Chapter 58: Yin Tiejun's Fury!

After leaving the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission building, Yang Dong followed Lu Yike to the hotel where Yin Tiejun was being held.

In the hotel corridor, outside Room 107, Hou Donglai sat idly on a chair, holding an MP4 player and wearing headphones, lost in music. He bobbed his head from time to time.

Yang Dong couldn’t help but smile at the sight, walking over and patting Hou Donglai on the shoulder.

Completely absorbed in his music, Hou Donglai was startled by the sudden touch. “Oh my, Captain, when did you get back?” he exclaimed, breaking into a cold sweat. Being startled like that could be deadly.

“Thank you for your hard work, Donglai,” Yang Dong nodded, acknowledging that no matter what, Hou Donglai had stood guard here for days, making sure no one got to Yin Tiejun. That alone was a great service.

“It’s nothing, just part of the job.” Hou Donglai grinned. He was now part of the city’s investigation team—this was simply his duty. It had nothing to do with Yang Dong having leverage over him, not at all…

“I’m going in to see him.” Yang Dong didn’t say more, simply pointing at Room 107.

Hou Donglai immediately fished out the key to Room 107 from his pocket and handed it over. Yang Dong unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Watching Yang Dong enter, Hou Donglai thought that if he still couldn’t see the special connection between Yang Dong and Yin Tiejun, he would be a fool. It was clear that Yin Tiejun’s exoneration was closely tied to Yang Dong.

“Comrade Yike, please, have a seat,” Hou Donglai said as he heard footsteps behind him and saw Lu Yike approach. He quickly offered his chair to her.

Lu Yike smiled in thanks and sat down without any further words.

Inside Room 107, Yin Tiejun looked to be in excellent spirits—better even than when he was serving as the municipal secretary-general. Good fortune truly brings vigor to a man. He already knew the housekeeper had been found and the truth uncovered; the evidence used to frame him had been disproved. All that remained was to wait for the party committee meeting to conclude, and he could walk out and return to his post.

Once he stepped out that hotel door, he would once again be the secretary-general of the city government—the lowest-ranked city leader, but a leader nonetheless. Though not at the vice-departmental level, the secretary-general was still considered a city leader alongside the mayor and vice mayors.

Unfortunately, after this incident, even if he had been wronged, there was no hope of advancing further to become vice mayor. But retaining his position as secretary-general was already no small feat.

And the person who had made that possible was Yang Dong, the young man standing before him. He had always found Yang Dong more and more pleasing, but at this moment, his feelings were quite the opposite.

“Do you realize the consequences of what you’ve done? Do you?” Yin Tiejun slammed the table in anger, the first time he’d ever lost his temper with Yang Dong.

“Who told you to do this? Did you even think about your future? Don’t you care about your prospects?” he scolded.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, you!” Yin Tiejun’s face darkened, his eyes blazing with anger as he glared at Yang Dong. When Yang Dong told him that he had reported Tian Guanghan by name, Yin Tiejun couldn’t contain his fury. Doing such a thing without even consulting him first?

“Uncle Yin, my mind is made up! Anyone who dares to harm my family has crossed my bottom line. Even a dragon has a reverse scale—touch it and you die!”

Yang Dong had barely finished speaking when Yin Tiejun, fuming with anger, smacked him on the head. It wasn’t hard, but it still hurt.

“Have you been reading too many novels? Reverse scale, really?” Yin Tiejun, hands behind his back, paced furiously in the small room.

“If I’d known you were this reckless, I never should have brought you into municipal government.”

“What is politics? What are the rules? What is the officialdom?”

“Reporting your own leader by name—never mind whether he’s actually committed a crime—just that act alone will make countless leaders dislike you. What leader would tolerate such behavior?”

“You fool, you absolute fool!”

Red-faced and gasping for breath, Yin Tiejun was both furious and disappointed, like a father scolding a prodigal son.

Yang Dong stood respectfully before him, accepting the rebuke. If a leader still bothers to scold you, it means he cares.

Yin Tiejun took a deep breath, his anger slowly ebbing. He knew the matter was already settled—Yang Dong had reported Tian Guanghan by name to Wei Chonghu, so it was done.

Since it couldn’t be changed, it would have to be remedied.

