Chapter 1209 - 1206: Remedial Measures
Chen Mingguo received a call from Xie Tianyi and was somewhat panicked. He asked Xie Tianyi to immediately go to a hotel room and wait for him.
Half an hour later, Chen Mingguo rushed over and, seeing Xie Tianyi's disheveled state, his heart was a mix of anger and amusement.
Under Chen Mingguo's questioning, Xie Tianyi tried hard to recall last night's events, sharing all the details he could think of with Chen Mingguo.
The name Zhang Wenhui sounded a bit familiar; Song Xiaojia hadn't heard of it. Chen Mingguo thought carefully for a moment and then made a phone call.
After finishing the call, the expression on Chen Mingguo's face changed. He had just asked someone and confirmed that Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia were detectives from the city bureau's criminal investigation team.
When Xie Tianyi heard that Zhang Wenhui and Song Xiaojia were both police officers, his expression was dazed, and he collapsed onto a chair.
"Damn, I'll find someone to take them both out," Xie Tianyi said, suddenly standing up, his eyes fierce, facing Chen Mingguo.
Chen Mingguo scolded, "It's too late now; they must have already told Tang Yumeng about this."
Xie Tianyi was somewhat at a loss, looking at Chen Mingguo and said, "What should we do then? If this gets out, both of us are finished."
Chen Mingguo knew better than anyone the seriousness of framing a City Committee secretary. At this moment, he deeply regretted getting involved with Xie Tianyi and believing him.
Regret aside, the most urgent thing now was to think of a way to remedy the situation. After pondering for a while, Chen Mingguo said to Xie Tianyi, "Now let's just hope you didn't speak out yesterday. If you did let something slip while intoxicated, we can only hope they didn't record your words."
Xie Tianyi was so drunk yesterday that he didn't know anything, even unsure if he spoke or not. He looked steadily at Chen Mingguo and said, "Whether I said it or not, you need to quickly think of a solution."
Chen Mingguo pondered and said, "As long as they didn't record it, I have a solution. You need to quickly find Zheng Hongbing, and the two of you must immediately leave Jiangbei City. Don't let the police find you."
Xie Tianyi hurriedly pulled out his phone, called Zheng Hongbing, and told him to pack up and leave Jiangbei City with him.
By this time, it was already too late. After Tang Yumeng reported to Secretary Song and Secretary Liu from the provincial committee, she immediately thought that Xie Tianyi would take remedial measures once he woke up, and instructed Director Hu to monitor Emperor Nightclub thoroughly.
When Xie Tianyi called Zheng Hongbing, Zheng Hongbing was at Emperor Nightclub, which Director Hu had already put under surveillance.
When Zheng Hongbing received Xie Tianyi's call, although he didn't know what had happened, his intuition told him he was in big trouble this time.
After packing up quickly, Zheng Hongbing took all the cash from the safe, put it in a suitcase, and left Emperor Nightclub without greeting anyone.
As soon as Zheng Hongbing left Emperor Nightclub, the police assigned by Director Hu to monitor him immediately focused on him.
The surveillance officers immediately reported this news to Director Hu, who then quickly informed Tang Yumeng.
At the time, Tang Yumeng was on her way back to Jiangbei City when she received Director Hu's call. She instructed him not to alert the enemy, but to keep a close watch on Zheng Hongbing and to find Xie Tianyi.
After leaving Emperor Nightclub, Zheng Hongbing drove toward the airport, with the surveillance officers closely following behind.
At the airport, Zheng Hongbing parked his car, walked into the waiting hall, and after looking around for a while, saw Xie Tianyi, eagerly waving at him.
Xie Tianyi saw Zheng Hongbing the moment he entered the waiting hall, but his vigilance was high, and he immediately noticed several surveillance officers following Zheng Hongbing.
Realizing the situation, Xie Tianyi knew everything was exposed. Ignoring Zheng Hongbing's greetings, he turned and ran.
When Zheng Hongbing saw Xie Tianyi turn and run upon seeing him, he knew he was being watched too, and without hesitation, he turned in another direction and fled.
The surveillance police, seeing Zheng Hongbing attempting to escape, decided not to report first and to apprehend him right away.
As Zheng Hongbing entered the waiting hall and waved at Xie Tianyi, the police spotted him and immediately split into two groups: one to catch Zheng Hongbing and the other to arrest Xie Tianyi.
The arrest operation went very smoothly. When Xie Tianyi was caught, he continued to shout that he was innocent and mentioned knowing certain people.
The surveillance police didn't buy his claims and directly escorted both of them to the Jiangbei City Public Security Bureau.
Tang Yumeng announced that before she clears up the issues, she will not preside over the work of the Jiangbei City Committee, and temporarily, the work will be handled by Chen Mingguo.
After meeting with Xie Tianyi, Chen Mingguo returned to the City Committee to attend a meeting.
