As he spoke, Huo Tingzhou strode into the living room with his long legs.
Accompanying him were four military committee officers and two comrades from the public security bureau.
When Captain Ma saw the boxes carried in by the six men, his face instantly turned deathly pale.
In front of everyone, Huo Tingzhou opened the boxes. "These items were all found at the Ma residence, with witnesses from both the military committee and the public security bureau."
Jiang Si glanced down and saw no shortage of valuables inside—gold bars, jade, and even calligraphy and paintings filling two large crates.
The smallest box was packed with stacks of cash, easily amounting to over ten thousand yuan at a glance.
What stood out even more was the substantial amount of foreign currency mixed in.
The righteous indignation Captain Ma had shown while interrogating Jiang Si earlier now came back to slap him in the face—hard.
Jiang Si clicked her tongue twice. "Captain Ma, you’d better explain how, as the head of the Red Committee’s inspection team, your home ended up hoarding all these things?"
"Tsk tsk, is this a case of knowingly breaking the law, or just plain corruption?"
As if struck by a thought, she added, "Based on what you said earlier, this behavior could very well be classified as that of a reactionary capitalist."
"Wouldn’t you agree, Director Qi?"
Jiang Si had warned them—she held grudges.
And here she was, throwing Captain Ma’s own accusations right back at him in front of everyone, while also dragging Director Qi into the mess.
What could Director Qi even say?
Captain Ma had been caught red-handed.
Even if Director Qi wanted to protect him, the room was full of witnesses.
Under the weight of so many eyes, Director Qi had no choice but to immediately distance himself.
"Old Ma, how could you be so foolish? You’re a veteran in the organization!"
"How… how could you let bourgeois ideology corrupt you like this?"
Heaving a heavy sigh, he declared, "For such a grave mistake, you won’t report to work tomorrow. Instead, you’ll go straight to the re-education farm for ideological reform—"
"Director Qi, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"
Director Hu blew on the tea leaves in his cup and scoffed.
"Your Red Committee member commits a crime, and instead of letting the public security bureau investigate, you just hand down your own verdict?"
"What’s the difference between that and letting someone judge their own case?"
Director Qi felt his chest tighten at the remark.
He hadn’t expected the other man to show him no face at all.
"Then what would you suggest, Director Hu?"
But Director Hu was far too shrewd to fall for such a trap.
He simply smiled. "Why ask me? This should be handled according to the law."
"Speaking of the law, I’d like to ask you something, Director Hu," Director Qi retorted with a strained smile.
"Since when can your military committee raid homes and confiscate property without authorization?"
"Director Qi, don’t misunderstand—this was hardly a raid!"
Director Hu turned his head, wearing an expression of exaggerated innocence.
"If Captain Ma hadn’t emptied their home down to the last blanket, we wouldn’t have had to step in late at night to help recover their belongings."
Tit for tat.
Without missing a beat, Director Hu fired back, "But Director Qi, isn’t your Red Committee taking things too far?"
"Comrade Jiang is a military spouse—her husband is defending our country on the front lines."
"Instead of offering support, you’ve ransacked her home without a shred of evidence?"
Director Hu hammered the point home, refusing to let go of the fact that they’d stripped the house bare.
After several rounds of this, Director Qi was left speechless, unable to counter.
In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the public security officers clamped handcuffs onto Captain Ma’s wrists.
Deputy Director Li felt like he was dreaming—or rather, he was almost embarrassed.
Jiang Si’s home had been looted twice, yet he’d somehow become the biggest beneficiary.
After cracking the previous burglary case, he’d been commended by his superiors.
Now, after just sitting here for a short while, another case—this time involving corruption and misconduct—had fallen into his lap.
He’d inspected the boxes earlier, and the sums involved were substantial.
If they followed the trail from Captain Ma, they might reel in even bigger fish.
Deputy Director Li considered for a moment. "Comrade Jiang, earlier you mentioned that Captain Ma slandered a government official. Could you elaborate?"
This could affect sentencing, so he needed clarity.
Jiang Si didn’t explain much—she simply handed her work ID to Deputy Director Li.
After reading it, the deputy director blinked in surprise before breaking into a smile.
"Congratulations, Jiang! I had no idea you’d joined the Beijing Public Security Bureau!"
Now it made sense why the military committee had stepped in to back her.
And of course, he’d stand firmly behind one of his own.
"Comrade Jiang, after suffering such an injustice, don’t hesitate to voice any difficulties you’re facing."
"Thank you, Deputy Director Li." Jiang Si gave him a genuine smile.
She hadn’t held back last time—she certainly wouldn’t now.
But debts had to be settled with the right people.
The Red Committee was notoriously flush with funds. If even an inspection team captain could amass such wealth, one could only imagine what those higher up had stashed away.
With that in mind, Jiang Si turned her gaze to Director Qi.
"Director Qi, Captain Ma searched my home over a dozen times without justification."
"And now he’s taken the last of our belongings. Shouldn’t the Red Committee give me an explanation?"
"Of course," Director Qi replied with an awkward smile.
With Captain Ma already arrested, Director Qi had no choice but to clean up this mess—no matter how furious he was.
Not that he had a choice anyway.
Director Hu and Deputy Director Li were flanking him, eyes glaring like a bull’s.
Then there was Jiang Si’s husband.
The man had barely spoken since entering, yet his presence alone was suffocating.
And let’s not forget the two elderly men beside Jiang Si, whose sharp glares promised trouble.
Director Qi had the distinct feeling that if he didn’t give Jiang Si a satisfactory resolution today, these people wouldn’t let him leave.
With that in mind, he spoke again, far more earnestly this time.
"Comrade Jiang, the Red Committee acknowledges our missteps in this matter. On behalf of Comrade Ma Changxing, I apologize."
"Please state your requests—we’ll do our utmost to accommodate them."
"No need for apologies. What he did can’t be undone with a simple ‘sorry.’"
Jiang Si preferred tangible solutions.
"Director Qi, I’ll be direct. Here’s a list of everything stolen from us."
"Over the past four months, Ma Changxing searched my home sixteen times."
"In total, he took eighty-two pieces of furniture, over twenty cartons of cigarettes, fifty-plus ration coupons, more than two hundred yuan in cash, and roughly a hundred and fifty pounds of fine grain."
"Clothes and shoes—around 200 items in total. Six quilts, plus 12 bedsheets and duvet covers combined, and four woolen blankets."
"Over 100 small miscellaneous items were taken from the house. I’ve listed the specifics later."
"And then, there’s our courtyard."
"I won’t dwell on how badly the courtyard was ruined—Director Qi must have seen it for yourself."
