Chapter 56 - 1#
Chapter 56: Unleashing a Big Move
But in fact, before Gu Chenzhou could figure out another line, the matter of Shi Shan, which had been taken over by Wei Chengbo, made unexpectedly rapid progress. In this aspect, although Gu Chenzhou could not intervene for the time being, the occurrence of this matter did temporarily divert his attention from the Gu family’s impending retreat.
Perhaps because this matter was originally dug up by Gu Chenzhou, for several days in a row, the first thing Wei Chengbo did every time he came back was to tell Gu Chenzhou the progress of this matter in its entirety.
Gu Chenzhou only listened with his ears and did not say much: whether it was the army or the public security, in this aspect, they were only better than him and not worse.
On the third day after Shi Shan’s whereabouts were discovered, Wei Chengbo finally found Shi Shan’s registration information in the traffic system’s records through photos. In this information, she used the alias Zhao Lin, her identity was an overseas Chinese, and her address and landline number abroad were all written in it.
Wei Chengbo immediately sent people to investigate further, and at the same time, he took Peng Youchun out of prison and went to deal with the gang that Peng Youchun served. He really found out some things: they really didn’t know who did it. At that time, the other party directly transferred the money to their account and asked them to hit Wei Xiangjin at a fixed time and place; but when Wei Chengbo’s men took out Shi Shan’s photo, a person who had been in contact with this matter at that time recalled that he had actually seen Shi Shan—at that time, when he was handing over with the person behind the scenes, he had passed by this woman outside the designated place. Because she was tall and beautiful, he still had some memory of her until now.
When the matter developed to this extent, it can basically be concluded that as long as Shi Shan is caught, a big hole can be torn in the fog surrounding Wei Xiangjin’s car accident. At that time, even if there is no evidence for a complete conviction, the real mastermind behind the scenes can be guessed.
At this time, the Gu and Wei families could no longer afford to keep a low profile during the change of term. Wei Chengbo directly dispatched public security and even the army to stand guard at various traffic points such as airports and highways, and searched for Shi Shan’s whereabouts throughout the city; Gu Xinjun used his administrative influence to cooperate with Wei Chengbo’s actions in all aspects. In less than ten days, they had already screened most of the areas, locked several locations, and confirmed that Shi Shan was indeed still in the capital.
“…Good evening, everyone. Today’s main news is: Premier Shen Youchang meets with returning scientists; a major economic case occurred in Yanghuai Province, Politburo member and Vice Premier Hao Pingxin requested a thorough investigation and a crackdown on crime; the national economy grew by 7.5% in the second half of this year, and the proportion of independent scientific and technological innovation in some provinces and cities accounted for 30% of the total—”
The evening news at 7 o’clock was broadcasting today’s news. Gu Xinjun and Zheng Yuelin had something to do, and Gu Zhengjia was in evening self-study at school. Gu Chenzhou was sitting alone in the living room watching TV and talking on the phone with Wei Xiangjin—this was the first time Wei Xiangjin had called back since Gu Chenzhou had made more than fifty calls after suddenly discovering Shi Shan’s whereabouts.
He seemed to have just finished a long run, and was still out of breath. His first sentence was: “More than fifty calls, I thought something big had happened to you!”
To be honest, Gu Chenzhou was a little surprised to receive Wei Xiangjin’s call today. He laughed and said, “Seventeen or eighteen days have passed. What big thing is there to wait for you to ask? The daylilies are already cold!” He paused and then said, “Is your mission over? Do you know about Shi Shan?”
“I know. After you told my dad, my dad told me the same day.” Wei Xiangjin said on the other end of the phone, “But I really didn’t expect that you would actually make more than fifty calls…”
“I was in a daze at that time, the phone was on auto-dial.” Gu Chenzhou actually felt that he was too impatient at that time, but of course he had to find a reason.
Wei Xiangjin said, “How is the matter going now? …Are you watching the news over there? The sound is overlapping with mine here.”
