The instant Feng Shicheng finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent.
What did it mean for a single stone to send a thousand waves surging, or for thunder to strike out of a clear sky?
One look at Gou Hongtao's stunned expression-as though a rock had struck his head, or lightning had blasted him-offered some idea.
The expressions on the faces of the Party Committee leadership team members, Tian Zhengbing included, were quite a sight too. Some were genuinely shocked, some merely pretended to be, and others remained unruffled.
"This is slander, a frame-up..." Gou Hongtao shouted angrily as he recovered his senses.
He glared viciously at Discipline Inspection Secretary Feng Shicheng, as though-no, at that moment, the man truly was his mortal enemy.
"Director Gou, don't get so worked up. Calm down and let Secretary Feng finish," Deputy Department Director Zhang Yanfei urged from beside him.
Zhang Yongliang glanced at Zhang Yanfei. On the surface, she seemed to be offering kindly advice, but in reality, she was drawing everyone's attention to Gou Hongtao's unusually agitated reaction.
Tian Zhengbing fixed Feng Shicheng with a dark look and said coldly, "If something like this happened, why didn't you report it to me beforehand?"
By convention, Feng Shicheng should have reported the matter to Executive Deputy Department Director Zhou Yi first, who would then report it to Tian Zhengbing. Alternatively, he could have reported directly to Tian Zhengbing.
What he should not have done was drop it straight into the Party Committee Leadership Meeting.
Then again, they could accuse Feng Shicheng of lacking judgment or failing to observe protocol, but they could not say he had no right to raise the matter directly at the meeting.
"Because on my end..." Feng Shicheng was about to invent an excuse and weather the