Chapter 489

Rather than a lake, it would be better to say this was a vast expanse of wetland.

Climbing the tower to look into the distance, one could see the sparkling water surface, islands scattered like stars, and hundreds of birds soaring over the sandbars; everywhere was full of vitality.

Therefore, there was a constant stream of tourists on the Chaohu Tower, all idlers climbing high to enjoy the scenery.

After He Lingchuan climbed the tower, he secretly frowned.

Not only were there many tourists here, but there was actually a teahouse opened on the fourth floor!

Tourists could drink tea, watch the scenery, listen to storytelling, and meet friends here. Sitting by the table, the cool breeze blowing from the lake blew away half of the summer heat of July.

Because it was comfortable to stay, all ten tables here were full, with no vacancy.

No wonder Mr. Mai made deals with others here; the coming and going tourists and tea drinkers were the best cover.

He Lingchuan remembered the content he had deciphered again.

It only mentioned the time and place, but didn't mention the secret code for the meeting.

In other words, Mr. Mai knew the other party and didn't need to identify them through a secret code.

This was troublesome; he couldn't impersonate them.

And if the other party didn't wait for Mr. Mai here, they would know something had changed and should leave quickly.

How could he accurately distinguish Mr. Mai's accomplice from so many tourists? "My lord?" The Baishajuan county magistrate saw him staring at the scenery outside the tower in a daze for a long time.

"Are there always so many people in this tower?"

"Uh, yes, this is one of the local famous scenic spots." The Baishajuan county magistrate thought he was interested in sightseeing. "The tea cakes in this teahouse are a specialty in our area; many people buy them to take back to their hometowns as gifts."

"Let them add a table on the corridor; we'll drink tea."

The shopkeeper really set up a square table for them on the outer corridor of the fourth floor of the pagoda, serving tea, fruits, and food.

The tea cakes were not bad, but He Lingchuan preferred the dried sweet potatoes; these were red potatoes that had been peeled, steamed three times, and roasted three times. They tasted fragrant, sweet, soft, and glutinous, and were very chewy, very suitable for drinking tea and chatting.

The Baishajuan county magistrate had originally come with trepidation, but seeing him gentle and pleasant, no longer as difficult as yesterday, he also let out a long sigh of relief and became doubly attentive.

He Lingchuan had to give him a show of power when he first arrived yesterday. Otherwise, this old hand in officialdom would have determined that he was young and easy to bully, and could act in defiance of orders.

Today, however, it was not suitable to be stern and severe again; with a little appeasement, the Baishajuan county magistrate would be even more obedient, and only then would he cooperate with him to do things well later.

These were all the ways of governing subordinates that He Chunhua often used; He Lingchuan had been by his side for many years and had learned a lot.

Being an official, there were many ways to do things.

Sitting here with the breeze blowing on his face and looking at the vast expanse, even his chest felt relaxed.

In such a beautiful time and scenery, there were always people in the world who would let it down.

He Lingchuan sipped tea slowly, thinking about Fu Songhua, whom Zhongsunmou had caught; how likely was it that he was the true culprit?

However, he hadn't heard anything about Mr. Mai; this guy still seemed to be on the run.

If Fu Songhua was the mastermind, the deal on Chaohu Tower would naturally be canceled and would not continue;

If he wasn't, would Mr. Mai and the mastermind behind the scenes have already fled? Then the Chaohu Tower deal couldn't possibly proceed.

Pushing back and forth, this deal maintained by secret codes had no need to exist, so why should he bother?

Hmm, was it really like that? He Lingchuan looked up occasionally, seeing the magnificent tower body and fine stone carvings, showing that a lot of labor had been spent during construction. But after being exposed to wind and sun for a long time, a large piece of stone slab had fallen off the top, revealing the mud and ash underneath.

He reached out and pointed upward. "This is not very elegant."

The Baishajuan county magistrate looked up. "Alas, I wanted to send someone to repair it, but Old General Ling said he wanted to donate for the repair, but he delayed and didn't move, so it ended up like this."

He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "A famous scenic spot with countless tourists every day; leaving it like this is neither good-looking nor safe."

"Yes, yes." The Baishajuan county magistrate didn't know what he wanted to do and could only echo.

This Special Envoy was too meddlesome, right? So many things for someone so young.

He Lingchuan just mentioned it casually and didn't go deep, so he started asking about local customs.

Just when the atmosphere was finally becoming harmonious, He Lingchuan mentioned it as if inadvertently. "By the way, what has the Inspection Envoy been doing these past few days?"

"Interrogating the case, right?" The magistrate thought for a while. "I heard he turned down quite a few visits and banquets."

￥￥￥￥￥

Three days later, Zhongsunmou prepared to set off and return north.

Someone came to see him again outside, and he exhaled in annoyance.

The person who came was delivering materials, a thick stack.

Zhongsunmou signaled the guards to take them, and then said, "Don't always run to me; there are too many eyes and ears."

"This is the last batch of materials; my master wishes you a smooth journey."

With no choice, Zhongsunmou piled the materials on the desk and checked them one by one.

Before returning to Lingxu City, he had to ensure these accounts were seamless and couldn't have a single mistake.

Fu Songhua had been caught six days ago; the safest way was to escort him north immediately to avoid long nights and many dreams.

But he couldn't.

He had to examine the evidence word by word here!

After returning to Lingxu City, this evidence would be repeatedly checked by countless wise eyes and might even be presented to the Emperor. Just thinking about this made him feel immense pressure.

Both the person and the evidence were brought back by him, Zhongsunmou; he had to ensure everything was correct, otherwise...

