Chapter 490 - 489: A High-Level Waiting Game

Chapter 490: Chapter 489: A High-Level Waiting Game

County Magistrate Tian nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, leave it to me."

He breathed a sigh of relief. The Special Envoy had finally assigned him a simple task that wouldn’t cause any trouble, even if it was a little strange.

Having given his instructions, Hee Lingchuan was about to leave when a thought suddenly struck him. He drew back the foot he’d just put forward.

"Oh, right. Two more things."

"There’s...?" County Magistrate Tian almost spoke his mind but caught himself. "Whatever you need!"

"Here is a Wanted Command. Have your men make ten, or even several dozen copies, and post them in conspicuous places around the city as soon as possible." Hee Lingchuan took out a Wanted Command for Mr. Mai, issued by Zhitian Village, and handed it over. "Nothing escapes the eyes of the public. We need to leverage their power."

County Magistrate Tian took it and glanced at it. "Alright, I’ll get it done immediately."

"When can they be posted?"

"Uh, tomorrow morning..." Seeing Hee Lingchuan’s brow furrow, County Magistrate Tian quickly corrected himself. "By this evening! They will all be posted by this evening!"

Hee Lingchuan smiled in approval. "Also, where did you hear the news of Zhongsun Mou’s arrival in Baisha Jue?"

"I heard other dignitaries discussing it. It wasn’t just one or two people."

"And where did they find out?"

"Err..." This time, the rumor had spread like wildfire among the upper-class elites. By the time County Magistrate Tian heard it, it had already passed through who knows how many hands.

"Please investigate the source of this information. Find out who leaked it," Hee Lingchuan said sternly. "This is a matter of great importance. You must verify it as soon as possible!"

"Oh, alright, alright." Rumors were usually just Chasing Shadows and difficult to trace, but County Magistrate Tian had his own methods—starting with the female relatives in the households of these top elites.

***

Amidst the secret scheming of all parties in Baisha Jue, three days flew by, and the twenty-ninth of the seventh month finally arrived.

The Tide Lake Tower was the local signature attraction. The number of tourists who came to climb the tower daily ranged from six or seven thousand on a busy day to two or three thousand on a slow day. It was always bustling.

But the guests climbing the tower today were in for a disappointment. Before dawn, people had arrived to set up scaffolding. Then, craftsmen carrying all sorts of tools entered the site and began construction on the fourth and fifth floors.

DING! CLANG! DING! CLANG! The sounds of chiseling stone and hammering never ceased.

Workers moved up and down, carrying materials. Mud, sand, stones, and all sorts of miscellaneous items were everywhere.

Visiting the Tide Lake Tower to seek tranquility and enjoy the scenery was all about that one word: "tranquility." Although it was crowded with people at its peak, sitting in the tea house on the fourth floor, sipping tea and gazing into the distance, was one of life’s great pleasures.

But now, the boorish craftsmen had completely shattered that tranquil atmosphere. The nearby water birds, also annoyed by the noise, refused to land nearby, which cut the joy of birdwatching in half.

Therefore, most people who arrived, saw the mess, and heard the noise would just shake their heads and leave in disappointment.

Some guests, having already come all this way, were determined to climb the tower. But on the fourth floor, the DEAFENING sound of stone being smashed—each strike seemingly pounding directly on their nerves—meant they could only give the scenery a cursory glance before having to descend. They couldn’t even exchange a few words of conversation—

The noise was just too loud.

The Chaohu Tea House on the fourth floor had ten tables. It was usually packed, with at least three or four groups of customers waiting for each table. But today? It was experiencing a long-unseen desolation.

"Even with all this, three tables are occupied," the Soul-Catching Mirror tutted from its hiding place in Hee Lingchuan’s clothes. "These people really aren’t afraid of the noise."

The tea house was at thirty percent capacity.

These three tables of guests perhaps all had a compelling reason to be there, forcing them to endure the ear-splitting noise.

"Suspicious!" the Mirror exclaimed. "The time is almost here. They’re all suspicious."

Hee Lingchuan was not among them.

He was in a position where he could monitor everyone in the tower at all times without arousing suspicion.

"What’s so suspicious about these tables?"

"Look at the table on the left." At that table sat a lone male customer, around forty years old, with dark skin.

"This guy came in, ordered only a single cup of tea, and has been sitting motionless. Doesn’t he look like he’s waiting for someone?"

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

The Mirror asked him, "Is it because he looks too rustic?"

Hee Lingchuan said with certainty, "This person is just a laborer. He also ordered the cheapest tea."

The Mirror was unconvinced. "I can see that the skin on his hands is rough and his knuckles are thick. He’s clearly someone who does heavy manual labor. But maybe that’s just a disguise! Or maybe the mastermind didn’t want to come in person and just found some random person to test the waters."

"They wouldn’t have picked him, of all people."

"Why not?"

"His left hand is tucked into his sleeve, but he’s taken it out a few times—it trembles a little," Hee Lingchuan said. "He’s either a drunk or he’s sick. Would you entrust such an important matter to a drunkard or an invalid?"

The Mirror was speechless for a moment, then turned its attention to the second table. "What about those three women at that table? You think the contact can’t be a woman?"

At this table were three female customers: a woman in her early thirties, another approaching fifty, and finally, a young girl in the bloom of youth.

The young girl sat primly, her little face made up to be fair with a rosy blush, looking exquisite but with a hint of maturity. The younger woman’s brows were furrowed with impatience, while the old woman sipped her tea unhurriedly, occasionally comforting the other two, "He’ll be here soon, he’ll be here soon."

