Let me tell you a joke

With Municipal Party Secretary Zhou Zhiyuan's explicit orders, the sweeping crackdown on organized crime underway in Dongji County, and the downfall of the Zeng Brothers serving as a warning, Fu Yu felt that the sword of Damocles hanging over his head could fall at any moment.

That overwhelming sense of danger drove Fu Yu to adopt the most direct, most ruthless approach: silencing Huang Sheng, Shen Hai, and others by killing them. This not only eliminated crucial witnesses and evidence, but also sent a chilling warning to other informants and anyone considering testifying.

His methods proved effective!

Two vital leads were cut off, wiping out nearly half a month of the task force's efforts. After news spread of the murders of Huang Sheng, his wife and daughter, and Shen Hai, those who had planned to testify or provide evidence backed down. "Even if you don't care about yourself, you have to think about your family!"

And so the task force's investigation inevitably ground to a halt.

It was at this point that Cui Mingzhi, deputy director of the Municipal People's Procuratorate Anti-Embezzlement Bureau, arrived at the Dongji County Public Security Bureau with two staff members, accompanied by Jiang Weihong, secretary of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's discipline inspection commission.

"We've received a report from a member of the public alleging that Zhou Yi, captain of the County Public Security Bureau's Public Security Management Brigade, abused his authority and used excessive force in law enforcement, causing a serious negative impact on society. The Municipal People's Procuratorate has accepted the complaint. We're here today to conduct a preliminary inquiry and verify the allegations."

Deputy Director Cui's message was quite clear: there was a problem with the way Zhou Yi from their bureau had conducted himself while enforcing the law.

Yet the county bureau's leadership, including Director Lei Ming and Deputy Director Zhang Liping, were utterly baffled.

Zhou Yi was suspected of using excessive force? When had that happened? Why hadn't they heard about it?

Still, whether there was any truth to it or not, Cui Mingzhi's show of force today made it clear that he had not come with friendly intentions.

The alleged crime of abuse of authority did indeed fall under the procuratorate's Anti-Embezzlement Bureau. But given Zhou Yi's rank, the county procuratorate could have handled it. Did the municipal authorities really need to roll up their sleeves and get involved personally?

Jiang Weihong, secretary of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's discipline inspection commission, said with a smile, "Don't get worked up yet, Lei. The procuratorate is only conducting a preliminary inquiry. No formal investigation has been opened. Just have Xiao Zhou come over and explain what happened first."

After a pause, Jiang glanced at Cui Mingzhi and added, "If Xiao Zhou committed a crime, no one can protect him. But if he didn't, then as discipline inspection secretary, I will certainly do everything I can to defend the lawful rights of our fellow officers."

Those words immediately reassured Lei Ming. Secretary Jiang had come specifically to back Xiao Zhou up.

He gave Cui Mingzhi a faint smile. "Unfortunately, Comrade Zhou Yi has just gone out on an assignment. Whatever you need to discuss, Director Cui, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until he returns."

Cui Mingzhi looked displeased, but reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Then I'll first ask everyone to verify whether the contents of this video are accurate."

One of the prosecutors immediately opened their casework laptop, brought up a video, and clicked play.

Lei Ming, Zhang Liping, and the others gathered around to watch. They immediately understood what this was about, and their expressions grew complicated.

In the video, Zhou Yi, dressed in police uniform, was punching and kicking a middle-aged man lying on the ground. It went on for at least a minute.

With footage like that, calling it suspected excessive force would be putting it mildly. Even a caption reading "Lawless Public Security Management Brigade captain beats innocent passerby in the street" would have seemed entirely consistent with the images.

But what had actually happened?

The truth was that, on his way back from the county government offices that day, Zhou Yi had been attacked by a white van containing four thugs who had abducted a girl.

Whether it was self-defense or the lawful subduing of criminals, Zhou Yi had ample justification.

Cui Mingzhi, however, disagreed. Even after Lei Ming and the others explained the entire incident, he stuck to one position.

"Even if the man being beaten was a criminal suspect, that cannot excuse Zhou Yi's excessive use of force! The law expressly stipulates this."

Zhang Liping could no longer hold back. "On what grounds have you determined that Zhou Yi used excessive force?"

Cui Mingzhi answered coldly, "Continuing to use violence after a criminal suspect has lost the ability to resist clearly exceeds the limits of lawful authority."

Zhang Liping shook his head in disagreement and countered, "I need to remind you of two things, Director Cui. First, the suspect had three armed accomplices, and the criminals were holding a victim hostage at the time. Under those circumstances, how could anyone determine that the suspect had lost the ability to resist? What if he had a concealed gun or another weapon and was waiting for a chance to fight back?"

