After a short while, Sheng He rushed in hurriedly and bowed to him: “Greetings to the head of the clan.”
Sheng Chi let out an “Mm.” He waved his hand, and the two maids stopped what they were doing, bowed, and exited.
“What’s the matter?” Sheng Chi’s voice was languid.
Sheng He’s eyes were bloodshot: “We sent out two more ships today, but it was the same as before—nothing found.”
Sheng Chi opened his eyes: “In your opinion, what happened to Princess Jinyang?”
Sheng He shook his head: “I don’t know, but based on the past few days of searching, the likelihood of an accident is very low.”
In the deep sea, if something went wrong, bodies disappearing was normal.
But aside from people, there were also ships.
The large cargo ship Princess Jinyang sailed out on—whether it sank or fell apart—should have left some trace.
Sheng Chi’s headache returned: “If the ship didn’t have an accident, where did Princess Jinyang go? Could she have gone to Sizhou?”
Sheng He didn’t speak. He wasn’t sure either. The vast sea left few traces, making it impossible to even know where to start.
Just as he was thinking, a servant reported that Kong Yi had arrived.
“Head of the clan.” Kong Yi was beaming with excitement: “Head of the clan, the chicken feather vegetables have grown a lot more. Judging by this, an output of over a thousand catties per mu shouldn’t be a problem.”
This was the only good news in days.
Sheng Chi’s expression relaxed slightly. With so much planted, they would reap a sizable harvest.
By the time the vegetables matured, the weather would have turned cold, so they could be stored longer. They could also be dried into preserved vegetables or pickled, as Dong Si had suggested.
Seeing Sheng He was also present, Kong Yi’s expression sobered a bit: “Captain Sheng is here too? Any results yet?”
Sheng He shook his head: “No, but the possibility of Princess Jinyang meeting with an accident can basically be ruled out.”
Kong Yi frowned, feeling that Princess Jinyang might be brewing something.
He looked at Sheng Chi: “What does the head of the clan plan to do?”
Sheng Chi shook his head: “What can I do? It depends on what the Jinyang Army has to say.”
Jiang Jin stood on the deck, watching another net haul of fish brought up, and her brows curved with laughter.
Indeed, the difference between professionals and amateurs was enormous. This haul was at least a hundred catties of fish. Such a cost-free endeavor was simply too satisfying.
Dong Si was also grinning from ear to ear: “My lord, who knew living by the sea had such benefits?”
Recalling something, he added, “It’s strange—did the people of Ze’a Commandery not go fishing at sea?”
Jiang Jin shook her head: “I don’t know. Maybe they weren’t skilled enough, or maybe they did fish, but just didn’t let us see it.”
Dong Si thought that made sense. He remembered that two or three ships from the Ze’a Commandery dock went out every day. Though they returned without sea fish, it didn’t rule out the possibility that the fish were processed elsewhere.
Just like their salt workshop wasn’t at the dock either.
It was very likely that Ze’a Commandery had a dedicated fish processing facility for sea catch.
Besides, fish weren’t that easy to catch. The reason they were hauling in so many was probably because no one had fished this area before, leaving the waters plentiful.
By the end of the day, the three ships had brought in over seven thousand catties of sea fish.
Under the setting sun, they returned fully loaded.
Xie Nanxiao saw Jiang Jin return safely and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He hurried over: “My lord, you’re back.”
“Auntie!” Yun Chengxuan squeezed in front: “Auntie, I cleaned out several rabbit dens today, hehe.”
Jiang Jin smiled and praised him: “Good job. Keep it up.”
“We’ll have fish soup tonight,” she added.
Yun Chengxuan’s eyes lit up: “Hotpot?”
Jiang Jin nodded: “Alright. There are sea fish on the ship. Have the cook handle them.”
Yun Chengxuan cheered happily, dashed onto the ship, and soon his startled cries came from within.
Jiang Jin smiled and turned to Xie Nanxiao and Bailu: “What’s wrong?”
Bailu handed her two slips of paper: “A letter from Lin County says nearly half their forces have been lost. Holding out until winter may be difficult.”
