Chapter 11

Part One: Turmoil in Officialdom. Chapter 11: A secret no one had discovered

Zhang Ke could not bear to watch Tang Jing suffer any longer and decided to reveal a little more of the truth to Gu Jianping and Tang Jing. As Gu Jianping came in, he asked, "Among the photos Secretary Ye brought, was there one with a stretch of courtyard wall and a river behind it, with the two of them walking casually along the road? Judging from Uncle Tang's angle, it could have been taken secretly, but the woman was looking at the camera. Was that the photo Secretary Ye brought?"

"What? You've seen that photo?" Gu Jianping said to her daughter, "Jing, the photo is under my pillow. Go and get it..."

Sure enough, it was one from Xu Si's stack of photos. Zhang Ke said calmly, "Dad and I saw one much like this. Dad said Uncle Tang was discussing work with this woman at the time. It doesn't prove anything..."

"What sort of work photo looks like this?" Seeing how her husband's gaze seemed glued to Xu Si in the photo, Gu Jianping felt bitter.

Zhang Ke suspected that this series of photos might have been taken secretly without Tang Xueqian's knowledge. Xu Si, of course, should have known, which was why she looked toward the camera when the photographer pressed the shutter, making them seem like perfectly natural snapshots of everyday life. But really, Tang Xueqian had stared at Xu Si without restraint in every single photo, probably because they had been alone together and Xu Si had said some flirtatious things.

Zhang Ke needed to find a way to pull Xu Si out of this mess, so he could not speak ill of her now. A woman's fixation could be terrifying.

"Maybe someone wants to smear Uncle Tang. I think this photo was taken secretly, while Uncle Tang was discussing work with this woman." Zhang Ke pointed at Xu Si in the photo and looked calmly at Gu Jianping. He wanted her to understand that helping clear Tang Xueqian's name mattered more than jealousy. "How did this photo end up in Secretary Ye's hands? My dad said Secretary Ye isn't trustworthy... How did he tell you about my dad going to Dongshe?"

"He said your dad was afraid of being implicated and used your great-uncle's funeral as an opportunity to hide away in Dongshe. He also said your dad had taken ten days' leave. I thought that was strange too. Why take ten days off?" Doubts arose in Gu Jianping's mind as well. She was not a stupid woman, after all; seeing Xu Si in the photo had merely driven her almost out of her mind.

"Before that, Secretary Ye came to my dad and said Uncle Tang wanted him to go away for a while and lie low. My dad knows what sort of person Uncle Tang is, so he could tell from the message Secretary Ye brought that he wasn't trustworthy. My dad did take ten days' leave, but he wasn't hiding in Dongshe. Staying in the city, he could only fret helplessly, with people watching everything he did. That was why he thought of going to Dongshe to get away from their watchful eyes. Only then could he investigate who was trying to smear Uncle Tang..."

"Someone must be trying to smear your Uncle Tang." Gu Jianping sank weakly onto the bed and began to cry softly. The pressure she was under had evidently become too much, making her forget her composure and cry in front of her daughter and Zhang Ke. "What's so good about being deputy mayor? Not a single day when he can eat a proper meal or get a good night's sleep, and the things he does leave so many people resenting him. And now look at this-they're trying to destroy your Uncle Tang..."

Zhang Ke did not dare tell Gu Jianping the truth, afraid she would lose her composure.

"Oh, Secretary Ye just took some of your Uncle Tang's papers..." Only then did Gu Jianping remember.

Zhang Ke smiled helplessly to himself and asked her, "What did he take?"

"Things your Uncle Tang jotted down at home, work journals and the like. He took two or three notebooks and a stack of writing paper..." Gu Jianping suddenly began to rely on the boy before her and asked anxiously, "Were those very important?"

"My dad also asked me to come and get those things, to see whether Uncle Tang had offended anyone at work. Perhaps we could find out who was trying to smear him," Zhang Ke said. "They're not that important. Since Secretary Ye took them, I doubt we can get them back. Auntie Gu, did Uncle Tang leave anything else at home?"

"I don't get involved in your Uncle Tang's work. Why don't we look in his study and see whether we can find anything else?"

Zhang Ke had visited Tang Xueqian's home many times, but he had never entered his study. Even his father could not enter without an invitation. Two rows of bookshelves reaching the ceiling stood against the east and west walls. The shelves on the left were filled with all kinds of books and illustrated volumes, while those on the right held old books and assorted porcelain, all visible at a glance. Tang Xueqian liked collecting porcelain and old books. Some of the porcelain at home he had hunted down himself at antiques markets, some he had collected during the rustication movement in the seventies, and quite a few pieces had been gifts from friends and subordinates. Fortunately, none were particularly valuable.

The shelves on the left showed signs of having been rummaged through, while those on the right, holding porcelain and old books, remained perfectly orderly. Presumably, Ye Xinming had thought whatever he was looking for would not be there. Zhang Ke walked closer, scanning the porcelain and old books. His fingers slid over worn spines, and he pulled a notebook from the most inconspicuous corner. It was the kind with an ocher cover, its spine frayed at the edges and peeling in places. Mixed in with the old books, it was indistinguishable without a careful look.

The name "Zeng Jianhua" was written in blue ink on the notebook's flyleaf, in thick strokes. Below the name was a date, "91.3." Zhang Ke did not recall the name. He turned a few pages and found a running record of what seemed to be financial work, full of trivial details. It was probably this Zeng Jianhua's personal work journal. Zhang Ke quickly flipped through it, but there were no sensitive terms.

When Zhang Ke had worked at the Longyu Group, many things that could not bear scrutiny had been recorded in veiled terms, so long as he himself could understand them. He would have to take this notebook back and study it carefully. He found nothing else useful. It seemed Ye Xinming had overlooked this notebook.

"Auntie Gu, Uncle Tang will definitely be all right. My dad needs to collect evidence without anyone noticing, so please don't tell anyone he's investigating this. After all, we still don't know who's trying to smear Uncle Tang..." Zhang Ke glanced at Tang Jing. Although she had grown much thinner, she was still beautiful, with not only a young girl's delicate freshness but also a touch of allure in her eyes and brows.

After listening to Zhang Ke's analysis, she had regained confidence in her father. Some color gradually returned to her face, and her beautiful eyes, shimmering like water, gazed steadily at Zhang Ke. He wanted to talk to her, because the provincial inspection team would soon intensify its investigation, including asking Gu Jianping to submit to questioning and searching Tang Xueqian's home. The pressure on her would surely be immense. But with Gu Jianping present, it was difficult to offer much comfort. He merely squeezed her palm as he left, hoping she could endure the days ahead.