As the night deepened, the upper and upper rooms of the inn were quiet, only the sound of candles dancing in the air remained.
"Zi Ba Zi Ba..."
Nangong Yue pondered for a moment, raised her eyes and said, "Xiao Ying, you go back first." It meant that Xiao Ying's undercover mission was not over yet.
"Yes, Shizi Concubine." Xiao Ying twitched the corner of her mouth, and hurried away, barely humming. This errand is enough for him to enjoy it for several days!
Seeing his brisk back, Baihui shook her head speechlessly, feeling a little sympathetic to Xiao An in her heart for a moment.
Just as Xiao Ying left, Zhou Dacheng, whose hair was still messy on his back, also heard the sound. Baihui told Zhou Dacheng all the things that Xiao Ying had just reported, and his brows were furrowed.
"My lord..." Zhou Dacheng hesitated to speak, trying to persuade Nangong Yue to leave. Although there are still a hundred elite soldiers stationed outside the town, they are still not comprehensive enough. Why don't he bring some people to stay and check slowly...
Nangong Yue saw Zhou Dacheng's hesitation, and said: "Zhou Dacheng, you go to the mine tomorrow in person and urge that steward Deng well!" Now that there are some clues, it would be a pity to leave now!
She believes that once the rush is made, such a large amount of iron ore will definitely make Deng Guanshi and the others mess up, and naturally there will be more actions because of this...
Zhou Dacheng also understood Nangong Yue's deep meaning, if it wasn't for the sake of the son, why would the concubine put herself in danger!
Zhou Dacheng was filled with emotion, he cupped his fists respectfully and accepted the order: "Yes, young master."
"Xiao An!"
Nangong Yue called softly, and the next moment, Xiao An pushed the door open and came in, still elusive as usual.
"Young Master." Xiao An expressionlessly clasped his fists and waited for orders.
Nangong Yue ordered without hesitation: "Xiao An, you go to the mine to keep an eye on it for now. If there is any movement, come back and report immediately."
After Xiao Anxi responded with words like gold, he retreated out with Zhou Dacheng.
After the candles in the room were blown out, they never lit up until dawn...
It wasn't until the sun was high that Nangong Yue came down from the second floor of the inn lazily yawning.
Wang Xiancheng had been waiting below for more than an hour, feeling irritable, but he didn't dare to complain. In four more days, when Fang's mine has handed over all the iron ore, the Second Young Master Xiao will naturally leave.
Thinking of this, the county magistrate felt hopeful, and after greeting the front and back graciously, he took Nangong Yue and his party to the county government office, and then to the most expensive restaurant in the town, the most famous scenic spot, and the most efficacious temple...
But this is really a small place, within a short while, most of the town has been visited, and almost everyone in the town knows that there are nobles who even Wang Xiancheng would bow their heads to entertain them.
When I came out after listening to the music in a teahouse, the sky was already dark yellow, and most of the sun had set.
Baihui quietly whispered into Nangong Yue's ear with her supporting gesture: "Master, since Yunlai Restaurant, someone has been following us quietly all day long..." Now the two hidden guards are Zhou Dacheng also went to the mine when he was not around, and now she and Baihe are the only ones by the concubine Shizi's side, so Baihui carefully raised her vigilance.
The corners of Nangong Yue's lips curled up slightly, so it's good if someone follows. If someone follows, it means Guanshi Deng is guilty and impatient, and he will definitely take action!
"Master Wang!" Nangong Yue got on her horse and complained angrily, "Your town is too small, and there is nothing interesting! Also, this poor country... Forget it, I'm still going back to the post!"
While apologizing repeatedly, Wang Xiancheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This Second Young Master Xiao is indeed very energetic. Both of his legs are broken, and the other party is not tired at all...
So everyone went back to the residence, and when they returned to the post station, it was completely dark, and Wang Xiancheng, who had been with him all day, left with a tired face.
After Nangong Yue returned to the room, she relaxed and let out a long breath. After playing all day, she is not tired, but in order to make Deng Guanshi and his gang take it lightly, she still has to perform a full set of this play.
The surface of this day is calm, but underneath it is turbulent...
In the middle of the night, Xiao An came back in a hurry and sent a secret letter.
"My lord, after Zhou Dacheng went to the mine today, Guanshi Deng immediately sent his subordinates to deliver this secret letter, and his subordinates quietly replaced it."
Xiao An said it lightly, but Nangong Yue could imagine that it would not be an easy task to quietly exchange the secret letter.
