Chapter 52: Breaking the Deadlock with a Brilliant Scheme

Liu Yujie asked her husband, "What should we do? Why is Liu Zhengjie trying to harm you?"

Zhang Jun’s face was as cold as if frost could be scraped off it.

"I have told you many times before, to forge iron one must be strong oneself! Flies do not bite seamless eggs! If we have no flaws, who can expose them? I told you not to be greedy for money, but you refused to listen!"

"Zhang Jun, stop scolding me for a moment! Think of a way to resolve this matter properly! Why is Liu Zhengjie so terrifying? Launching a sneak attack from the shadows! Fortunately, this report letter ended up in your hands; if it had fallen into someone else's hands, we would be completely finished!"

"Are you really that naive? How could there be only this single report letter? Who knows, other report letters might have already reached the discipline inspection commission, the anti-corruption bureau, and the letters and visits office!"

"Ah?" Liu Yujie panicked, her voice laced with tears as she said, "Zhang Jun, I'm sorry, I truly didn't know the situation was this serious. I—I will return the money to them! I won't buy the apartment anymore!"

Seeing his wife shed tears, Zhang Jun no longer wished to reproach her.

What was done was done; the only option now was to find a way to resolve the trouble.

"Regarding this matter, mention it to Yuda and be on guard against Liu Zhengjie from now on! That fellow has completely changed into a different person; I have no idea whose bidding he is doing, but lately, he has been continuously framing me!"

"A despicable villain! Shameless! The next time I see him, I am going to give him a piece of my mind!" Liu Yujie said, her teeth grinding with hatred.

The next day after arriving at work, Zhang Jun slipped the report letter targeting him among a stack of urgent documents and submitted it to Ma Hongqi.

Someone had set a trap for him.

And he was already caught in the middle of it.

Those people clearly knew he was Ma Hongqi’s secretary, yet they still wrote the report letter to Ma Hongqi.

In the event that the discipline inspection commission, the anti-corruption bureau, the letters and visits office, and other places all received this letter while Ma Hongqi alone did not, any clever person would instantly realize it had been intercepted by Zhang Jun.

If Ma Hongqi heard about Zhang Jun taking bribes from someone else's mouth first, what kind of impression would he form of Zhang Jun?

Therefore, Zhang Jun chose an attitude of surrender.

He simply presented the report letter to Ma Hongqi for his review.

Near noon, just before leaving work, Ma Hongqi called Zhang Jun into his office.

"Good morning, Boss!" Zhang Jun said with a calm expression.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ma Hongqi tapped his fingers on the desktop, where the report letter lay displayed.

"Boss, I discovered this among the incoming mail."

"Have you read it?"

"I have."

"Then why did you still submit it to me?"

"I cannot shield myself," Zhang Jun said with composure.

"Are the contents written here true?" Not the slightest emotional fluctuation could be detected on Ma Hongqi’s face.

Zhang Jun replied, "Boss, they are partly true, yet partly untrue."

"Oh? How so?"

"Regarding the red envelopes received at my promotion banquet, I had no knowledge of them. That entire weekend, I spent the whole day at the reception guest house playing Go with the Boss. That day, you even took me to visit the elderly Mr. Han Yuxian's home. The promotion banquet was organized by my wife, and she only invited colleagues from her workplace—the usual acquaintances with whom we exchange social favors. I only found out about this later. I told her to return the red envelopes, but she said these were reciprocal favors; in the past, we attended banquets hosted by others and gave out countless red envelopes, and now that we finally managed to recover a fraction of it, why should we return them?"

"Oh! I remember that day; you indeed accompanied me the entire time." Ma Hongqi nodded.

Zhang Jun continued, "As for Liu Yuda, he is my brother-in-law, my wife’s biological younger brother. The place we currently live in is a cooperative housing unit from the 1990s. The apartment is small, dilapidated, and has terrible soundproofing. My wife has long wanted to move out, which is why she wanted to buy an apartment with an elevator. The two of us have saved up some money over the years, but we were still a bit short for the down payment and renovation costs, so we borrowed a sum of money from Liu Yuda. We agreed there would be no interest, and we would repay it whenever we had money in the future. Since we are all relatives, it was easy to talk about. However, I still insisted on writing an IOU, and the IOU is currently in Liu Yuda's possession. If the Boss does not believe me, you can summon him here to confront me."

