Guide to Rising to Power as a Wife in Beijing's Elite Circle

The disciplinary committee's case-handling office is located in a gray building without a sign on the outskirts of Baizhou City.

As the car drove in, Chen Nuo looked out the window and couldn't see any signs. There was only an iron gate, two high walls with barbed wire on top, and a camera every few meters with a flashing red light.

The iron gate slowly opened, the car drove in, and the gate closed behind it with a dull thud. It was as if an entire world had been shut down.

Chen Nuo got out of the car and followed the guide into the building. The corridor was long, and the fluorescent lights overhead emitted a pale white light, making the terrazzo floor reflect a cold light.

The walls on both sides were gray, and there was an iron gate every few meters, with a number on each gate. There were no windows, no sunlight, and the air smelled of disinfectant; it was cold and damp.

This is the case-handling site of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Baizhou City. The detention room, interview room, and investigation room are all located here.

At the end of the corridor was a room without a number.

The usher knocked on the door, and a middle-aged man's voice came from inside. "Come in."

Chen Nuo took a deep breath and pushed the door open to go inside.

The room was small, about fifteen square meters. There was a dark metal table, three chairs, and recording equipment and notes on the table. The walls were covered with gray padded material, like soundproofing cotton, with fine perforations to prevent the suspect from self-harming.

Chen Nuo stood at the door without sitting down.

As Inspector Wu's eyes swept over her, he assessed her clothing, her posture, whether she was carrying anything, and the expression on her face. Every detail was part of his evaluation system.

The inspector next to him was holding a brown paper file bag, the opening of which was not sealed, revealing the corners of the documents inside.

"Inspector Wu, Inspector Hu, hello. I am Chen Nuo, Deputy Director of the Final Review Division of the Zhongzhou City Film and Television System."

Inspector Wu didn't look up, his pen still scratching on the paper. Inspector Hu also didn't look up, his meaning clear: tell her to stand.

She knew this was a show of force. Having worked at Baizhou for so long, they had developed an air of superiority. They held higher positions, were more senior, and controlled more territory than she was.

Before they could ask, Chen Nuo stepped forward and placed the file folder on Inspector Wu's desk. "Inspector Wu, this is the complete chain of evidence in Wang Longjie's case."

"What evidence?"

"Wang Longjie, in collusion with the Baizhou City Education Bureau, staged a 'selection of concubines' under the guise of providing educational assistance. Wang Longjie was responsible for selecting eligible girls from mountainous areas, using the promise of educational grants as bait to lure them to Baizhou. The Education Bureau was responsible for providing lists, school records, and family information. The two parties worked together to present these girls as gifts to leaders at all levels in Baizhou City."

"Chen Nuo, right? How old are you this year?"

"Twenty-four."

"Twenty-four." He leaned back in his chair. "A deputy director at twenty-four is a rare sight in the Zhongzhou City media system. What's behind such a rapid promotion? Ability? Connections? Or…?" He paused, "Something else?"

He was implying that she had risen to her position through improper means, and that the evidence she presented was also obtained through improper means. If she responded, he would dig deeper.

"Inspector Hu, you can check my file to see how I got promoted. Every promotion has a complete procedure and record."

Inspector Wu spoke up, "Procedures? Records? Deputy Director Chen, you're also part of the system, you know what procedures and records are. Procedures are for superiors, records are for subordinates. You think using procedures and records to prove your innocence is enough?"

"So, what do you think is enough?"

"Evidence. Proven evidence. Not the one you have, but the one that the higher-ups acknowledge."

Evidence itself isn't important; who validates it is. No matter how much or how authentic your evidence is, if your superiors don't recognize it, it's just worthless paper. Wang Longjie's evidence was accepted by his superiors because he had powerful connections.

"Chen Nuo, we're all officials. Let's not beat around the bush. Aren't these ordinary people just mud to be trampled on? What difference does it make if they die today?"

"They are not ants, they are people."

"Humans? You think they're human? In those people's eyes, they're not even ants. In Wang Longjie's eyes, they're commodities. In the eyes of those in the Education Bureau, they're tools. In the eyes of those leaders who accepted them, they're gifts."

