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

Outside the archives room of the Provincial Party Committee Reception Office, the corridor floor tiles were so smooth that one could see their reflection in them.

When Zhou Zhengming and his entourage pushed open the door, the director of the reception office was holding a thermos cup, staring blankly at a calligraphy scroll on the wall that read "Guests feel at home".

The reception office has been thoroughly searched by the central inspection team these past two days, and the director finds those four characters particularly ironic now.

The guests certainly didn't treat this place like an outsider; they practically turned the reception area into a scene of an old crime.

"Team Leader Zhou, which year are we checking today?" The director's hand was trembling as he put down the thermos, the lid hitting the solid wood table with a crisp sound.

"Special staff and reception logs from 23 years ago during a research trip to Lingang."

Zhou Zhengming got straight to the point, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "The key point is Comrade Bai Wangshan's undisclosed itinerary in Handong, especially the vehicle dispatch records from the Security Bureau and his overnight accommodation arrangements."

The director felt a chill run down his spine, and almost spilled the tea in his hand.

"Old Bai... Old Bai? Team Leader Zhou, isn't that a bit too high a level? Back then, Old Bai was a key leader from Beijing. How could our local reception office dare to keep any non-public records of him?"

Zhou Zhengming looked up at him, his tone flat: "Are you in charge of assigning ranks to the central government, or are you in charge of managing the archives?"

The director choked on his words, then immediately pushed his thermos onto the corner of the table: "The person in charge of the files! I'll look for it right now, immediately!"

Kobayashi, who was following behind, casually spread his notebook on the table and added:

"Director, let's stick to the usual procedure: if we can find the original document, that would be best; if we can't find the original, we'll retrieve the destruction approval form from that year; if neither of those is available, then please sit down, and we'll discuss where the file went."

The director looked at him with a pained expression: "Comrade Lin, why are you starting to sound more and more like an investigator from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection?"

Xiao Lin didn't even look up: "Environment trains people. Running around with Team Leader Zhou, everyone looks like they're destroying evidence."

There was another commotion of boxes being opened and cabinets being rummaged through in the archives room.

The atmosphere this time was much more tense than when Wang Zonghui was investigated a couple of days ago.

In order to clarify the details of what happened 23 years ago, the reception office invited Ma Shunli, a retired receptionist who had been retired for six years, back to work.

Old Ma didn't rush to see who it was when he entered. He first glanced at the notepad on the table, picked up his teacup, took a big gulp, and slowly sighed:

"I knew it. After you finished investigating Consultant Wang, you would definitely come to me to ask about Old Bai."

"How so?" Zhou Zhengming asked.

"The research trip to Lingang back then was nominally a provincial symposium on financial system reform, but in reality, the waters beneath were so deep they could drown people."

Old Ma leaned back in his chair, tapping his knee with his fingers. "Zhao Ruilong was like an ant on a hot plate those days, pacing around outside the reception area; Liang Qunfeng's secretary went to the hotel three times a day; Chen Yanshi also came looking for him a few times."

As the banquet was ending, Mr. Bai spoke to several provincial leaders on the steps, saying something that was both gentle and firm: "Comrades in local areas must know how to protect those who dare to get things done and are capable of doing things; we cannot let those who get things done sweat and shed tears."

Zhou Zhengming paused, pen in hand: "Your exact words?"

Old Ma waved his hand: "More than twenty years have passed, who can guarantee that not a single word is different? But the meaning is absolutely the same. At that time, Zhao Ruilong, Advisor Wang, and Liang Qunfeng's secretary were all standing at the bottom of the steps listening."

"What are the accommodation arrangements after the banquet?"

"According to the publicly available itinerary, Mr. Bai was staying in Building No. 1 of the Provincial Party Committee Hotel."

Old Ma squinted and thought for a moment, "But the master bedroom in Building 1 wasn't touched at all that night. The convoy split up as soon as it left the hotel. Two empty cars went back to the hotel to provide cover, while the Coaster that Old Bai was in, with a security car, turned directly onto the highway to the south bank of Lingang."

The head of the reception office, who was listening nearby, was sweating profusely and quickly interjected, "Old Ma! You have to speak from your conscience. You can't just talk about these private trips that aren't on paper!"

Old Ma glanced at the director: "I've been receiving my retirement pension for six years, and you haven't even landed safely yet. You should think more clearly than me about whether it's more worthwhile to take the blame for a dead person or to tell the truth to the central supervision team."

