Me! A high-ranking official!

He immediately realized the problem. It was usually just the few of them at home, and his card was used casually with a simple password—his birthday. He felt a sinking feeling in his heart; he looked up.

"This card is mine, but I haven't used it for two or three years. It's been sitting at home the whole time. I have no idea about the transaction records on it."

Zhang Jianhong looked at him, seemingly trying to determine the truthfulness of his words, and paused before continuing to ask:

"In addition, during our investigation, we discovered that Cao Wenting owns three properties, and the purchase money for all of them was transferred from this card. All three properties are registered under Xu Qingqing's name."

His heart sank, and he began to understand. Cao Wenting had been on guard against him all along, using his card to launder money and buy houses. Once the matter came to light, all the clues would point to him, and Cao Wenting could push all the blame away. The card belonged to Zhao Jianguo, and the money was transferred from Zhao Jianguo's card. What did it have to do with Cao Wenting? He would be unable to clear his name no matter what.

And because of the existence of this card, part of Cao Wenting's embezzlement charge will be mitigated; this was a contingency plan that was laid long ago.

"I know absolutely nothing about this matter." He tried to keep his voice calm: "I hope the Discipline Inspection Commission can thoroughly investigate this matter."

Zhang Jianhong closed his notebook and said calmly, "The Discipline Inspection Commission will not wrong an innocent person, nor will it let a guilty person go free. You can rest assured about that."

He paused, his gaze sharpening, and asked again:

"There's another issue. You accused Xu Qingqing and Qi Xiongwen of having an affair and contracting a venereal disease from you. But according to our investigation, three days ago, you booked a room at the Luyuan Hotel. During that time, a woman entered your room, and you two didn't leave until the next morning."

Upon hearing this, his head buzzed.

Hotel booking records!

The disciplinary committee checked his hotel booking records!

And they even found Zhou Qingyan!

"How do you explain this situation?" Zhang Jianhong's voice was devoid of emotion, but his eyes were fixed on him intently, emanating an invisible pressure!

He suppressed his panic and his mind raced.

No! If Zhang Jianhong knew that the person he was sharing a room with was the newly appointed county party secretary, Zhou Qingyan, he wouldn't be so calm!

A newly appointed county party secretary spending the night in a hotel with a suspended clerk—this kind of case would shake not only the county discipline inspection commission, but also the municipal and provincial discipline inspection commissions! Zhang Jianhong would never ask him this in such a routine tone.

"How did you know?" he asked tentatively.

"We've retrieved your hotel booking records." Zhang Jianhong flipped through a page of his notebook. "You have a total of thirteen hotel booking records in the past two years. The most recent one was three days ago. We visited the Luyuan Hotel in person, and someone saw a woman enter your room and leave around the same time as you the next morning."

Upon hearing that someone had seen Zhou Qingyan enter his room, his heart pounded even faster. He tried to remain calm on the surface and asked in a deep voice, "Is there any CCTV footage?"

"The hotel's surveillance cameras were broken that day; we found out by visiting the site."

The surveillance system is broken.

There is no video evidence, only eyewitness testimony.

Zhao Jianguo's back relaxed slightly. The lack of surveillance meant that the witnesses didn't know who the woman was; Zhang Jianhong didn't know, and neither did the witnesses.

That makes things easier, but he can't let the Discipline Inspection Commission continue investigating. If he says there's no evidence, the Commission will keep investigating until they find concrete proof. Once they dig deeper, Zhou Qingyan's identity will be exposed sooner or later.

There is only one way.

认。

If they admit it, the Discipline Inspection Commission will no longer investigate the woman's identity and will only treat it as a regular case of prostitution. Prostitution is at most an administrative penalty, but if Zhou Qingyan is involved, it will be a huge deal.

Zhao Jianguo raised his head, a bitter smile on his face.

"This is the only time." His voice was a little hoarse, but he was very frank: "You can check what happened before. Xu Qingqing has a bad temper and doesn't have any feelings for me. Every time she gets angry, she kicks me out of the house. I have nowhere to go, so I can only stay in a hotel for one night. If you hadn't checked my hotel records, I wouldn't have known that I had booked a hotel thirteen times in the past two years."

He paused, his voice lowering: "This time, it wasn't intentional either. I drank too much that night, and I was completely confused. I don't remember anything. I only found out what happened the next morning. I don't deny that."

