"No matter what he discovered, the situation is very unfavorable for us now," Marquis Jing'an said. "If Lin Taichu does not seek revenge on the city lord, our plan will fall apart. And if he finds out we did it, we will be in trouble."
Zhang Ce thought for a moment and said, "My lord, do not worry. Perhaps Lin Taichu is only testing the waters. We can give him another push and force him to seek revenge on the city lord."
"How?" Marquis Jing'an asked.
"We can send people to spread rumors near the clinic again. Say that the city lord has borne a grudge over the previous poisoning incident, and that he bribed people at the clinic to poison the old doctor this time, wanting revenge on Lin Taichu."
"As long as the rumors spread widely enough, even if Lin Taichu does not want revenge, he will have to take action for the sake of his reputation."
Marquis Jing'an nodded. "Good. Do as you said. Make sure the rumors spread thoroughly and everyone believes the city lord did it."
Zhang Ce immediately went to make arrangements. Before long, rumors spread throughout the city that the city lord had nursed a grudge and bribed people from the clinic to poison the old doctor. Many commoners believed it and discussed how narrow-minded the city lord was, refusing to spare even the old doctor who had saved his daughter.
Wang Xiaohu was furious when he heard the news. He found Lin Taichu and said, "Senior brother, look! The city lord did all of this! Let us go settle the score with him now!"
Lin Taichu stopped him. "Do not act rashly. The city lord did not do this. Marquis Jing'an deliberately spread these rumors to force us into making a move."