His eyes were sore from watching, and he was just about to call for another cup of cassia tea when suddenly a guard came to report:

"Crown Prince's Special Envoy He Xiao and Baishajuan County Magistrate request an audience!"

Zhongsunmou's expression shifted; that kid had finally come.

He had long known that this so-called Crown Prince's Special Envoy had also arrived in Baishajuan, but he ignored him. As a result, the other party also had good patience, dragging it out until now before coming to his door.

Zhongsunmou put away the case files, walked back to the courtyard, and said, "Let him in."

He Lingchuan paced in, accompanied by a fierce tiger, with County Magistrate Tian behind him.

"The scenery here is also not bad; you can watch the lake from the window."

"I am very busy." Zhongsunmou didn't exchange pleasantries with him, nor did he give him a good look. "What do you want?"

"I heard that Lord Zhongsun has made a great contribution by capturing the spy who murdered the White-Shouldered Eagle messenger!" He Lingchuan said with a smile. "I had to come and see for myself."

This guy had been sightseeing in Baishajuan for the past few days; how could he talk about "rushing over"? Zhongsunmou sneered slightly. "Yes, the evidence is conclusive, the culprit has been caught, and the Special Envoy can go back and report to the Crown Prince."

"Then I must ask, what is the identity of this culprit?" Even if Fu Songhua was not the true culprit of the messenger case, he must have some background; otherwise, how could Zhongsunmou convince Lingxu City by pushing this person back to close the case? If he dared to catch any Tom, Dick, or Harry to replace him, let's see how the Emperor would deal with him.

"Fu Songhua, a Tao Kingdom person, promoted to a small commandant under Hong Chenglue twelve years ago, fought bravely, and fled after assassinating Zhang Guangyi, the Inspector of Lingxu Hezhou, ten years ago. Hezhou has been wanting him for many years without success, until six days ago, when he was caught here."

Actually hearing the name of an old acquaintance, He Lingchuan wondered, "Listening to this past, he's just an assassin; how did he become a spy now?"

Considering that he at least had the title of Crown Prince's Special Envoy on his head and was standing on the land of the Chiyan Kingdom, Zhongsunmou suppressed his impatience. "He was originally a Tao Kingdom spy; assassinating Inspector Zhang was also a mission back then. You don't know the court affairs of Lingxu City; the death of Zhang Guangyi had a great impact at the time, directly changing the Emperor's decision. This time, Fu Songhua has been lurking for many years and struck again, just to interfere with our army's war on the eastern front."

"He is the superior of Mr. Mai?"

"Exactly."

"How to verify?"

Zhongsunmou couldn't help but laugh. "I have collected a whole set of criminal evidence here, conclusive as a mountain; do you need me to report it to you line by line and page by page?"

"That's fine." He Lingchuan's gaze drifted toward the study. "That would be best."

Zhongsunmou restrained his smile. "Alright, Special Envoy, don't joke. The prisoner has pleaded guilty, and the case files have been sealed and cannot be opened lightly. It's meaningless for you to stand here; go back and report the good news to Fu Shanyue and receive your reward."

He Lingchuan also said sternly, "If Fu's murder of the messenger was just to delay intelligence, then what was his intention in sending his subordinate, Mr. Mai, to kill demons and take pearls all over Chiyan?"

"Just sowing discord between the demon race and the government, and inciting trouble; these are all the old tricks of spies. Otherwise, what would they do when they are idle? If you stay in Beijia a little longer, you will know that these guys are truly pervasive, trying every possible way to make waves." Zhongsunmou said lightly. "Those pearls are materials for refining Red Jade Pills, and this time they will also be reported to Lingxu City as evidence."

Red Jade Pills? Aren't the pulp pearls used to refine the Elixir of Immortality? He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows. "Lord Zhongsun resolved a huge case with a light touch; impressive. However, the Crown Prince wants me to personally interrogate the mastermind. Where is Fu Songhua?"

"Fu Songhua is to be escorted back to Lingxu City for trial; from now on, it has nothing to do with you."

Footsteps seemed to come from outside, and there were many people. Zhongsunmou immediately felt something was wrong and stepped back; the guards beside him immediately stepped forward, hands on the hilts of their swords.

"If we can't talk, then we'll show our cards." He Lingchuan gave Jiao Yu a look, and the fierce tiger let out a sudden roar! The tiger's roar shook ten miles, and more than a hundred people rushed in from outside the courtyard, surrounding Zhongsunmou and the others.

There were also crackling sounds outside; that was the movement of thick boots stepping on the ground, clearly there were many people waiting for orders.

A general strode in and saluted He Lingchuan. "Special Envoy!"

This was the garrison of the Chiyan Kingdom thirty miles outside Baishajuan; when Jiao Yu went out to do business, it took the opportunity to borrow them with the Special Envoy's token.

Not many, just borrowed five hundred people.

Fu Shanyue had said back then that the token could mobilize the army.

These words were definitely not said in jest.

The two sides were suddenly at daggers drawn, and the Baishajuan county magistrate happened to be standing in the middle, sweating profusely. "Two lords, please talk things over properly!"

He couldn't afford to offend either side; how could it come to this? What kind of bad luck had he touched, that his fortune was so bad recently?

A side room opened, and two guards were startled, poking their heads out, only to be stunned by the confrontation.

Zhongsunmou roared, "Go back!"

The guards obeyed and closed the door, but it was a step too late; the fierce tiger leaped forward, and with a swipe of its claws, it tore the door panel.

This was an inn, not a fortress wall; how could a wooden door have such high defense? In front of the tiger demon's three-thousand-jin slapping power, it was giving them face that it didn't shatter into slag on the spot.

(End of chapter)