The director was so choked up that he couldn't utter a single word.

Zhou Zhengming looked at Lao Ma: "What exactly is the location of the south bank of Lingang?"

"Zhao Ruilong set up a private club there, and the sign he put up was called 'South Shore Sanatorium'."

Old Ma made it clear: "The food, drinks, and lodging expenses in that area were never paid for by the reception office; they were all covered by Zhao Ruilong's company. At the time, our reception office was only responsible for coordinating nighttime routes and perimeter security with the Provincial Party Committee's security bureau."

Zhou Zhengming turned to the director: "Where is the record of the guard routes?"

The director wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Those special security slips are usually kept in the metal box at the bottom of the confidential cabinet; they are expired and sealed documents."

"Get the keys."

The director took out his keychain, walked to the anti-magnetic cabinet in the corner, and clicked open the lock. Rows of yellowed kraft paper file boxes were revealed.

...

Two hours later, an old guard route sheet clipped with a safety pin was flipped onto the table.

Time: 00:40 on the second day of the Lingang research visit.

The route list clearly records the license plate numbers of the lead vehicle and the main vehicle, as well as the temporarily changed destination.

They didn't dare write "Zhao Ruilong Private Club" on it, but only scribbled four characters in pen: South Bank Sanatorium.

Zhou Zhengming picked up the brittle route sheet: "Is this South Bank Sanatorium still there?"

"It's long gone," the director replied. "Zhao Ruilong later sold it and turned it into a commercial hotel. A few years ago, during the old city renovation in Lingang, the entire building and courtyard were demolished. Now it's just a green belt."

"The house is demolished, but the accounts are kept." Zhou Zhengming turned to Xiao Lin and instructed him, "Go to the Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce and the Tax Bureau to retrieve the files and investigate the actual controller and financial transactions from that year."

Half an hour later, Xiao Lin slammed the business registration document he had obtained onto the table:

"It has been verified. The registered legal entity of the South Bank Sanatorium was a shell company, but the absolute controlling shareholder was Jingzhou Ruilong Real Estate Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned private enterprise of Zhao Ruilong."

The clues have been put together.

Zhou Zhengming didn't stop there. Pointing to the finance cabinet in the reception office, he said, "Bring out all the miscellaneous expense reports from that month of research in Lingang back then, and go through them one by one."

The finance office of the reception department was in chaos again.

A leader of Bai Wangshan's level would naturally not leave behind direct accommodation invoices.

But when Zhou Zhengming flipped through the third box of miscellaneous expenses, he found a receipt among a pile of drivers' night meal allowance slips.

The nighttime refueling receipts for the two guard vehicles and the midnight snack allowances for the twelve special agents were listed in the reason column as: temporary support expenditures for important merchants in Lingang.

The person who signed and approved it was the executive deputy director of the reception office at that time.

That person has already passed away.

But on the back of the invoice, a handwritten note, about two fingers wide, was clipped with a paperclip; the writing had turned yellow from being soaked in glue.

"Bai Lao has temporarily changed the route to the south bank. The reception expenses will be handled by General Manager Zhao himself. The expenses for guards and vehicle fuel will be included in the miscellaneous items and should not be included in the provincial party committee's main reception list. This note serves as proof."

Zhou Zhengming stared at the note, his fingertip gently stroking the five words "Leave this note as proof".

In old government offices, there's never a real, complete effort to erase all traces of wrongdoing.

The more serious the irregularities and violations of regulations, the more likely those in charge will leave themselves a get-out-of-jail-free card in the most inconspicuous place, fearing that one day the truth will come out and the mastermind will pin the blame on the people who did the work.

This unburnt paper tail has, in a way, rekindled the events of twenty-three years ago.

"Zhou, should we send this to the Provincial Party Committee Guesthouse immediately and report it to Team Leader Qin?" Xiao Lin asked in a low voice.

"Keep the original documents safe and leave now."

……

That night, in a small conference room inside the provincial party committee guesthouse.

Qin Yuanzhou sat at the table and, under the light of the desk lamp, finished making copies of the note and the guard's slip.

Provincial Party Secretary Lu Chengzhou sat on the sofa opposite him, holding a freshly brewed cup of Pu'er tea.

