1: The county magistrate and his secretary were taken away for investigation at the same time.

At the entrance of a relatively remote hotel in Yushu County, Huanan Province, a tall young man in his twenties walked out.

The young man, wearing dress pants and a white shirt, looked somewhat frail, and his fair face was full of fatigue.

Facing the dazzling sunlight, he uncomfortably shielded his forehead with his hand. It took a while for him to adjust. He finally lowered his hand, spat fiercely to the side, “Ptooey.”

As he walked along the road toward the county seat, he muttered to himself, “This is absolutely terrible luck. The Discipline Inspection Commission’s investigation is hellish.

Fortunately, I usually abide by the law and have never done anything illegal or against discipline, otherwise it would have been hard to get out.

I wonder which bastard reported and slandered me, Lin Zifeng, forcing me to face those deadpan faces here for three whole days.

When I return to the County Party Committee and County Government, I must have a serious talk with the County Magistrate about this matter.”

It turned out that three days ago in the morning, just as Lin Zifeng was organizing documents in his office, two people wearing matching uniforms—clearly staff members of the Discipline Inspection Commission—walked into his office with serious expressions.

Before he could ask their purpose, one of them spoke first.

“Are you Lin Zifeng, County Magistrate Zhang Yuhao's Secretary?”

He nodded subconsciously, but just as he was about to speak, the other party interrupted him.

“We are staff members from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. We require your cooperation on some work. Please come with us.”

As the person spoke, they took out their identification and displayed it in front of him.

“Two Comrades, have you made a mistake? I am just a secretary who has only been working for a year.”

He finally had a chance to speak, asking with a bewildered expression.

“Whether there's a mistake is not for you to decide. All you can do now is cooperate honestly with our work.

First, hand over your communication devices. Come with us honestly, and minimize the impact; that will be beneficial to you.”

The person said this in an unquestionable tone.

Although Lin Zifeng had a clear conscience, he still felt very uncomfortable with the sense of oppression brought by the Discipline Inspection Commission staff.

But he also knew clearly that the other party was right: minimizing the impact was in his best interest.

If the news of him being taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission became widely known, who knows what kind of rumors would spread!

If that happened, even if it wasn't true, it would be treated as such.

Thinking of this, he handed both phones to the staff, and then obediently followed them out of the office.

When they arrived downstairs, cars were already waiting—a line of three vehicles.

The three of them got into the back seat of one car, with two people sandwiching him in the middle.

One car drove them away, while the other two remained stationary. At the time, he couldn't help but wonder who those two cars were waiting to take away.

Since he was currently unable to protect himself, he didn't dwell on it, watching as the sedan drove him out of the County Party Committee and County Government compound.

They then brought him to this hotel and began questioning him in one of the rooms.

Four people questioned him in shifts. Whatever they asked, he told them everything he knew.

Seeing his cooperation, the Discipline Inspection Commission staff members began to subtly inquire about matters concerning County Magistrate Zhang Yuhao.

These questions included issues related to monetary bribery and sexual bribery.

He guaranteed them that County Magistrate Zhang absolutely had no problems regarding accepting bribes.

As for the sexual bribery mentioned by the other party, a seductive figure appeared in his mind.

Zhang Yuhao was not a local; his home was in the provincial capital several hundred kilometers away. Although he had been Zhang Yuhao's secretary for a year, he had only visited Zhang Yuhao's home in the provincial capital once.

That was the day before returning to work at the beginning of the year, when he and the driver went to the provincial capital to pick up Zhang Yuhao.

Therefore, Zhang Yuhao always stayed at the County Guesthouse in Yushu County.

The manager of the County Guesthouse was a young married woman under thirty, who was quite close to Zhang Yuhao.

Although he had no concrete evidence, he could sense that their relationship was complicated.

This was only his speculation. Zhang Yuhao had treated him well over the past year, and not long ago, had promoted him to deputy section level, concurrently serving as Deputy Section Chief of the Government Secretary Section. Therefore, he did not mention this matter.

He only claimed that he was unaware of the County Magistrate's private life outside of work.

This was also why he had been held for three days before being released.

