I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Wednesday morning.

After the provincial party committee standing committee meeting concluded, the others left the meeting room one after another. Zhao Zhengping tidied up the documents in front of him but did not get up immediately.

He saw that Liang Hua was still tidying up, so he stood up and walked over, his voice neither loud nor soft, as if he were just mentioning it casually:

"Secretary Liang, there's been a lot of discussion in the province lately about Zeng Zhiyuan's case. Will this affect the stability of the province?"

Liang Hua put down the documents in her hand, looked up and glanced at Zhao Zhengping.

His gaze lingered on Zhao Zhengping's face for a moment, as if he had noticed something, but his expression remained unchanged.

He spoke, his tone calm and unbiased: "Investigate what needs to be investigated, and stabilize what needs to be stabilized. We each just need to mind our own business."

This statement is not directed at any specific person; it is watertight and leaves no room for criticism.

Zhao Zhengping nodded: "Understood."

He didn't say anything more, turned around and walked out of the conference room.

Back in his office, Zhao Zhengping closed the door and sat down behind his desk.

The conversation was still replaying in his mind—Liang Hua hadn't said "no" or "yes," but simply said, "We just need to take care of ourselves."

Liang Hua's words were very artful.

It sounds like a reminder, but it doesn't, but there's more to it than meets the eye.

He had a premonition that Liang Hua had seen through his unease, but she didn't respond to his words or name him.

But it was precisely this vague, almost imperceptible feeling that sent a chill down his spine...

When he got home that evening, Zhao Zhengping closed the door to his study and sat at his desk in silence for a long time.

During the day, he probed Liang Hua's attitude in the conference room. Although Liang Hua did not express a clear opinion, at least he did not call him out on the spot.

But he knew in his heart that he could only test the waters once; doing it again would be too much.

He now needs to be sure of one thing—whether Zeng Zhiyuan will continue to try to drag him into this mess.

He hesitated for a long time before finally picking up his phone, finding Zeng Zhiyuan's number, and pressing the call button.

The phone rang three times before being answered. Zeng Zhiyuan's voice came from the other end, tinged with surprise: "Zhengping?"

"Old Party Secretary, the special investigation team is keeping an eye on me."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Zeng Zhiyuan's voice was a little lower than before: "They talked to you?"

"Not yet. But someone told me that they checked the files for the provincial capital project and saw my name."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Zeng Zhiyuan spoke, his voice more steady than before:

"Having your name in the file doesn't mean you have a problem."

You simply followed the normal procedures when you signed the document, so no one can use that against you.

If anyone asks, just say it's part of the normal work procedure and you don't remember.

"Don't say anything more."

Zhao Zhengping gripped his phone tightly: "What if they investigate further?"

"We can't find anything on you. I know what's going on with you."

Zeng Zhiyuan's voice was very certain.

"As long as you stay calm and don't do anything proactive, you'll be fine."

Zhao Zhengping didn't ask any more questions and hung up the phone.

He put his phone on the table and sat at his desk for a while.

Zeng Zhiyuan said, "We can't find anything on you," but he wasn't sure if this statement was based on his assessment of the case or some other consideration.

But he had already made the call, letting Zeng Zhiyuan know about his situation.

At that moment, he suddenly thought of his daughter, Zhao Yike.

Without hesitation, he dialed her number...

……

After hanging up Zhao Zhengping's call, Zeng Zhiyuan sat at his desk for a long time.

He thought that Zhao Zhengping's statement that "the task force is paying attention to me" meant that the task force had already found the files of the provincial capital project and seen Zhao Zhengping's name.

Shen Zhengqing's letter was submitted first, and then the special investigation team checked the files.

This indicates that Shen Zhengqing's letter has been accepted and is being used as a lead for further investigation.

"We can't stand idly by; we have to do something..."

He picked up his phone, found Wei Yuan's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang three times before being answered. Zeng Zhiyuan didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Do me a favor, spread some news about Shen Zhengqing."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Wei Yuan's voice held a hint of hesitation: "Old leader, is this appropriate?"

"If you do it discreetly, no one will suspect you."

Zeng Zhiyuan added, "No need to exaggerate too much, just let some people know that Shen Zhengqing wasn't entirely innocent during his tenure."

Wei Yuan remained silent for an even longer time.

He had followed Zeng Zhiyuan for many years and knew the old leader's methods. He also knew that he had no way to get off this ship.

He finally said, "Okay."

Zeng Zhiyuan didn't say anything more and hung up the phone.

He sat at his desk and gave a cold laugh.

Shen Zhengqing's letter brought Zhao Zhengping's name to the attention of the special investigation team, and Zhao Zhengping was now under surveillance.

He couldn't allow Shen Zhengqing to send a second letter, nor could he allow the task force to continue investigating along Shen Zhengqing's leads.

He needed to make Shen Zhengqing himself unbelievable.

It may not be successful, but it can at least buy some time.

……

the next day.

Discussions about Mr. Shen began to emerge in some circles in Beijing.

"He had unclear relationships with certain projects during his tenure."

"The handover procedures when leaving the post were not complete."

"The project he was supervising in the provincial capital later had quality problems, and as a member of the supervision team, he failed to report it in a timely manner."

None of these statements are explicit accusations, but each one points in the same direction—

Shen Zhengqing himself is not clean either.

The gossip seeped into different small circles like water; no one said it publicly, but it spread quickly in private.

At the afternoon meeting, Chen Yuanda casually mentioned, "There are rumors circulating outside about Shen Zhengqing, saying that he also had problems when he was supervising projects in the provincial capital. The source of the information is unclear, but it's spreading very quickly. Just keep that in mind and don't spread it around."

After the meeting, Chen Dapeng walked out of the conference room, stood in the corridor, took out his phone, found He Ying's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

Without any preamble, he said directly, "Sister Ying, there are rumors circulating about your grandfather. They say he had problems when he was supervising projects in the provincial capital. The rumors spread very quickly, and Director Chen brought it up at the meeting today."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then He Ying's voice was lower than before: "They've started targeting Grandpa."

"It must be someone from Zeng Zhiyuan's side. Your grandfather's letter drew the attention of the task force to Zhao Zhengping, and they want to make your grandfather untrustworthy."

He Ying paused for a moment, her voice tinged with guilt: "Grandpa had to face all this in his old age."

Chen Dapeng heard the self-blame in her voice: "Sister Ying, don't blame yourself too much for Grandpa's matter. It was his own decision to stand up, it's not your fault."

He Ying didn't reply immediately, but after a while she spoke: "I know. But I still think that if I hadn't investigated this case, Grandpa wouldn't have had to face all this."

"Sister Ying, if you hadn't investigated this case, Zeng Zhiyuan might still be at large. Grandpa made this choice because he felt it was the right thing to do. And—"

He paused for a moment:

"It's obvious that these rumors are a smokescreen released by Zeng Zhiyuan; they have no real effect and are only intended to mislead us..."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before He Ying's voice softened: "Da Peng, thank you."

Chen Dapeng was taken aback for a moment: "Sister Ying, do we need to be so polite between us?"

He Ying chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, I understand."

After hanging up the phone.

Chen Dapeng didn't leave immediately. He stood there for a while before turning around and walking back to his office.

He sat down at his desk, opened his notebook, and wrote a single character next to the three characters "Shen Zhengqing": "Steady".

Then he closed the notebook and placed it on the corner of the table.

He knew that what he could do now was not to trace the source of the rumors, but to ensure that Mr. Shen's testimony would not be affected by these rumors.

As long as the task force continues to follow the procedures.

Those unfounded rumors will not have any substantial impact on the case.