Exorbitantly Priced Tea

"Who?"

"Is Yi Xuexi, the mayor of Lüzhou City?"

Upon learning from Qi Tongwei that Yi Xuexi was in trouble, Gao Yuliang was very surprised. His brows furrowed involuntarily as many thoughts raced through his mind.

According to the timeline of the previous life, Yi Xuexi would indeed get into trouble, but it was seven years later, after Sha Ruijin was placed under investigation, that Yi Xuexi was also found to have problems and was investigated and arrested by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection!

Seven years later, Yi Xuexi's position was neither the mayor of Lüzhou City nor a member of the Standing Committee of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, but rather a member of the Standing Committee of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, Deputy Secretary, and Mayor—a veritable vice-ministerial level official and a centrally-managed cadre.

In Gao Yuliang's memory, the reason why Yi Xuexi, an official who always claimed to be honest and incorruptible, was brought down was not because of anything else, but because of his wife and that valuable tea mountain!

However, in this life, due to his rebirth, many historical trajectories have changed.

First, the Lincheng incident occurred, and Ji Changming, the chief prosecutor of the provincial procuratorate, and Hou Liangping, the director of the anti-corruption and bribery bureau, were punished. Qi Tongwei was awarded a first-class merit by the Ministry of Public Security for nothing, and the inspection team of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was three days late.

Many things have happened in the past three days!

Gao Xiaofeng appeared in the public eye, and her divorce and remarriage were investigated. Qi Tongwei's first-class merit award from the Ministry of Public Security was to be publicly announced three days later. In order to find evidence of Qi Tongwei's crimes, Provincial Party Secretary Sha Ruijin and Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Tian Guofu did not hesitate to tear off their masks and completely disclose their problems at the Standing Committee meeting!

Although he temporarily clarified his marital status at the Standing Committee meeting, the HK$200 million trust fund has not yet been fully investigated, and it remains uncertain whether the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's inspection team will take him away for investigation.

Now a new variable has emerged: EasyLearning has been exposed prematurely!

Gao Yuliang took a deep breath and gestured to Qi Tongwei, "You continue."

Qi Tongwei couldn't hide his smile as he excitedly said, "Last night we received a report from Zhang Feng, the secretary-general of the Luzhou Municipal Government. He filed a formal complaint against Luzhou Mayor Yi Xuexi, alleging that he embezzled and accepted bribes totaling several million yuan under the guise of selling tea!"

"Zhang Feng, Secretary-General of the Lüzhou Municipal Government, stated that he himself bribed Mao Ya, the wife of Lüzhou Mayor Yi Xuexi, with 380,000 yuan under the guise of purchasing tea!"

According to Zhang Feng, the price of this tea was originally 10,000 yuan per kilogram, which was acceptable. However, after Provincial Party Secretary Sha Ruijin recommended the tea at the Standing Committee meeting, the price rose to 100,000 yuan per kilogram!

"It really is tea..." Gao Yuliang muttered to himself. The problem with Yi Xuexi was still the same as in his previous life: his wife Mao Ya and the exorbitantly priced tea!

Gao Yuliang looked up at Qi Tongwei, puzzled, and asked, "As a member of the Standing Committee of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee, Deputy Secretary, and Mayor, shouldn't Yi Xuexi have reported this to the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Anti-Corruption and Bribery Bureau of the Provincial Procuratorate, even if such a problem occurred? Why did he file a formal complaint with the Provincial Public Security Department?"

"Teacher, that's where the problem lies."

Upon hearing Gao Yuliang's question, Gao Yuliang became even more agitated, swallowing hard. "Zhang Feng, the Secretary-General of the Luzhou Municipal Government, filed formal complaints with the Handong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Anti-Corruption and Bribery Bureau of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate. Guess what happened?"

Seeing Qi Tongwei's excitement, Gao Yuliang suddenly had a bold guess, and his pupils contracted.

Qi Tongwei chuckled: "This real-name report was sent to the Discipline Inspection Commission of Handong Province and the Anti-Corruption and Bribery Bureau of the Provincial Procuratorate, but the news disappeared without a trace. Neither department took any action. Moreover, after the report went nowhere, Zhang Feng was retaliated against and demoted two levels. Now he is just a small section chief."

"Forced into a corner, Zhang Feng came to the Provincial Public Security Bureau to file a formal complaint..."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yuliang slammed his water glass onto the desk, frowning and shouting angrily, "Nonsense! Utter nonsense!"

"A department that is in charge of the Party's discipline inspection work and safeguards the Party Constitution and other Party regulations should educate Party members and state administrative staff on Party conduct, integrity and discipline, and do a good job in Party discipline inspection and administrative supervision."

"One is a functional department of the People's Procuratorate responsible for investigating cases of corruption and bribery by state personnel. Upon receiving a report with a real name, it should immediately organize an investigation and collect evidence."

"Two places that should have been the fairest and most just have instead become a protective umbrella for power. How wonderful!"

Gao Yuliang grew angrier as he spoke, and finally stood up, picked up the red phone on the table, pressed a number, and dialed it.

"The Higher People's Court of Handong Province?"

"This is Gao Yuliang, the provincial party secretary. Please have your dean, Lu Zhenguo, answer the phone!"

"Hurry up and find him, I'm waiting for him to call me back!"

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yuliang asked Qi Tongwei, "Does anyone else know anything about Zhang Feng, the secretary-general of the Luzhou Municipal Government, who filed a formal complaint with the Provincial Public Security Department against Luzhou Mayor Yi Xuexi?"

Qi Tongwei's body trembled, knowing that his teacher was serious. He solemnly assured him, "Teacher, apart from myself, Deputy Director Sun Peng, and Director Cheng Du of the Public Security Bureau, no outsiders know about this. I know the rules and haven't revealed it to anyone."

"Furthermore, I specifically instructed Zhang Feng not to leak the information to the outside world, and to wait for the Public Security Bureau to conduct an investigation and collect evidence, after which he will receive a fair and just result."

Qi Tongwei specifically said, "Teacher, don't worry, Deputy Director Sun Peng and Director Cheng Du of the Public Security Bureau are both our people, they would never say anything out of line outside."

Gao Yuliang nodded, his face serious, and instructed, "Tongwei, this matter is of utmost importance. It involves the Discipline Inspection Commission of Handong Province and the Provincial Procuratorate. If they are indeed suspected of harboring criminals or committing job-related crimes, it will be very difficult to find evidence once we alert them."

"Therefore, strict confidentiality is essential, including..."

Before he could finish speaking, the phone on the table rang. Gao Yuliang picked it up, and the voice of Lu Zhenguo, the president of the Higher People's Court, came through: "Secretary Yuliang, this is Lu Zhenguo. What instructions do you have?"

At such a sensitive time, Gao Yuliang naturally couldn't say it over the phone. Instead, he said, "Zhenguo, there are some things that are inconvenient to say over the phone. Come to my place right now, and we'll talk in detail."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yuliang continued to speak to Qi Tongwei: "This matter must be kept strictly confidential. Not a single word can leak out, including your investigation, which must be conducted in secret, understand?"

Qi Tongwei nodded heavily: "I understand, Secretary Yuliang. Don't worry, I will be extremely careful during the investigation."

About half an hour later, Lu Zhenguo, the president of the Handong Provincial Higher People's Court, arrived at the provincial party committee compound, looking travel-worn. He also ran into Ji Changming, the chief prosecutor of the provincial procuratorate, downstairs.

"Zhenguo, why are you in such a hurry? Is something urgent?" Ji Changming asked tentatively.