His voice was soft. "You treat them like human beings, but they won't be grateful. Do you think they don't know they're being used? They do know. But what can they do? Report it? If they do, their younger siblings will resent you for preventing them from having a good life, their parents will resent you for stopping them from using them to earn dowries, and she will resent you for cutting off her livelihood. They have no other way out. You have no other way out either."

Chen Nuo's hands began to tremble.

Inspector Hu leaned back in his chair. "Chen Nuo, you're a woman too. You should know how difficult it is for women in officialdom. It hasn't been easy for you to get to where you are today. Are you really going to block your own path for these people?"

Inspector Wu reached out, picked up the file folder, untied the red string, and pulled out the documents inside. He flipped through the pages slowly, pausing to look at each one, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

The documents were thick, containing transfer records, financial statements, victim testimonies, webpage screenshots, and video links. Each page contained a name, a number, and a life lost. "Is all of this real?"

"It's true." Chen Nuo's voice was steady. "From beginning to end, every flow of funds, every signature of the person in charge, the release time, IP address, and upload account of every video can all be verified. Those girls were taken to hotels, guesthouses, and private clubs, where they were forced to drink, sleep with the girls, and have indecent videos filmed. The videos were uploaded to overseas websites, membership-based, and paid to watch. The website's registration information points to the server of a certain internet company in Baizhou City. The legal representative of that company is Wang Longjie's nephew."

"How many of these girls are there?"

"According to Wang Longjie's accounts, there were at least 120 people. The youngest was 8 years old and the oldest was 16 years old."

After listening, Inspector Wu stood up, took the document, and walked to the corner. There was a paper shredder there. He placed the document on it and said, "Deputy Director Chen, do you know why Baizhou's poverty rate has dropped so quickly in recent years?"

He continued, "It's because of people like Wang Longjie. He alone supports hundreds of families across the country."

"Inspector Wu, his way of raising them is to feed them, clothe them, and provide them with shelter, and then send them to other people's beds at night. Is that what you call raising them? That's called keeping them in captivity. Like raising pigs, like raising dogs, like keeping something that can be given away at any time."

Wu Du examined her, remaining silent for a few seconds. Then he turned around and stuffed the document into the shredder.

The machine was loud, a buzzing sound like a man-eating beast. The paper was shredded by the blades and fell out from the lower outlet, turning into thin white threads. The silvery-gray scraps of paper landed on the gray carpet, their whiteness glaring.

Chen Nuo stood there, watching the documents turn into fragments, watching the girls' testimonies be torn to dust, watching her two months of hard work vanish in seconds.

She didn't move, didn't shout, didn't lunge to grab it. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. The contents of the shredder could never be pieced back together. Just like the girls' innocence, it could never be regained.

The paper shredder stopped. "Deputy Director Chen, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Chen Nuo remained silent, staring at the scattered pieces of paper. Inspector Hu stood up, walked over to her, and looked down at her. "Chen Nuo, you are suspected of violating regulations and discipline, abusing your power for personal gain, and fabricating lies to frame a leader of an outstanding enterprise in Baizhou City in order to get a promotion. Do you plead guilty?"

"Inspector Hu, are you trying to force me to confess?"

"It's not that you have to confess." He looked at Chen Nuo, his gaze like a snake. "But if you don't confess, who knows what might happen here. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, some of your photos and videos will be posted on the same website, who knows?"

His tone was casual. "You've seen those girls' videos, haven't you? They're filmed quite clearly. You can see their faces, figures, expressions, everything. If you want to try it too, I can arrange it for you."

She knew he wasn't joking. In this place, in this system, nothing was impossible. If Wang Longjie could send 120 girls to other men's beds, he could also send her photos and videos to that website.

"Inspector Hu, don't think I didn't make preparations. Before I came in, I handed all the evidence over to Chief Chen. If I don't get out within two hours, this evidence will be posted online. On all platforms, in all media, everywhere it can be posted. The headline is already written: Baizhou City Discipline Inspection Commission Destroys Evidence and Protects Criminals."

Inspector Hu's expression changed. He slammed his hand on the table, making a dull thud. "You!" he shouted.

"Inspector Hu, you can take my phone away, you can lock me up, you can make me disappear from here. But as long as Chief Chen is outside, as long as that document is still in her hands, nothing you do will make a difference. The evidence has already been spread, not just one, but many copies. The one you tore up was just a photocopy."