The Beautiful County Magistrate
Chapter 159: Kai, Get on the Video!

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Kai, Get on the Video!

Applause...

In the vast meeting hall, a round of applause suddenly broke out, with Xu Qianli clapping repeatedly.

Under such circumstances, the clapping couldn’t have been more jarring, and it caused countless people to glare at him in outrage.

This guy had done evil, and he still dared to applaud—had he lost his mind, or was he just acting recklessly out of desperation?

Zhang Kuisan slammed the table angrily and pointed at Xu Qianli, "Xu Qianli, you’re far too arrogant. At a critical moment like this, you even applaud. What do you mean by that? Are you scorning us?"

Xu Qianli glanced at Zhang Kuisan with the disdain one might show a dead dog.

"Scorn you? What are you worth, that I, Xu Qianli, should even bother to notice?"

"The reason I applaud is simply to commend the acting skills of these few individuals."

"I was wondering why the acting skills of actors these days seemed to have declined, but it turns out that all the Best Actors and Actresses have run off here."

Li Zhu, Li Xiuhong, Li Xiuli, and Li Xiaoju, you all have quite impressive talents—subtle, brilliant, and classic!"

Li Zhu said angrily, "You accuse us of acting—do you have any evidence? I think you have no way to clear yourself and are out of options; you’re just trying to create confusion and get through this mess. At this critical moment, don’t even dream about it. There are so many eyes watching, everyone’s convinced you’re guilty; you won’t be able to wriggle out of it!"

"So just because everyone’s convinced I, Xu Qianli, am guilty, does it mean I truly am guilty?"

"If one day everyone decided you ate shit, would it mean you really did?"

"To make me, Xu Qianli, confess, you’re going to need more than just empty talk—it’s useless. Show me the evidence. Without evidence, no matter how good your acting is, it’s pointless," Xu Qianli said.

Li Zhu fell silent, and so did Li Xiuhong, Li Xiuli, and Li Xiaoju.

They would have liked to present evidence, but the problem was they really didn’t have any.

Zhang Kuisan spoke at the right moment, "Let’s do this, then. I apply for a search of Xu Qianli’s office and home to find evidence of his crimes!"

Ge Changhong said, "This matter has not yet been officially investigated, and searching Xu Qianli’s office and home is not in accordance with the rules. Besides, Xu Qianli hasn’t given his explanation yet; perhaps he has a reasonable one that could convince all of us."

Zhang Kuisan said, "Fine, I want to see how he’s going to clear his own name!"

Zhang Kuisan was already waiting to enjoy the show. Even if Li Zhu and others couldn’t produce evidence of Xu Qianli’s misdeeds, Xu Qianli also couldn’t prove his innocence.

In the current situation, nearly everyone was convinced that Xu Qianli had committed those acts. Even if he managed to barely get by today, his reputation was ruined. How could he continue to mingle in the County Government and the political circles? He would be forced to leave sooner or later!

As long as Xu Qianli was discredited, Zhang Kuisan would have achieved his goal.

All eyes were focused on Xu Qianli, waiting to see how he would prove his innocence.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Xu Qianli suddenly stood up and walked over to Li Zhu.

"Secretary Li, you said I solicited bribes from you. Then tell me, what exactly did I ask you for?"

Li Zhu said, "Twenty Huanghelou gold bricks, three kilograms of top-grade tea worth four hundred and fifty thousand, one million in cash, and twenty gold bars!"

"To have asked for so much. It seems I, Xu Qianli, indeed have quite an appetite. Casually making a trip to your Qingshan Town, and extorting over two million in valuables—truly an egregious act.

"If this really happened, I, Xu Qianli, should indeed be expelled from the Party and removed from my post for investigation."

"Curiously enough, I’m quite intrigued—in the event I asked for all this, how long did it take you to prepare it, and precisely how did you go about it?"

Xu Qianli started by mocking himself and then immediately questioned Li Zhu.

Li Zhu had already prepared an excuse, "It took me about an hour to get ready. I shamelessly borrowed it from a rich businessman friend."

"Oh, so it took you about an hour to borrow it, and it was from a rich businessman friend."

"I have another question. Who is this rich businessman friend of yours? How did you contact him? Did you send someone to find him, or did you call him? And how did he deliver the item to you? Did he send someone to deliver it, or did you pick it up, or perhaps he personally brought it to you?"

Xu Qianli’s questioning made Li Zhu’s complexion turn less rosy.

The so-called rich businessman friend was just part of his explanation; in fact, there never was such a person.

With Xu Qianli suddenly asking for these details at this critical juncture, Li Zhu was at a loss for what to say.

Seeing Li Zhu stumped, Zhang Kuisan immediately spoke up, "Why are you asking Xu Qianli about irrelevant things when we are questioning how he can absolve himself of guilt? Are you trying to obscure the issue?"

"Who says they’re irrelevant?"

Li Zhu, Secretary Li, accused me of taking bribes amounting to more than two million. Shouldn’t the source of this property be investigated?"

"Deputy County Magistrate Zhang, why are you in such a hurry to interrupt me? Could it be that you want to interfere with the case, or are you trying to cover something up?"

"Could it be that you’re involved in some underhanded dealings with him?"

Xu Qianli pointed his finger directly at Zhang Kuisan, thinking to himself, ’You damn fool, you want to cover for Li Zhu? Dream on!’

With so many eyes watching here, and with the County Party Secretary, the County Magistrate, the Disciplinary Committee Secretary, and so many others present, you, Zhang Kuisan, have no chance to interfere!

Zhang Kuisan’s face darkened. He wanted to say something but was silenced by a glance from Ge Changhong and could only close his mouth, sulking on the sidelines.

Xu Qianli challenged Li Zhu again, "Come on, tell us which rich businessman friend you borrowed the item from and how it got into your hands. You must make this clear!"

This...

Li Zhu didn’t know what to say. If he made it clear, he’d be finished.

After all, those items were the benefits he had received, which he normally stored in the government building in Qingshan Town. On the day in question, he had thoughtlessly taken some items to please Xu Qianli without giving it much thought. Who could have known Xu Qianli would not let it go, leaving him clueless about what to do.

Xu Qianli’s questioning left Li Zhu speechless. He turned his head, aiming his gaze at the sisters Li Xiuhong and Li Xiuli.

"It’s your turn now."

"You two claimed that I molested you that day, touching and kissing you. Why didn’t either of you resist?"

"I, Xu Qianli, am only one man. Even if my hands were roaming over you two, if you were unwilling, why didn’t you resist? You could have scratched me or even bitten me."

"You wouldn’t say you were too afraid to resist because I’m the Government Office Director, right?"

"Or maybe, you were so frightened at the time you didn’t know what to do, and I took advantage of you?"

Faced with Xu Qianli’s questions, Li Xiuhong and Li Xiuli nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, we were just so scared of you at that time, we didn’t know what to do."

"Is that so?"

"If you two were terrified by me and didn’t want me to do anything to you, then I must ask. In this video, how come you both appear so happy and smiling? It doesn’t look at all like you’ve been bullied."

"Kai Zi, play the video!"

At Xu Qianli’s call, the electronic screen in the conference hall immediately displayed a video.

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