The younger woman then said, "It’s too noisy. Why don’t we do this another day!"

"If we reschedule, the day won’t be as auspicious."

Hearing this, Hee Lingchuan laughed. "This table? Very unlikely. That old woman is a matchmaker."

"Eh?"

"It’s a matchmaking meeting. The young girl is even wearing new shoes and new clothes, but her mother isn’t."

As they were speaking, someone came upstairs—a couple with a young boy—and sat down at that very table.

The two parties began to exchange pleasantries, both wearing polite yet undeniably awkward smiles.

The Mirror said resentfully, "As expected. It’s one of you humans’ most boring activities."

"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 this one!"

At the last table was an old man in his fifties. The material of his clothes was decent, and the way he drank his tea had a certain air about it. He was indeed, as the Mirror said, a person of some status and means.

Some, but not much.

The air of a superior is something difficult for an ordinary person to cultivate.

"Look, he keeps glancing towards the stairs. He’s clearly getting impatient."

"I see no flaws. We can’t rule him out. Besides, he’s also waiting for someone." On the man’s table sat a pot and two cups; one cup was empty, an obvious sign he was meeting someone. "He’s worth watching."

It was the height of summer, after all. No matter how cool the Tide Lake Tower was, drinking a few sips of hot tea would still make one sweat. The man took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat twice, then, as if having made up his mind, he tossed the tea money on the table, stood up, and quickly walked downstairs.

The Mirror urged, "Hey, he’s slipping away! Follow him!"

But Hee Lingchuan didn’t move an inch. "The time isn’t right. It’s not him."

"Maybe he sensed something was wrong and is making an early escape."

"He already came all this way. Why would he leave before the appointed time? It’s only a few minutes until 1:30 PM."

The words had barely left his mouth when the old man reappeared, climbing back up the stairs.

And there was someone following him.

They returned to their original seats and began to talk.

The sound of the construction was loud, so they had to raise their voices. The CLANGING and BANGING would sometimes stop abruptly, and in those moments, the customers’ conversations would echo throughout the fourth floor.

The matchmaking party: "Let me tell you, no one in this city asks for that much for a betrothal gift!"

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

The drunkard: "..."

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

Hee Lingchuan calmly grabbed a wooden plank and—BANG! BANG! BANG!—started nailing it again.

Yes, he was currently dressed in roughspun clothes, blending in with the renovation crew as a handyman, which also happened to give him the best observation point.

Back when he was a Patrol Guard in Panlong City, he often helped the townspeople repair their houses and carriages. He had learned all his carpentry skills from the Door Panel. Although he didn’t have its level of craftsmanship, he could still pass for a handyman.

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

The Soul-Catching Mirror was puzzled. "If it’s none of these three tables, then wasn’t your entire setup a waste?"

Hee Lingchuan had specifically instructed the Baisha Jue County Magistrate to bring in a repair crew from out of town to begin renovating the Tide Lake Tower starting yesterday, the twenty-eighth.

The reason for hiring an outside crew was to prevent word from getting out to the locals ahead of time.

At first, the Soul-Catching Mirror thought it understood Hee Lingchuan’s intentions. After all, the Tide Lake Tower was normally packed with so many people that Mr. Mai’s contact would be impossible to identify. But once construction began, the flow of visitors would immediately decrease. Anyone who could tolerate the noise and stay on the fourth floor was likely there for a real purpose.

This would make them easier to observe and identify.

But now that all three tables had been ruled out, it was likely that the contact either hadn’t shown up or had come up, taken a look around, and left. After all, tourists were still trickling in, in twos and threes, looking around before going back down.

Wasn’t this just a waste of Hee Lingchuan’s effort? He had also wasted an important clue.

Instead, Hee Lingchuan looked up at the water clock in the tea house and said, "It’s almost 1:30 PM. The time is about right."

"What’s about right?" the Mirror said, disgruntled. "Speak clearly."

"Let me ask you, if you were the contact, and you saw that the Tide Lake Tower—which wasn’t under repair before and wasn’t under repair after—just happened to be undergoing major renovations at the exact time you were supposed to meet Mr. Mai, what would you think?" Hee Lingchuan chuckled. "And let’s add one more thing: you know the Crown Prince Envoy is also in Baisha Jue investigating a case."

"I’d suspect something was up and that it would be best to cancel the meeting," the Mirror said without hesitation. "At the slightest sign of trouble, a rat is the first to flee to its hole."

"But what if they still haven’t been able to find Mr. Mai? If they miss today, they miss their chance with him."

The Mirror asked in surprise, "Is Mr. Mai that important?"

"I told Zhongsun Mou that Mr. Mai’s subordinate, Wan Song, spilled a lot of secrets. If you were the mastermind, wouldn’t you be worried?" Hee Lingchuan whispered. "What’s more, what if they don’t show up, but Mr. Mai arrives as planned and gets arrested by us? They have to at least make sure that doesn’t happen."

"Silence him?"

Hee Lingchuan nodded slightly. "So, they shouldn’t let this opportunity pass."

"Too scared to keep the appointment, but too scared not to come. A dilemma."

"Not that difficult," Hee Lingchuan laughed. "People are prone to wishful thinking. Baisha Jue has been renovating its attractions recently; more than ten places have already been repaired, one after another, almost without stopping. Perhaps the Tide Lake Tower’s renovation is just a coincidence, too?"