So, on that afternoon, all of Qiao Lanshu’s applications for various excellence awards had already made their way to the Education Bureau, but they still got sent back.
Along with them came staff members from the Education Bureau. They called them staff, but in truth, they were investigators assigned to handle this particular whistleblowing case.
If investigators had already been dispatched to conduct a probe, that meant the complaint letter had been accepted, and now the Municipal Education Bureau was pushing forward with an investigation into the matter.
For Qiao Lanshu, this was extremely troublesome. No matter how things turned out in the end, it would inevitably impact her work.
At the very least, if this dragged on for seven or eight days, she would miss the deadline for the awards. And if that happened, wouldn’t all her chances of getting an award this year be ruined?
The investigator from the Education Bureau arrived at the principal’s office and, with a relatively polite tone, said to Qiao Lanshu, "Teacher Qiao, we’ve received a complaint regarding your personal conduct. We’ve come down today to look into it and need to ask you some questions. You must answer truthfully and cooperate with the investigation, without any concealment."
Qiao Lanshu stood in the office and cast a glance at the director of the school’s logistics department.
The director was also quite taken aback. He looked at Qiao Lanshu and asked, "Teacher Qiao, what have you done recently? Why is someone accusing you of misconduct?"
Qiao Lanshu looked somewhat bewildered as well. She said, "I have no idea either."
The logistics director then asked the Education Bureau staff, "What does the complaint letter say? Our Teacher Qiao has always been exemplary in conduct—diligent and proactive. Where exactly is this problem supposed to be?"
The Education Bureau staff member cleared his throat and said, "Someone reports that she has committed the crime of disrupting a military marriage. As a military family member, she is allegedly involved in an improper relationship with another man…"
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
Qiao Lanshu began to reflect on exactly who she might have been involved with improperly.
Could it be Teacher Zhao?
That shouldn’t be. Ever since that 'accidental' encounter with Teacher Zhao at the market, she had made things clear with him, and they hadn’t seen each other for several days now.
Besides him, who else could there be?
It seemed there was no one?
Qiao Lanshu felt a bit nervous at first. If Qin Yuanzheng found out about this, he would probably be jealous again.
She would have to spend a long time coaxing him later.
Damn it. Just who was the bastard who would make up such a malicious complaint and try to frame her?
...
As a devoted teacher, moral character was naturally of utmost importance.
Since Qiao Lanshu was a high school teacher, if she was caught engaging in messy relationships and allegedly disrupting a military marriage, these two charges piling up would make even criticism and dismissal seem lenient.
Qiao Lanshu sat upright in the office, her back straight, her face stern, without the slightest hint of panic as she defended herself: "My husband works at the military district here in Wencheng. He usually lives with our family as well. We’ve been married for ten years, and we are very much in love. I wouldn’t, and I couldn’t, do something like that."
Then, she turned to the Education Bureau investigator and said, "Comrade, the complaint is pure nonsense. I demand a thorough investigation into the person behind it. I suspect this is a deliberate slander."
The logistics director, of course, sided with Qiao Lanshu. He said, "Comrades, this must be a misunderstanding. Our Teacher Qiao has been teaching at this school for three years now. We’ve all seen her character. Surely she wouldn’t do such a thing."
Then the director asked, "Since someone wrote a complaint letter, did they mention who, exactly..."
The office director paused for a moment, glanced at Qiao Lanshu, and then asked, “Does it clearly state the name of the person who was allegedly having an improper relationship with Teacher Qiao? If not, isn’t this just baseless slander? If it does, then we should summon that person here and question them on the spot—wouldn’t that be simpler?”
The official from the Education Bureau nodded and said, “It says it’s Director Han of the Provincial Public Security Bureau, Han Wenlin.”
The office director was stunned. “Ah? A bureau director?”
Was this person really that influential?
The office director hesitated and said, “Comrades, he’s a provincial bureau director—there’s no reason for him to do something like this, right?”
The two Education Bureau officials also felt it seemed unlikely.
One was a high school teacher, the other a provincial bureau director—both were in positions where reputation and face mattered greatly.
Would they really do such a thing?
But Qiao Lanshu understood in an instant—this complaint letter must have been written by Wang Lanying.
Having just dealt with the matter of her two children that morning, Wang Lanying was surely holding a grudge against her now.
