Chapter 21

Part One: Turbulent Waters of Officialdom. Chapter 21: The story behind the notebook

By the time the dinner ended, it was already one in the morning. Everyone was excited, and Tang Xueqian proposed seeing Ye Xinming.

Before that, Tang Xueqian recalled how the crucial notebook had come into his hands. To be precise, on June 24, Jiang Mingcheng had suddenly reported to him that Zeng Jianhua had fled with embezzled funds. To avoid disrupting the restructuring, Jiang Mingcheng had asked the police to investigate in secret, with knowledge of the matter restricted internally to members of the restructuring team. Tang Xueqian had also found Zeng Jianhua's flight with the money highly suspicious. Everyone in Haizhou City knew there were problems at Xinfeng Group, but no one could uncover them. Before Zeng Jianhua disappeared, Tang Xueqian had spoken with him several times, hoping to find a breakthrough through him and get to the bottom of Xinfeng Group's problems before the restructuring.

On the day Jiang Mingcheng reported the case, Tang Xueqian had searched Zeng Jianhua's office with the police. After the officers left, Tang Xueqian had happened upon the notebook between a drawer and the inside wall of Zeng Jianhua's desk. He did not know whether Zeng Jianhua had hidden it deliberately or whether it had accidentally fallen in when the drawer was pulled out. At first, Tang Xueqian had thought Zeng Jianhua had hidden it deliberately. Excited, he had assumed, without examining it closely, that he had found the key evidence to unravel Xinfeng Group's financial mysteries. He had mentioned it to his secretary, Ye Xinming, without going into detail. Then he had been reported for taking bribes. First, Ding Xiangshan had told him to suspend his work on Xinfeng Group's restructuring. Immediately afterward, the Provincial Inspection Team had arrived in Haizhou and placed him in isolation for investigation. Tang Xueqian had taken a precaution and left the notebook on a shelf holding old books and porcelain. He had never expected it to become the most crucial piece of evidence in clearing his name.

All indications suggested that, after Tang Xueqian obtained Zeng Jianhua's notebook, Ye Xinming had tipped off Jiang Mingcheng and Ding Xiangshan.

"He'd been working with me ever since he joined the Second Secretary Office-two years now. I thought he was quite trustworthy." Tang Xueqian frowned, particularly saddened by Ye Xinming's betrayal and fall into corruption.

Zhang Zhixing said ruefully, "He did change somewhat after he joined you in the work of restructuring Xinfeng Group, Mayor Tang. I never imagined he'd change this much..."

"Secretary Ye might not be deeply involved," Zhang Ke said. "He might not have much to do with Zeng Jianhua's disappearance. If so, he should be easier to crack."

Judging by Xu Si's account, Jiang Mingcheng had probably drawn Ye Xinming into corruption after he accompanied Tang Xueqian to Xinfeng Group to oversee the restructuring. He had participated in planning and carrying out the scheme to frame Tang Xueqian. Ye Xinming had also secretly sent someone to take those photographs of Tang Xueqian and Xu Si.

At this point, the members of the Special Investigation Team naturally would no longer look into why Tang Xueqian's gaze had rested on Xu Si in every photograph.

After reading Xu Si's statement, Tang Xueqian had broken out in a cold sweat despite being in a room with the air conditioning on full blast. Had Zhang Zhixing and his son not discovered these questionable pieces of evidence, he feared he would never have been able to clear his name.

Zhang Ke went along to the detention room to see Ye Xinming. It was his first close-up encounter with Ye Xinming since returning to 1994. Before this, he had heard his voice and seen him from a distance at the apartment Xinfeng Group had assigned to Xu Si.

The Special Investigation Team had brought Ye Xinming to the provincial capital on the pretext of assisting with the investigation. He had yet to realize he was a prisoner. Seeing Jin Guohai and the team members push open the door, he picked up the cigarettes on the table and drew out several, about to hand one to each person. Then he saw Tang Xueqian, Zhang Zhixing, and Zhang Ke follow them inside, and the smile froze on his face.

Faced with the material the Special Investigation Team had already gathered, Ye Xinming offered no pointless resistance. He admitted everything Xu Si had voluntarily disclosed, confessing that he had accepted substantial gifts from Jiang Mingcheng from the very beginning of his work assisting Tang Xueqian in overseeing Xinfeng Group's restructuring. After Jiang Mingcheng introduced him to Municipal Party Committee Secretary Ding Xiangshan and he established that connection, Ye Xinming had abandoned Tang Xueqian completely.

