Not only in Beiguan, but also in most districts and towns in Donghai, the municipal committee's office in the city hall is very small. The official level has always encouraged municipal committee members to solve their own office problems privately. Generally speaking, the political donations raised by municipal committee members for running for councillors, if there is any left after the election, can also be used to pay for their legitimate work expenses after being elected.
And in the final analysis, whether the municipal commissioners work in city hall or not has no impact on the operation of the entire municipal organization.
Lu Ming did the same. After walking around his office in the City Hall, he went back home. Only Officer Li Zhongliang was left in the City Hall office.
Because the municipal commissioner, or the deputy mayor, is, to a large extent, really just a supervisor. When you find problems with the municipal agency to which you are assigned, you are the senior supervisor and can solve the problems with great vigor and determination.
But usually, you don't need to do anything too much.
For example, this is the case with the legal affairs office under my charge. It functions well with or without you, and there is no place for you to interfere. The direct superior of the civil servants is the chairman of the office. They don’t know who you are, nor do they need to know who you are. Even if you are the chairman of the legal office, when they face you, it is not like a subordinate facing a superior.
After all, the appointment and removal of the heads of these administrative agencies is decided by the entire municipal committee, not any individual committee member.
He just needs to know where the power in his hands comes from.
From the perspective of past history, only the chief commissioner was the person with real power to appoint and dismiss the head of the executive branch.
There has never been a chief commissioner who cannot control the entire municipal committee before.
Even if the youngest municipal commissioner in the history of Donghai and even the empire appeared in Beiguan, people might not buy your account.
Because elections are different from promotions that follow a routine. If it is a system of promotions that follows a routine, and you are in a high position at a young age, everyone will be wary of you. But elections are different. You don’t know how you came to the fore this time, and you don’t know what will happen in the next election. You never know if a scandal will come out and you will be doomed.
However, Lu Ming felt that the civil servants he met along the way when he came down from the City Hall were still somewhat afraid of him. They were all well-informed people and probably knew that although he, a municipal commissioner, was young, he was not just a swindler who got to the position through nepotism.
Although, around the New Year, there was a rumor that he was a plaything of Justice Christine, and that it was Justice Christine who pushed him into this position.
Even though he had won many cases in the past, most of them were actually because Justice Christine used her influence to favor him.
It would be fine if this rumor was spread by old Baklo.
He was afraid that some big shots who didn't want Christine to keep her position as crown prince were making moves, and he would just be an innocent victim.
I am not strong enough to fight against people of that level.
After all, the succession of the Duke of Donghai will have a profound impact on the political situation in the imperial capital. One can imagine what kind of people will be able to participate in it.
As soon as I stood out a little, I found it difficult to move forward. I came from a common family and once I stepped into the political circle, I really didn't know my way around.
Just keep your tail between your legs for now.
Lu Ming was pondering as he walked down the steps of the City Hall and got into the car.
"Bang..." The black car braked suddenly just after starting.
The open jeep in front also stopped quickly, and several big men in camouflage uniforms jumped out and came to pull the lame man who was blocking the car.
The lame man was unkempt and ragged, looking like a beggar. He held up a sign high up, a white paper sign with several shocking red characters written on it, either in red paint or blood: "Officials and businessmen collude to persecute civilians!"
Several sturdy men in green camouflage were furious. The beggar looked harmless and his ragged clothes were so tattered that one could tell at a glance that he couldn't hide any weapons, so they didn't take him seriously. They thought he was holding a sign and was going to protest in front of the city hall, but who knew that he would stop his boss's car.
When the beggar was pulled aside, he was inevitably hit a few times in secret while being dragged. If it wasn't so obvious here, he would have been dragged to a corner and beaten.
"Wait, bring him here!" Lu Ming got out of the car and looked at the beggar in surprise.
Li Mingxuan? No way
The surveillance on him had been removed long ago. Even if he sent a message to the North and leaked his whereabouts, it would no longer matter to him.
But how did he become a beggar again
Wasn’t I originally given a job as an elevator attendant
"Mingxuan, what are you doing?" Lu Ming looked at the man who was walking slowly towards him. His face was covered with scars, he was limping, his body was covered with dirt, and his clothes were tattered, black and greasy.
"Commissioner Lu, please make the decision for me!" Li Mingxuan pointed to the cards in his hand.
"Well, it's me you're waiting for." Lu Ming smiled, thought for a moment and said, "Well, I told you earlier that we should have a meal together with Annie, so let's do it today!"
I made an appointment with Han Anni during the Chinese New Year, wanting to treat her to a meal and talk to her about something, but she rejected me again. Li Mingxuan came at the right time. I don't know what this guy wants to use me for, so I'll use him first.
"Annie?" Li Mingxuan was a little confused.
"Han Annie, Officer Han from Wuan." Lu Ming smiled.
"Ah, Officer Han is in Donghai?" Li Mingxuan's scarred face finally showed a change of expression, and he looked very surprised.
