Chapter 491: Guarding the Tree Waiting for the Hare High-Level Match

County Magistrate Tian nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, I'll take care of it."

He felt a sense of relief. Finally, the Special Envoy had assigned a task that was easy and wouldn't cause him trouble, even if the content was a bit strange.

After giving his instructions, He Lingchuan was about to leave, but then a thought struck him, and he drew back his foot. "Oh, there are two more things."

"More..." County Magistrate Tian almost blurted out his thoughts. "Just give your orders!"

"Here's a wanted poster," He Lingchuan said, handing over Mr. Mai's wanted poster, which had been issued by Zhitian Township. "Have people make a dozen or even dozens of copies and post them in prominent places around the city as soon as possible. The public's eyes are sharp; we must leverage their power."

County Magistrate Tian took it and replied, "Understood, I'll get it done right away."

"When can they be posted?"

"Uh, tomorrow morning..." Seeing He Lingchuan frown, County Magistrate Tian immediately corrected himself. "By this evening, they'll all be up!"

He Lingchuan smiled approvingly. "Also, where did you hear the news of Zhongshen Mou's arrival in Baishajue?"

"I heard other nobles discussing it, more than just one or two."

"And where did they get their information?"

"Uh..." This time, rumors spread quickly among the upper-class gentry. By the time County Magistrate Tian heard it, it had already passed through an unknown number of hands.

"Please investigate the source of this information and find out who leaked it," He Lingchuan said sternly. "This is a serious matter; you must verify it as soon as possible!"

"Oh, alright, alright." Rumors were usually unsubstantiated and hard to trace, but County Magistrate Tian had his own method: he would start his investigation with the female relatives of these prominent families.

As various factions in Baishajue engaged in their secret calculations, three days passed quickly, and it was finally the 29th of July.

Chaohu Tower was a signature local attraction, drawing six to seven thousand visitors on busy days and two to three thousand on quieter ones, truly a bustling place.

However, visitors to the tower today were somewhat disappointed. Even before dawn, scaffolding was erected, followed by craftsmen arriving with their tools, beginning construction work on the fourth and fifth floors.

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong – the sounds of chiseling stone and hammering never ceased.

Workers constantly moved things up and down, and there was mud, sand, stones, and various debris everywhere.

Visiting Chaohu Tower was about finding tranquility, the essence of which lay in the word "serene." Even when the tower was most crowded, sitting in the tea house on the fourth floor, sipping tea and gazing into the distance, was a delightful experience.

Now, however, the rude craftsmen had completely ruined the serene atmosphere. Even the nearby water birds found it too noisy and refused to land nearby, cutting the pleasure of birdwatching by half.

Consequently, most people who arrived, saw the mess, and heard the noise, simply shook their heads and left, disheartened.

Some visitors, having come all this way, were unwilling to leave without ascending the tower. But the deafening thudding of stone chiseling on the fourth floor, each strike seemingly pounding on their very nerves, forced them to take a fleeting glance at the scenery before quickly descending. Conversation was almost impossible.

The noise was simply too loud.

The Chaohu Teahouse on the fourth floor had ten tables, and it was usually packed, with at least three or four groups of customers queuing for each table. But today, it was unusually desolate.

"They still have three tables open like this," the Soul-Capturing Mirror muttered from He Lingchuan's embrace, clicking its tongue. "These people really aren't afraid of noise."

The teahouse had a 30% occupancy rate.

Perhaps these three tables of customers all had compelling reasons to be there, and thus had to endure the piercing noise.

"Suspicious!" the mirror exclaimed. "Time's almost up, and they're all very suspicious."

He Lingchuan was not among them.

He was in a position where he could constantly monitor the people inside the tower without arousing suspicion.

"What's suspicious about these tables?"

"Look at the table on the left," it said. "There's only one male customer there, in his forties, with dark skin."

"He only ordered a cup of tea when he came in and just sits there motionless. Doesn't that 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 he looks too rustic?"

He Lingchuan confirmed, "This man is just a laborer, and he ordered the cheapest tea."

The mirror disagreed. "I saw his hands were very rough, with thick knuckles, indicating he does heavy labor. But perhaps it's just a disguise, or maybe the mastermind didn't want to come in person and just found someone to test the waters."

"They wouldn't pick him of all people."

"Why?"

"His left hand is tucked into his sleeve, but he stretched it out a few times just now—it was trembling," He Lingchuan said. "Either he's an alcoholic or he's sick. Would you entrust such an important matter to an alcoholic or a sick person?"

The mirror choked slightly, then turned its attention to the second table. "What about those three women at that table? Do you think the contact person wouldn't be female?"

At this table were three female customers: one woman in her early thirties, another nearly fifty, and finally, a young girl in her early teens.

The young girl sat primly, her small face made up to be fair with a rosy blush, looking both delicate and somewhat mature. The younger woman's brows were slightly furrowed with impatience, while the older woman calmly sipped her tea, occasionally reassuring the other two, "They'll be here soon, very soon."

