Compared to Liu Hucheng's worry, Song Jinzhao's expression was quite lively, as if she were happy.
She raised an eyebrow and asked the others, "I, the County Princess, have never seen smuggled salt, and there is none in the Tiangang Stronghold either. Have you seen any?"
The people around her were stunned for a moment, but Song Shixue was the first to react.
She smiled and shook her head, "Never seen it. What we lost was silver; it has absolutely nothing to do with smuggled salt."
Liu Hucheng's eyes lit up. He quickly nodded and covered his ears.
"My ears hurt a little. What was just said? I couldn't quite hear it."
Song Jinzhao was amused by his theatrical act. If this were a TV drama, he could barely manage to play a background extra.
"Silver doesn't just vanish into thin air. If one person managed to take it all away, it was likely exchanged for bank notes."
Ordering the guards to bring pen and ink, Song Jinzhao quickly sketched a portrait based on Xiong Batian's corpse, then turned to question the bandits.
"What does Poison Scorpion look like? Does he have any distinguishing marks on his body?"
The bandits scrambled to speak, terrified of being beaten to the punch by the other two.
"Yes, yes, yes! He has a large dark mole on his cheek right next to his ear."
"His eyes are long and narrow. When he squints, they look just like slits."
One of them gestured with his hands, "He is about this tall and quite skinny. Most notably, his curved ring-blade never leaves his side."
"His eyebrows are thin, and he's a bit bald. He has a long face, a slightly flat bridge of the nose, and a scar on his chest."
"..."
With everyone chiming in one after another, Song Jinzhao quickly drew out Poison Scorpion's likeness.
"Does it look like him?" Song Jinzhao held the portrait up in front of the three men.
"It does, it looks exactly like him!"
The three nodded in unison, their eyes filled with shock.
It wasn't that the government hadn't posted wanted posters of them before, but they had never been drawn so accurately. It looked just like a real person.
Song Jinzhao handed the two portraits to Yao Ye, the captain of the guards.
"Go immediately to the nearby banks and ask if these two men have visited recently. Report back as soon as you have any news."
"Constable Zhao, is there anyone among the yamen runners who is very familiar with Yunzhu County? Have them go with Yao Ye."
Liu Hucheng thought for a moment and nodded.
"There are two. I will go call them right away."
Song Jinzhao looked around.
"We will spend the night in the stronghold tonight, rest for a day tomorrow, and set off for Mount Tianlang early the morning after."
It was also the last bandit lair they planned to attack.
In the dead of night, in the deep forest at the eastern foot of Mount Feiyun, Song Jinzhao was leading her guards to dig up the corpses of the salt transporters that had been buried by the bandits.
"It's a good thing the temperature here is low, otherwise the bodies would have decayed much worse."
With the torches illuminating the slightly decomposed faces, Song Jinzhao quickly sketched out the features of all the corpses.
Since the Yang Clan dared to transport table salt from Binzhou over here, what was the harm in robbing them a few more times?
As long as they could find out the transportation route and the contact person, the bandits could hijack the salt a few more times. How could they miss such a great opportunity?
At noon the next day, Yao Ye led his men galloping back to the Tiangang Stronghold.
"The clerk at the Jufeng Bank said that six days ago, a man exchanged fifty thousand taels of bank notes there over the course of dozens of visits. The man wore a mask, but his build was extremely similar to Xiong Batian. It must have been him."
Song Jinzhao: "Only Xiong Batian had the key to the storehouse. Other than him, no one could have transported fifty thousand taels of silver away in dozens of trips."
Song Shixue stroked her chin and said, "Xiong Batian was killed by Poison Scorpion. He must be the one who snatched the bank notes."
Song Jinzhao asked, "What were the denominations of those bank notes? Can they be cashed at any Jufeng Bank across the entire Dongzhao Kingdom, or only in Yanshan County?"
Yao Ye: "They were all bank notes with a face value of one thousand taels. They can be exchanged at other Jufeng Banks, but they must be within the Southwest Province."
Song Jinzhao: "Send people out immediately. Do not miss a single Jufeng Bank in the Southwest Province until Poison Scorpion is found."
No merchant would accept large denomination bank notes like one thousand taels because they wouldn't have enough change.
To use them, one would have to go to a bank to exchange them for smaller denominations.