Zhang Ke sneered inwardly. Between the Municipal Party Committee secretary and the executive deputy mayor, you couldn't exactly say Ye Xinming had made the wrong choice. Amid the ups and downs of officialdom, how many officials could hold fast to the belief that an innocent man needed no defense?

Ye Xinming's confession provided no particularly obvious help with the cases involving the loss of Xinfeng Group's state-owned assets or Zeng Jianhua's disappearance, but it was enough to support the Provincial Standing Committee in taking measures against Ding Xiangshan.

The Special Investigation Team subjected Jiang Mingcheng to further rounds of interrogation. Jiang Mingcheng had sensed something was amiss after arriving in the provincial capital, and the team's psychological offensive had no effect on him.

To help reduce Xu Si's culpability as much as possible, Zhang Ke gave a supplementary statement. Since he could not coordinate his account with Xu Si's, he put considerable thought into it.

Nor did Zhang Ke want to coordinate accounts with Xu Si. He would rather risk the discrepancy being exposed than leave her with any lingering misgivings.

After completing the supplementary statement, Zhang Ke returned to his room to rest. The Special Investigation Team had to organize the material for its report at the Provincial Standing Committee Meeting, while his father was drawn away by Tang Xueqian to continue their conversation.

When Zhang Ke woke, the sun outside was already high, and it was past ten. He had not slept so comfortably in a long time-counting his previous life, it had been a very long time indeed. He opened the door and saw Tang Jing standing outside, looking hesitant. Startled, she said, "Could you not open the door so suddenly?"

Zhang Ke blinked. It did not seem to be his fault. "Could you please not suddenly stand outside my door? What is it? Why didn't you just come in and wake me?"

Tang Jing looked bashful for a moment, then suddenly said, "Thank you." With that, she lifted her head and walked away.

Zhang Ke stood there in bewilderment for a while, then hurried to the office. He found everyone gathered around Xu Xueping and Tang Xueqian, with Xu Xueping holding Tang Xueqian's hand as he spoke. It turned out that the Provincial Standing Committee Meeting had already concluded, and Xu Xueping had come on behalf of the Provincial Party Committee to convey its concern to Tang Xueqian.

When Xu Xueping saw Zhang Ke, he beckoned him over. "Come, come. I hear you made another contribution yesterday..."

The standing committee meeting had passed a resolution to take the necessary measures against Ding Xiangshan. It had also decided that Zhou Fuming would temporarily serve as Haizhou City Party Committee Secretary and take charge of the work. Tang Xueqian would resume his duties, while Zhang Ke's father would formally participate in the Special Investigation Team's examination of the case. Effective immediately, the team would move into Haizhou to conduct an in-depth investigation into Ding Xiangshan's acceptance of bribes and embezzlement of state-owned assets. Jin Guohai would lead a group there first to take measures against the relevant suspects.

The Provincial Party Committee's swift resolution was an affirmation of the Special Investigation Team's work.

Based on what Zhang Ke had seen and Xu Si had described, the Red-Brick Villa at the northern foot of Xiangshan should contain countless pieces of evidence of Ding Xiangshan's crimes. Ding Xiangshan remained completely unaware of the moves being made in the provincial capital. The members of the Special Investigation Team all seemed to believe that the cover concealing the truth would rapidly dissolve like snow doused with boiling water.

A review of each member of the original inspection team had also uncovered suspicious points. The team's deputy leader admitted that he had reported developments to Ding Xiangshan throughout the investigation into Tang Xueqian's case. It was not that he had colluded with Ding Xiangshan, but that Ding Xiangshan had taken the initiative to ask him about their progress. Ding Xiangshan was Haizhou City's top official, so reporting to him was not an egregious breach of the rules.

Xu Xueping stayed for lunch with the Special Investigation Team, then saw Jin Guohai off to Haizhou ahead of the others. The remaining team members and the suspects would stay until the next day before going to Haizhou. Zhang Ke could find no reason to see Xu Si again, and it kept weighing on him. He also worried that his statement might not have the effect he intended. Remembering how Xu Si had killed herself a year after being imprisoned in 1999, Zhang Ke was truly afraid that she would not be able to bear too much.

Xu Si was not deeply involved in the case. During her six-month affair with Ding Xiangshan, she had received 270,000 from Jiang Mingcheng in three installments and had written him IOUs for all of it. If only those IOUs could be found, or Jiang Mingcheng would admit to them. The main issue was still the relatively serious matter of framing Tang Xueqian. Although coercion had played a part, the problem was still fairly substantial. He could only hope his statement would help.