Chapter 495: Waiting for the Rabbit in a High-End Game

County Magistrate Tian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, leave it to this humble official." He felt a weight lift from his heart; the special envoy had finally assigned a task that was easy and didn't make things difficult for him, even if the content was a bit strange.

Once the matters were settled, He He Lingchuan intended to leave, but suddenly a thought occurred to him, and he pulled back the leg he had already stepped out:

"By the way, there are two more things."

"Still..." County Magistrate Tian nearly blurted out his inner thoughts, "Please, just give your orders!"

"I have a wanted notice here. Have your men make a dozen or so copies, maybe a few dozen, and post them in conspicuous places around the city as soon as possible." He He Lingchuan took out the wanted poster for Mr. Mai issued by Zhitian Township and handed it over, saying, "The eyes of the masses are sharp; we must utilize their power."

County Magistrate Tian took it and looked: "Very well, this humble official will handle it immediately."

"When can they be posted?"

"Uh, tomorrow morning..." County Magistrate Tian saw him frown and immediately changed his words, "Evening, they can all be posted by this evening!"

He He Lingchuan gave an approving smile: "Also, where did you hear the news that Lord Zhongsun Mou had arrived at Bai Sha?"

"This humble official heard it discussed by other dignitaries, not just one or two."

"And where did they learn it from?"

"Uh..." This time, rumors traveled fast among the upper-class elites; by the time County Magistrate Tian heard it, it had already passed through countless hands.

"Please go and investigate the source of the news to see who leaked this information." He He Lingchuan said sternly, "This matter is of great importance; you must verify it as soon as possible!"

"Oh, right, right." Rumors were originally just hearsay and difficult to trace, but County Magistrate Tian had his own methods, which was to start investigating from the female relatives of these top-tier families.

￥￥￥￥￥

Amidst the secret calculations of all parties in Bai Sha, three days passed quickly, and finally, it was the twenty-ninth of the seventh month.

The Chaohu Tower was a local landmark, with tourists coming to visit daily, ranging from six or seven thousand at most to two or three thousand at least, making it quite bustling.

But today, the visitors to the tower were a bit disappointed, because before dawn, people had come to set up scaffolding, followed by craftsmen carrying all sorts of tools into the venue, starting construction on the fourth and fifth floors.

Clang, clang, clang—the sound of chiseling stone and hammering never stopped.

There were also workers moving things up and down, and everywhere was filled with mud, sand, stones, and all kinds of miscellaneous items.

Seeking seclusion and admiring the scenery at Chaohu Tower was all about the word "seclusion." Although it was crowded when there were many tourists, sitting in the teahouse on the fourth floor to drink tea and look into the distance was a pleasant experience in life.

Now, however, the crude craftsmen had completely destroyed the artistic conception of that "seclusion." The nearby water birds also disliked the noise and refused to land nearby, so the pleasure of birdwatching was halved.

Therefore, most people who walked here, saw the mess, and heard the noise shook their heads and left in disappointment.

Some guests had already come and were unwilling to give up without going up the tower, but the sound of stone-smashing on the fourth floor was deafening; every strike felt like it was hitting their nerves, so everyone could only take a quick look at the scenery before having to go back down, unable to even carry on a conversation—

The noise was too loud.

The Chaohu Teahouse on the fourth floor had ten tables and was originally bustling, with at least three or four groups of guests queuing for each table. But today, it was a long-lost scene of desolation.

"Even like this, three tables are still occupied." The Soul-Stealing Mirror hid in He He Lingchuan's arms, clicking its tongue, "These people are really not afraid of the noise."

The teahouse had a thirty percent occupancy rate.

These three tables of guests perhaps all had reasons why they had to sit there, and thus had to endure the piercing noise.

"Suspicious!" the mirror cried, "Time is running out, they are all very suspicious."

He He Lingchuan was not among them.

He was in a position where he could monitor the people in the tower at any time without arousing suspicion.

"Which of these tables is suspicious?"

"Look at the table on the left." There was only one male guest at that table, about forty years old, with dark skin.

"This person came in and only ordered a cup of tea, then sat there without moving; doesn't it look like he's waiting for someone?"

"He is waiting for someone, but not necessarily for Mr. Mai."

The mirror asked him: "Is it because this person looks too rustic?"

He He Lingchuan affirmed: "This person is just a laborer, and he ordered the cheapest tea."

The mirror was unconvinced: "I see his hands are rough and his knuckles are thick; he is someone who does heavy work, but perhaps this is just a disguise, or perhaps the person behind the scenes is unwilling to come in person and just found someone to test the waters."

"Whoever they find, they wouldn't find him."

"Why?"

"His left hand is tucked in his sleeve, but he has reached it out a few times—it's shaking a bit." He He Lingchuan said, "He's either a drunkard or sick. Would you entrust such an important matter to a drunkard or a sick person?"

The mirror choked, then turned its attention to the second table: "What about those three women at that table? Don't you think the contact person could be a woman?"

This table had three female guests: one woman in her early thirties, another nearly fifty, and the last one was a young girl in her early teens.

The young girl sat upright, her small face made up to be white with a rosy tint, exquisite yet with two parts of maturity. The young woman frowned with impatience, while the old woman drank her tea unhurriedly, occasionally comforting the two to be at ease: "They'll be here soon, very soon."