During these three days, apart from losing his personal freedom, he did not suffer any hardship.

He ate and drank normally; he just couldn't leave the room.

What he didn't know was that during these three days, the Discipline Inspection Commission staff not only investigated his communication records and thoroughly understood his interpersonal relationships but also obtained his financial transaction records from the bank.

After confirming that he had no issues, and seeing that he adamantly refused to speak about Zhang Yuhao's relationship issues...

The Discipline Inspection Commission staff felt that relationship issues were merely minor details for a Division Level Cadre.

As long as they confirmed the fact that Zhang Yuhao accepted bribes, they could take him down, which is why they released him.

Lin Zifeng was still thinking about returning to the County Government to complain to Zhang Haoyu!

What he didn't know was that less than half an hour after he was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission, Zhang Yuhao was also invited to this hotel for a “cup of tea” (interrogation).

He was just one floor up from where Lin Zifeng had been, and he hadn't been released yet!

The news of him and Zhang Yuhao being taken away for investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission had already spread throughout the County Party Committee and County Government, fueled by those with ulterior motives.

So, when he walked into the County Party Committee and County Government compound, he was met with people pointing fingers and whispering.

Colleagues who usually greeted him with smiling faces and called him “Secretary Lin” were now avoiding him.

Seeing this situation, he frowned and thought to himself, it seems the news of me being taken away for investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission has already spread throughout the County Party Committee and County Government.

The impact this time was more severe than he had imagined.

Filled with worry, he went upstairs. Walking down the corridor, he ran into Li Huan, a recent university graduate who had just joined the Secretary Section.

Li Huan usually stayed close to him, and he had taken good care of this newcomer.

When Li Huan saw him, he quickly approached him after confirming they were alone, and pulled him into a corner of the corridor.

Only then did he whisper, “Brother Lin, the news of you being taken away for investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission has already spread throughout the compound.

People are discussing behind your back that this time, both you and the County Magistrate are doomed. Since you're back now, does that mean you're fine?”

“Xiao Li, what do you mean by that? I just went to cooperate with the Discipline Inspection Commission's investigation. What does that have to do with the County Magistrate?”

he asked, puzzled.

“Didn't you know, Brother Lin? The County Magistrate was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission right after you. You're back, but the County Magistrate hasn't returned!”

“What? The County Magistrate was also taken away?”

Li Huan nodded and said, “Everyone is widely speculating that the County Magistrate accepted huge bribes and also has problems with his personal conduct.

As the County Magistrate's secretary, you certainly must have gained benefits too. Everyone says you'll be going in with the County Magistrate to 'tread the sewing machine' (serve time in prison).

Now that the Discipline Inspection Commission has released you, it means you are fine, but the County Magistrate is another matter.”

Hearing what Li Huan said, Lin Zifeng suddenly realized, thinking, “So, they were targeting the County Magistrate!”

Otherwise, I would have wondered why the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection would even care about a small fry like me. So, it's a case of 'Xiang Zhuang performs the sword dance, but his target is Pei Gong' (an indirect attack with an ulterior motive)?

Although he had only served as Zhang Yuhao's secretary for one year, he was certain that Zhang Yuhao would not make mistakes regarding money.

Zhang Yuhao was only thirty-one this year and had already served as County Magistrate for two years.

Such a young, officially appointed Full Division Level Cadre had a boundless future.

His only flaw was a slight lack of experience in officialdom and being overly young and energetic, which led him to offend many people in his work.

Furthermore, he and County Party Secretary Yu Guodong did not see eye to eye; they were outwardly friendly but inwardly discordant. This incident was very likely a strike and persecution orchestrated by an opponent.

Thinking of this, he patted Li Huan's shoulder and said sincerely, “Xiao Li, thank you for telling me all this.

Everyone else is avoiding me now, afraid of catching bad luck. Only you are still willing to talk to me.

Go back to work quickly! Don't let others see us. People's hearts are unpredictable!”

“Brother Lin, it's nothing. You must take care of yourself. I can't help you much.

If you want to know the news around the compound, call me after work, and I will tell you everything I know.”

He thanked him again and quickly walked toward his office.