As the second-in-command in Chengzhou, Jiang Xiaochuan was the second one to go in for the talk.

As soon as he entered, Lian Cheng’s eyes flashed, “Mayor Jiang, is your injury healed now?”

Jiang Xiaochuan sat opposite him. When he saw Lian Cheng waving away the irrelevant people, he responded: “It’s nothing serious. It’s just an obstacle.”

“I didn’t expect that the reform of state-owned enterprises in Chengzhou would encounter such big resistance, but these matters aren’t under the jurisdiction of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and there’s nothing we can do. We can only hope that Mayor Jiang can handle it properly. But now, there are more important matters, and I hope that Mayor Jiang will cooperate with us.” These words were considerate at the beginning, but later showed a bit of formulaic coldness.

He took out a file bag, pulled out several documents, and handed them to Jiang Xiaochuan, asking him to look at them carefully: “Mayor Jiang, have you ever dealt with the matters listed here?”

Lian Cheng’s face was filled with confusion. Expressionless, he looked at Jiang Xiaochuan, feeling that it was very complicated. However, reality required him to suppress all the complexity. He needed to know where Jiang Xiaochuan had crossed the line.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at the documents in front of him with an indifferent expression: “These situations are all real, but the money is all in the anti-corruption account. You should be very clear about it, Director Lian.”

This answer was expected by Lian Cheng, who had a sharp eye. As soon as Jiang Xiaochuan said it, he handed over another page without expression. The words listed on it were not as many as before, but it was obvious that the matter on it was much more serious, because Jiang Xiaochuan did not speak for a long time.

Lian Cheng asked: “What about this matter?”

Jiang Xiaochuan replied: “I did it.”

Lian Cheng took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was trying his best to suppress something, and finally pulled out the last item in the file bag: “So, what about this share?”

Jiang Xiaochuan lowered his head, and scenes from the past flashed through his mind.

The phone call with Yue Qingci, the plan with Rong Shaobai, the gang fight, the arms deal, Rong family’s cleansing, the position of acting mayor… everything…

He raised his eyes and looked at Lian Cheng, his gaze calm, without showing any sharpness. He smiled and asked him: “Director Lian, do you think I did it?”

“I hope it wasn’t you.”

But the facts tell him that everything was connected to Jiang Xiaochuan.

Lian Cheng knew that he had the answer for a long time, but he didn’t know for what purpose. He just wanted to ask clearly. Jiang Xiaochuan, this secret chess piece he buried in Chengzhou, already stained by this dirty officialdom. Although Jiang Xiaochuan had outstanding political achievements and was even loved by many people, if he was wrong, he was wrong, and no more excuses could be made for him.

Jiang Xiaochuan smiled faintly. “I’m sorry, I let you down,” he said.

Lian Cheng’s smile finally emerged. There was no one else in the room; everything was confidential. His smile was icy, with an unprecedented frosty look. He intervened, “Jiang Xiaochuan, you have to understand that you are a hidden chess player. You are not a corrupt official. You are still working for the beliefs in your heart! You are different from those people. If you do these things now, even the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection can’t protect you! Who do you think you are? The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection can tolerate associating with gangsters like the Rong family, but associating with the Yue family—do you really think the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection can tolerate it?”

“I don’t think so. I won’t let the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection pay for my mistakes. I have already thought about it when I did these things. I will bear all the consequences myself.” Therefore, he had never compared himself with Rong Shaobai and Yue Qingci before. He wrote the exchanges in his notebook and did not report a word to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection because he knew that these things had touched the bottom line of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and neither the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection nor Lian Cheng would allow him to do these things.

Listening to his words, Lian Cheng suddenly felt that he did not see this person clearly before. He was so naive and reckless that he didn’t even consider the overall situation! He immediately sneered, pulled out a large pile of documents from the drawer, and threw them in front of Jiang Xiaochuan. Countless pages flew up, but they did not fly far and crowded into Jiang Xiaochuan’s sight.

“Jiang Xiaochuan, do you think you are doing these things very secretly? You think you are flawless, but you don’t know if others know about it, your every move have already fallen into the eyes of those who are interested. Take a look at these reports for yourself! Now I have the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to suppress it for you. If I had to go to the Provincial Committee to deal with you, you wouldn’t be sitting in front of me now!”

Lian Cheng sat up straight when he threw the documents. Now his whole body looked tense, like a bow drawn taut, full of danger.

His voice was as cold as the twelfth lunar month in winter, and it contained a hint of regret. His voice finally slowed down: “What we want is not to bring you down. You report many things to us, and we will try our best to deal with them. We can no longer afford to lose a good official. At least I hope that after this turmoil in Chengzhou has passed, I can still see you, Mayor Jiang, standing where you should have stood. But everything you did disappointed me greatly.”

Jiang Xiaochuan was silent.

“Private exchanges between political circles and the military are prohibited, Jiang Xiaochuan. You are violating party discipline and state law.”

Party discipline and state law.

These four words weighed heavily, leaving no room to breathe.

“Party discipline and state law…”

Party discipline and state law—why hadn’t they eradicated all those corrupt officials? With party discipline and state laws, why was Xue Yan still subject to such persecution? There were party discipline and state laws, but why was there no distinction between purity and corruption, and why were right and wrong blurred?

Was he, Jiang Xiaochuan, too naive, foolish, and ignorant, or was Lian Cheng too naive, foolish, and ignorant?

Jiang Xiaochuan massaged his temples and breathed quietly, feeling the breath flowing through his body. He chuckled, “Since this is the case, and there is no room for recovery, then let nature take its course. This chess piece of yours may be broken, but it’s not useless yet.”

At that moment, Lian Cheng felt the urge to cry.

The man in front of him, with one hand on his forehead, touching his eyebrows with his fingertips, and a smile on his lips, was sentencing himself to his future in a matter-of-fact manner.

But he had to force himself to be ruthless and said without any emotion, “After the Chengzhou incident is over, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will set up an investigation team to rigorously investigate your case. Let’s conclude our discussion today.”