Looking directly at the two Education Bureau officials, Qiao Lanshu spoke up: “Comrades, this complaint letter was submitted by Wang Lanying’s husband, wasn’t it?”
Afraid they might not know Wang Lanying, she added, “I mean the logistics department’s Section Chief Li, or Deputy Section Chief—is there such a person? He’s Wang Lanying’s husband. Wang Lanying and I have some history, and she might be targeting me because of that.”
The office director’s expression turned grim. “You mean Teacher Wang? Why would she do that?”
Those who became teachers were typically highly educated intellectuals with unimpeachable character.
But then again, Qiao Lanshu had been among the first batch of candidates after the resumption of the college entrance exams. Before her cohort of teachers joined, most of the earlier teachers had either inherited their positions from their parents or were former "worker‑peasant‑soldier" students who were assigned posts after graduation.
Wang Lanying was one of those "worker‑peasant‑soldier" university students. She had been teaching at the school for seven or eight years, and the office director knew her character best.
He didn’t immediately refute Qiao Lanshu; instead, his expression turned troubled.
The two Education Bureau officials exchanged surprised glances, and one of them nodded, saying, “The complaint was indeed submitted by Deputy Section Chief Li. However, regardless of the complainant’s identity, we still need to investigate the allegations regarding your conduct.”
In such cases of alleged moral misconduct, the accused not only had to cooperate with investigators but also had to write extensive materials to prove their innocence.
Seeing that time was getting late, Qiao Lanshu thought to herself that at least Han Ye was helping pick up the children, so she didn’t have to worry about that.
Han Ye might usually be a careless troublemaker, but when it came to taking care of his younger siblings, he was quite reliable.
Because of this complaint letter, not only did Qiao Lanshu have to stay and write a defense, but the office director also had to stay and accompany her. The principal had asked a few questions but then left to attend to other matters.
The two investigators from the Education Bureau remained on-site to take notes.
Of course, while Qiao Lanshu had investigators here, there would naturally be a separate investigation into Han Wenlin’s side.
However, the investigators sent to the Public Security Bureau weren’t from the Education Bureau—they were sent by the Organization Department.
Qiao Lanshu was cooperating with the investigators and writing a statement, but she was fuming inside. She thought to herself that once this matter was resolved, she would definitely report Wang Lanying for defamation.
As dusk fell, the office director turned on the lights and said, “Comrades, it’s getting late. How about we all head home for now and continue tomorrow?”
Qiao Lanshu had only written half of her statement. She shook her wrist, thinking she should go home and cook dinner for the kids.
But the two investigators from the Education Bureau replied, “That won’t do. We’d like to go home too, but according to the rules, the statement must be submitted today. The Bureau requires that the investigation be concluded and a disciplinary notice issued within two days at the latest.”
Qiao Lanshu sighed and had no choice but to continue writing.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. The office director opened it and was surprised to see the principal.
The principal was a slightly plump man with glasses. He had left half an hour ago.
Now he had returned, and behind him were five or six cadres from the secretariat and logistics departments, along with members from the campus security team. A whole crowd of people stood silently in the corridor outside the office.
This was a big show of force, but there was no serious meeting to hold or important policy to relay. Why had everyone suddenly come back? What major incident had occurred?
The office director stood at the door and looked at the principal. “Principal Qi, what’s going on?”
The principal walked in with a stern expression, while the others remained in the corridor, not saying a word.
After entering, Principal Qi asked, “Where is Comrade Qiao Lanshu?”
The director pointed. “She’s in the room writing her statement. Someone reported her, and she’s cooperating with the investigators.”
The director didn’t believe Qiao Lanshu could have done what she was accused of, so he wasn’t worried, but he still had to cooperate as required.
The two investigators from the Education Bureau stood up and greeted Principal Qi.
Principal Qi nodded. “Teacher Qiao’s husband has arrived. He heard about this and said he’d cooperate with the investigators as well. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him later.”
As he spoke, he coughed twice, a hint of mockery in his eyes, as if he was ready to watch someone make a fool of themselves.
The two colleagues from the Education Bureau immediately said, “Really? That’s even better. Then we can finish the investigation sooner and go home.”
The office director asked in a low voice, “Principal, Teacher Qiao’s husband is here? Isn’t he a military man? Did he have time to come?”
