In all likelihood, if Gu Nianzhi hadn’t discovered the communication between the Weibo blogger and Cai Songyin, then they would never have known about the close relationship between Hong Kangquan and Cai Songyin.
A relationship was so close that they would murder for one another.
Cai Songyin was unable to say anything in response.
Huo Shaoheng’s eyes glimmered as he went on. “Hong Kangquan was truly and deeply devoted to you and your husband. He helped you murder someone and also helped Tan Dongbang commit election fraud. Why was that? What did you use to entice Hong Kangquan? A prestigious title and high salary? Or perhaps beautiful women and money?”
The corner of Cai Songyin’s mouth twitched with disdain. “Major General Huo, your words are rather crass. Have you not considered that it was out personalities that attracted Hong Kangquan, and caused him to work for us of his own accord? We never stoop to things like bribing people.”
Of course, she had done such things before. Even so, from the way she saw it, it was hardly what you would call “bribing.” Rather, it was considered a fair exchange of interests.
Weren’t elections legally sanctioned large scale exchanges of interests themselves?
Not to mention, they hadn’t even been able to get around to sharing benefits with Hong Kangquan just yet.
So Cai Songyin felt no shame in denying Huo Shaoheng’s charges at all.
Why would she feel the need to admit to something she had never done?
“You think I’ll believe such tripe from you?” Huo Shaoheng couldn’t help but sneer, “If you and Tan Dongbang had the kind of charismatic personality to persuade Hong Kangquan, then all the citizens of the nation would have equally been “persuaded” by you as well. You wouldn’t have needed to commit election fraud and instead ran a fair campaign.”
Cai Songyin was so angered by Huo Shaoheng’s words that she was left speechless.
“Not going to say anything further? Very well then. I’ll go ask Tan Dongbang. Tan Dongbang is someone who has accomplished great achievements, so he is fully aware that ‘he who seeks great success, must not dwell on trivialities.’ When he confesses, you know that your last chance of getting a reduced sentence will be gone.” Huo Shaoheng stood up. “Think about it carefully. Meanwhile, I’ll go interrogate Tan Dongbang again.”
Cai Songyin’s eyes widened upon hearing that name. “Tan Dongbang.” A look of disdain, hate, and darkness flashed across her eyes.
…
The interrogation room for Tan Dongbang was just across from Cai Songyin’s.
When Huo Shaoheng went inside, Tan Dongbang had already been brought in and was sitting there.
Tan Dongbang hastily straightened up when he saw Huo Shaoheng walk in the room in his military uniform. “Major General Huo, I honestly have not committed any acts of bribery during the election, nor election fraud. There was an issue within your system. You can’t possibly push the blame for that on me?”
Huo Shaoheng looked at Tan Dongbang.
Despite having been imprisoned only a few days, the typically elegant and refined Tan Dongbang was as wrinkled and smelly as a pickled vegetable in the winter.
His hair was so greasy that it clumped in tangles on his shiny head.
He probably had not eaten or slept well over the last few days, so he had huge dark circles under his eyes, and his face appeared gaunt and drawn. The changes on his face in addition to his high cheekbones caused him to resemble greatly the shrewd older women who worked at the vegetable markets.
Huo Shaoheng sat across from him and quickly came straight to the point.
“Tan Dongbang, why did Hong Kangquan help you commit election fraud? What promises did you make him?”
Tan Dongbang froze or a second. His gaze drifted as he was too afraid to meet Huo Shaoheng’s eyes. He muttered, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I had no idea what was going on in the least.”
“You’re saying that Hong Kangquan asked for nothing, but he helped you commit election fraud? Twice? That he wanted nothing except to help you become the Prime Minister?” Huo Shaoheng frowned. “Could he have a crush on you?”
Tan Dongbang’s eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets as he sputtered, “Major General Huo, you can’t throw such accusations around so carelessly! I have no connection with Hong Kangquan, whatsoever! The first time I’ll admit to, and that was because he has a relationship with my wife. No, rather the relationship is because his wife and my wife are best friends. He probably helped us out with this favor for the sake of his wife.”
There was a not even a remote possibility this explanation was the truth, or that the odds of its veracity was any higher than one in a thousand.
Huo Shaoheng had never seen someone abuse public power for personal gains and not desire personal benefits.
Only people with a strong sense of right and wrong would be inspired by charismatic figures, so it was hardly applicable to sinister and base characters like Hong Kangquan.
