Chapter 79: Interrogation

Ren Zuhong’s office exuded a classical atmosphere. Flowers bloomed on the windowsill, ancient paintings adorned the walls, and a tea set was arranged on the desk. Alongside, pressed against the wall, lay a table with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—altogether, it resembled a scholar’s drawing room far more than the office of a Military Intelligence Section Chief.

Li Wensheng surveyed the space, then walked behind the desk and sat down, pulling open the central drawer. The drawer was filled with documents. Without concern for whether these were confidential files of the General Affairs Section, he began to examine them.

Indeed, these documents proved to be confidential: the General Affairs Section at Military Intelligence Headquarters would soon dispatch a batch of American radio sets to the Second Division. Li Wensheng glanced at the file, then stuffed it back and continued his search.

For half an hour, Li Wensheng rifled through every drawer and cabinet, but found nothing. Rising, he scanned the room, his gaze lingering on the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. After a moment’s thought, he called out, “Secretary, come in.”

Soon, a plump woman in her thirties entered nervously.

“Chief Li.”

“Does Ren Zuhong have a passion for calligraphy and paintings?”

She froze for a moment, then quickly replied, “Chief Ren is indeed very fond of them. Everyone knows this. When people bring him gifts, they almost always choose paintings and calligraphy.”

“Are the paintings on the wall changed often?”

She recalled, then answered, “Not often. Chief Ren is quite attached to the ones currently displayed. The last time they were changed was when he received a painting by the Qing Dynasty artist Bada Shanren. He loved it so much, he replaced one of the others.”

“When did this happen?”

“A month ago.”

Li Wensheng’s eyes brightened. “Where did he acquire the painting by Bada Shanren?”

The woman frowned, thinking carefully, then replied anxiously, “I don’t know.”

Li Wensheng sighed in disappointment, then looked at the paintings on the wall. “Which one is by Bada Shanren?”

She glanced at the wall, then walked directly to a landscape painting. “This one.”

Li Wensheng looked over it closely but saw nothing unusual, and so he turned to leave. There was no time to investigate the painting’s origin. Leaving the General Affairs Section, he headed straight for the interrogation room.

Ren Zuhong, Yu Haofeng, and Du Dezhong were confined together. Upon seeing Li Wensheng, the three, terrified and uneasy, cried out desperately.

“Chief Li, I swear I had nothing to do with Liu Zukang!”
“Chief Li, I’ve been wronged!”
“Chief Li, what is it I’ve done?”

Li Wensheng ignored their pleas. He dragged a chair over and sat two meters from them, lighting a cigarette and silently watching as they shouted.

After a few cries, sensing Li Wensheng’s silence, the three fell quiet.

Once they were silent, Li Wensheng removed his cigarette and asked, “Yu Haofeng, Du Dezhong—on the day Liu Zukang took his team on assignment a month ago, who prompted you two to discuss men and women?”

The two exchanged glances, then both shook their heads.

“Chief Li, we were just making idle conversation. No one put us up to it.”

“Yes, Chief Li, just idle talk.”

“People act for reasons, as surely as hunger prompts eating or urgency prompts a visit to the latrine. You weren’t talking about money, work, or our colleagues in Military Intelligence—yet you chose to talk about men and women. There must be a reason,” Li Wensheng said quietly.

Seeing their confused expressions, he continued, “Before that day, had you been together at any entertainment venue?”

Both were instantly startled. Du Dezhong quickly replied, “Yes, Chief Li. The day before, we went dancing at the Xianle Hall.”

Xianle Hall. Li Wensheng immediately looked at Ren Zuhong, whose gaze wavered with panic, confirming Li’s suspicions.

“Who suggested going to Xianle Hall?”

Du Dezhong turned to Yu Haofeng. Yu Haofeng glanced at Ren Zuhong, then hurriedly replied, “Chief Li, I proposed it, but only because Chief Ren told me to. He said he had been negotiating business at Xianle Hall, and someone had stored two bottles of fine liquor there for him. He drank one, but the other’s storage was about to expire. Since he’d been feeling unwell and the doctor advised him to abstain, he offered it to me. He urged me to go soon, saying it was a rare imported bottle from America, worth several hundred yuan, and if I didn’t drink it before the time was up, Xianle Hall would reclaim it, which would be a shame. I went the next day, but going alone seemed dull, so I invited Nose along. Nose and I are from the same hometown; we often eat and drink together.”

With a thud, Ren Zuhong collapsed to the floor.

Yu Haofeng glanced at Ren Zuhong’s ashen face and quickly stepped back, then continued, “Chief Li, I remember that before Liu Zukang came to General Affairs to collect the car, Niu Conglin from our section came in from outside and went straight to Chief Ren’s office. Then Chief Ren handed me a file to take to Chief Ji for signature. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I realize it was deliberate. He knew Nose and I are compatriots, and whenever Nose visits General Affairs, I go to the Communist Section, and we always chat in the corridor.”

“Yes, Chief Li, Haoge and I often chat in the corridor,” Du Dezhong added quickly.

“Release these two,” Li Wensheng instructed the interrogators.

The two exhaled deeply. Being hauled into the interrogation room had nearly scared them to death.

“You two, stay here and write a detailed report of what you just said, sign and fingerprint it, then you can return to your section. As for punishment, you’ll be notified. Don’t worry: although this is serious, you were used by others. I’ll write a few good words for you in my report. At most, you’ll be confined for a short period.”

“Thank you, Chief Li!” “Thank you, thank you!”

Once their handcuffs and shackles were removed, the two rushed to the record table and began writing their reports.