Beat the grass and scare the snake
To inadvertently alert an enemy due to one's own conspicuous actions
Negative
如果投弹者是赛车场的会员，搜查令可能会打草惊蛇 | Rúguǒ tóudànzhě shì sàichē chǎng de huìyuán, sōuchálìng kěnéng huì dǎcǎojīngshé
If the bomber is a member of the race track, a warrant may tip them off
[Source]
我们要逮住他而不是打草惊蛇 | Wǒmen yào dǎi zhù tā ér bùshì dǎcǎojīngshé
We're here to arrest him, not spook him
[Source]
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《南唐近事》(Nán Táng Jìn Shì), a novel by Sòng Dynasty (宋, 960 - 1279) author 郑文宝 (Zhèng Wén Bǎo)
In the Táng Dynasty (唐, 618 - 907) there lived a county magistrate named 王鲁 (Wáng Lǔ). 王鲁 was horribly fond of money, and he often took bribes and ignored the law. Unfortunately, his underlings often followed suit.
The people in his town couldn't stand this vile behavior. One day, a court official happened to come around to check on the town's state of affairs. The townspeople seized on the opportunity, and after some discussion and strategizing, they lodged a formal complaint against one of 王鲁's underlings. The visiting court official promptly followed standard procedure and delivered the formal complaint — to 王鲁.
Now, based on the laws at the time, 王鲁 had to approve the formal complaint before it could be delivered to his subordinate. When 王鲁 took a look at the documents, however, he grew alarmed and looked more closely. The closer he looked, the more he realized that his subordinate's crimes exactly coincided with his own illegal actions, and the more scared he grew.
He eventually fell into such a state of panic that he forgot to approve or deny the complaint. Instead, he wrote on the document, "Though you've charged my subordinate, in beating the grass, you have frightened me, the snake within!"