Lu Baichuan said that Jiang Jiuniang had just given birth not long ago and her body had not yet recovered, so he would handle these matters himself. He also specifically instructed the prefect not to disturb his wife's rest unless necessary.
But the prefect looked at Jiang Jiuniang's imposing appearance and didn't seem like she hadn't recovered!
How could someone who hadn't fully recovered capture so many people from South Thailand all by himself, and only seriously tie up two of them while the others were just tied up and obediently followed him back?
Just by looking at the man who was bound hand and foot, covered in injuries, and unconscious, you could tell how ruthless this woman was.
The prefect couldn't help but gasp, then forced a smile and squeezed forward.
"Madam Lu, why are you alone? Where is the general?"
Jiang Jiuniang smiled at him and said, "He was injured and is resting. I've brought the man to you. This man is the leader, named Xu Zhao. He's the man behind the Ouyang brothers. The last house in Fulu Lane in the west of the city is his stronghold. That's where I caught him. I guess some things are there too. I'll trouble Lord Pan to send someone over to search it."
"Of course, of course. General and Madam, you have helped me resolve many troubles. I should be thanking you both! Once everything is settled, I will definitely host a banquet for you both!"
He was speaking from the heart. This couple is quite capable; one of them directly found out who was behind Ouyang Jing, and the other simply brought him over bound hand and foot. If it were him, he probably would have been investigating for ages.
Fortunately, he didn't listen to the chief clerk in the first place and didn't play with them, otherwise he would probably be the one tied up now.
"Alright, then I'll leave these things to you, sir. I need to go back and take care of the children, so I won't stay any longer."
After saying that, she turned to leave, but then, remembering what she had said on the way, she added, "By the way, Lord Pan, I promised the people on the way that this case would be tried publicly. When you hold court to hear the case, please remember to allow the people to watch! After all, Mr. Ouyang is a person whom the people of Quanzhou respect very much. We can't let him be harmed in such a muddled way."
The prefect, having reached such a position, couldn't possibly be ignorant. Hearing Jiang Jiuniang's words, the prefect instantly understood her meaning and immediately cooperated, saying, "Madam, rest assured, this official will certainly handle the matter impartially."
The people nearby felt much better upon hearing this, realizing that these officials cared about them, otherwise why would they hold a public trial?
After leaving, Jiang Jiuniang found a deserted alley, took her daughter out of the space, and then leisurely went to buy some food before returning to the inn.
Just then, her daughter woke up, and she was in charge of changing her diaper while her son went to make formula. He didn't notice anything wrong with his mother at all.
Lu Baichuan slept soundly until dark. Jiang Jiuniang ordered food, and the family sat down to eat.
Lu Baichuan said, "I have to go out again in a bit. We can't let the information we finally found get away. Although the spies in Nantai are not as despicable as those in Dongting, they are still a menace and we have to uproot them completely."
Jiang Jiuniang didn't take it to heart: "Health is the most important thing. Do I have to tell you how many times?"
She gave Lu Baichuan a cold look, thinking that this man was really asking for trouble.
Lu Baichuan glanced at her, not daring to speak, but his eyes were restless.
Jiang Jiuniang ignored him and continued eating her meal. Anyway, if this man didn't listen to her, she would beat him so badly he couldn't leave.
"My daughter's clothes are dirty. You can wash them after dinner. It's getting cold, and I don't want to touch water."
Lu Baichuan knew his wife was deliberately making things difficult for him, but he still agreed, thinking he could just wash up before going out.
After finishing his meal, Lu Baichuan obediently went to the backyard of the inn to wash the child's clothes. Just as he started washing, the innkeeper told him that the magistrate had arrived. Lu Baichuan thought he was looking for him, so he quickly wiped the water off his hands and went out. Sure enough, it was the prefect.
"Lord Pan, have you found any clues?"
The prefect, unaware that the clues he spoke of differed from those he believed, nodded and said, "Indeed! What a pleasant surprise! Several couldn't withstand the torture and have basically confessed!"
Lu Baichuan assumed he was referring to the servants of Ouyang Hao's family and asked in confusion, "Does the Ouyang family have any secret dealings going on behind the scenes?"
The prefect was taken aback. They were talking about spies from Nantai, so why was the general bringing up the Ouyang family again?
"This official has not yet been identified."
The prefect thought for a moment and answered very cautiously.
"What were you saying, Lord Pan?"
"Of course they're from Nantai! Madam Lu is truly shrewd! She wiped them all out in one fell swoop. General, didn't you know?"
As if remembering something, the prefect immediately added, "By the way, I heard from the madam that you were injured. Are you feeling better?"
"Much better."
Lu Baichuan looked somewhat forced. He hadn't expected his wife to have taken care of everything while he was sleeping, without even telling him.
The prefect looked Lu Baichuan up and down, but couldn't see any signs of injury. He immediately thought how wonderful it was to be young, recovering so quickly.
"Now that so many things have been uncovered, what brings you here, Lord Pan?"
The prefect immediately straightened his posture and said, "Madam said before that this case should be tried in public. There were too many people at the time, and I did not understand Madam's meaning. I thought I would come to ask for clarification so that it would be easier to handle the matter."
Lu Baichuan felt as if he had missed a lot of things while he was asleep, and he was completely confused. He could only say, "Wait a moment, I'll go find Madam to come out."
As a male outsider, the prefect naturally couldn't go directly to Jiang Jiuniang's room in the inn, so he found another room to wait for her. Before long, Lu Baichuan and his wife arrived.
The prefect bowed to her with great respect and said, "Madam Lu, those people have confessed. The gist of their story is that they want to disrupt the livelihood of people in Beiyan, make everyone aware of the treasure, and then incite a few people to revolt and create internal strife so that they can profit from it."
"Over the years, they have accumulated a lot of businesses and influence in Beiyan, but they have all done so under the names and identities of us Beiyan people. In other words, there are many people like the Ouyang brothers, but they just don't know each other. Fortunately, those people have already given us their names, so we can check them one by one."
Listening to his report, Jiang Jiuniang said, "We must investigate thoroughly. We can't just believe whatever they say, lest our own people be framed and implicated. Also, during the public trial, let the people know what they need to know, such as that Nan Tai's wolfish ambitions and the treasure news are false. As for the rest, you can handle it yourself, just don't make things too ugly and cause unnecessary panic."
The prefect then realized that Jiang Jiuniang intended to use the public trial to tell the people that the treasure was a hoax, and that Old Master Ouyang had been misled into saying those things.
"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Madam."
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