Chapter 182 Using the Seal as Bait

Chapter 182 Using the Seal as Bait

Chapter 182 Using the Seal as Bait
Xiao Xia said to everyone: "We must first sort out the thoughts of the remnants of the Northern Qi Dynasty. There are three remnants of the Northern Qi Dynasty. One is the Baoguo Association lurking in the Shandong Peninsula. They are the descendants of Gao Huan's eldest son Gao Cheng.

The other branch is the descendants of Emperor Gao Yang of the Northern Qi Dynasty. They were captured by the imperial court and lived mainly in Luoyang and Chang'an. They were under the surveillance of the imperial court, but they still carried out activities in secret.

The third remnant of the Northern Qi hid in Liaodong. They were the descendants of Gao Jun, the third son of Gao Huan. This remnant of the Northern Qi was protected by Goguryeo.

Among these three remnants of the Northern Qi Dynasty, the first one that the court wanted to crack down on severely was the Baoguo Society, and our target is also the Baoguo Society.

Judging from the current situation, the Baoguo Association must have taken action, but the problem is that we don’t know whether the buyer of the jade seal is the Baoguo Association or the captured remnants of Northern Qi? Which force stole the jade seal in Tongguan? So I thought about it again and again, and I decided to bypass Shan Xiongxin and deal directly with the buyer! "

Qin Qiong hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to find a buyer!"

Xiao Xia smiled slightly, "No need to look for them, I believe they will come to you on their own."

Qin Qiong was startled, "What do you mean, sir?"

Xiao Xia laughed and said, "You came to Chang'an saying that the jade seal was lost, and then you fell ill for more than ten days. Later, you promised to find it within three days. But to outsiders, the jade seal is in your hands. You want to find a buyer yourself and take the money. Judging from this, the buyer will come to you in the next two days!"

At this point, Xiao Xia said to Zhang Huan, "Brother Zhang, please go back to the inn and wait. Our people will also be near the inn. If there is any news, please notify us immediately."

Zhang Huan agreed immediately and prepared to leave. Zhao Zhi beside him said hurriedly, "I guess the other party will also monitor Zhang Huan. We can't contact him directly. We can agree on a signal. For example, putting a pot of flowers means that the buyer is coming. This way it will be much more covert."

Zhao Zhi's suggestion was agreed by everyone. They immediately discussed a complete plan, and Zhang Huan hurried away.

Zhang Huan hurried back to the Chang'an Old City Inn and walked into the lobby. The innkeeper came up to him and said, "Master Zhang is finally back!"

Zhang Huan smiled and said, "What are you worried about, boss? Are you afraid that we won't pay for the room?"

"No, there is a letter for you."

The shopkeeper took out a letter and handed it to Zhang Huan. Zhang Huan was startled and asked, "When was it delivered?"

"It was delivered last night!"

Zhang Huan opened the letter. He was a man of few literary talents and could recognize a few words. Fortunately, the letter was simple, with only one line of words: "Please come to Cangzhou Restaurant for a chat at noon!"

Cangzhou Restaurant is just diagonally opposite, and the timing is also coincidental, it will soon be noon.

After all, Zhang Huan was a constable, so he was not in a hurry to go to the restaurant. Instead, he returned to his room first and picked up a pot of flowers from the corridor.

There was no change in the room. It was exactly the same as when he left yesterday. No one had come in. Zhang Huan looked around the room carefully and found a clue. There were two small holes on the wooden wall panel on his left. Zhang Huan immediately understood that someone next door was monitoring him, but he didn't know whether it was Shan Xiongxin or the buyer.

Zhang Huan said nothing, pretending he hadn't seen the small hole. He casually placed the flower pot in front of the window, then stood up, closed the door and went out.
Cangzhou Restaurant is a two-story restaurant. Generally, there is not much business at noon. Almost all the people living in the old city are lower-class people. They only have two meals a day and do not eat at noon. In the new city, there are many powerful and wealthy people, so the restaurant business is also good at noon.

Zhang Huan walked into the restaurant and was immediately greeted by a man, "Master Zhang from Qi County, right?"

Zhang Huan nodded, and the man said, "My master wants to talk to Master Zhang. He has no ill intentions. Please follow me, Master Zhang."

The two went up to the second floor and walked into an elegant room, where they saw a middle-aged man standing by the window with his hands behind his back, his back to them.

The subordinate stepped forward and saluted, "Young Master, Master Zhang is here!"

The middle-aged man turned around and said with a smile: "My name is Gao Shande. I know that the jade seal is in your hands. For six thousand strings of cash, transfer the jade seal to me."

Zhang Huan asked after a while: "How did Lord Gao know that the imperial seal is in our hands?"

