Liang Kejian was stumped by that retort.
Yes, what else could it have been?
If it hadn't been a tip from a concerned member of the public, what other explanation was there?
Surely Zhou Yi couldn't see the future and predict everything with uncanny accuracy?
Liang Kejian stared at Zhou Yi for several seconds, quickly assembling his counterattack before continuing in a measured but forceful voice.
"First, I don't believe there are that many concerned 'members of the public'!"
"Second, I don't believe these 'members of the public' you speak of would know exactly where the ledgers were hidden!"
"Third, if such members of the public really exist, why were you the only one who received their calls?"
As expected of a leader skilled at chairing meetings and delivering reports, he opened with a numbered list and deftly employed parallel phrasing to lend force to his words and put intense pressure on his opponent.
Yet Hou Xiangyang, the Provincial Party Committee Secretary who had organized the meeting and controlled its proceedings, still said nothing.
With him silent, it wasn't appropriate for the other Standing Committee members to speak either.
After all, Liang Kejian was only suspected of violating the law and Party discipline. Until an organizational investigation reached a conclusion, he remained the third-ranking member of the Provincial Party Committee's Standing Committee and its full-time Deputy Secretary.
His questioning of Zhou Yi could be considered perfectly normal interaction between a superior and a subordinate.
Zhou Yi neither hesitated nor paused to weigh his words. Almost as soon as Liang Kejian finished questioning him, he delivered a decisive reply.
"First, I can assure you that as the public's legal awareness grows, and as their desire for fairness and justice becomes stronger, there will only be more people willing to expose and