Nangong Yue opened the letter carefully, trying not to damage the outer envelope. When she took out the letter paper inside and unfolded it, her brows were furrowed. The letter paper was densely written, but it didn't use Dayu's characters. More text!
"Xiao Ying, do you recognize it?"
She asked Baihui to return the letter paper to Xiao Ying, Xiao Ying glanced at it, a rare look of shock appeared on his expressionless handsome face, and then said: "Yes, my son, this subordinate recognizes it, these are Baiyue's writing. "He said it, then repeated it again, and said, "...His Highness Six, we are loyal servants of His Highness, and we are ordered by His Highness to stay in a mine in southern Xinjiang..."
The letter still didn't mention what kind of mine this was, but only mentioned that this mine would be of great help to the one hundred great prince Kuilang's retreat. Now that Kui Lang is far away in the capital, no one is in charge of the overall situation, so he can only ask the sixth prince for help, hoping that the sixth prince can find a way to gather 200 shi of iron ore as soon as possible. And a token was attached to the letter, on which was the head of a ferocious black wolf, obviously used to prove his identity. !
A few words chilled the atmosphere in the room, and the temperature suddenly dropped several degrees!
She still remembered what Sun Xinyi said, that a person with a Baiyue accent appeared in the Fang family back then, and colluded with someone from the Fang family in an attempt to seize the mine in Mount Siglei.
It was obvious that the man had succeeded.
They managed to hold the mine in Sigle Mountain for more than ten years, and secretly mined some kind of ore...
Even because Mount Siglei is in southern Xinjiang, they have used the Fang family as a signboard to conceal their identities for more than ten years. Now, whether it is the county magistrate or the people in this town, they all regard this mine as a mine. All of the Fang family.
At Kui Lang's age, he should not be the mastermind of what happened back then, but now the mine is indeed in his hands.
Nangong Yue narrowed her eyes slightly, the harvest of this trip has exceeded her imagination.
Kui Lang was being held hostage in the capital, and Guan Yubai was able to come to southern Xinjiang in the name of his restoration...Since Baiyue and Kui Lang were involved in this matter, if she acted on her own, if something happened, If it is not right, it will affect the layout of A Yi and the others, but it will be bad.
Thinking about it, I still have to tell A Yi as soon as possible, and let him decide how to deal with it.
It's just that Ah Yi should be in Nanliang now, and he can't be contacted for a while, so the only...
A sharp and ear-piercing sound of chicken crowing suddenly sounded from outside the window, interrupting Nangong Yue's thoughts, and before she knew it, it was already dawn.
The crowing of the cock did not stop, and then, a loud and clear eagle crowed, not to be outdone, as if showing off his inviolable majesty as the king of birds. In an instant, the crowing of the cock outside stopped abruptly, including the room was quiet.
"Pfft..."
Lily couldn't help covering her mouth and chuckling, even Nangong Yue and Baihui couldn't help laughing.
This little gray!
Nangong Yue pondered for a while, and ordered: "Lily, open the window and let Xiaohui in. Baihui, take care of me!"
After the two servant girls responded, Lily opened the window impatiently, and Xiao Hui, who had just had enough of screaming, was standing on a branch outside the window, pecking at the gray feather under her right wing.
Hearing the sound of the window opening, it stared at Lily unblinkingly, until Lily beckoned to it graciously, then it reluctantly flapped its wings and passed, as if to say, Since you and other mortals invite me so respectfully, then I will show some face.
Xiao Hui spread its wings and glides neatly through the window into the house. After half a circle in the narrow room, it stopped casually on a tall desk. Nangong Yue's dictation was written down in one go until it was finished.
After Baihui dried the ink on the tissue paper carefully, she handed the fully written tissue paper to Nangong Yue for inspection.
After Nangong Yue nodded, Baihui folded the tissue paper and put it into a small bamboo tube, then knocked out a small piece from the ore that Xiao Ying brought, and put it in, sealing it with wax.
Then, three scorching gazes looked at Xiao Hui in unison, causing Xiao Hui to tilt her head in doubt.
Nangong Yue couldn't help laughing, walked up to Xiao Hui, and gently touched the gray feather on its neck.
Fortunately, Xiao Hui likes to look for Han Yu, wherever Han Yu is, Guan Yubai will be there.