Also, it was not as if Tan Dongbang and Cai Songyin projected charismatic personalities.
Such a feat was far beyond their capacity.
Not to mention they had investigated both Cai Songyin and Tan Dongbang to discover that they had no traceable financial links to Hong Kangquan.
Not only had they never gifted him with money or presents, but they also only went to public places and restaurants for dinner when the two families treated each other. They never went to dinner at each other’s homes.
On the surface, it seemed as though the two families weren’t especially close.
Truly tight-knit friends meant such bonds where the adults and children from each family would not have bothered hiding their relationships at all.
In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, Hong Kangquan truly had not received any benefits.
Still, that made no sense.
Huo Shaoheng mused as he thought there might be a simple reason to explain it all. What Hong Kangquan was after, were probably things that Tan Dongbang could only do for him once he was elected.
If Tan Dongbang was elected, he would hold the most powerful title in the country – he would be the leader of the nation. In truth, he had already been one of the top three leaders of the nation.
Once Tan Dongbang was installed as Prime Minister, Hong Kangquan could reap many benefits indeed.
Huo Shaoheng looked up at Tan Dongbang with a smile. “From the way I see it, Hong Kangquan helped you commit election fraud and murdered someone for your wife. This is far from the realm of such motivations as helping his wife’s best friend and her best friend’s husband.
Tan Dongbang frowned in thought for some time, before he finally understood what Huo Shaoheng was saying. He immediately felt that his scalp itch, like a patch of grass was growing on it.
“Major General Huo, what do you mean by that?! Hong Kangquan may have helped me in a minor way, but what does that have to do with my wife? He murdered someone for her? Are you mixing her up with someone else?”
Although Tan Dongbang had been delighted to cheat on his wife, he would not tolerate his wife humiliating him by cheating on him.
Huo Shaoheng once again took out the photo of the corpse belonging to Lu Dayong. He pushed it towards Tan Dongbang. “See for yourself. This is the person who offended your wife. Hong Kangquan was the one to murder him.”
Tan Dongbang stared at the photo so angrily his hands began to shake. He stuttered, “Th-th-th-this person. Who on earth was he? How did he offend my wife? Why did Hong Kangquan murder him?!”
Huo Shaoheng coolly assessed Tan Dongbang’s agitated movements and expressions, and couldn’t find any hint of deception at all.
He thought that Tan Dongbang was being genuine and so he probably didn’t know anything about Cai Songyin’s transaction with Hong Kangquan.
Huo Shaoheng replied calmly, “This person was using your daughter to threaten your wife, so your wife was so angry that she…”
Huo Shaoheng only spoke half the truth.
Cai Songyin was truly angered by her daughter getting kidnapped in New York, but after she read that text, she assumed the Weibo blogger had turned on her and was threatening her. That’s why she begged Hong Kangquan for help, in hopes that he could use personnel from the Secret Service to help her vent her anger upon the blogger.
Tan Dongbang exhaled sharply and grew increasingly enraged. “This was because of Little Darling?! Then he deserved to die!”
Tan Dongbang didn’t hold much love for Cai Songyin anymore but he still loved his daughter, Tan Guiren, very dearly.
“He threatened you, so you could’ve sued him,” Huo Shaoheng pointed out, as calm as ever. “Why did you insist on taking his life? Now you and your wife have another crime on your hands.”
“I didn’t ask for him to die. I didn’t even know about this until you told me about it.” Tan Dongbang wasn’t lying this time.
He truly was ignorant about the Lu Dayong incident.
“Ok. Nonetheless, even if you hadn’t known about this incident, Hong Kangquan still attempted to help you commit election fraud in this temporary interim election. Tell me, what was the reason for that?”
Tan Dongbang replied harshly, “When did he attempt to help me commit election fraud? He didn’t help me this time!”
“…But the surveillance system still shows traces of election fraud, and the situation was nearly identical to the last time.” Huo Shaoheng stared intently at Tan Dongbang and tried his best to remain calm, to prevent his emotions from being read.
He directly put his suspicions to Tan Dongbang. “So Hong Kangquan wasn’t the one to help you this time? there was someone else instead?”
This was the true reason why Huo Shaoheng had gone to interrogate the three people separately.
He had always instinctively felt that these three people were not the main culprits. He suspected that they were only agents of a mastermind hidden in the shadows.
