Chapter 451: Another Major Case to Unearth?

Tang Ye stared at the text message sent by Xiao Hui, his fingertips hovering over the screen for a long time, before he finally turned the phone face down on the desktop.

Nine times out of ten, it was Shao Jinbo stirring up trouble in the shadows again.

This dog of a man popped up every few days to cause trouble; he had long since become accustomed to it and did not take the matter to heart.

In Tang Ye's view, those whistleblowing materials had zero credibility, and the Discipline Inspection Department likely wouldn't pay them any mind either.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Tang Ye unexpectedly received a call from Gu Wenqin.

"County Magistrate Tang, the Brand Department just discovered a large number of negative posts targeting you online. It looks like they hired internet trolls to spread rumors." Gu Wenqin's voice was laced with anxiety.

Tang Ye's heart tightened, and he frowned as he asked, "Do the posts also involve the rumors about you?"

"That is exactly the case, which is why we noticed it immediately. Don't worry, we will have all these posts deleted through official channels." Gu Wenqin's tone was firm.

He said in a low voice, "Thank you for the reminder. Actually, I had already heard wind of it, but I didn't expect the other party's methods to be so base."

"Have you offended someone?" Gu Wenqin asked with concern.

Tang Ye gave a helpless, bitter smile: "In this position, offending people is a common occurrence. I just don't know who is behind this this time... but don't worry, these baseless accusations cannot shake my foundation."

"I will have someone thoroughly investigate the person behind this; we absolutely cannot let such a person act so recklessly." Gu Wenqin's tone turned suddenly stern.

"Since it is a Hidden Plot, the other party must be hiding very deeply." Tang Ye's tone carried a hint of coldness, "But I will drag them out."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Wenqin looked at the unsightly content of the posts on the screen, anger surging in her eyes.

Her relationship with Tang Ye was purely one of cooperation; these filthy words were simply nonsense.

Perhaps she had once harbored vague feelings for Tang Ye, but ever since he married, Gu Wenqin had completely extinguished those thoughts.

She knew well that Tang Ye was a man with a firm goal and would never be held back by personal conduct issues.

Furthermore, Tang Ye had done her the favor of providing help in her time of need; how could she allow others to use mud-slinging tactics to tarnish his reputation?

Tang Ye felt secretly relieved when he hung up the phone.

Fortunately, Qin Ge was very familiar with internet operations, and the Brand Department was well-versed in the ways of public opinion management.

That was why they had detected the clues as soon as the storm began to brew.

One had to know that in 2007, internet regulation was lax; if the other party had really found a loophole and caused a massive uproar, it would inevitably have been a major headache.

Just as he was pondering this, the desk phone suddenly rang.

He quickly picked it up: "Sister Lin, is something the matter?"

"Come to my office immediately." Cheng Lin's tone carried a rare seriousness.

Listening to the sound from the other end of the line, Tang Ye's heart sank, and he walked quickly toward Cheng Lin's office. He saw Cheng Lin push a document toward him: "Both Secretary Han and I received this complaint material this morning. Anyone with a discerning eye can see it is forged, but these kinds of baseless matters are the easiest to breed negative influence. Have you offended anyone recently?"

Only then did Tang Ye suddenly realize that the reminder Xiao Hui sent last night was actually well-intentioned.

"I've made quite a few enemies since coming to Suiyuan; it's really hard to say who is playing dirty behind my back this time." Tang Ye sighed helplessly.

Cheng Lin frowned and cautioned: "Although the complaint material has no credibility and the Discipline Inspection Department will not intervene in an investigation, you must be wary that the other party may still be hiding other Hidden Plots."

"Sister, don't worry, I have it under control." Tang Ye replied in a low voice, a look of vigilance gathering in his eyes.

Returning to his office, Tang Ye rubbed his chin and pondered for a long time before finally dialing Xiao Hui's number.

