Mu Shaoling’s face darkened upon hearing this, and he followed up impatiently, "Enough already, I know your Brother An is a treasure. Could you please take a look at the letter below first?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia hurriedly put away Ye Zi’an’s letter and looked at the other one.
The other letter was from Old Mu, and as soon as she opened it, her expression soured. Brother An had actually seen Ye Ziping in Shandong, and he was with the pirates.
Not only that, but the pirates were not entirely from the foreign lands, most of them were pretending to be citizens of Great Zhou. Moreover, Ye Ziping had escaped again in Shandong.
"Did the people you sent to the penal colony return?" Yang Chuxia asked, setting down the letter.
"They’ve returned, they arrived just in time with Uncle Luo’s letter. I heard that there was heavy snowfall up north, preventing the use of pigeons for communication, so they sent someone to deliver the message quickly by horse. Just so happens they arrived in Quanya at the same time as the person who returned from the penal colony. The person who came back reported that earlier this spring, there was a riot in the penal colony, and many prisoners escaped amidst the chaos. Oh right, Uncle Luo is still keeping this from Brother An."
Mu Shaoling was somewhat angry when he got to this point. The guards had allowed such a significant incident to occur and failed to report it merely because they were afraid of being held responsible.
Now that he thought about it, those so-called pirates were likely mostly escaped convicts from the penal colony. The foreigners among them might’ve been brought in just for deception.
Yang Chuxia pondered for a long while, tapping her hand on the round table, the sound echoing crisply, her gaze profound.
Then she said, "Since he is not in the penal colony, the attack on my home is very likely orchestrated by him bringing people over. We should focus on him as our prime suspect. Regardless of whether it was him or not, a convict who has escaped from the penal colony and impersonated a pirate to rob and murder civilians is already subject to the death penalty. Catching him would be a contribution to the imperial court even if we are wrong. Now that he has escaped from Old Mu’s grasp and Old Mu mentioned the pirates originally planned to head south, it’s possible that he is on his way south at this very moment. According to the date on the letter, he is probably close to Funan Prefecture by now. It would be best if County Magistrate Shen cooperates or, even better, if the Prefect can help. We can issue a wanted notice throughout Funan in advance and catch him as soon as he sets foot in the region."
"That’s a good idea. The snow in the north makes travel difficult, so it won’t be until February that he enters Funan territory. We have enough time to arrange everything. Accordingly, I might as well wait to capture this fellow before I return to the capital. I’ll have someone notify the Prefect about this."
"No need, you can go back to the capital. As long as you’ve spoken with the Prefect, that’s sufficient. As for him, I have my ways to deal with him." Yang Chuxia scoffed, "If it really was his doing, I suspect he knows both Ms. Hua Junior and Ye Zi’yong are dead, which is why he aimed for my family. If that’s the case, he will most certainly strike again."
"Are you sure you don’t need it?" Mu Shaoling asked skeptically. Had she come up with a plan so quickly?
"Positive!" Yang Chuxia replied with an enigmatically calm sip of tea, saying, "Go back to the capital sooner to resolve that pile of troublesome matters. Life is safer that way. Compared to your issues, my situation is much simpler."
"In that case, let me lend you a few men," Mu Shaoling suggested after some thought.
Mu Shaoling’s men were professionally trained, nothing like her own household guards. Borrowing them temporarily could be an option. Although she had a way to capture Ye Ziping, who knew if Ziping would stir up more trouble, like hiring bandits or highwaymen along his journey south?
"That would be helpful, thank you!"
"Tsk, you actually know how to be polite, that’s rare," said Mu Shaoling before taking another sip of hot tea and then waving his hand as he departed.