"Bai Wangshan didn't just go down there to give a brief appearance back then."

Qin Yuanzhou put the materials back on the table, his voice steady, "Attending a private dinner, meeting privately with the secretaries of Wang Zonghui, Zhao Ruilong, and Liang Qunfeng, and changing his route to stay at Zhao Ruilong's private club in the middle of the night. This series of actions has already exceeded the boundaries of normal work investigation."

Lu Chengzhou blew on the steam rising from his teacup: "Based solely on these travel itineraries, can we directly conclude that he was involved in the transfer of benefits in the Lingang financial bridging project?"

"Legally, we still lack direct evidence, but politically, we have enough," Qin Yuanzhou stated bluntly.

"This kind of senior official is having late-night talks with private business owners in their secret clubs, while simultaneously putting pressure on local authorities to 'protect those who dare to take action.' As long as this chain of evidence is sent back to Beijing, the nature of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's talks with him will change. Our local supervisory team will not overstep its authority to determine the nature of the case, but we have already cleared out the cards for the higher-ups."

Lu Chengzhou put down his teacup, a cool smile playing on his lips: "Looking at it this way, the filing statement that Li Dakang submitted this morning is much more interesting."

Zhou Zhengming chimed in from the side: "Bai Wangshan is caught up in old grievances in Lingang on one hand, and on the other hand, he's calling Li Dakang, implying that he should 'take on greater responsibility' in the process of adjusting the provincial governor. To put it bluntly, he just wants to push Li Dakang to the forefront and create a fait accompli in Handong that 'the old economic team cannot be moved and Handong cannot undergo a major overhaul.'"

"We want to use Li Dakang as a buffer," Lu Chengzhou said.

"It's also a firewall."

Qin Yuanzhou added, "If Beijing starts investigating him, he can easily back down and say that he is only concerned about the economic fundamentals of Handong and cherishes motivated cadres, and has nothing to do with the old Lingang case. He can either interfere in personnel matters or stay out of it."

Zhou Zhengming sneered: "This old comrade has been practicing Tai Chi all his life, and he always keeps a backup plan in mind."

Just then, Xiao Lin knocked on the door and came in with an encrypted fax: "Secretary Lu, Team Leader Qin, Comrade Li Dakang from Jingzhou just sent another urgent filing document."

"Did someone with super hearing pass messages to him again?" Lu Chengzhou asked.

"Li Dakang took the initiative to report that after news of Bai Wangshan's call spread in Jingzhou, two entrepreneurs with southern backgrounds came through an intermediary from the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau this afternoon to invite him to dinner. They explicitly mentioned that they hoped that 'Secretary Li could provide some policy incentives for the development of the southern part of Jingzhou after he takes a further step forward.'"

Looking at the report, Xiao Lin said, "Li Dakang not only had his secretary refuse the meeting on the spot, but also thoroughly investigated the backgrounds and relationships of the two entrepreneurs and the middleman, and reported them along with the phone recordings."

After hearing this, Zhou Zhengming couldn't help but laugh: "Li Dakang's survival instinct is really strong. He's treating the Central Supervision Group as his bulletproof vest."

"He was forced to his senses," Qin Yuanzhou commented. "He knows that nowadays, any official position bestowed upon him by someone else is tainted with blood; if he accepts it, he has to take the fall for them."

Lu Chengzhou glanced at the signature on the filing materials and said calmly, "Since he dared to hand them over to us, it means he didn't collude with these old forces in private. Keep the materials safe, and follow the clues he provided about the middleman to have the police investigate back up to see who was keeping watch for Bai Wangshan on the outside."

"Should we let the rumors about Li Dakang taking over as governor continue to circulate?" Zhou Zhengming asked.

Lu Chengzhou leaned back on the sofa: "Let it float. Don't try to clarify, and don't give any definitive answers. If the water in the pool isn't muddy, the turtles hiding at the bottom of the mud won't show their faces. Let those who are eager to find a protector continue to cling to Li Dakang. Every one who comes close, we'll remember."

"When fishing, you don't use bait; the fish just run right up to the hook," Qin Yuanzhou chuckled. "But Li Dakang probably won't be able to sleep these next few days."

"Wanting to climb the ladder but fearing losing your head, when have people in the system ever escaped this kind of torment?" Lu Chengzhou said calmly. "Let him suffer, and only cautious people won't speak recklessly."