Chapter 71 Delivering Letters
Lin Hao discovered a pattern: Jinlin Guard Commander Cheng Maoming would drink tea at a teahouse near the government office every day at noon. He also had a fixed elegant room for tea, located on the second floor, on the easternmost side facing the street.
Across the road from the teahouse is a tavern, which does good business and is often full of people at noon.
This made it somewhat inconvenient for Lin Hao to act.
What she liked was the big tree next to the tavern.
It was a towering banyan tree, its canopy large and lush, its shade covering half of the tavern. If someone hid in the tree, with good eyesight, they could see through the open window of the teahouse's elegant room and get a general idea of what was going on inside.
It was a sunny day. Lin Hao carefully avoided people and went behind a big tree, then climbed up nimbly.
The dense branches and leaves completely obscured her figure.
A figure swayed near the window of the elegant room. A middle-aged man in brocade clothes could be vaguely seen sitting down, leisurely sipping a cup of tea. Since he was sitting by the window, Lin Hao could see his profile from his vantage point, but he couldn't tell how many guards were in the room.
According to Cheng Maoming's habit, he would spend more than half an hour in the teahouse before returning to the yamen to work.
This half hour is the opportunity Lin Hao has been waiting for.
She opened her bag, took out a clip, and fixed it to a thick branch. Then she inserted the crossbow into it. Since it wasn't her first time doing this, she quickly adjusted the angle. The fully drawn arrow was pointed directly at the window of the elegant room. The taut bowstring was tied to another branch with a thin rope. The arrowhead cleverly clicked into a pre-set mechanism, replacing the finger.
The bowstring was full, and if the thin rope binding it was released, it would still have enough power to send the arrow into the window.
Lin Hao had tried it countless times in his own garden these days. He knew everything about the angle of the crossbow, the stability of the mechanism, the distance the arrow flew, and the time it took for the thin rope to burn to the bowstring.
After doing this, she slid down from the tree lightly, lit the hanging string, and quietly left the street.
Cheng Maoming was the commander of the Jinlin Guard, and this place was near the Jinlin Guard headquarters, so the Jinlin Guard had absolutely meticulous protection for him. Lin Hao had no confidence in escaping unscathed after firing that arrow, so she could only use a mechanism to prolong the arrow's firing time, allowing her to stay away from the area when the incident occurred.
In the elegant room, Cheng Maoming closed his eyes slightly, enjoying the rare relaxation of the day.
The Jinlin Guard Commander may seem glamorous, but in reality, he faces considerable pressure. Throughout the three dynasties of the Great Zhou, there have been six Jinlin Guard Commanders, including him, and none of the previous five have met a good end.
A few years ago, Cheng Maoming's sense of crisis was not so strong. However, ever since he offended the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor Qin Yunchuan, he has been a little uneasy about the future.
Actually, it was not a big deal. His men mistakenly arrested Qin Yunchuan's nephew while investigating a case, causing the boy to suffer a little.
He punished his men and personally went to apologize. Qin Yunchuan also said that he would not care about a misunderstanding.
But when he occasionally thought of this, he still felt uneasy.
Who knows if Qin Yunchuan really doesn't care or is just waiting to deal with him in the future.
Qin Yunchuan's influence on the prince cannot be underestimated. As the saying goes, a new emperor means new ministers. When the prince ascends the throne, even if he has a good relationship with Qin Yunchuan, he will have to keep a low profile, not to mention that he has offended Qin Yunchuan.
When the sound of breaking air was heard, Cheng Maoming suddenly opened his eyes and dodged to the side with extremely fast movements.
The feather arrow hit the table and fell down helplessly.
"Grand Commander!" The two Jinlin guards who were silently guarding the elegant room changed their expressions and stepped forward immediately.
Cheng Maoming stared at the sharp arrow with trembling feathers, his face ashen.
With this force, he couldn't be hurt even if he didn't dodge, but the fact that the arrow could reach him was enough to make him angry and frightened.
"Go check it out immediately!" Cheng Maoming gritted his teeth and pulled out a chair to sit against the wall.
Soon a team of Jinlin Guards appeared on the street, pedestrians were stopped, and the exits of shops were blocked.
The Jinlin Guard who was guarding the elegant room stood on the street and looked at the window of the elegant room, recalling the direction and angle from which the feather arrow flew, then turned towards the tavern and slowly raised his head.
The tall and dense banyan tree came into view, making him fall into thought.
After a while, he strode to the tree, wiped his hands on his clothes, and climbed up by hugging the trunk.
The set mechanism was still on the tree and was soon discovered by Jinlinwei. In addition, the slightly fluttering red ribbon caught his attention.
A red silk ribbon was tied to a branch, and tied with it was an oil-paper bag.
Jinlinwei took off the oil-paper package and opened it. Inside were several letters and a note with the words "Personally written by General Cheng" written on the note.
He rewrapped the letter, checked the tree carefully again, and returned to the elegant room to report.
"Grand Commander, we found the mechanism for fixing the crossbows on the tree next to the tavern."
Looking at the things that Jinlin Guard brought back, Cheng Maoming's face was as dark as water. "So, when the arrow was shot, that person was no longer there?"
"I think so. There's some black ash near the bowstring, and some unburned string. This probably bought them time to escape," Jinlin Guard said, presenting the oil-paper bag. "I also found this."
When he opened the oil-paper package, several letters appeared in front of Cheng Maoming.
Cheng Maoming was a cautious person. He was worried that the letter was poisoned, so he signaled his subordinates to unfold the letter on top.
Jinlinwei held the letter with both hands but did not read its contents.
Cheng Maoming's expression changed after reading only the beginning, and at the end he stared at the signature without moving.
After an unknown amount of time, his voice trembled a little: "Open the next one."
After reading several letters, Cheng Maoming did not speak for a long time, but his heart was in turmoil.
These turned out to be the correspondence between the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor Qin Yunchuan and the National Master Mingxin Zhenren!
Qin Yunchuan actually wanted to defect to his old master!
His eyes once again fell on the feathered arrow lying quietly on the table.
No wonder this arrow has no killing power. Its purpose is not to hurt people, but to deliver these letters to him.
Did the archer want to use him to deal with Qin Yunchuan?
Cheng Maoming's face lit up, showing the shock and anger of having his life threatened, the annoyance of being used as a scapegoat, and a hint of... joy.
Yes, secretly happy.
Regardless of who the messenger was, or what grudge he had against Qin Yunchuan, he and Qin Yunchuan had a feud, and he wouldn't rely on Qin Yunchuan's generosity for his life. It was just that he couldn't easily frame Qin Yunchuan like he did with ordinary officials, so he had to endure it.
Cheng Maoming was holding the letters and was suddenly startled.
This means that the person who delivered the letter knew that he had a grudge against Qin Yunchuan!
This discovery made Cheng Maoming even more shocked and angry.
"Investigate him for me. Dig three feet underground to find him!"
In the next few days, the streets were filled with groups of Jinlin Guards, and the originally bustling streets became deserted.
Cheng Maoming thought about it for two days and made up his mind: he would use these letters to bring down Qin Yunchuan.
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