During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Lin Chong, the martial arts instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards in the Eastern Capital, was framed by Grand Marshal Gao and exiled to Cangzhou in Hebei. Thanks to the help of "Whirlwind" Chai Jin, he was initially assigned to guard the Tianwang Hall.
In Cangzhou, Lin Chong encountered Li Xiao'er, a man he had once helped in the Eastern Capital. After leaving the capital, Li Xiao'er had opened a small tavern in Cangzhou, and Lin Chong became a regular patron there.
Gao Qiu, the Grand Marshal, was determined to see Lin Chong dead. After Lin Chong was exiled to Cangzhou, Gao Qiu sent his henchman Lu Qian to follow him there. Lu Qian tracked down the prison warden and the chief jailer, and the three of them met secretly in Li Xiao'er's tavern to plot Lin Chong's downfall.
Li Xiao'er overheard them mention "Marshal Gao" and grew worried it might involve Lin Chong, so he sent his wife to eavesdrop on their discussion. After listening for a while, Li Xiao'er's wife returned and reported, "They were whispering to each other, so I couldn't hear clearly. That military officer from the Eastern Capital seemed to hand a pouch of gold and silver to the two prison wardens. One warden said, 'Leave it to me—I'll find a way to finish him off one way or another.'"
After Lu Yu Hou and his men left, Lin Chong happened to arrive, and Li Xiao Er told him everything. Lin Chong listened and said, "That officer is my enemy Lu Yu Hou. If he dares to come here to harm me, I'll chop him into mincemeat if I catch him!"
Some days later, Lin Chong was assigned to guard the fodder depot outside the city. On a snowy, stormy night, Lu Qian set the depot ablaze, hoping to burn Lin Chong alive. But the blizzard was so fierce that Lin Chong had taken shelter in a nearby mountain temple, escaping the flames unscathed.
After setting the fire, Lu Yu Hou and his men sought shelter from the snowstorm at the Mountain God Temple. When their eyes met, hatred burned brighter than the flames. Lin Chong declared, "Today, you will pay for your betrayal!" and with that, he slew Lu Yu Hou and the others, avenging his wrongs. Having settled the score, Lin Chong fled to the Liangshan Marsh to join the outlaws.
Later, the idiom "whispering in each other's ears" came to describe people talking closely in low voices.
Source: *Water Margin*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "交头接耳" came to describe people talking closely in low voices.