Ma Hongqi smiled faintly, "There is no need for that. Whether it is social reciprocity or borrowing money to buy a house, these are your private matters. Just because you are my secretary does not mean you are forbidden from having any monetary dealings with others; that would run counter to human decency and worldly wisdom!"

Zhang Jun said, "I have no idea who wrote this report letter; it is pure fabrication that distorts the facts. Furthermore, this person is extremely familiar with my work and personal life, knowing about my wife hosting a banquet as well as our intention to buy a house. I wonder what kind of hidden motive they harbor?"

A sharp glint flashed through Ma Hongqi’s eyes as he said, "They destroyed Gao Hai, and now they want to frame you as well! The objective of these people is none other than to drive me back to Beijing! Since they cannot find any dirt on me, they continually target the people around me. Xiao Zhang, you must not carry any psychological burden; I will never believe this kind of report letter."

A cold sweat soaked the palms of Zhang Jun's hands!

Only at this moment did he finally set his mind at ease.

Ma Hongqi tossed the report letter into the shredder and said, "Your issue was previously mentioned to me by Comrade Zhao Youjun; he also received a similar report letter. I told him that this is pure slander! I, Ma Hongqi, do not doubt those I employ, and I do not employ those I doubt!"

A surge of deep gratitude welled up in Zhang Jun's heart, feeling ready to die for someone who truly understood him.

At the same time, he felt immensely fortunate that he had chosen to be honest rather than deceitful.

A massive political crisis was cleverly defused by Zhang Jun.

As for that fellow Liu Zhengjie, Zhang Jun felt a profound and utter revulsion toward him!

He had to find a way to properly punish this two-faced villain!

Because Shen Xue and Liu Zhengjie worked in the same unit, Zhang Jun had not seen Shen Xue recently.

Until he found an opportunity to take down Liu Zhengjie, Shen Xue might also be exploited by him and turned into a tool to deal with Zhang Jun!

Walking the path of officialdom was like treading on thin ice; one could not afford to make a single misstep!

A week later, Ma Hongqi inspected the No. 6 Middle School once again.

The teaching buildings, dormitories, and office buildings of the entire No. 6 Middle School had been completely demolished!

The reconstruction plan had also been submitted and reviewed by Ma Hongqi.

Having served in office for over half a year, Ma Hongqi had finally executed his three major fires: rectifying the chaotic phenomena within the medical system; resolving the reconstruction of No. 6 Middle School and reforming administrative inertia in the education system; and implementing the "Three Openings" policy in rural areas across the province, ensuring that civil affairs compensation funds reached genuinely impoverished individuals.

Just as one wave subsided, another rose.

The seemingly calm political arena was about to welcome a massive reshuffling!

And Zhang Jun finally found an opportunity to discipline Liu Zhengjie.

On this day, Lu Genbao, the director of the Radio and Television Bureau, came to Ma Hongqi’s office to report on his work. Because someone was discussing matters inside, Lu Genbao walked over to make small talk with Zhang Jun, flatteringly handing him a cigarette as he said, "Secretary Zhang, I heard that you and Liu Zhengjie are good friends?"

A thought stirred in Zhang Jun's mind, and he said, "Liu Zhengjie? Did he really say that? We are not close at all! That fellow frequently uses my name to swagger and swindle outside. Director Lu, you must be careful not to be deceived by his glib tongue. Are you very close with him?"

Lu Genbao hurriedly denied it, saying, "No, no, no, we are not close at all!"

Zhang Jun offered a faint, cold smile. "Director Lu, I heard from Governor Ma that the recent personnel appointments in your bureau have been utterly chaotic—capable people cannot get promoted, whereas sycophants easily rise to the top! You need to be careful. Liu Zhengjie is quite good at flattering others, isn't he?"

He was deliberately putting eye drops on Liu Zhengjie!

As long as Lu Genbao wasn't a fool, upon returning he would definitely transfer Liu Zhengjie away, or even fire him!