Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

More than twenty years have passed, and it remains as firmly embedded in the paper as a nail.

Lu Yike stood by the table, her back very straight.

"Comrade Lu Zhengping, on March 3, 1998, you received pressure from the Haizhou Court to withdraw your case file. Now, the special investigation team is questioning you."

Lu Zhengping looked up at her, his lips moving slightly.

"That's fine, I..."

"Don't call me by my name now."

Lu Zhengping pressed his hand against the teacup.

The bottom of the cup scraped against the glass with a squeaking sound.

"I thought I would keep this to myself."

"It's not rotten."

Lu Yike placed the voice recorder on the table.

The red light is on.

"speak."

Lu Zhengping sat back on the sofa, bending over as if he were being weighed down by the piece of paper.

"That night, I was at home. The case files for the Haizhou case had already been moved to the secure room, and Zhou Lan was in charge of sealing them up."

"What time is it?"

23:47.

Lu Yike took notes.

"continue."

"When the phone was called home, the caller didn't give their workplace or name, and only said three sentences."

Lu Zhengping closed his eyes.

"First of all, the Haizhou case will be dropped tomorrow."

"The second sentence is, Zhou Lan has two children, and you and your mother are also in Handong."

"The third sentence states that the Qingdao-Taiwanese version remains unchanged, and Qin Kewen's name will continue to be used."

Lu Yike paused for a moment, then quickly put her pen down again.

"How did you handle it at the time?"

"I rushed back to the courthouse. There were already people waiting in the small conference room. They weren't in uniform, didn't have any letters of introduction, and spoke very politely."

Lu Zhengping smiled, but it was a very unpleasant smile.

"The more polite you are, the more dangerous it becomes."

The living room lights were off, making his dark circles appear even more pronounced.

"They made me write a transfer application and told me to stay away from the Haizhou State-owned Assets Management Department. The case file was withdrawn through procedures, the court clerk was reassigned, and the court changed its testimony."

"You agree?"

Lu Zhengping lowered his head.

"I agree."

Lu Yike looked at him.

"reason."

"I'm afraid something will happen to Zhou Lan, and I'm also afraid something will happen to you and your mother."

Lu Zhengping raised his hand to take off his glasses and pressed the back of his hand against the corner of his eye.

"You were still young then, and you would call for me downstairs every day with your schoolbag on your back. I thought that if I just took a step back, at least I could survive."

"But the case is gone."

"right."

Lu Zhengping's voice was hoarse.

"The case is over. All the state-owned assets in Haizhou were just emptied out like that. Back then, I sat on the bench in my judge's robe, feeling that I could speak up for the people."

He placed his glasses on the table.

"As a result, my bones became weak."

Lu Yike didn't respond to that sentence.

She pushed the copy forward half an inch.

"What do the people you come into contact with look like?"

"Of medium height, wears glasses, speaks Mandarin with a very clear accent. He didn't mention his name at all."

"Are there any other names for me?"

"I only heard them mention the Qingdao-Taiwanese version of events. Then someone came in and whispered something, and the Hengshui-Taiwanese side nodded in agreement."

Lu Yike looked up.

"Hengchu?"

"Yes. I didn't dare ask at the time."

Tears welled up in Lu Zhengping's eyes.

"That's fine too. I've written a lot of material over the years and want to make up for it. But every time I pick up a pen, I think of that night. I think of Zhou Lan, I think of your mother, I think of you."

"You didn't hand it over."

"It wasn't handed over."

Lu Yike closed her pen.

The living room was quiet for a moment.

Lu Zhengping looked at her, as if waiting for a scolding, or perhaps a word of comfort.

Lu Yike took half a step back and stood at attention.

She raised her hand and gave a very proper salute.

"Comrade Lu Zhengping, the cases you haven't finished are now being transferred back to the special task force."

Lu Zhengping was stunned.

Lu Yike's voice was very steady.

"I'll take care of the rest for you."

"That's also acceptable..."

"Write down the time 23:47 clearly, sign it, and put your fingerprint on it."

Lu Zhengping nodded.

He picked up the pen, his hand trembling violently. When he wrote the second line, the pen tip paused on the paper.

Lu Yike did not help him up.

She simply pushed the inkpad over.

"You owe me, we'll talk about it later."

"I owe you the case files, I'll pay you back today."

Lu Zhengping pressed his finger into the inkpad and then onto the evidence.

The red mark fell.

Like a seal that's over twenty years late.

1:15 AM.

Lu Yike returned to the provincial department.

The corridor lights were bright and white, and her coat carried the chill of the night. Her heels tapped against the floor tiles, one after another.

At the entrance of the special task force office, Lin Huahua came out to greet them, carrying a computer.

"Director Lu, Director Qi is online. Du Wenbin has been taken to the interrogation room."

"Materials are filed together, originals are scanned, and pages with fingerprints are sealed separately."

"clear."

In the interrogation room.

Du Wenbin sat across the table, his shirt wrinkled, his eye bags heavy, and the glass of water in front of him had gone cold.

He looked up and saw Lu Yike, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Director Lu, coming at this hour?"

Lu Yike put the folder down.

23:47.

Du Wenbin's facial muscles tensed slightly.

"What?"

"On the eve of the Haizhou court's case file withdrawal, Lu Zhengping received the first phone call on his home landline. He then rushed to the small conference room of the Haizhou court."

Lu Yike opened the evidence materials.

"That same night, someone conveyed that the Qingdao media's stance would remain unchanged, and Qin Kewen's name would continue to be used."

Du Wenbin stared at the paper but didn't reach out.

"Director Lu, a statement made more than 20 years ago has limited evidentiary value."

"Then let's stack them up and look at them."

Lu Yike pulled out another page.

"Red memorandum, scheduling after the March 3rd meeting."

Next page.

"Haizhou fragments, frontier coordination."

Next page.

"Hengtong warehouse old server, Hengzi line, No. 4 backup chain."

Next page.

"The counterfeit sealing wax catalog in your office safe."

The sheets of paper fell one by one onto the table.

Snapped.

Snapped.

Snapped.

Du Wenbin's shoulders slumped a little.

On the screen, Qi Tongwei leaned against the hospital bed, wearing a dark coat over his hospital gown, with his left arm in a sling across his chest.

He rested his right hand on the edge of the bed and tapped his knuckles once.

笃.

"Du Wenbin, stop dragging your feet."

Du Wenbin looked up at the screen.

Qi Tongwei's complexion was not good, but his eyes were very steady.

"What you're calling cooperation now. Once the northern route completes the chain, all you have left to do is sign off."

Du Wenbin licked his chapped lips.

"My knowledge is limited."

Lu Yike looked at him.

"The highest-level order to withdraw the application, identifying the source."

"I can't reach the highest level."

"Then who will you pick up?"

Du Wenbin remained silent.

Lu Yike pushed Lu Zhengping's handprint page in front of him.

"My father backed down back then, saved the person, but lost the case."

Her voice was very soft.

"I will not back down today."

Du Wenbin looked at the red handprint, pressed his hand on the cup, and then released it.

"Director Lu, some clues are never written down."

"speak."

"There are no official documents, no formal phone calls, and no meeting minutes."

"Who sent it?"

Du Wenbin's lips moved several times.

The interrogation room light shone on his face, and sweat slid down his forehead.

"Qingtai Hengchu".

The recorder paused, his pen still.

Lu Yike raised her hand.

"Write."

Du Wenbin looked up at her.

Do you know what these four words mean?

"Write."

Qi Tongwei tapped the bedside table again.

Du Wenbin picked up a pen and wrote four characters on the statement paper.