Su Wan bid farewell to Yang Yaozu and hurriedly left the room, intending to run and call Meng Ruliu to return to Xiping Pass together.
They had only gone halfway when Granny Cui ran over and said, "Mistress, Mistress. Magistrate An knows you've returned and has sent someone to invite you over."
Su Wan kept walking quickly and asked, "What does he want?"
Granny Cui followed behind her and said, "The person who came didn't say anything in detail, only that it was very important and seemed to be related to the mistress's younger brother."
Su Wan stopped abruptly and asked, "Is it related to my younger brother?"
Upon hearing news of Su Yuze, her heart began to pound.
Su Yuze has been missing for over a month. Since she doesn't know who kidnapped her and has been treating wounded soldiers at Xiping Pass, she hasn't had time to think about this matter at all.
Now that she knows that Magistrate An may have news of Su Yuze, she can't wait to fly to the county office.
She looked around: "Where's Lin Qingfeng?"
Lin Qingfeng walked out of a room and came to her: "Mistress, what are your orders?"
"Immediately send the strongest guards. Remember, the strongest men, riding the fastest horses," Su Wan told Lin Qingfeng with a serious expression. "Go to Xiping Pass right away and tell A Jin that the emperor is dead and the Southern Chu army is about to attack Xiping Pass. Tell A Jin to prepare quickly."
Lin Qingfeng, a man who had weathered many storms, was startled by Su Wan's words and asked, "His Majesty has passed away?"
Su Wan said, "Yes. Send someone off immediately, without delay. We must inform A-Jin of this news as soon as possible."
After saying that, she walked quickly towards the main gate of the Su residence and said to Granny Cui, "Quickly prepare the carriage."
Lin Qingfeng asked, "Mistress, where are you going?"
"County government office."
Lin Qingfeng pulled over a guard and gave him instructions on what Su Wan had told him. Then, he led several guards on horseback out of the Su residence and caught up with Su Wan's carriage: "Mistress, your safety is more important. I will go with you."
The carriage arrived at the county government office. Magistrate An had just finished hearing a case and was waiting at the entrance of the office. He quickly led Su Wan into a secret room.
“Madam. You previously instructed me to investigate who burned down Baohe Hall and to find the whereabouts of Young Master Su Yuze. I have already found out the first matter.”
Su Wan was anxious to know Su Yuze's whereabouts and said to Magistrate An, "Then tell me quickly."
The magistrate of An County said, "The person who burned down Baohe Hall was a woman named Qiu Jie."
Su Wan thought to herself, "It really is Bai Zhiyi; she's taking revenge on me."
Bai Zhiyi had only ever engaged in minor mischief in the past, making quite a few embarrassing mistakes. However, starting with the burning of Baohetang, she seemed to have started to get serious.
Seeing her lost in thought, the magistrate of An County said, "Madam, Madam?"
Su Wan exclaimed "Ah!" and said to Magistrate An, "Magistrate An, please continue."
Magistrate An said, "Yesterday afternoon, my men discovered a group of bandits in Woxia Mountain, twenty miles north of Suiyang. They seemed to be hiding there with a young master. His clothes were similar to those of your brother, Madam."
"Those people were with a boy?" Su Wan was slightly disappointed that she couldn't confirm it was Su Yuze. "What were their characteristics?"
The magistrate of An County said, "According to my men, they seem to be very agile and are not ordinary people. They all carry a curved knife. My men were afraid of alerting them, so they came back to report to me."
"A curved blade?"
Su Wan rolled her eyes. She remembered something Lin Qingfeng had said when they went to the place south of Suiyang where Su Yuze had his accident.
The attackers used knives as weapons.
"Arrange for people to go immediately," she said to Magistrate An as she stood up and walked out. "Whether it's my brother or not, we have to go and see him."
Magistrate An followed her out the door and said, “Madam, there is no need to worry. Woxia Mountain is under my jurisdiction. Those people carrying curved swords are either thieves or criminals. How can I ignore them? I sent twenty constables to search for these thieves last night. I should have received news by now, but I don’t know why they haven’t returned yet.”
Lin Qingfeng, who was guarding the door, overheard the conversation and asked Magistrate An, "Magistrate An, are those people carrying curved swords?"
Magistrate An asked, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Lin Qingfeng said to Su Wan, "Mistress, in my opinion, those yamen runners are probably already dead."
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