"I... I didn’t..."
Wei Pengcheng was caught off guard by the question, feeling bewildered. If Zhao Chuanchun had co to demand Huo Ben, this would definitely stir up trouble, but what he had never expected was that Zhao was actually looking for Lin Fan. Yet before he could defend himself, the door at his side was suddenly kicked open, and Lin Fan, his hands cuffed, his face bruised and swollen, tumbled to the ground.
"County Magistrate Zhao... save ..."
Lin Fan, looking haggard, lay there, his appearance drawing a wave of sighs from the onlookers.
Zhao Chuanchun rushed over imdiately, quickly helping Lin Fan to his feet, "County Magistrate Lin, what happened to you?"
"That bastard tricked into coming to assist with the investigation... but as soon as I walked in, he started beating viciously..."
Lin Fan, looking up, turned to a panicked Wei Pengcheng and said, "He forced to accuse you and Huo Ben of colluding with businesses and causing the death of County Magistrate Luan... I refused... and he started hitting ... He locked up in a room... wouldn’t let out, saying... as long as I don’t identify you for corruption and bribery... he’d kill !"
"You’re spouting nonsense... when did I ever force you to say these things... if you keep making stuff up... do you believe I’d just shoot you!"
Wei Pengcheng desperately roared back, but as he was gesturing with his gun at Lin Fan, Zhao Chuanchun stepped in front of the muzzle, "Mr. Wei, if you want to sar , Zhao Chuanchun, just co at directly. Everyone knows that Deputy County Magistrate Lin just got transferred to Red Flag County, hasn’t even assud office. Even if you forced him to admit to these things, there would be no credibility. I don’t know what I did to offend the people from the Provincial Departnt, but if you’re going to act this way, you might as well shoot dead straightaway, why bother with all this charade?"
"I didn’t... coerce a confession... I hit him but not for this reason..."
Wei Pengcheng suddenly realized sothing was amiss, but once the words left his mouth, there was no taking them back. Given there were now hundreds of cell phones recording him, even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he couldn’t clear his na.
"So, you admit you coerced a confession from using violence?"
Lin Fan revealed a cold smile as he watched Wei Pengcheng’s defeated deanor, thinking this was just the beginning.
"Take his gun away!"
At that mont, Chu Shiyuan’s voice ca from outside the crowd. She, who had looped around from the window, finally made her entrance, and following her command, Gao Man imdiately stepped forward and snatched away Wei Pengcheng’s firearm.
"Honey... I didn’t coerce a confession... I admit, I simply beat him up a bit, but I didn’t force him... I didn’t restrict his freedom!"
Wei Pengcheng hastily tried to explain himself to Chu Shiyuan, but before she could speak, Zhao Chuanchun helped Lin Fan stand up, "Chief Chu, if the Provincial Departnt has any suspicions, I welco an inspection against , but we surely can’t beat up our acting officials for no reason. If even our personal safety can’t be protected, how are we supposed to carry out our work!"
"County Magistrate Zhao, rest assured, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer to this matter. From now on, I announce the official removal of Wei Pengcheng from his position as Deputy Chief, and we will ensure full compensation for any relevant damages. I will also report this incident to the Provincial Departnt and ensure that strict actions are taken; absolutely nobody will be above the law," Chu Shiyuan said, not forgetting to glance at Lin Fan. If it were just sothing minor, she wouldn’t ensure Wei Pengcheng’s utter downfall, which ant this was likely only the beginning. Just then, a disruption arose from outside the crowd, and a group of officers from the County Public Security Bureau rushed in.
"Old Wang, what are you doing? We’re dealing with internal conflicts; do we really need to involve the police force?"
Zhao Chuanchun asked with a stern face upon seeing the Deputy Director of the County Public Security Bureau leading the group.
"Reporting to you, County Magistrate Zhao, I’m not here for that... We just received a report of a rape!"
Deputy Director Wang’s eyes shifted towards Chu Shiyuan while speaking, and an instinctive step back from Wei Pengcheng also made her sense that sothing was amiss.
"Rape... Could it be that the criminal is here among us?"
Zhao Chuanchun asked, furrowing his brows.
"Correct, according to the victim’s identification and surveillance along the way, the suspect of the sexual assault... is that Wei Pengcheng!"
Director Wang’s words suddenly silenced the crowd, and just then, Lin Fan’s voice eerily resonated, "People from Provincial City really don’t consider us county folks as humans, causing a scene at County Magistrate Luan’s funeral, assaulting a Deputy County Magistrate, and now raping one of our county’s won. Are you sure you’re the investigative team from Provincial City, and not invaders in our village?"
"Honey... listen to explain... it’s not what they say... I’ve been wronged... I really didn’t do it, this bastard must be framing !"
Wei Pengcheng grabbed Chu Shiyuan’s arm, desperately trying to explain, while she also knew that this might very well be what Lin Fan referred to as "beyond salvation." Handing over Wei Pengcheng like this would make it difficult for her to explain herself once back.
Thus, she shook off his arm and said, "County Magistrate Zhao, since this case involves a mber of our work team, of course we cannot bend the law for personal gain, but I request a joint investigation!"
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