned the setup by Xie Tianyi and Chen Mingguo.
Entering Secretary Liu's office, Tang Yumeng composed herself, then showed him the video and had Zhang Wenhui recount the entire incident in front of him.
As Secretary Liu listened, he felt increasingly alarmed. That Chen Mingguo was truly audacious to have done such a thing.
Secretary Liu was the Provincial Committee's Discipline Inspection Secretary. This matter needed to be reported to Secretary Song, the top leader. He immediately led the two to Song Jianguo's office.
Upon watching the video, Song Jianguo was furious and ordered Secretary Liu to personally lead a team to Jiangbei City to thoroughly investigate the matter of Chen Mingguo and Xie Tianyi framing Tang Yumeng.
At this moment, Xie Tianyi and Zheng Hongbing were in a room at Fuqing Building, still asleep.
Last night, after Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia obtained the video, they left Fuqing Building without even settling the bill. The meal cost nearly eighty thousand yuan, and naturally, Fuqing Building's staff couldn't let them leave without paying.
Xie Tianyi finally woke up with a severe headache, having drunk too much last night. Shaking his head, he glanced at Zheng Hongbing, who was sleeping beside him, and kicked him.
Zheng Hongbing was kicked off the bed by Xie Tianyi, hitting the ground and waking from the pain. Initially about to curse, he immediately closed his mouth upon seeing Xie Tianyi.
"Damn it, where are we, and why are we here?" Xie Tianyi asked Zheng Hongbing.
Zheng Hongbing looked around the unfamiliar place and shook his head, saying, "I'm not sure either."
Xie Tianyi angrily said, "If you don't know, go out and ask."
Zheng Hongbing responded, got up to open the door, and found it locked from the outside. He shouted, "Open the door."
After a moment, they heard footsteps outside, followed by the door opening, and two fierce-looking big men entered, cursing at them, "What the hell are you shouting for?"
Zheng Hongbing, not one to be trifled with, cursed back at the two big men, "Who the hell are you, daring to lock us in here? Do you want us to come back with people and trash you today?"
The two big men, infuriated, rushed over and started beating Xie Tianyi and Zheng Hongbing without any hesitation.
Xie Tianyi and Zheng Hongbing were no match for the two big men and ended up with bruised faces, constantly pleading for mercy.
Only then did the two big men stop. Xie Tianyi asked why they were locked in here.
One of the big men recounted last night's events and told them to settle the bill quickly. Xie Tianyi was dumbfounded upon hearing this, feeling an impending sense of doom, and hastily instructed Zheng Hongbing to settle the bill. After getting out, they didn't even bother going to the hospital, pulling out a phone to call Chen Mingguo.