Free Web NovelChapter 86: Chapter 86: Framing
Wang Hao turned his head at the sound and discovered that it was a young woman, not Zhao Xiaoming’s father.
"Secretary Hu, this is the police station, not the town mayor’s office. We all arrest people according to procedures, so could you please stop making such a fuss here?"
Chief Dong, aware of the commotion, knew that the inevitable had occurred and thus stepped forward proactively.
"Oh, if it isn’t Chief Dong. Quite the fervor of a new official on duty. But you’ve really stoked the flames too far this time, setting fire even to the town mayor’s head!"
Secretary Hu displayed an arrogant demeanor, his posturing suggesting he was used to throwing his weight around under the veil of the town mayor’s authority.
At this moment, the town mayor stood right behind Secretary Hu, which explained her exceptional arrogance today—clearly, her ’owner’ was there cheering on his ’dog’.
In fact, before Chief Dong took office here, the town mayor had already received a notification from someone higher up, instructing him to find an opportunity to teach this new female chief a lesson.
Only, as the chief was a woman, the town mayor had yet to find a suitable excuse.
Now the opportunity was ripe, as his son had been arrested by her, a perfect chance to take advantage of the situation.
"Mayor, the investigation is still ongoing, please wait patiently for the results," Chief Dong stated calmly and softly.
But Secretary Hu was unreasonable and continued to bellow.
"What else is there to investigate? The town mayor had already cleared things up before coming here, Xiaoming was framed. Release him at once!" freewebnσvel.cѳm
Secretary Hu’s arrogance knew no bounds, showing no respect for Chief Dong.
"Secretary Hu is right, I have already looked into it. My son was indeed framed. Release him now and I won’t pursue this matter further."
The town mayor appeared to be up to no good either, exuding an oppressive air, but Chief Dong still patiently explained to him.
"Mayor, don’t be hasty, we’re gathering evidence. As long as your son hasn’t..."
"What evidence could still need gathering? Are you incapable of understanding human speech? I told you he’s been framed. Release Xiaoming at once or I won’t let this go!"
"And I forgot to mention, Chief Dong, our town office often needs to communicate with higher authorities. Be aware of the potential consequences of your actions, lest when that time comes..."
Despite always treating the mayor with courtesy, not only did he refuse to appreciate it, but he also let his secretary boss Chief Dong around, pressuring her to release the detainee.
Secretary Hu was clearly relying on his master’s power and even threatening Chief Dong now.
Zhou Yingying, unable to contain her anger, suddenly stood up and moved next to Chief Dong.
"I was the one who made the arrest. If you’ve got the guts, come at me!" Zhou Yingying shouted at Secretary Hu.
"Oh, look at the temper on this little policewoman. Don’t want to work here anymore, do you? If that’s the case, let the town mayor oblige you!"
He then took out his phone, dialed a number, and handed it to the town mayor.
Seeing this, Chief Dong’s face drastically changed. She had already heard about the town mayor’s close ties with county leaders. If the mayor really did call his superiors, not only might Zhou Yingying be punished, but she, having just taken office, might also lose her position.
Zhou Yingying felt indignant yet extremely remorseful, realizing that it was her arrest of Zhao Xiaoming that had now implicated Aunt Dong.
The other policewomen in the office peeked out curiously to watch the drama unfold.
"She was so arrogant before, how come she’s not talking back now? Serves her right!"
"Yeah, they should just hurry up and get rid of her, save us from her bossing us around every day!"
The policewomen seemingly took pleasure in the misfortune, chatting away gleefully.
Everyone understood that the current chief only held a nominal position and that if she offended the town mayor, she would likely lose her job, which would also affect the other patrol officers down the line.
Chief Dong had always been tolerant of Zhou Yingying, who was a subject of discontent among others, so they too wished for both Chief Dong and Zhou Yingying to be gone as soon as possible.
"Hello, Director Liu? This is Zhao Qisheng speaking. Yes, my son has been taken to your station, the one here in our town. The chief’s surname is Dong, newly transferred, yes, yes... a woman!"
The town mayor spoke joyfully, his laughter clear.
Wang Hao frowned upon hearing this.
Zhao Xiaoming had always boasted about his father being the town mayor, threatening that no one in the town dared to touch him, and now here was the mayor calling the higher-ups to force Chief Dong to release him.
