Chapter 496 Fight for One Day
Chapter 496 Fight for One Day
There was another person living in the outer courtyard where the kitchen was located, his name was Fan Wuzhe.
Although he was a relative, he was not allowed to live in the inner courtyard.
Fan Wuzhe was tossing and turning on the couch, and he didn't even know when he fell into a sleep.
Shi Chun came out of the kitchen and returned to the front hall for a while, then slipped back into the yard. This time he did not go to the kitchen, but walked to the door of Fan Wuzhe's room, gently pushed the door open, and quickly closed the door.
After that, he walked to the couch and checked Fan Wuzhe's pulse and breath. After confirming that he was asleep, he pressed some acupoints on him and then leaned over to pick up a spherical hollow metal ball from under the couch.
It wasn't a treasure. It was an exquisite thing that was hung in some carriages to burn incense and increase the fragrance. He just put some incense in it.
The thing was that when the city guards were checking him, they felt that he was not qualified as a waiter and asked him to call out everyone in the library. He called out Fan Wuzhe first, then went to the inner courtyard to call Dong Wenshu's family, and took advantage of this gap to do these tricks.
After taking the incense pill, he quickly walked to the bedside and searched Fan Wuzhe swiftly.
Fan Wuzhe didn't have any Qiankun bags or anything like that on him, so he had limited things. Shi Chun wasn't interested in the things on him, and didn't touch them until he touched a mother-and-child talisman. He then took it out and put it aside, and continued to search his entire body, even the bed, the furniture in the room, and some corners.
After confirming that there was nothing else, he gave up and picked up the talisman to examine it.
He was sure of one thing, that the mother-child talisman was not something that an ordinary family like Fan Wuzhe could afford.
He guessed that this was used to contact Mei You. Ordinary tax inspectors were not qualified to use this expensive thing at any time when they had nothing to do. It was only issued when something happened. Generally, they only had temporary use rights and had to hand it back afterwards.
He had not originally thought of searching Fan Wuzhe's body, nor did he wonder if Fan Wuzhe had the mother-child talisman on him. He originally wanted to do some things in other ways.
It was the city guards who were checking who gave him the opportunity to take action. He came up with this idea because he saw an opportunity. He wanted to see if Fan Wuzhe had the mother-and-child talisman on him that could contact Mei You. If not, he would adopt the original plan. If so, he would have another plan.
I didn't have high hopes at first. I just thought that those people were willing to spend a high price to buy this house, which showed that they were willing to spend a lot of money. Maybe they would let Fan Wuzhe use the mother-child talisman. I just wanted to look for a loophole to exploit.
As a result, a mother-child talisman was actually found on Fan Wuzhe.
I'm sorry, there's no way he wouldn't use it if there's a more convenient operation.
After observing the original body number on the side of the mother talisman for a while, Shi Chun put it away, then took out a pair of mother-child talismans, took them apart, and stuffed one of them back to the place on Fan Wuzhe's body where the mother-child talismans were placed.
It can be considered a swap.
The method is quite crude, and most people would probably not do this. After all, the numbers on the two symbols are different, so they can be easily recognized.
But he didn't think so. In his opinion, Fan Wuzhe only had one mother-and-child talisman on him, and anyone who had nothing to do would always take out the mother-and-child talisman to see if it was the real one.
However, Fan Wuzhe was not someone who could afford to use the Mother-and-Child Talisman. He had something to hide and was afraid of being seen, so it was impossible for him to take out the Mother-and-Child Talisman to check it all the time.
Besides, with him watching in the library, he would be able to observe some signs to see whether Fan Wuzhe had discovered that the mother-child talismans had been swapped.
In short, whether he discovered it or not, no matter what the situation was, Fan Wuzhe was destined to be a pawn in this game. At most, the methods and means would change. He did not give Fan Wuzhe the opportunity to make a choice...
Inside the inner court, Mei You, who was summoned, bowed and greeted.
Lou Xiu stepped down from his seat and came to his side. He stared at the gradually brightening sky outside the gate and asked, "Do the major merchants in the city have any opinions on the closure of the city?"
Mei You was slightly startled, and after thinking for a while, she said, "It seems that I don't have any objection."
Lou Xiu squinted and said, "How can I not have any opinion if it affects the business?"
Mei You was silent for a moment, and said, "I think so, but I haven't heard anyone have any objections yet."
Lou Xiu said earnestly, "How can you hear it if you stay on the mountain? If you can't hear it on the mountain, go down the mountain and listen. Go to the major merchants and walk around. If they ask you when the lockdown will be lifted, just say that the time is uncertain and it has affected your business. They will definitely have an explanation."
Mei You was a little confused, so he bowed and said, "Captain, I am ignorant and don't understand what you mean. Please explain it to me."
Lou Xiu leaned close to his face and whispered, "I want to know what opinions all the major merchants have about the city lockdown. Do you understand?"
Mei You was still a little confused, and said hesitantly: "I understand the literal meaning..."
Lou Xiu interrupted, "Literally, I'll give you one hour!"
"Well, okay, I'll go down the mountain and take a walk." Mei You, feeling a little embarrassed, said goodbye with full of doubts.
He was obedient and kept exactly the hour he said he would, no more, no less. After walking around the city, he returned to the sunny mountain on time to report.
After collecting relevant information, Lou Xiu immediately went to the top of the mountain. After reporting, he met the city lord again.
Li Xianghong waved to Lou Xiu who was bowing, "Let's talk about it."
Lou Xiu immediately reported in a serious tone: "City Lord, merchants down the mountain have been asking how long the city will be closed, and I don't know how to answer." Li Xianghong: "Why are they so anxious when we are still investigating the murderer?"
