"master."
The butler called softly from the doorway.
"Director Li called to say that everything has been arranged."
Zhang Erhe didn't even look up.
“Tell him I’ll treat him to dinner tomorrow.”
The butler bowed and quietly withdrew.
The only sounds in the room were the gurgling of a baby sucking on a bottle and Zhang Erhe's low humming.
"Tianyi, you must grow up quickly."
Zhang Erhe muttered to himself as he looked at his ignorant grandson.
"Grandpa will give you the best education and the brightest future. Everything in the Zhang family will be yours in the future."
After the child finished eating, he yawned slightly and fell into a deep sleep in his grandfather's arms.
Zhang Erhe carefully placed his grandson back into the crib and gently covered him with a silk quilt embroidered with gold thread.
Standing beside the crib, the tenderness on his face gradually faded, replaced by a cold and resolute expression.
Back in his study, Zhang Erhe took a black notebook out of the safe.
Turning the yellowed pages, one finds densely packed records of the network of relationships accumulated over decades.
From high-ranking government officials to underworld bosses, from hospital directors to prison wardens.
This is the foundation of his power, the secret to the Zhang family's enduring strength.
His finger stopped on a page containing the contact information for a man named "Old Knife".
Lao Dao is the deputy warden of Chengnan Prison. Twenty years ago, when he was just a junior prison guard, he was mentored by Zhang Erhe.
After the call was connected, Zhang Erhe skipped the small talk and got straight to the point.
"Old Dao, I have a son-in-law who needs to go in, and I need your special attention."
A hoarse laugh came from the other end of the phone.
"Director Zhang, rest assured, your people are my people. I'll make sure he feels right at home."
"No."
Zhang Erhe's voice was as cold as ice.
"I want him to never be able to get out."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
"Director Zhang, this...is a bit difficult. The investigation is very strict now..."
Thirty thousand.
Zhang Erhe interrupted him.
"Cash. Accidental death, no trace."
Another silence followed, then heavy breathing.
"when?"
"The sooner the better."
Zhang Erhe squinted his eyes.
"If you have a sudden heart attack or hang yourself, it's up to you."
"Understood."
Old Dao's voice became firm.
"Leave it to me."
Zhang Erhe hung up the phone with satisfaction, took out a cigar from the drawer, and slowly cut and lit it.
Pale blue smoke swirled in the study, like venomous snakes, moving silently.
He thought of Liu Zhiqiang in the detention center, that self-righteous son-in-law.
Did Liu Zhiqiang really think he would regain his freedom in six months?
That's too naive.
In this world, only the dead can truly keep secrets.
Zhang Erhe knew this all too well.
He was able to remain in the position of Education Bureau Chief for twenty years because of his ruthlessness and decisiveness.
"Tianyi."
He spoke softly to the air, as if his grandson could understand him.
"Grandpa taught you another lesson today: never trust promises, especially those from those in power."
...
The next day, the Sijiucheng Police Station was in an uproar.
Liu Zhiqiang, the perpetrator of yesterday's campus poisoning case, has committed suicide.
Inside the detention center.
Forensic doctor Chen Ming stood in the narrow solitary confinement cell of the detention center, his brows furrowed.
His camera flashed continuously, recording Liu Zhiqiang's body hanging from the iron fence.
The corpse's toes were only ten centimeters off the ground, and a torn sheet was tightly wrapped around his swollen neck.
"The time of death was approximately between 3 and 4 a.m."
Chen Ming said to Zhao Gang, the criminal police captain beside him.
"The preliminary assessment is that it was a suicide by hanging."
Zhao Gang's sharp gaze swept across every corner of the room.
The solitary confinement cell was less than four square meters and was completely empty except for an iron bed fixed to the ground.
Liu Zhiqiang's glasses were neatly placed beside the bed, with a crumpled piece of paper underneath.
"Where are the guards? Who was on duty last night?"
Zhao Gang's voice was as cold and hard as a knife.
A young prison guard stepped forward tremblingly.
"Reporting, Captain, it's me... but I patrol every half hour, and he was fine when I last saw him at 3:15..."
Zhao Gang took the suicide note from the evidence bag; it contained only a few hastily written lines.
"I have failed my students, I have failed my family, my sins are too great, and death is the only way out..."
Something's not right.
Zhao Gang muttered to himself.
"He was so determined during yesterday's interrogation to get leniency, how could he suddenly..."
"Team Leader Zhao!"
Suddenly, Xiao Wang from the technical department shouted.
"There was something under the fingernail of the deceased's right index finger!"
Chen Ming immediately stepped forward and carefully removed a small piece of dark blue fiber with tweezers.
"It looks like some kind of uniform fabric..."
Zhao Gang's eyes suddenly sharpened.
He remembered clearly that the uniforms in the detention center were this color.
"Seal off the area; no one is allowed to leave!!"
Years of experience as a criminal investigator told him that this was by no means a simple suicide case.
But when he tried to delve deeper into the investigation, a phone call from the city bureau completely changed the direction of the investigation.
"Old Zhao, the higher-ups are taking this case very seriously."
The bureau chief sounded somber on the other end of the phone.
"Considering the social impact, and given the conclusive evidence, let's close the case as soon as possible."
"But Chief, there's clear suspicion of homicide..."
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