Zhang Jianhong stared at him for a few seconds without saying anything, then closed his notebook.

"Alright, that concludes today's questioning."

He tucked the pen into the side pocket of his notebook, sat up straight, and his expression turned serious: "Based on the information we have now, we need to take some restrictive measures against you."

Zhao Jianguo looked at him, waiting for him to continue!

"First, you may not leave Linshui County without approval. Second, you must keep your communication channels open, as the Discipline Inspection Commission may summon you at any time, and you must appear immediately upon being summoned."

Zhang Jianhong paused for a moment, his voice becoming even more serious.

"Furthermore, according to the relevant provisions of the 'Regulations on Case Investigation Work of the Discipline Inspection Organs of the Communist Party of China,' during the investigation, you must not have any form of contact with the accused or other involved persons, you must not collude with others to give false testimony, you must not destroy or falsify evidence, and you must not interfere with or obstruct the investigation. If you violate these regulations, you will be dealt with seriously in accordance with the Party's discipline and the law."

He stood up, looking down at Zhao Jianguo: "Did you understand what I just said?"

He stood up as well and said earnestly, "I heard you clearly."

"That's settled then. We'll contact you again if anything comes up."

After Zhang Jianhong finished speaking, he nodded to Xu Ning. The two packed their things and walked out of the reception room one after the other.

He stood there, watching their figures disappear at the end of the corridor.

Zhao Jianguo came out of the Discipline Inspection Commission building, got on his electric scooter, and turned the key twice before it started.

Cao Wenting had already plotted against him.

He had left that bank card in a drawer for years, untouched. Cao Wenting found it and started laundering money, buying houses, filling it up with transactions one by one. Over ten million yuan in transactions, three houses, all registered in his name.

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. From the day he married Xu Qingqing, or even earlier, this card had been a noose around his neck. If something went wrong, Cao Wenting could simply shrug—the card belonged to Zhao Jianguo, the money came from Zhao Jianguo's card, the house was registered in Xu Qingqing's name, what did it have to do with her? She had worked in the Discipline Inspection Commission for over a decade; she knew all too well how to absolve herself of responsibility.

But she didn't expect Zhao Jianguo to report her.

He found the gold bars, US dollars, and property deeds in the dark room on the spot. The disciplinary committee caught her red-handed, and now she couldn't clear her name completely. But she still had this card with over ten million yuan in transactions, enough to drag Zhao Jianguo down with her. It wouldn't reduce her sentence, but it could at least share the burden. Even if she went to jail, she would make Zhao Jianguo suffer greatly.

The electric scooter bounced over a speed bump, and he felt a surge of anger and coldness. Cao Wenting had never treated him as family from beginning to end. The question was, if she had been wary of him all along, why did she still marry Xu Qingqing to him?

He came from the countryside, had no house or car, and earned five thousand yuan a month. Cao Wenting was the deputy secretary of the county discipline inspection commission and wanted to find a suitable match for her daughter. Qi Xiongwen was a perfect match. He was the young master of a construction group and had been in a relationship with Xu Qingqing for a long time. If she agreed, the Qi family would be more than happy to marry him.

But she insisted on giving Xu Qingqing to him.

What's the point?

This question was stuck in his mind, and he couldn't figure it out no matter what he did.

Regarding the hotel incident, the disciplinary committee checked the room booking records and found witnesses, but the surveillance cameras were broken. If the cameras hadn't been broken that day, they would have clearly captured Zhou Qingyan entering his room—

He didn't dare to think any further.

A newly appointed county party secretary spent the night in a hotel with a suspended staff member on the eve of his appointment. If this were confirmed, Zhou Qingyan's career would be over. He took the blame for the incident at the Discipline Inspection Commission, but this was only temporary. What if a witness saw Zhou Qingyan and recognized him as the person who entered his room that day? What would happen to the new secretary?

We can't just wait. The Discipline Inspection Commission restricts him from leaving the county and requires him to be available whenever summoned, but it didn't say he couldn't investigate his own affairs. He needs to go to the bank to get a detailed statement of his bank card transactions, including the time, location, and IP address of the transactions. As long as it can be proven that he wasn't present when those transfers occurred, it has nothing to do with him. Also, the matter of Xu Qingqing infecting him with the venereal disease can't be resolved by words alone; we need to find evidence.

With the two things piled up, he felt like his mind was a jumbled mess.