Because the young woman said again: "It's too noisy, let's change the day!"

"If we change the day again, the date won't be good."

He He Lingchuan laughed when he heard this: "This table, the possibility is also very small. That old woman is a matchmaker."

"Eh?"

"This is a matchmaking session. The young girl even wore new shoes and clothes, but her mother didn't."

While they were talking, someone came upstairs—a couple with a young man, and they sat at this table.

Both sides began to meet and exchange pleasantries, all with polite but awkward smiles.

The mirror said resentfully: "Sure enough, it's the most boring activity of you humans."

"Then there's only the last table left. This old man is either a merchant or a steward; let's see what fault you can find with him!"

The last table was an old man of fifty, his clothing material was good, and his posture while drinking tea had some bearing; indeed, as the mirror said, he was someone with some status and some money.

Some, but not much.

The bearing of a superior is very difficult for an ordinary person to cultivate.

"Look, he keeps glancing at the stairs; he's clearly impatient."

"No problem, can't rule him out. And he is also waiting for someone." There was a pot and two cups on his table, and one cup was still empty, clearly having an appointment. "We can keep an eye on him."

After all, it was midsummer; no matter how cool the Chaohu Tower was, drinking two more cups of hot tea would make one sweat. This person took a handkerchief and wiped his sweat twice, as if he had made up his mind, threw the tea money on the table, and then stood up and walked quickly downstairs.

The mirror reminded: "Ah, he's going to slip away, follow him!"

He He Lingchuan, however, did not move: "The time hasn't come yet, it's not him."

"Maybe he sensed something wrong and is fleeing early."

"He's already here, why would he leave before the time? It's only half a quarter of an hour away from the second quarter of the Wei hour."

No sooner had he spoken than the old man actually climbed back up the stairs.

He was followed by someone.

They sat back in their original seats and began to talk.

The sound of chiseling was loud, so they had to raise their voices. The clanging sounds would sometimes stop suddenly, and at this time, the guests' conversations would echo throughout the fourth floor.

Matchmaking session: "I'm telling you, the bride price in this city doesn't reach this amount!"

Old man: "Then when can my son be released? You must give me a definite answer."

Drunkard: "..."

Suddenly, the entire fourth floor fell into an eerie silence.

He He Lingchuan calmly grabbed a wooden board and started nailing it again, clang, clang, clang.

Yes, he was now wearing coarse cloth clothes, mixing in with the renovation team to help out, and incidentally finding himself the best observation spot.

When he was a patrol guard in Panlong City, he often helped townspeople repair houses and carriages, and he learned carpentry from the door-panel makers. Although he didn't have their skills, he could manage as a handyman.

The noise resumed, and the fourth floor returned to normal.

The Soul-Stealing Mirror was puzzled: "None of these three tables are it, so wasn't this setup of yours in vain?"

He He Lingchuan had specifically instructed the Bai Sha County Magistrate to bring in an outside renovation team to start renovating the Chaohu Tower from yesterday, the twenty-eighth.

The reason for finding an outside team was that he didn't want the locals to get wind of it first.

The Soul-Stealing Mirror initially thought it understood He He Lingchuan's intention; after all, the Chaohu Tower originally had too much passenger flow, and Mr. Mai's contact person was mixed in and could not be distinguished. Once the Chaohu Tower started construction, the flow of people would immediately decrease, and those who could endure the noise and stay on the fourth floor were mostly there for real business.

It would then be easier for them to observe and distinguish.

But the three tables of guests in front of them had all been ruled out; the contact person might not have come, or might have come up, walked around, and left. Because there were always tourists coming up in twos and threes, looking around, and then going downstairs.

Wasn't He He Lingchuan wasting his effort? And he had also wasted an important clue.

As a result, He He Lingchuan looked up at the water clock in the teahouse and said: "It's almost the second quarter of the Wei hour, it's about time."

"What's about time?" the mirror said dissatisfiedly, "Speak more clearly."

"Let me ask you, if you were the contact person, seeing the Chaohu Tower not being renovated early or late, but choosing to work hard at the exact time you agreed to meet Mr. Mai, what would you think?" He He Lingchuan chuckled, "Add one more thing: you know the Crown Prince's special envoy is also investigating the case in Bai Sha."

"I would suspect that things have changed, and it would be best to cancel the transaction." The mirror said without thinking, "But if there is any disturbance, rats will be the first to drill into holes."

"But what if they haven't found Mr. Mai yet? If they miss today, they miss Mr. Mai."

The mirror wondered: "Is Mr. Mai that important?"

"I told Lord Zhongsun Mou that Mr. Mai's subordinate, Wan Song, revealed many secrets. If you were the person behind the scenes, wouldn't you be worried?" He He Lingchuan whispered, "What's more, what if they didn't come, but Mr. Mai arrived as scheduled and was then arrested by us? They must at least ensure that this doesn't happen."

"Silencing him?"

He He Lingchuan nodded slightly: "So, they shouldn't let this opportunity pass."

"Afraid to keep the appointment, yet afraid not to come. A dilemma."

"Not difficult." He He Lingchuan laughed, "People always have wishful thinking. Bai Sha has been renovating scenic spots recently, and they have already renovated more than a dozen places, almost without stopping. Perhaps the Chaohu Tower just happened to start renovations by coincidence?"

(End of chapter)