This was because the younger woman had also said, "It's too noisy. Why don't we do this another day!"

"If we change the day again, it won't be as auspicious."

He Lingchuan smiled upon hearing this. "As for this table, the possibility is also very small. That old woman is a matchmaker."

"Oh?"

"It's a blind date. The young girl even wore new shoes and clothes specifically for this, but her mother didn't."

As he spoke, a couple with a young boy came upstairs and sat at that table.

The two parties began to greet each other, exchanging polite but somewhat awkward smiles.

The mirror grumbled, "Indeed, the most boring activity of you humans."

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

The last table was occupied by an old man in his fifties. His clothes were made of good material, and he had a certain dignified demeanor while drinking tea. Indeed, as the mirror said, he was someone with some status and wealth.

Some, but not a lot.

The gravitas of a high-ranking person is difficult for ordinary people to cultivate.

"Look, he keeps glancing towards the stairs, clearly impatient from waiting."

"No fault there, can't rule him out. And he is indeed waiting for someone." There was a pot and two cups on his table, one of which was empty, clearly indicating an appointment. "He's worth keeping an eye on."

After all, it was midsummer. Even if Chaohu Tower was cool, drinking a couple of cups of hot tea would make one sweat. The man wiped his brow twice with a handkerchief, then, as if making up his mind, tossed some money for the tea onto the table, stood up, and quickly walked downstairs.

The mirror warned, "Oh, he's leaving! Follow him!"

He Lingchuan, however, remained still. "The time isn't right; it's not him."

"Maybe he sensed something was wrong and fled early."

"He's already here, why would he leave before the appointed time? It's only half a quarter of an hour until 2:30 PM."

No sooner had he spoken than the old man reappeared, climbing the stairs once more.

Someone was following him.

They returned to their original seats and began to converse.

The chiseling and hammering were loud, so they had to raise their voices. The clanging sometimes stopped abruptly, and at such moments, the customers' conversations would echo throughout the fourth floor.

The blind date table: "Let me tell you, there's no dowry in this city that amounts to this much!"

The old man: "Then when can my son be released? You have to give me a definite answer, right?"

The 'alcoholic': "..."

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

He Lingchuan calmly picked up a wooden board and began hammering again.

Yes, he was currently dressed in rough cloth clothes, blended in with the renovation team, helping out, and incidentally finding himself the best observation spot.

Back when he was a patrol guard in Panlong City, he often helped villagers repair houses and carriages, learning carpentry from planks of wood. Although he didn't have the skill of a master craftsman, he could manage as a simple laborer.

As the noise resumed, the fourth floor returned to normal.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror was perplexed. "None of these three tables are it, so wasn't this whole setup of yours for nothing?"

He Lingchuan had specifically instructed the County Magistrate of Baishajue to bring in an external renovation team to begin refurbishing Chaohu Tower yesterday, the 28th.

The reason for hiring an outside team was to prevent local residents from getting wind of the plan beforehand.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror initially thought it understood He Lingchuan's intention. After all, Chaohu Tower usually had too many visitors, making it impossible to distinguish Mr. Mai's contact person among them. So, once construction began, the number of visitors would immediately decrease, and those who could endure the noise and remain on the fourth floor would likely have a genuine reason.

They would then be easier to observe and identify.

But now that these three tables of customers were ruled out, it was possible the contact person hadn't come, or perhaps had come up, looked around, and then left. After all, visitors continued to trickle in, look around, and then descend.

Wasn't He Lingchuan's effort wasted? And a crucial clue potentially lost?

He Lingchuan, however, looked up at the water clock in the teahouse and said, "It's almost 2:30 PM. The time is almost right."

"Almost what?" the mirror demanded impatiently. "Be clearer."

"Let me ask you, if you were the contact person, and you saw that Chaohu Tower, which hadn't been renovated for a long time, suddenly underwent major construction precisely at the time you arranged to meet Mr. Mai, what would you think?" He Lingchuan chuckled. "Add to that, you know the Crown Prince's Special Envoy is also in Baishajue investigating a case."

"You'd suspect something had changed, and it would be best to cancel the transaction," the mirror replied without hesitation. "When there's any sign of trouble, rats are the first to scurry into their holes."

"But what if they haven't found Mr. Mai yet? Missing today means missing Mr. Mai."

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

"I told Zhongshen Mou that Mr. Mai's subordinate, Wan Song, revealed many secrets. If you were the mastermind, wouldn't you be worried?" He Lingchuan whispered. "What's more, what if they don't show up, but Mr. Mai arrives as scheduled and we arrest him? They at least need to ensure that doesn't happen."

"Silence him?"

He Lingchuan nodded slightly. "Therefore, they shouldn't miss this opportunity."

"They dare not attend, yet they dare not not come. A dilemma."

"Not difficult," He Lingchuan chuckled. "People always have a bit of a gamble in them. Baishajue has been renovating scenic spots recently; over a dozen places have been under renovation, almost non-stop. Perhaps Chaohu Tower just happened to start renovations by coincidence?"