Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

Multifunctional hall of a policy research foundation in Beijing.

The red banner on the stage was very impressive: Closed-door Seminar on Local Economic Transformation and Financial Innovation.

Zhao Heng sat in the main seat, holding a Parker gold pen in his hand, with brand-name items and imported mineral water in front of him.

Although he had retired from his position as a senior secretary several years ago, he had not lost any of the composure and calmness characteristic of a chief secretary. He spoke slowly and deliberately, with perfect intonation and rhythm.

"Comrades, local reforms always require trial and error. We cannot completely negate the pioneering spirit of that generation of cadres just because a few exploratory projects have deviated a bit during implementation. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is not a matter of dialectical materialism."

A soft, knowing applause rippled through the audience.

Zhao Heng picked up his water glass, took a sip, and was about to move on to the next point when the heavy soundproof door of the conference room was silently pushed open.

Two middle-aged men in dark jackets with stern faces walked straight in without alerting anyone else, and went directly across the aisle to the main seating area.

The leader pulled out his badge from his inner pocket, flashed it in front of Zhao Heng, and said in a low voice, "Comrade Zhao Heng, this is the Central Special Task Force. Please go to another location to cooperate in verifying the relevant information about the pilot project for the renovation of the old city of Handong Port."

The applause in the multi-purpose hall stopped abruptly.

Zhao Heng's gold pen left a long black mark on his speech. His facial muscles barely moved, but his fingers holding the water glass were noticeably white.

He didn't shout or yell. People who have climbed this ladder within the system understand the weight of the word "decency" best.

He just cursed under his breath.

The fire in Handong eventually followed the traces of the instructions on the documents and burned his pen.

Zhao Heng slowly closed his speech, tightened his pen cap, stood up, straightened the hem of his suit jacket, and nodded slightly to the stunned scholars below the stage: "Please continue, everyone. I have some urgent business to attend to."

……

Special task force interview points.

The light from the incandescent bulb shone on the stainless steel tabletop, reflecting a cold light.

The staff didn't beat around the bush and directly pushed four copies in front of Zhao Heng.

The first document is the original application draft and the final approved revised draft from that year's Lingang pilot project;

The second document is the duty log of the guards at the South Shore Sanatorium.

The third item was the old address book that Du Qishan always carried with him.

The fourth document is the original list of risk warnings recovered from Zhong Xiaoai's email.

Zhao Heng adjusted his frameless glasses and, feigning composure, glanced through the documents. "Comrade, I've read these materials. Back then, I was in charge of document processing for Elder Bai, handling hundreds or even thousands of documents every day. The Lingang project was submitted by the Handong Provincial Party Committee and jointly reviewed by various ministries. I was merely a secretary who circulated materials according to procedure. This doesn't prove that I personally committed any disciplinary or legal violations."

The official leaned back in his chair and smiled, "Comrade Zhao Heng, we both come from a writing background, so let's not get into a word war here. Take a look at the second paragraph on the third page of the revised draft."

The staff member tapped the paper with a red pen: "The original wording from the Hantong Provincial Committee was 'Actively explore diversified financing models for old city renovation.' But in your hands, it was changed to 'Carry out a comprehensive financial innovation pilot program, allowing overseas equipment procurement, consulting services, and industrial funds to proceed simultaneously.'"

The official stared into Zhao Heng's eyes: "He added an extra paragraph. This paragraph alone gave Zhao Ruilong's offshore money laundering channel a legal and compliant green light, provided Wang Zonghui's overseas trusts with an inspection-free channel, and incidentally laundered the Chen family's illicit gains at Dafeng Factory completely. Director Zhao, you call this 'polishing the text according to procedure'?"

A layer of cold sweat seeped out from Zhao Heng's back.

Twenty-three years have passed.

He thought the old drafts had long since been shredded, but the special task force was surprised to find even such meticulously revised drafts in the old paper pile.

"Too much time has passed, and I need to recall the specific details carefully." Zhao Heng began to evade the question.

"No need to slowly recall, let us help you perk up."

The officer conducting the interview opened another notebook. "Du Qishan confessed that the revision suggestions were conveyed orally by you in person; Wang Zonghui confessed that the policy interpretation was handled by Bai Wangshan; Sha Ruijin confessed that Bai Wangshan had personally told him that the anti-corruption campaign in Handong must not bring up the old issues in Lingang; as for the list that Zhong Xiaoai handed over, even the risk classification format was exactly the same as the template you used at the foundation back then."

Zhao Heng's eyelids twitched suddenly: "Zhong Xiaoai even accepts the format template?"

The official did not give a direct answer, but just stared at him coldly.

The defenses built up in Zhao Heng's heart by "rules" and "tacit understanding" collapsed almost entirely in an instant.

This is the kind of situation that secretaries fear most.

The leader pretends to be confused in the hospital room, the agent shifts the blame, and the higher-ups are busy pruning their branches to protect themselves. In the end, all the unsigned verbal instructions and all the borderline policy statements will naturally be pinned on the secretary in charge.

It's enough to take the blame, but not so much that it completely exposes the truth.

He, Zhao Heng, had served them diligently for half his life; was he really going to retire in Qincheng for these important figures?

No, he doesn't seem qualified to go.