Lou Xiu smiled and said, "It's understandable to be anxious. Many people have to travel in and out of the city for business, and many people have to keep their goods fresh. Some goods are stuck in the city, and a lot of them are blocked outside the city. It's normal to be anxious and worried, and it's normal to want to know the exact time so that you can make arrangements."
Li Xianghong glanced at Bai Qiru standing next to her, then returned her gaze to Lou Xiu. "When do you think it would be appropriate to lift the ban?"
Lou Xiu hurriedly bowed and said, "Everything depends on the city lord's decision. How dare I speak nonsense?"
Li Xianghong: "Just say what I ask you to say. Don't be as hypocritical as those humans. I hate that the most."
Well, Lou Xiu had no choice but to say seriously, "Yes, I think, logically speaking, we must catch the murderer before lifting the ban, but the problem is, if we continue to investigate like this, I don't think there will be any results. Secondly, it is not certain whether the murderer is in the city. Can he return to the city after killing Master Xun? I personally think that the investigation must continue, but it may not be appropriate to seal the city forever. I think we should investigate strictly, but there is no need to seal the city for a long time. If it takes too long, the popularity of the big city will be affected."
Li Xianghong: "I asked you when it would be appropriate to lift the ban, but you didn't understand?"
Lou Xiu lowered his head, a haze flashed in his eyes. This was one of the main reasons why he flattered Lord Axun and wanted to sit on the position of the city lord. As the other party's right-hand man, he was often treated like a minion.
After thinking for a while, he raised his head and said, "I think that if we block the city for another day, we can check everything that needs to be checked. It's almost time to resume normal trade in Dazhi City. It won't have much impact on the continued investigation."
Li Xianghong reached out to hold the jug, raised her head and gurgled at the spout of the jug for a while before putting it down and saying, "Let's do as you say."
Lou Xiu was slightly stunned. She thought that even if she talked more, it might not produce any results. She didn't expect that he would agree so quickly.
He came back to his senses and hurriedly bowed, "The city lord is enlightened. The merchants in the city must be extremely grateful..."
Li Xianghong didn't want to listen to the flattery, so she waved her hand to interrupt and signaled him to get out if he had nothing to do.
Lou Xiu bowed and left.
As soon as he left, Bai Qiru walked to the stone table and expressed his concern: "Once the ban is lifted, people will come and go in and out of the city, expanding the area. Will we still be able to keep an eye on his every move?"
Li Xianghong looked towards the direction of the golden sunrise and said indifferently: "Before the truth comes out, everyone in the city is suspicious. I don't believe any of them. I have already mobilized a large number of people from the sacred mountain."
Lou Xiu returned to the inner court hall and walked straight to the table and sat down, ignoring Mei You who was waiting there to pay his respects. He took out the mother-child talisman and sent a message directly to the mysterious man: The ban will be lifted tomorrow, how do you want to trade?
At this time, Chaoyue Pavilion had already opened its doors for business, and Shi Chun was placing tables and chairs in the library, preparing to entertain guests.
When he received the summons, he walked to the corner, read the content, and quickly replied: Let's talk about it tomorrow.
Lou Xiu, who was sitting behind the desk, tightened his lips. Things had come to this point and the initiative was no longer in his hands. It was useless for him to talk too much. He could only take the mother-child talisman and wave to Mei You who was waiting anxiously.
Mei You immediately came over and stretched his head to wait for instructions.
Lou Xiu whispered, "Your brothers and friends in Wuyang Mountain have used your power to take care of them behind my back over the years. Why are you panicking? I don't mean to blame you. I just want to tell you that it takes a thousand days to raise an army and only a day to deploy it. It's time to use it. All the people you can mobilize from the outside world, those who are capable and reliable and can arrive before dawn tomorrow, are here to serve me."
Mei You, who looked fierce, appeared very obedient and asked in a low voice, "Tixia, what do you want to do?"
Lou Xiu said with a gloomy look, "I'll clean up your mess. Wait for the person behind you to take the bait. As long as the net is big and dense enough, don't even think about running away if he takes the bait!"
Mei You knew that he was hiding something from her and had not fully disclosed it to her, but she still had to obey him, and nodded obediently, "I understand."
As soon as he left, Lou Xiu took out the mother-child talisman and used it to contact his own unofficial forces.
The reason why he set the lifting of the ban to tomorrow instead of now was to buy one day to gather strength and achieve success in one go.
At the library, Shi Chun was not idle either. He took the time to pass on a message to Lao Changtai: Send another letter to Bai's Rice Shop...
Lao Changtai naturally followed the order, but this time he sent a small box instead of an envelope.
He also changed his appearance, but did not deliver the letter directly by knocking on the door. According to Shi Chun, this time he really spent money to hire a passerby to deliver the letter. Xiao Sheng, who arrived earlier, observed near the rice shop.
Bai's Rice Shop has already opened, and there is only one clerk in the store.
The passerby delivered the letter and left, but before he had gone far, someone suddenly appeared and knocked the letter over and took it away.
Xiao Sheng, who was watching from the sidelines, was secretly shocked when he saw this scene.
The clerk in the shop didn't see it. With the training from the previous strange letter, the clerk already knew what to do next. He simply closed the shop and ran straight to the city mountain with the small box.
Soon, the guy reached the mountain again and saw Bai Qiru again.
After Bai Qiru opened the box and looked at it, he pushed the box in front of Li Xianghong.
Li Xianghong reached out and took out half of the talisman from the small box, holding it in her hand and looking through it.
(End of this chapter)