The theme of this meeting happened to be a discussion on the self-cultivation qualities of officials. During the meeting, Chen Mingguo was giving a speech: "As a cadre, we must first pay attention to our own cultivation. First, we must not do things that are detrimental to the country and the people. Second, we must focus on the overall situation, maintain unity, and avoid deceit, factionalism, and..."
Just as Chen Mingguo was halfway through his speech, Tang Yumeng, Zhang Wenhui, and Secretary Liu from the Provincial Committee arrived at the Jiangbei City Committee.
Before this, Tang Yumeng had already received a call from Director Hu, who told her that Xie Tianyi and Zheng Hongbing were preparing to flee and had been arrested.
The attempted escape of Xie Tianyi and Zheng Hongbing explained everything. Tang Yumeng told Secretary Liu about it, and after hearing it, Secretary Liu furrowed his brows and said, "Xiao Tang, go find Chen Mingguo immediately. I'll wait for him in your office."
Tang Yumeng nodded, glanced at Zhang Wenhui, and said, "Zhang, come with me."
Zhang Wenhui didn't say anything and followed Tang Yumeng directly to the conference room where Chen Mingguo was holding the meeting.
At the door of the conference room, Tang Yumeng paused, took a deep breath, then pushed open the door and walked in, with Zhang Wenhui closely following.
Chen Mingguo was in the middle of his speech when he suddenly saw Tang Yumeng come in, and he couldn't help but stop and look at her.
In the conference room, everyone's eyes collectively turned to Tang Yumeng. Among those attending the meeting were several standing committee members who had witnessed Tang Yumeng's confrontation with Chen Mingguo the other day. Seeing Tang Yumeng come in suddenly made them feel that a major incident was about to happen.
Tang Yumeng entered the conference room, her fair face showing an air of authority, looking at Chen Mingguo.
Chen Mingguo felt uncomfortable under Tang Yumeng's gaze, knowing he had done something wrong, which made him feel guilty. However, he still tried to appear calm and looked at Tang Yumeng, saying, "Secretary Tang, you're here."
Tang Yumeng's face remained calm as she said to Chen Mingguo, "Mayor Chen, Secretary Liu from the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission asked me to inform you that he is waiting for you in my office."
At this moment, upon hearing this, Chen Mingguo realized that his conspiracy with Xie Tianyi to frame Tang Yumeng had been exposed. His heart filled with panic while he forced himself to stand up, putting on a smile and saying, "Secretary Liu from the Provincial Committee is here; how come there was no notification in advance? I'll go now."
After all, Chen Mingguo was the mayor of a city and couldn't lose face in front of his subordinates. Although his legs felt weak, he maintained a composed demeanor, smiling at a nearby leader, and said, "Secretary Feng, please preside over the meeting; I'll go see Secretary Liu."
After speaking, he slowly walked down from the podium and followed Tang Yumeng to her office.
Zhang Wenhui's rank was somewhat insufficient to go in together, and since Tang Yumeng didn't ask him to leave, he stood waiting outside the office door.
Upon entering Tang Yumeng's office, Chen Mingguo saw Secretary Liu glaring at him angrily. He knew what was going on but still feigned innocence, looking at Secretary Liu and saying, "Secretary Liu, why didn't you inform us of your visit to Jiangbei City in advance..."
Before Chen Mingguo could finish speaking, Secretary Liu stood up angrily, sternly addressing Chen Mingguo, "Chen Mingguo, don't you know what you've done?"
Chen Mingguo still appeared composed, glanced at Tang Yumeng, then looked at Secretary Liu and said, "Secretary Liu, what do you mean by this? I haven't done anything."
At this point, Chen Mingguo was still arguing, which made Secretary Liu even more furious. He said, "Chen Mingguo, I wouldn't come from the provincial capital to Jiangbei City without a reason. I hope you can voluntarily confess your issues."
Chen Mingguo maintained an innocent look and said, "Secretary Liu, could you be more explicit? What exactly is my issue?"
Refusing to believe until faced with undeniable evidence, Secretary Liu took a phone out of his pocket, opened a video, and tossed it in front of Chen Mingguo, saying, "See for yourself."
Holding the phone, after watching the video, cold sweat broke out on Chen Mingguo's face. Yet he still harbored a lucky hope: as long as Xie Tianyi and Zheng Hongbing were not found, he could deny everything.
"Secretary Liu, this is slander," Chen Mingguo said with an expression of anger towards Secretary Liu.
Even at this moment, Chen Mingguo remained obstinate, and Secretary Liu sneered, saying, "Chen Mingguo, the facts are right in front of you, and you still refuse to admit it."
Chen Mingguo gritted his teeth and said, "Secretary Liu, if you accuse me of framing Secretary Tang based only on this video, I won't accept it."
Secretary Liu said, "Chen Mingguo, the two people speaking in this video have now been taken into custody by the police and are at the Jiangbei City Public Security Bureau. Do you want to confront them?"