Chapter 233: with translation of chapter title

The happy time of vacation quickly came to an end.

August 17.

Jian Sining reported to Lin Dongfan the trial results of the Place Municipal Intermediate People's Court.

The 9·28 forest fire case and the dried-well corpse concealment case of Courtyard No. 37, Jing Erhuan, were tried together; the final verdict was roughly as expected.

Xiao Yunze was sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple crimes and had his political rights revoked for life.

Xiao Yunze's mistress, Ye Dan, a senior executive of Jianglan Bank, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for murder and had her political rights revoked for life.

Xiao Yunze's mistress, Ding Yuxia, director of the Changming District Education Bureau (former wife of Shang Keqing), was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption and bribery.

Xiao Yunze's secretary, Bai Wentao, was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Former director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Cheng Dao, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Yin Qiuhong, who has been on the run, and Dai Fengnian, who remains comatose in the hospital, are being handled as separate cases; no verdict has been announced yet.

Outside the system:

Chairman Wang Minjuan of Hengsha Group was acquitted and released.

An elderly man who turned himself in midway, admitting to the 'arson of the mountain'—Yang Zaisheng—was sentenced to life imprisonment, but due to his age of 90, Nanzhou Prison refused to take him in.

Anyone who sees these two pieces of verdict information will be shocked.

It must be said, Gao Peng still has some influence in Jianglan; he said he would protect Wang Minjuan and he did. However, Wang Minjuan's acquittal also has to do with Xiao Yunze, who did not throw her under the bus.

The conclusion of the 9·28 forest fire case does not mean that matters in Nanzhou are over.

Quite the opposite, this is merely a starting point.

The 'Song Wenwei suicide due to fear of crime' case in Jingcheng is progressing rapidly.

With the confessions of Kang Shaoxiong, Jia Yuzhang, Shen Bing, and Wang Dingzhu, the implicated deputy director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Zheng Shouzong, was arrested in the afternoon of August 16.

What awaits them is a stern trial.

Lin Dongfan repeatedly examined the dossier submitted by Peng Tianhua; the core issue of the Song Wenwei suicide due to fear of crime case stems from the corruption of the Hai Mining Group.

And the beneficiaries of the Hai Mining Group's corruption point to the Jianglan Tianxing Group (the Gao family group).

Next, we need to go to Jianglan to arrest Gao Lu.

This also means that we will need to confront Gao Peng head-on; in other words, Gao Peng is the biggest tumor in Nanzhou City, Jianglan Province.

Morning of the 19th.

After Chief Li Mingtang attended the special discussion meeting of the Supreme Procuratorate, he, feeling heavy-hearted, summoned Lin Dongfan to his office.

Seeing Li Mingtang's furrowed brows, Lin Dongfan couldn't help but joke, 'Did the boss scold you?'

'Not quite; it's just that the pressure is a bit high.'

Li Mingtang is indeed facing an unprecedented pressure.

Now the Hai Mining Group corruption case has uncovered a lead, and everyone clearly sees that the Hai Mining Group transferred benefits to the Gao family group in Jianglan.

The key is that the Gao family group is taking a 'legal and compliant' route.

Even...

Behind the Gao family group also looms the terrifying Zou family group, a force that can rival the Lin Family! One misstep, and it's not just a simple total loss—it's annihilation!

Li Mingtang took a deep drag of his cigarette.

Helplessly, he asked, 'Uncle, have you ever discussed the Hai Mining corruption case with me?'

'We usually don't talk about work matters.'

They definitely talked about it in private, but Lin Dongfan wouldn't foolishly admit it. This investigation into the Hai Mining Group's corruption is the Anti-Corruption Bureau's affair; we can't drag his uncle into it.

Otherwise, people might mistakenly think his uncle is secretly directing the Bureau to conduct targeted anti-corruption.

This battle.

Whether we succeed or fail, this is the Anti-Corruption Bureau's matter, having nothing to do with his uncle, and under no circumstances should we give people a handle.

Lin Dongfan pulled out a chair, sat opposite Li Mingtang, and asked with a smile, 'Since your uncle isn't speaking, are you lacking confidence?'