Gu Chenzhou smiled: “Just watch it together. We’re looking for someone. If we can find Shi Shan, this matter will be half cleared up!”
Wei Xiangjin said again: “I’m not very clear here. My dad and Uncle Gu have used a lot of power these two days, setting up posts and searching?”
“You say you don’t know, but you actually know very well. You have the air of a red third generation, and you’re very clear in your heart.” Gu Chenzhou teased.
Wei Xiangjin also laughed: “I’m being serious.”
Gu Chenzhou actually knew what Wei Xiangjin meant. Not to mention that the two had been brothers for so many years, just to say that among the third generation who grew up in political families, how many don’t understand the meaning behind others’ words? At this critical moment, if the matter fell on him, out of the vigilance of the dream, he would choose to endure it for a while and did so; but Wei Xiangjin’s matter was different. On the one hand, those people really wanted Wei Xiangjin to die at that time, and on the other hand, the mastermind behind this matter had not yet been caught. If he let go of this opportunity, he might never be able to find it again: “To say it’s low-key, it’s not really low-key from a tiger to a sick cat. If our situations were reversed, Uncle Wei would definitely help my father investigate to the end.”
Wei Xiangjin said, “Will it affect Uncle Gu’s decision to step down?”
Gu Chenzhou said affirmatively, “No, it’s just a delay, it won’t affect it.”
“Okay,” Wei Xiangjin said a few more words on the other end, seemed to be urged by someone, and quickly said, “I’ll hang up first, we’ll talk next time.”
Just as Gu Chenzhou agreed, the beeping sound came from the other end of the phone. As he pressed the phone, he heard the door open. He looked up: Gu Xinjun and Zheng Yuelin were back.
“Dad, Auntie.” He stood up from the sofa and said.
Gu Xinjun nodded. Seeing that the news was still on TV, he sat down on the sofa in the living room. Zheng Yuelin gave Gu Chenzhou a smile and then went upstairs to change out of her professional suit.
“Dad, have some tea.” There was freshly brewed hot tea in the pot. Gu Chenzhou poured a cup for the other party and glanced at the other’s face—and found that he had not been mistaken just now. Gu Xinjun’s face was grim, and his expression was indeed not very good.
What happened today? Just as Gu Chenzhou was pondering, he heard the news broadcast a detailed report on the major economic case in Yanghuai Province.
Gu Xinjun held the teacup and closed his eyes for a while, then suddenly said, “The provincial party secretary of Yanghuai is from the Wang faction.”
Gu Chenzhou was stunned for a moment, looked at the news: “Is the provincial party secretary going to take the blame for this?”
“Whether it’s a scapegoat or not, we don’t know yet.” Gu Xinjun said lightly, “But this time is really a coincidence.”
“Was it done by the Yu faction?” Gu Chenzhou asked.
Gu Xinjun rubbed the rim of the cup and said after a long while, “That person from the Yu faction has always been very low-key. If you investigate, you will definitely not find him. I’m afraid you won’t even find a single person from his faction.”
This meant that Gu Xinjun was not sure if the other party did it, but he was very suspicious of the other party.
Gu Chenzhou was pondering this matter with his head down when he heard Gu Xinjun say again, “Has your Uncle Wei told you about today’s investigation results?”
“Not yet.” Gu Chenzhou was stunned for a moment, “I just talked to Xiangjin on the phone, and Xiangjin didn’t tell me anything.”
“The evidence points to someone from the Yu faction, and you are also very familiar with this person.”
“He—” Gu Chenzhou’s first reaction was He Hailou, but he immediately caught the wrong point: this matter had been planned since five years ago. At that time, He Hailou had not come to the capital at all, and Shi Shan was not someone that a third-generation young master like He Hailou could produce. “Is it He Nanshan?”
“Seven or eight out of ten.” Gu Xinjun said slowly. After his voice fell, he closed his eyes and leaned against the sofa to rest.
The atmosphere in the living room was dull for a while.