It was apparent that like father, like son—they were cut from the same cloth.
Zhou Yingying also witnessed the town mayor’s shamelessness firsthand. If not for Chief Dong holding her back, she would have charged forward and thrown punches.
"Yes, I’ve investigated thoroughly, my son has been wronged. They don’t have any evidence. How can they arrest someone for no reason? Isn’t this an abuse of power? Don’t you agree?"
The town mayor even turned around to accuse them.
The mayor’s voice was so loud that everyone in the office could hear it, but no one came forward to speak up for Director Dong and Zhou Yingying.
"Who says they arrested someone without cause? You want evidence, right? I can prove that Zhao Xiaoming is extorting money!"
Wang Hao, unable to bear listening any longer, mustered up the courage to stand up and reveal the truth, clearly seeing that the mayor was just using his connections to try to take down Director Dong.
"Who the hell are you? Pretending to be a witness, get the hell out of here!"
The mayor glared at Wang Hao viciously and said.
When the policewoman next to him heard the mayor about to explode, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed Wang Hao.
"Wang Hao, behave yourself. Who asked you to speak? Go stand aside."
The policewoman was afraid that Wang Hao would anger the mayor, and then the whole police station would suffer the consequences.
Seeing Wang Hao being pulled away, the mayor didn’t care and continued to accuse Director Dong over the phone.
"Wait a second, what was that witness’s name? Say it again!"
The mayor hadn’t finished speaking, and the person on the other end of the phone interrupted him, the tone becoming more serious.
The mayor was momentarily taken aback, having been focused on his own words and not paying attention to the detail.
"He just said his name was Wang Hao, right? Is he the Wang Hao from Chen Village?"
The tone of Director Liu on the phone was getting more and more off.
The mayor hurriedly beckoned a policewoman over to ask.
"Which village was that person from just now? What’s his name?"
The policewoman, confused by the question, answered with the notes she had just taken.
"He said he’s from Chen Village, called Wang Hao."
"I can’t handle this matter!"
After hearing this, Director Liu dropped a line and hung up the phone.
All of a sudden, the mayor was startled, remembering that this was the same Wang Hao who had always been opposing Zhao Youquan. Last time he almost got himself in trouble for helping Zhao Youquan deal with Wang Hao.
Thinking of the significant relationship between Wang Hao and the Zao City Biological Laboratory, the mayor was suddenly frightened.
"So it’s brother Wang Hao! My apologies, my apologies!"
After being stunned for a moment, the mayor suddenly approached Wang Hao with a smile and shook his hand tightly.
"It’s an honor to finally meet you. I’ve heard about your good relationship with Deputy Director Wang from the laboratory. We should have a drink together sometime!" freёwebnoѵel.com
Seeing the mayor suddenly change his attitude, a few of the policewomen were quite surprised.
"What are you doing? Brother Wang Hao is my friend. Don’t you recognize him? You got eyes on the back of your head, is that it? Don’t you want to continue working here, release him at once!"
As the mayor saw the policewomen preparing to handcuff Wang Hao, he immediately scolded them, frightening them into retreating.
Zhou Yingying and Director Dong were also curious about the mayor’s reaction and didn’t know what had just happened.
Even Secretary Hu was completely baffled, looking at the mayor questioningly.
"Mayor, what’s wrong with you? They accused Xiaoming, and Xiaoming is still not released. What’s going on?"
Secretary Hu whispered in the mayor’s ear, his eyes continually darting towards Wang Hao and Zhou Yingying.
"This..."
The mayor looked at Wang Hao with difficulty.
"Secretary Hu, what are you talking about? Are you suggesting that I framed Zhao Xiaoming?"
Wang Hao gave Secretary Hu a disdainful look and then turned his gaze to the mayor, indicating that the mayor should handle the situation.
Secretary Hu trembled upon hearing this and turned his head to seek help from the mayor.
Although Zhao Xiaoming was arrested, he wasn’t in any danger inside, and surely Zhao Xiaoming was also to blame.
But as for Wang Hao, he was not someone to be trifled with. If things went wrong, he could even cause the mayor to lose his position. Watching Wang Hao’s sharp gaze, the mayor didn’t dare to shield Secretary Hu.
Hesitating for a moment, the mayor suddenly slapped Secretary Hu across the face...