Jiang Jin looked down at the notes in her hand.
The situation in Lin County was even more brutal than she had estimated. The so-called “soldiers” within the city, seeing Qu Zhao’s army’s fierce assault, were terrified and wanted to retreat.
Luo Lan was ruthless enough—anyone who dared to retreat was killed.
Only after executing over five hundred people was the army’s morale temporarily stabilized.
The other note was from Mu Ning.
She had sent the letter while at Lingfeng Commandery. The carrier pigeon had reached Ge Feng before being forwarded here, which had taken some time.
Jiang Jin lowered her head in thought. At Mu Ning’s current speed, she should be nearing Anchi Commandery in Haijiazhou by now.
The evening sea breeze swept in. Jiang Jin pulled her thin cotton jacket tighter as she looked out at the vast expanse of sea, frowning slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Dong Si asked with concern.
Jiang Jin shook her head: “Winter might come earlier this year. Based on Mu Ning’s speed, there could be trouble.”
Xie Nanxiao asked: “What should we do?”
Jiang Jin thought for a moment, then looked at the row of docked ships: “Perhaps we could travel by sea.”
The houses on the island weren’t finished yet, but going back to sleep on the ships was too troublesome. So everyone had set up tents on a flat patch of ground about two li northeast of the beach.
At night, only a few people were left to guard the beach.
Two days ago, she had told Xie Nanxiao that her people would come to transport supplies and that she and Yun Chengxuan would take the night watch.
Xie Nanxiao knew her people were mysterious and didn’t ask, agreeing to it. So the supplies on the military ships had already been stowed into her storage space.
Now the ships were empty, fully available for carrying people.
Dong Si’s eyes lit up: “Right! We can use the ships.”
Jiang Jin immediately gave orders: “Have Wang Liang and the others come over for a quick meeting.”
Wang Liang and the others jogged over, looking tense as they addressed Jiang Jin: “My lord, is something the matter?”
Jiang Jin nodded: “There’s a group of refugees in Anchi Commandery, Haijiazhou. I want to use the ships to bring them to Ge Feng. Do any of you know a place on the coast of Anchi Commandery where we can dock?”
It was a shame that when Mu Ning set out, she hadn’t yet procured the ships. Otherwise, having the refugees board directly in Sizhou would have been much safer.
Wang Liang and the others didn’t waste time asking such trivial questions as how the refugees would reach Ge Feng. They lowered their heads in thought. Soon, Wang Liang thought of a location.
“We can have them head to Green Cord Bay in the northeast. There’s a stretch of dense forest there. The water is deep enough and free of reefs.”
As naval officers, they had a decent understanding of Yan’s coastline.
Jiang Jin nodded: “How long would it take to get there from here?”
Wang Liang calculated: “If we sail continuously even at night, it should take no more than two days.”
Jiang Jin quickly made her decision: “Send a message to Han Lu at the Anchi Commandery contact point to intercept Mu Ning and redirect her to Green Cord Bay.”
“Send it tomorrow,” she added.
By now, the sky had already darkened.
Though carrier pigeons could fly at night, it was generally not recommended, as they risked losing their way or getting injured.
Each contact point had only a limited number of well-trained pigeons, and they were precious.
Bailu nodded: “Understood.”
Dong Si sighed inwardly with admiration. His lord had truly been far-sighted to establish these contact points, which surpassed even the former Yan post stations in utility.
Wang Liang asked: “My lord, are we setting out tomorrow?”
Jiang Jin shook her head: “No. We’ll leave the day after tomorrow.”
Given the carrier pigeon’s speed, the message wouldn’t reach Han Lu until tomorrow afternoon.
Even if Mu Ning happened to be at Lingfeng Commandery and set out immediately, it would still take her nearly three days to reach Green Cord Bay. So there was no rush.
As Jiang Jin had anticipated, the letter did not reach Han Lu’s hands until the afternoon of the following day.
She furrowed her brow and turned to her deputy. “Have all our people been sent out? Is there still no trace of Captain Mu?”