"It's very simple. You said that the jade seal was stolen in Tongguan, but I know that the two people who stole the jade seal in Tongguan are dead, so you are not telling the truth. I know your intentions very well. I am the buyer of Shan Xiongxin. I don't want to wait any longer, so I came to you directly. How about giving you one thousand more strings of cash than Shan Xiongxin?"

Zhang Huan thought for a moment and said, "I admit that the jade seal is in our hands, and we also want to make a profit from this, but if the jade seal is given to you, what will happen to Shan Xiongxin?"

Gao Shande said calmly: "Don't worry! I won't tell him. I will even create a false impression so that he will think that it was Baoguo who got it."

Zhang Huan's heart suddenly jumped. He tried not to show his emotion and said, "The country will be protected in Qi County and Beihai County. How are you going to explain it?"

"There have always been people from the National Protection Association in Chang'an, and didn't you meet them in Tongguan?"

"Ah! The person who stole the jade seal in Tongguan was a member of the Baohui Society?" Gao Shande nodded, "The person who stole the jade seal was a member of the Baohui Society. Later, my people fought with him for it and were stabbed to death by him. Later, I found out that the man was also seriously injured and died. Then I knew that the jade seal was still in your hands."

"How did Baoguo know about the imperial seal? Did you tell him?"

Gao Shande shook his head. "It was Shan Xiongxin who found them. He wanted to sell both. The highest bidder wins!"

Zhang Huan said coldly: "Someone tampered with our inn room. Did you send someone to do it?"

Gao Shande was startled, "When did it happen?"

"Just now, I returned to the room and found that someone had come in and moved our things, and I felt like someone was watching us."

"no!"

Gao Shande denied it outright, "I promise that I did not send anyone into your room, nor did I send anyone to monitor you."

"How about this!"

Zhang Huan pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go discuss it with Brother Qin and get back to you at noon tomorrow!"

"Alright! We'll meet here again tomorrow at noon."

As soon as he left the restaurant, Zhang Huan felt that he was being watched. He got on an ox cart, which slowly circled the old city.

This ox cart was specially designed to pick up Zhang Huan. After he placed a pot of flowers in front of the window, the ox cart appeared.

Inside the ox cart, Zhang Huan looked behind through the gap in the curtain and whispered to Xu Min, "That's the man riding the donkey. He's been following me!"

Xu Min also glanced over, "Just him?"

"It seems that he is the only one at the moment!"

The ox cart turned at an intersection, and Xu Min and three of his men jumped off. A moment later, a man riding a donkey hurried over. As soon as he turned the corner, he was hit on the head with a stick. He immediately fell off the donkey and fainted.

Xu Min and three of his men immediately lifted him onto the ox cart.

At this time, Xiao Xia was in another inn about a hundred steps away from this inn. He could see the inn where Qin Qiong and Zhang Huan lived from afar from the window. If his eyesight was good enough, he could also see the flower pots placed by Zhang Huan on the window. A distance of a hundred steps was a piece of cake for Xiao Xia, and he could see it clearly.

Xiao Xia also knew that Zhang Huan went to the Cangzhou Restaurant. Someone must have invited him. At this time, a subordinate came in and reported: "Sir, Zhang Huan said that the person who invited him is called Gao Shande, and he is willing to pay 6,000 strings of cash for his jade seal."

It really is Gao Shande, Xiao Xia sneered. Gao Shande was a prisoner of war among the remnants of Northern Qi, not the National Protection Association he wanted to deal with.

"Anything else?" Xiao Xia continued to ask.

"Zhang Huan also said that there was surveillance in the inn room. There were two holes on the left wall. Someone next door was monitoring him, but Gao Shande denied that they sent someone to monitor him."

Xiao Xia nodded, "Who is following him?"

"We don't know yet. Captain Xu should still be interrogating him!"

"I understand. Let me know immediately if you have any news."

The soldier saluted and hurried away.

Xiao Xia walked to the window and looked at a pot of flowers a hundred steps away. What he was unsure of now was whether the person who was monitoring Zhang Huan next door was sent by Shan Xiongxin or by the National Security Council?
Half an hour later, Xu Min and Zhang Huan rushed back to the inn. Xu Min reported: "Sir, the person who was following us confessed that he was Shan Xiongxin's younger brother. In addition, the surveillance person next door was also sent by Shan Xiongxin."

Zhang Huan also reported: "Gao Shande told me that Shan Xiongxin approached both Gao Shande and Baohui at the same time, and he wanted to sell to both parties, and the one with the highest price would win."

Xiao Xia was a little disappointed that the stalker was not from the Baoguo Society, but since Shan Xiongxin had actually found the Baoguo Society, she could only look for clues from Shan Xiongxin.

Xiao Xia took two steps with his hands behind his back and said, "Bring Shan Xiongxin out and arrest him secretly!"

(End of this chapter)