'Nonsense, do you think Gao Peng is Jia Yuzhang?'

What Li Mingtang truly fears is not Gao Peng, but Zou Yugang behind Gao Peng; he simply dare not utter that name.

Everyone understands this tacitly.

Lin Dongfan smiled and asked, 'Just now, what did the Supreme Procuratorate leaders say in the meeting?'

'A bunch of vague nonsense.' Li Mingtang frowned: 'The state assets have suffered huge losses; if we don't investigate the Gao family group, we can't account for this. If we dig deeper, there's no one to back us up—it's like catching a blade with bare hands. As the chief of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, whether we investigate or not, I'll take the blame; now you know why I want to resign?'

'I think you're just overthinking.'

'I understand.'

'Understand what?'

'Understand that you want me to let go of my worries.'

Li Mingtang relaxed his furrowed brows and finally showed a hint of a relaxed smile.

He thought, 'It's normal that you, kid, don't admit that Lin Zhenhua gave instructions; after all, you're also someone who understands hints. Saying I overthink isn't that just saying someone will back us up, so we should investigate if needed?'

Li Mingtang took a slow drag of his cigarette and then smiled, 'I've decided—I support your thorough investigation to the end. You will be the head of the special task force, go to Jianglan to thoroughly investigate the Gao family group. Choose whoever you want to bring.'

'You're not going?' Lin Dongfan was somewhat surprised.

Li Mingtang replied confidently, 'This kind of great opportunity to achieve merit should be given to you young people. I'm old; I don't deserve to achieve merit.'

'Are you over fifty? How dare you call yourself old.' Lin Dongfan laughed and scolded, 'You're even more shameless than I am.'

Li Mingtang, cigarette in hand, replied, 'Don't flatter me like this; I learned all this from you. You're the genuine Fan Ye. In terms of shamelessness, compared to you I'm just a junior. Before you came to the Bureau, I was a truly upstanding progressive—honestly, I used to have no idea what nonsense means.'

'I can't see anything proper about you.'

'How am I not proper? I used to never put my legs up on the desk.'

Saying this, Li Mingtang put his legs up on the desk, sitting however comfortably, his whole body exuding a laid-back, slack vibe.

A middle-aged man who only thinks about quitting his job to trade stocks and get rich is really terrifying!

Even a personal image can be dispensed with.

Lin Dongfan flicked ash: "Alright, since you want to keep your distance, I'll go to Jianglan. No need for many people—just Old Peng will do."

"One section chief, one deputy section chief—no need for errand runners?" Li Mingtang was a bit surprised.

Lin Dongfan said: "Go to the Jianglan Anti-Corruption Bureau and transfer a few people to cooperate with them."

"As you wish, you're the team leader, you decide."

The clear-sighted Li Mingtang instantly saw that Lin Dongfan had ulterior motives—going to the Jianglan Provincial Anti-Corruption Bureau to transfer investigators was clearly to support those old teammates. It's not exactly a bad thing; not using people from the capital can prevent capital forces from infiltrating.

Li Mingtang joked again: "Those few good-for-nothings in Jianglan, knowing you is like their ancestors' graves smoking green smoke."

"Do you know who I want to use?" Lin Dongfan wondered.

Li Mingtang commented without hesitation: "Jian Si Ning, your junior sister, lacks a bit of experience. Tang Xia, a ridiculous youth. Zhang Xiao Guang, that guy is relatively steady but lacks decisiveness."

Awesome!

Lin Dongfan gave a thumbs up.

He sincerely praised: "Damn awesome, being in the capital, you can even figure out Jianglan's little ants inside out; then you must know Jianglan's big tigers even better."

"This bureau chief's chair was earned through sheer ability," Li Mingtang said. "But you're not bad either—half a year in the capital, you've done several things that impress me."

"For example?" Lin Dongfan asked with a smile.

Li Mingtang casually gave an example: "For instance, treat the captured Zhuzi as a big gift of personal connections and send it to Jin Zhao Feng of the Ximen Branch Bureau. That incident marks you as a qualified adult. It's a good thing; if you had no ulterior motives at all, I really wouldn't feel assured letting you go to Jianglan to shoulder the burden alone."