“I need to get out. Figure something out,” Yin Tiejun said, glaring at Yang Dong, his tone gruff.

Yang Dong looked up, finally breaking into a smile as he handed over a paper cup. “Uncle Yin, have some water. Calm down.”

Yin Tiejun took the cup and drained it in one gulp. “Find a way to get me out of here now. I can’t stay cooped up in this hotel any longer. Since you’ve reported Tian Guanghan by name, I have to back you up, to keep you from being used as a pawn and sacrificed.”

His tone was complicated. “You silly boy, do you really think the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection doesn’t have evidence of Tian Guanghan’s crimes?”

“Tian Guanghan has been stirring up trouble in the municipal office, his son Tian Yuan running wild in the city with Wu Jiancai, constantly fighting and causing trouble. Do you really think the leaders at the Commission are blind?”

“His wife decked out in gold, designer clothes, driving a BMW—where did all that money come from? Do you really think the Commission’s leaders are blind and deaf?”

“They’ve had evidence for ages. So why haven’t they acted? Can’t you use your brain to think about it?”

“Are you an idiot?” Yin Tiejun was so angry he resorted to crude language.

Many people imagine that leaders must be dignified, always calm and in control, like on television. But anyone who’s been around them knows that leaders are still just people, with all the same emotions and tempers—sometimes even worse. They simply never show it to outsiders, only in front of their own.

“Actually, I know all of this.” Yang Dong gave a bitter smile before replying.

“Oh? You know?” Yin Tiejun was taken aback, looking at him incredulously.

Yang Dong nodded, his expression complex. “The Commission has had evidence against Tian Guanghan for a long time, but never acted. The main reason is that he’s Secretary Wu Xinkai’s man. As long as that’s the case, how could the Commission dare investigate?”

“Previously, the Secretary of the Commission, Lu Zheng, was also Wu Xinkai’s man, so there was even less chance. But now things are different. With the National Congress convened and a new Secretary, Guan Mushan, in place, the city’s power dynamics are in chaos.”

“Rumor has it that the Provincial Party Secretary will soon be transferred, and as his confidant, Wu Xinkai, the Municipal Party Secretary, will also leave Lingyun City.”

“At such a moment, if Mayor Hou wants to advance, he needs leverage over Wu Xinkai to make him recommend Hou as the next Party Secretary.”

“If Wu’s people fall, it would be a blow to his reputation and future. Thus, Mayor Hou can use this chance to put pressure on Wu Xinkai.”

“For the sake of his own future, Wu Xinkai will have to yield to Mayor Hou. Compromise is the norm in politics.”

Yang Dong understood everything—perhaps too much. It was precisely this understanding that made him willingly play the role of a pawn at this time.

He, the pawn, had fortuitously appeared at this juncture, and Mayor Hou would certainly notice. The Commission would also have to choose—support the city government, or Wu Xinkai?

Perhaps, that choice had already been made.

Yang Dong was betting that the Commission would finally move against Tian Guanghan; the timing, circumstances, and people were all in place.

The timing: the sweeping changes following the Congress. The circumstances: the current political climate. The people: his own named report.

“Should I be praising your cleverness now?” Yin Tiejun sneered at the end of Yang Dong’s analysis.

He inhaled deeply, then shook his head. “I have to get out and pull strings for you. Otherwise, this ‘pawn’ of yours will end up a mere foot soldier, knocked off the board without mercy.”

“You must understand, Wu Xinkai is still the Party Secretary. Even if he compromises with the mayor, it doesn’t mean he’ll spare you—a mere pawn. For a Party Secretary of his stature, removing you would be child’s play.”

Yin Tiejun’s gaze grew even more complicated, his tone heavy with emotion. “Forget about you—even taking out me, a Secretary-General at the division level, would be no trouble at all.”

Yang Dong fell silent.

Indeed, while it seemed that Xu Yuncai and Wu Sancai had set up Yin Tiejun, wasn’t it all orchestrated by Wu Xinkai behind the scenes?

On the surface, it looked like a struggle between Yin Tiejun and Xu Yuncai for the vice mayor’s seat, but behind the curtain, it was really a contest between Party Secretary Wu Xinkai and Mayor Hou Yong.