Qu Xiangru and Wu Qiangwei appropriately showed expressions of surprise.

"Scammed?"

Qu Xiangru's voice carried a hint of confusion, as if asking or confirming.

Zheng Bihui nodded, and recounted the whole incident in detail.

As he narrated, the two Secretaries' expressions finally showed some change.

After finishing, Zheng Bihui took out a cigarette and lit it.

Now, the two Secretaries also knew about the matter.

Although the greatest responsibility still lay with him, as the leading figure in Lingjiang, Qu Xiangru certainly could not stand by idly.

There is power in numbers.

Wasn't his coming to the City Committee precisely to gather collective wisdom and discuss strategies?

Qu Xiangru's expression turned somewhat grim, looking at Zheng Bihui with an unkind gaze.

The two of them, knowing they were at fault, looked embarrassed and avoided meeting his eyes.

After a long silence, Qu Xiangru picked up the landline.

"Secretary Wang, come over here."

Then he called Minister Zhou.

She had waited for this day for a long time and already had a solution, but protocol had to be followed.

They needed to feel the pressure and understand that even she could not solve this issue alone.

Half an hour later, Secretary Wang and Minister Zhou arrived at the office.

Seeing Zheng Bihui, Wu Qiangwei, and Jiang Yuan also present, they knew there must be something major to discuss.

Secretary Wang thought it was about last week's letter of complaint.

After they sat down, Qu Xiangru said, "Mayor Zheng, tell the story again."

A few minutes later, the office fell silent again.

Minister Zhou pinched his brow and sighed silently.

How could someone make such a huge blunder!

Moreover, it was a blunder made by a mayor!

If this matter gets out, Zheng Bihui will surely lose his position as mayor.

Secretary Wang was slightly astonished.

Internally, he was shocked.

Damn it, was the City Government scammed?

And both mayors were fooled!

Holy shit, is it Zheng Bihui's first day as mayor?

But why did Jiang Yuan get scammed too?

The combined wits of two mayors amounting to eight hundred brains, and they were scammed so badly!

6.3 billion!

Although it's the banks' and developers' money, the Police Department and District Government buildings were indeed demolished in an explosion.

If this spread out, being laughed at would be trivial; the entire image of Lingjiang would be affected.

Secretary Wang trembled, shrank into his chair, and remained silent.

He was the Disciplinary Committee Secretary, not responsible for this, nor was it his place to manage it.

He also didn't want to involve himself in this mess.

Let Secretary Qu and Secretary Wu handle it.

"Which bank provided the loans?" Qu Xiangru asked.

Zheng Bihui answered, "A branch of Lingjiang Bank."

Qu Xiangru asked, "Who introduced this bank?"

"District Chief Li from Tongchi District."

"Secretary Wang." Qu Xiangru called his name, and Secretary Wang immediately replied, "Secretary Qu."

Qu Xiangru said, "Go now, bring District Chief Li and this bank manager, ask them to cooperate with the investigation. I need to know if the bank's lending procedures were compliant."

Zheng Bihui's face turned a bit unpleasant.

This kind of matter requires no investigation as it surely isn't compliant.

Chu Yue merely registered a shell company, didn't spend a penny, relying entirely on government endorsement to obtain loans from the bank.

If there were no problems, fine; however, once there are issues, it wouldn't withstand scrutiny.

Normally, Zheng Bihui might use his mayoral position to suppress the matter.

But now, even a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river cannot save himself.

"Alright."

Secretary Wang immediately set off.

Qu Xiangru said, "For now, do not disclose this matter externally."

"Understood."

After Secretary Wang left, taking out his phone, Qu Xiangru said, "This is a big issue, I need to report to Secretary Gao."

This wasn't seeking their opinion, but notifying them.

Unless they manage to retrieve the money, they can forget about suppressing this.

"Secretary Qu."

Zheng Bihui stopped him.

Qu Xiangru looked at him.

Zheng Bihui said, "Secretary Qu, I believe this matter should be handled by Lingjiang internally first."

Qu Xiangru calmly asked, "How to handle? Does Mayor Zheng have any ideas?"

Zheng Bihui glanced at Wu Qiangwei and said, "I remember Secretary Song has experience handling such issues, how about calling Secretary Song over and asking for his opinion?"

Hearing this, everyone's gaze turned a bit odd.

A mayor proactively seeking help from a secretary…

This is quite absurd.

Zheng Bihui's face turned red from their gazes.

But right now, he couldn't care less about face; he only knew it's best not to let this reach the provincial level.

If Song Guanchao can solve it, that would be ideal.

If so, he could continue his term as mayor a bit longer.

Otherwise, once it reaches the provincial level, whether he'd be disciplined is uncertain, but he'd surely be transferred to Qingshui Government for early retirement.

Jiang Yuan was better off, since the main responsibility lay with Zheng Bihui, and Jiang Yuan had connections at the provincial level and wouldn't be significantly affected.

But even so, Jiang Yuan, like Zheng Bihui, didn't want the matter to escalate to the provincial level.

Seeing Qu Xiangru didn't respond immediately, Jiang Yuan said, "Governor Qu, let's resolve it internally first."

"Once the province learns about it, it will also affect you."

He intended to say the matter might affect your promotion to Governor.

But on second thought, he figured that comment was inappropriate.

Because the news of Governor Hou's retirement was still classified, known only to a few.

Hence, he simply mentioned it would have an impact.

Indeed, as Qu Xiangru was currently the City Secretary, such an incident would indeed have implications.

After pondering for a moment, Qu Xiangru looked at Wu Qiangwei: "What does Secretary Wu think?"

Wu Qiangwei said, "Whatever Secretary Qu decides."

"Then please call Secretary Song over."

"Alright."

Wu Qiangwei made a call: "Come to Secretary Qu's office."

A few minutes later, Song Guanchao knocked and entered.

Seeing a group of standing committee members, he feigned surprise and walked over to Wu Qiangwei: "Secretary, you wanted to see me?"

Before Wu Qiangwei could speak, Zheng Bihui asked, "Secretary Song, how did you retrieve the embezzled funds Hou Wen transferred overseas back then?"

Song Guanchao was stunned for two seconds by the question, then shook his head and pointed upwards: "That's classified, I signed a confidentiality agreement, can't say."

"..." Zheng Bihui almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

What the hell kind of secret is this!

But Song Guanchao spoke so earnestly, and in front of a group of standing committee members, it was unlikely for him to lie.

Moreover, the matter was indeed rather unreasonable; it was normal for the higher-ups to maintain confidentiality.

Zheng Bihui asked again: "If someone transferred away illegal funds, could you use the same method to get the money back?"

Song Guanchao looked puzzled: "Mayor Zheng, that's an interesting question, every case is different, I can't guarantee."

Wu Qiangwei said, "Mayor Zheng, better explain the situation to him first."

A few minutes later, after listening, Song Guanchao appeared to have an epiphany, then was shocked: "Mayor Zheng was scammed?"

Zheng Bihui blushed with embarrassment: "Secretary Song, can you retrieve the money?"

Song Guanchao asked, "When were the funds transferred?"

Jiang Yuan interjected: "Monday."

"Monday?" Song Guanchao frowned: "Today is already Thursday."

His expression was serious, and after a few seconds of contemplation, he said, "I need to understand this case more thoroughly."