Didn’t military personnel have to file a report to leave the base? How had he come so quickly?
Principal Qi nodded. “He really is here. Look, there he is.”
With that, Principal Qi quickly stepped out to greet him.
The office director also hurried out.
None of them had ever met Qiao Lanshu’s husband, and they didn’t even know his exact identity. They were all men in their thirties or forties, and even if they were curious, they couldn’t just ask a young female teacher in her twenties about such a personal matter, right?
What if it caused misunderstandings?
When Qiao Lanshu heard that her husband had arrived, her hand, holding the pen, stopped. She muttered to herself, “Why is Qin Yuanzheng here?”
Hadn’t they told her that his identity was classified and he couldn’t just show up casually?
Before she could overthink it, she saw Qin Yuanzheng striding in from the corridor, clad in a crisp, imposing military uniform and cap, flanked by two guards, and surrounded by Principal Qi and the school’s security personnel.
The two investigators from the Education Bureau abruptly stood up. They exchanged a glance, both visibly startled by what they saw.
The office director was utterly dumbfounded, standing by the door, unable to speak for a long while as he stared at Qin Yuanzheng.
Qiao Lanshu quickly rose to her feet, somewhat surprised to see him: “Why are you here? Why didn’t you go home first?”
Qin Yuanzheng’s presence was so commanding that no one in the room dared to utter a word. They all stared at his insignia, mentally calculating his rank.
Only Qiao Lanshu showed no fear. Instead, she scolded him in displeasure: “You should have gone home first. The kids won’t have me there when they return, and there’s no food. That just won’t do.”
Qin Yuanzheng sighed inwardly. He had been worried sick himself when he got home and didn’t find her.
His young wife was beautiful and clever, and he knew many of the younger male teachers at the school had a fondness for her.
Qin Yuanzheng took Qiao Lanshu’s hand and said, “I heard there are allegations about your conduct—improper relationships and violations concerning marriage with a military member—so I came specifically to look into it.”
Qiao Lanshu: “…”
Everyone else: “…”
One of the guards brought over a chair for Qin Yuanzheng. He sat down without hesitation, then gestured for everyone else to sit as well. He sat there like a commanding general, his gaze bearing down on them with heavy authority. He turned to the Education Bureau officials and asked, “I understand someone has reported concerns about my spouse’s conduct. May I see the complaint letter?”
The Education Bureau officials quickly nodded and handed over the letter.
As they did, they thought to themselves: Principal Qi had just urged them to ask anything they wanted.
But who would dare to interrogate an officer of his rank?
That Principal Qi was truly scheming!
Qin Yuanzheng read through the complaint letter briefly, then let out a sudden laugh. “Han Wenlin? No way,” he said.
He addressed the room: “My wife would never stoop to that. Han Wenlin is our friend; we raised his son. Our families are close. If exchanging a few words with a friend counts as an improper relationship, then I suppose none of you here have been innocent.”
Everyone: “…”
None of them dared to respond.
The two Education Bureau investigators, unnerved by Qin Yuanzheng’s stern gaze, were already breaking into cold sweat.
One of them mustered the courage to say, “Commander is right, of course. But we’re simply following standard procedures in handling public complaints. It’s almost done.”
Qin Yuanzheng nodded. He set the complaint aside and asked, “What else is needed?”
The investigator wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Just a written statement from the person in question. Once we have that, we can proceed.”
Qin Yuanzheng turned to Qiao Lanshu: “Have you finished your statement?”
Qiao Lanshu nodded. “Almost.”
She quickly wrote a brief statement and handed two full pages to the investigator.
The investigator took the materials and didn’t dare linger further. He said only that he would submit them for review, with the result to be announced within two days.
Qin Yuanzheng stood up, his tall and imposing figure drawing the eyes of everyone in the room, who found themselves looking up at him.
Qin Yuanzheng said to the investigators, “If after a thorough investigation, the contents of the complaint are found to be entirely groundless, then I must ask you to strictly investigate the complainant and impose serious consequences as a warning to others. Otherwise, if anyone can casually file false accusations and slander others, won’t society descend into chaos?”
What more could the investigators say at that point?
They could only nod repeatedly, while silently thinking to themselves: Did the person who submitted that complaint actually know that Teacher Qiao’s husband is a Commander?
If she did know, would she still have written that complaint letter?
