As soon as the words were spoken, Song Anhao's voice echoed from outside the room.
Left with no choice, Shi Simian stepped out to greet him.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Song Anhao pulled a thick stack of banknotes from his robes.
In an instant, the words caught in Shi Simian's throat. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Song Anhao presented the banknotes to him.
"Lord Shi, these are the banknotes confiscated from the criminal. I am handing them over to the prefecture office for safekeeping."
He then recounted the entire sequence of events to Shi Simian, adding, "The man is waiting outside. I will leave the subsequent interrogation to you, Lord Shi."
Shi Simian took the banknotes with trembling fingers, his grip so weak he nearly dropped them.
He stammered, "Rest assured, Young Master Song. I will thoroughly investigate the origins of these banknotes."
County Princess Linghui and Song Qiming had gone out to suppress bandits and generate income, and now Song Anhao had stumbled upon this sudden windfall. The pressing financial crisis of Suining City was resolved in an instant. Were the Song siblings the reincarnations of the God of Wealth?
The guards dispatched across the Southwest Province rode through the night, heading toward the various branches of the Jufeng Bank.
Yao Ye arrived in Suining City on the morning of the second day after his departure.
Clutching a portrait, he headed straight for the Jufeng Bank branch located on the central street of the inner city. Upon finding the head manager, he immediately unrolled the portrait and asked, "I am a guard serving County Princess Linghui. Have you seen this man?"
Over the past month, the formidable reputation of the Song siblings had become known to everyone. Hearing that the man was a guard of County Princess Linghui, the head manager immediately set down his ledger and stepped out from behind the counter.
He craned his neck to take a closer look.
Yao Ye continued, "He should have come to exchange a banknote, specifically one for a thousand taels."
The head manager blinked and waved over the clerk responsible for the exchange counter.
"Have you seen this person? Did he exchange a banknote for a thousand taels?"
The clerk leaned in, immediately pointing at the portrait with a nod.
"I have seen him. He came by the afternoon before yesterday. He broke a thousand-tael banknote into one five-hundred-tael note, four one-hundred-tael notes, and a hundred taels in loose silver."
Yao Ye's eyes widened, his heart sinking.
"He was here the afternoon before yesterday?"
The clerk nodded. "Yes. He was clutching his waist at the time, and he walked with a very strange gait."
Yao Ye's hand holding the portrait dropped to his side.
Two days had already passed; the man must have long since fled.
He stood rooted to the spot, pondering for a long while before finally turning around, mounting his horse, and galloping toward the city gates.
Did he leave the city? Which direction did he flee? He needed to know that at the very least.
Otherwise, without a single clue, he would have no way to report back to the County Princess.
Arriving at the base of the city wall, he presented the portrait to the guards stationed at the gate.
"By the order of County Princess Linghui, I am hunting down Poison Scorpion, the escaped second-in-command of the Tiangang Stronghold. Have you seen this man leave the city in the past two days?"
Hearing that the man was a bandit, the guard was initially startled before squinting to examine the portrait closely.
After a brief pause, he shook his head. "I have not seen him. Perhaps I was not on duty when he left the city."
Yao Ye pursed his lips tightly. Just as he was about to roll up the portrait, another guard nearby leaned over.
He practically pressed his eyes against the paper, studying it repeatedly. Once certain, he looked up at Yao Ye.
"I have seen this man. Second Young Master Song led some men to capture him the day before yesterday. He is currently locked up in the prefecture office's prison."
Yao Ye's eyes widened as if he had been struck by lightning.
Shaking the portrait in his hand, he urgently sought confirmation: "Are you absolutely sure it is him?"
The guard nodded vigorously.
"Absolutely. I saw the black mole by his ear very clearly."
Yao Ye flew toward the prison. Upon clearly seeing Poison Scorpion's face, a look of overwhelming pleasant surprise washed over him.
He murmured softly, "It really is him."
Turning his head, he asked the guard, "Did you find fifty thousand taels' worth of banknotes on him?"
The guard grinned and nodded. "Yes, they have already been confiscated."
Upon hearing the news, Shi Simian hurried to the prison.
"He is a bandit from the Tiangang Stronghold?"
No wonder he had carried so many banknotes on his person and had attacked the guards with lethal intent upon seeing them. It turned out he was a fugitive all along.
Yao Ye's face glowed with excitement. "That is correct. After discovering that Poison Scorpion had fled with the banknotes, the County Princess ordered us to stake out the various Jufeng Bank branches across the Southwest Province. I never expected that the Second Young Master would be the one to catch him."
Shi Simian asked, "Yesterday, the Prefect sent a letter saying he would return the day after tomorrow. I wonder when the County Princess will return?"
Yao Ye looked up in thought. "By my calculations, the County Princess should have already conquered Mount Tianlang by now. I expect she will return within the next few days."
A massive grin stretched from ear to ear across Shi Simian's face.
"Wonderful! With all twenty-four bandit strongholds taken down, the people of Suining Prefecture can finally sleep peacefully."