"Well, get in the car and find a place to wash up first!" Lu Ming pointed to the jeep behind.
"Hey, why are you holding such a broken sign? Take it." Seeing Li Mingxuan was about to take the sign over, Lu Ming was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and waved to the people on both sides.
"Xiao Cui is dead..." Li Mingxuan suddenly hugged the sign tightly, as if he had become a different person, with a fierce light like a beast in his eyes, as if the wooden sign was his life and no one could touch it.
"What? Is it, that Xiao Cui who was with you? Are you still in contact?" Lu Ming was stunned.
"Yes." Li Mingxuan lowered his head in pain.
Looking at him, Lu Ming nodded: "Get in the car first, we'll talk later."
Li Mingxuan remained silent and nodded.
…
Wolong Restaurant is a newly built building complex consisting of a corridor and several small courtyards beside the green willow river bank of Wolong Bay. It has painted beams and columns, flower gardens and bamboo forests, and the environment is closed and quiet.
This is a small private club set up by Lu Ming, which is not open to the public.
I hosted several guests during the Chinese New Year, all here.
In fact, it is more like an individual mansion, except that the service staff are hired from the labor market, rather than being domestic slaves like those in Lu Mansion.
At this time, in the flower hall of Tianzi No. 1 Courtyard, Lu Ming was slowly sipping tea, feeling a little heavy-hearted.
Xiao Cui actually died.
I always feel that I have some responsibility. If I hadn't forced her to be a witness and involved her in all these messy things, maybe she wouldn't have ended up like this.
He glanced across at Li Mingxuan, who had already washed and changed into dry cloth clothes.
According to Li Mingxuan, three months ago, the two of them reconciled and opened a pub together.
Who would have thought that just a few days before the New Year, the tavern caught fire for no reason and Xiao Cui died in it.
A few days before Xiao Cui's death, she said that she dreamed of Aunt Li. It was probably because she saw Liu Shoucheng's car on the street, and Liu Shoucheng smiled at her, which scared her to death.
After a quick look at the scene, the patrol officer determined that it was an accident, believing that the fire was caused by the gas not being turned off tightly. The victim had already fainted from gas poisoning and was unable to escape from the fire.
Li Mingxuan felt that something was fishy and insisted that they investigate it thoroughly.
Finally, the forensic doctor came and determined that Xiao Cui's head was hit several times. In other words, Xiao Cui was not burned to death. The real cause of death was the same as Li Xiaoyan, who was beaten to death with a blunt object.
Li Mingxuan immediately mentioned that Liu Shoucheng should be the murderer, or at least, he was the one who ordered someone to do it.
She also brought up the past events. Because of Xiao Cui's testimony, the reputation of Li's second concubine was greatly affected. Liu Shoucheng must have been very annoyed by this. Moreover, Xiao Cui and Li's second concubine died in a similar way, which was clearly a blatant revenge.
However, the police didn't listen to what he said at all. When he went there, the police just said they were investigating and had no clues at all.
Li Mingxuan then made a sign and went to the City Hall to complain, but in fact he was just waiting for Lu Ming.
After saying all this, Li Mingxuan drank silently.
Lu Ming pondered, not knowing what he was thinking, and suddenly said, "Mingxuan, this is such a distressing thing, so I didn't call Annie." While speaking, he stared at Li Mingxuan's expression.
Li Mingxuan sighed softly, "That's right, today's time period and the topic we are discussing are not suitable."
Lu Ming nodded and picked up the teacup.
In fact, when I heard that Xiao Cui was dead, the first thing I suspected was that Li Mingxuan was the murderer.
In a marital relationship or a prospective marital relationship, if one party is murdered at home, the chances that the other party is the murderer are very high.
Especially, Li Mingxuan and Xiao Cui have been breaking up and getting back together, and now it’s all his own story. Who knows what’s going on
The patrolman originally ruled it an accident, but he insisted on investigating it further in order to clear himself of suspicion.
Because there is no guarantee that this case may be taken up for review by a prosecutor one day.
What's more, I am still here, and there is a high possibility that this case will reach my ears one day.
Therefore, he took the opportunity to retreat and made sufficient defense.
However, from his account, we cannot say that he is definitely lying, and Liu Shoucheng is not a suspect.
No matter what the truth is, Xiao Cui was ultimately involved in their grievances because he insisted that she be a witness.
Lu Ming sighed softly.
Legal people, legal people, how difficult is it
I can hardly remember the girl's voice, appearance or smile, but I remember that she trusted me very much, which is why she appeared in court to testify.
Maybe you had good intentions at the beginning, and you were also adhering to your principles as a lawyer.
But in the end, the bones left behind are questioning you, is it all worth it
Slowly drinking the bitter tea in the cup, Lu Ming was also asking himself.
Judging from this case, the murderer of Xiao Cui was ultimately Li Mingxuan.
So, after all this, what are you doing? What have you gained? Is the price you paid worth it