After Xiao Hui answered the phone, her previously depressed mood was swept away: "Tang Ye, isn't it quite impolite of you not to reply to my messages?"

Tang Ye smiled faintly: "I've been quite busy lately; I kept wanting to reply to you, but I was always interrupted by other matters."

Xiao Hui exposed him: "Hmph, if I'm not mistaken, you should know why I reminded you, right?"

Tang Ye probed: "Could those whistleblowing letters have been submitted by Shao Jinbo?"

Xiao Hui said earnestly: "Indeed, someone wanted Shao Jinbo to submit a whistleblowing letter, but I tore that letter up. These people deliberately used Shao Jinbo as a pawn to make you suspect him. They must have submitted a large number of whistleblowing letters through other channels."

A grave look appeared in Tang Ye's eyes: "Who are these people?"

Xiao Hui could only provide what clues she could: "Shao Jinbo didn't reveal who it was. I checked his briefcase and found a disposable lighter with 'Hong Langman Club' printed on it."

"'Hong Langman Club'?" Tang Ye reacted instantly.

Shao Jinbo must have met the person behind the scenes there that day!

This kid was also thick-headed; it was one thing to play around outside, but how could he bring a lighter from the club home?

And the key was, he even let his own wife find it.

As for Xiao Hui's attitude, she seemed not to care about that at all!

"Xiao Hui, the clue you provided is crucial, thank you."

"You've helped me so many times, I still owe you a favor." Xiao Hui's voice suddenly turned warm, "Actually, I regret it quite a bit... I shouldn't have been so shortsighted back then, thinking that marrying Shao Jinbo would lead to the life I wanted, but it turned out to be just the beginning of a tragedy. If life could start over, I would definitely choose you, not him."

She mustered her courage to finish speaking her heartfelt words.

But she only heard a busy signal coming from the receiver.

She was stunned for a moment before realizing—Tang Ye had already hung up the phone.

Xiao Hui spoke this confession to the air, feeling both angry and stifled.

Tang Ye was truly unwilling to give her even a shred of opportunity or time.

Having found a key clue from Xiao Hui, Tang Ye immediately dialed Wan Ming's number and described the course of events.

Wan Ming pondered for a moment and said in a low voice: "Hong Langman Club? It's located in Chengzhong District. I have an old colleague stationed there; I'll ask him, and we'll be able to find out who Shao Jinbo met that day very quickly."

Hearing this, Tang Ye chuckled: "I'll have to trouble you."

Wan Ming waved his hand and smiled: "You're being too formal."

Within half an hour, Wan Ming called back with definitive news: "My colleague happened to have an informant planted at Hong Langman. According to the informant's report, the private room Shao Jinbo entered that day was booked by someone referred to as 'Young Master Feng'."

"'Young Master Feng'? Is it Feng Lin?" A chill suddenly gathered in the depths of Tang Ye's eyes.

"It is indeed him. Have you had a conflict with this person?" Wan Ming asked.

By now, Tang Ye had sorted out the whole story.

"Feng Lin is the son of Feng Kun, the Deputy Director of the Municipal Finance Bureau. Previously, when Feng Kun was competing with Gao Ping for the position of Bureau Chief, he suffered a setback, and rumors outside all said that I was the one who interfered and ruined his chances. So, it's possible that Feng Lin holds a grudge against me because of this."

A cold light flashed in Wan Ming's eyes: "So that's it! Looking at it this way, the case where Gu Jing was harmed by thugs likely has something to do with Feng Lin as well! Gu Jing is Gao Ping's niece; Feng Lin has the motive to arrange for people to threaten her!"

Tang Ye let out a long breath: "It's easier to handle now that we know who is in the shadows. Feng Lin has many crooked ideas and can always find a flaw."

Wan Ming's tone revealed a hint of anticipation: "If this guy Feng Lin has a dirty track record, he's simply handing his head over on a platter. Perhaps we might dig up another major case this time..."