Zheng Yuelin changed her clothes and came downstairs. Just as she sat down on the sofa, Gu Xinjun’s mobile phone rang. He first looked at the phone number, then answered it: “Old Wei, what’s the matter?”
Something was said on the other end. Gu Chenzhou, who was sitting next to Gu Xinjun, only vaguely heard that it was about Shi Shan, and then he saw Gu Xinjun’s face almost ashen: “Okay, I know. I’ll have Chenzhou go over to your place.”
“Dad, what happened?” Gu Chenzhou asked after the other party hung up the phone.
Is there another setback in the investigation of Shi Shan? Just as he was thinking, he heard Gu Xinjun say, “We’ve already found Shi Shan.”
Even if he heard that Shi Shan had run away, Gu Chenzhou would not be as surprised as he was now: “Already found!?”
“In Zhonghuan Dexin Garden, you go over.” Gu Xinjun rubbed his eyebrows and said to Gu Chenzhou.
At this time, Gu Chenzhou couldn’t be bothered to think about Gu Xinjun’s strange attitude. He hurriedly agreed and took the key to drive towards Zhonghuan.
Along the way, various questions churned in his mind.
There was Gu Xinjun’s strange attitude, there was the suddenly caught Shi Shan, there was the mastermind behind this matter, the unexpected but not surprising He Nanshan, and many other people and things, Wei Chengbo, Wei Xiangjin, Peng Youchun, Peng Youchun’s mother—
By the time Gu Chenzhou sped to Dexin Garden, the crowd here had been evacuated. The armed police in explosion-proof suits surrounded the area several layers inside and out, blocking all the onlookers outside.
For these ordinary personnel, Gu Chenzhou’s face was not useful. Just as he was about to call Wei Chengbo, he saw Adjutant Zhang, who was beside Wei Chengbo, walk out quickly from the armed police and say to Gu Chenzhou, “Young Master Gu, come in with me.”
Gu Chenzhou nodded: “How far has the matter progressed? Has Shi Shan been caught?”
“It’s the last step. Our people are about to rush into the room. Young Master Gu arrived just in time.” Adjutant Zhang said, “I’ll take you to Commander Wei. Commander Wei is here in person today to oversee the situation.”
Gu Chenzhou grunted and walked quickly to Wei Chengbo’s side with Adjutant Zhang.
Wei Chengbo not only came to the scene in person today, but also stood very far forward, almost on the front line. The several soldiers next to him were like facing a great enemy, wearing helmets and bulletproof vests, with submachine guns all facing outwards. They completely surrounded him with their bodies. It seemed that even if there was a slight movement nearby, it would be torn to shreds by these extremely tense soldiers with ammunition in the first instance.
At this time, Adjutant Zhang showed the quality of a soldier in an emergency. He brought Gu Chenzhou to Wei Chengbo’s position, stood a full three meters away, called out “Commander Wei” from a distance, and after seeing the other party look over and nod, he led Gu Chenzhou to slow down and slowly walk into the encirclement. In the middle, he said, “Young Master Wei’s car accident is a major case. The higher-ups attach great importance to it and have instructed that the murderer must be caught and brought to justice; if anything happens to Commander Wei at this time, the officials of so many people here will not be enough to be dismissed.”
Of course Gu Chenzhou understood this point. While casually agreeing with Adjutant Zhang, after walking into the circle, he focused on observing Wei Chengbo’s face, and his heart immediately skipped a beat: Wei Chengbo’s face, like Gu Xinjun’s just now, was very ugly.
“Xiaozhou is here.” Wei Chengbo said a word to Gu Chenzhou and then continued to pay attention to the situation ahead.
Gu Chenzhou temporarily suppressed the surging questions and emotions in his heart and looked forward along Wei Chengbo’s line of sight: the matter had indeed reached the final step. Several armed policemen in explosion-proof suits and carrying submachine guns had gathered at the warehouse door and were about to break in!