"That's just speculation," Deputy Director Cui said impatiently.

Zhang Liping sneered. "Which brings me to my second point. This suspect's name was Zeng Yuqiang, a notorious member of Dongji County's criminal underworld. On the very night of this incident, Zeng Yuqiang attempted to attack Zhou Yi with a gun and was arrested on the spot."

Cui Mingzhi was momentarily speechless. He had called it speculation, only for their speculation to turn out to be right!

Zhou Weihong glanced at Deputy Director Zhang of the county bureau and thought that with a superior this protective of him, Xiao Zhou would not get the short end of the stick even without his intervention!

It was a sunny afternoon, with a cool breeze blowing.

Outside a detached country villa with its own courtyard on the outskirts of Dongji County, a row of luxury cars stood parked. Inside the courtyard, an outdoor barbecue was in full swing.

As the host, Fu Yu rose with his glass in hand. His gaze swept across Xie Zhaolong, Sun Mei, and the others as he said with a hearty laugh, "Thank you all for coming to my birthday party. The venue may be a little modest, but I'm sure true friends won't mind. Come on, let me raise a toast to everyone!"

With that, he tipped his head back and drained his glass.

Xie Zhaolong drank half of his, giving him only half the courtesy.

Sun Mei also drank half of hers, likewise giving him only half the courtesy.

Everyone else-the heads of the county Party committee's various offices, the Finance Bureau, the Personnel Bureau, the Civil Affairs Bureau, and other government agencies, along with the owners of various companies-emptied their glasses without exception.

At this critical juncture, Xie Zhaolong and Sun Mei had actually wanted nothing to do with Fu Yu. Both feared getting caught in Zhou Yi's crossfire. But Fu Yu had invited them to celebrate his birthday, and they could hardly refuse him that courtesy.

As for the others, first, they had long been cowed by Fu Yu's bullying and did not dare stay away. Second, they had always belonged to County Party Secretary Fu Pingjiang's camp.

In their eyes, Fu Pingjiang had spent years building his influence in Dongji. He was also a close ally of Mayor Chai Xiongwei and supposedly had connections at the provincial level. He had consistently held the upper hand in his overt and covert struggles with County Magistrate Yan Xiangyu.

So despite how formidable this crackdown on organized crime appeared, as long as Fu Pingjiang remained standing, no one could touch a hair on his privileged son's head.

After several rounds of drinks, Fu Yu's face had flushed slightly, and he was clearly a little drunk.

Looking around at everyone in the courtyard, he seemed to remember something. He smiled and said, "Let me tell you a joke. It's absolutely hilarious. I'll be living off this one for the rest of my life!"

Everyone except Xie Zhaolong and Sun Mei cheered their approval. Some even applauded.

"You all know Zhou Yi, Captain Zhou, right? Just a couple of days ago-oh, the day Huang Sheng jumped off the building-he pointed right at my nose and said something."

At that point, Fu Yu deliberately paused and looked around.

Someone across from him immediately played along. "Young Master Fu, what did he say?"

"I bet it wasn't anything nice."

"Has Zhou Yi gotten completely full of himself?"

Everyone chimed in at once.

Only after milking the suspense did Fu Yu suppress a laugh and say, "He said, 'Three days. Within three days, I'll personally put you behind bars.' Pfft, hahaha..."

By the end, the privileged young master could no longer contain himself and burst into laughter.

The people beside him immediately laughed along.

The entire courtyard filled with merriment.

Even Sun Mei could not help curling the corners of her lips.

Xie Zhaolong alone did not laugh.

Fu Yu was laughing so hard he nearly cried, but when he noticed that Xie Zhaolong, sitting beside him, still looked perfectly composed, he felt a surge of irritation. He deliberately asked, "Zhaolong, don't you think it's funny?"

Xie Zhaolong's expression remained unchanged. "I'd advise you not to let your guard down. Zhou Yi has powerful connections..."

Fu Yu stopped smiling and asked in a mocking tone, "So?"

"So..."

As Xie Zhaolong considered how to answer, a series of car doors slammed outside the courtyard gate. Hurried footsteps followed, and a large group of police officers rushed into the courtyard.

At the sight of the familiar figure leading them, Xie Zhaolong involuntarily shuddered.

He blinked, making sure his eyes were not deceiving him, then turned to the dumbfounded young master Fu and sighed. "So, when he says he'll put you behind bars within three days, you'd better believe him!"