This matter involves too much, and she may not be able to consider the overall situation, and there are some aspects that she cannot consider, so let Guan Yubai weigh it... A Yi also said before leaving that if there is something embarrassing, you can Tell Guan Yubai that Guan Yubai has a way to contact him.
And the heavy responsibility of delivering the letter will be handed over to Xiao Hui.
Lily smiled and fed Xiao Hui two pieces of jerky while jokingly said, "Our Xiao Hui is really capable!" She didn't think it was overkill for the hawk to deliver the letter, and the hawk delivered the letter much better than the carrier pigeon. I didn't see the carrier pigeons in Nanliang, and Xiao Hui caught two of them!
Nangong Yue personally tied the small bamboo tube to Xiao Hui's eagle claws, then lightly patted its eagle head and said: "Xiao Hui, go find Han Yu."
Of course Xiao Hui could understand the names of herself and Han Yu. It rubbed against Nangong Yue's palm, flapped its wings twice, and then flew out of the window...
With just a few easy flaps of its wings, it flew higher and farther away, turning into a gray shadow in the dawn glow...
Nangong Yue withdrew her gaze, turned her head and ordered again: "Xiao An, please return this letter intact, and then pass a few words to Xiao Ying for me..."
The rising sun revealed a faint blush in the eastern sky, which gradually spread to the surroundings. The eastern sky was a deep red, the color of blood. However, as the sky became brighter, the red color became less dazzling unconsciously Already...
The dawn will finally come, and all the darkness and evil buried in the dark past will finally be revealed!
For this small town, this day is destined to be an uneasy day.
Before noon, I saw a ragged young man riding a brown horse frantically rushing towards the government office, followed by three tall and strong men on horseback, and the leader, Mr. Tiger, even raised his eyebrows. He lashed the horse's belly with the whip, and yelled furiously: "Stinky boy, stop me! How dare you become a fugitive slave?! I will kill you!"
The young man's equestrian skills were obviously very rusty, he staggered on the horse in embarrassment, just blindly holding on to the brown horse, the brown horse neighed uncomfortably, the horse's hooves galloped, and it ran faster.
Tread Tread...
Soon, the county government was a few feet away.
Xiao Ying squinted his eyes, rode his horse and rushed to the gate of the county government office, the face of a guard at the gate changed, and shouted: "Bold and unreasonable, you dare to ride a horse at the gate of the government office!"
"Grass people are wronged!" Xiao Ying fell off the horse in embarrassment, then staggered forward, grabbed the stick next to Dengwen's drum and beat it vigorously, screaming, "Grass people have wronged! Sue the mine for indiscriminate killing of hard workers!"
At the same time as the drums sounded, Lord Hu and the others also arrived, and they turned over neatly from their horses. Master Tiger's face was almost as black as the bottom of a pot. Unexpectedly, after many years of wandering in the rivers and lakes, the boat capsized in the gutter and the newcomer escaped.
The rumbling drums attracted the attention of many passers-by, who flocked from all directions to watch the excitement.
Master Hu didn't care about those passers-by, he grabbed his whip and said, "This is a fugitive slave from the Fang family's mine. He signed a death contract. My uncle wants to take him away. Who dares to stop him?!"
Xiao Ying continued to beat the Dengwen drum, and shouted: "Although the grass miners and the miners in the mine have signed a death contract, they are still human lives anyway. How can they be so reckless!"
The yamen servants were in a bit of a dilemma. Logically speaking, the government had nothing to do with Mr. Hu and the others arresting the fugitive slaves, but all the fugitive slaves fled to the gate of the government yamen, and even beat the Dengwen drum. According to the law, when the Dengwen drum sounded, the county magistrate You must go to court for trial.
The yamen servant hurriedly stopped Master Hu, and someone rushed to report.
The County Magistrate Chen of this county had just returned from inspecting the water defense in Lingzhen, and only then learned from Wang County Cheng that the prince's second son was in the town.
Although he didn't want to offend the Fang family, but things were under his nose, and he couldn't avoid it even if he wanted to!
Chen County Magistrate gritted his teeth and said, "Trial! Must be tried!"
Amidst the yelling of the yamen servants, the door of the yamen opened wide, the magistrate Chen sat in the hall, and Xiao Ying, as the sufferer, was brought to the hall.
"Snapped-"
When the gavel was slapped, Master Hu felt a thump in his heart, and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to go find Guan Shi. This time is not good!
Xiao Ying burst into tears and snotted her nose in the hall, complaining that Fang's mine killed the miners wantonly with sticks, and vowed to list countless "missing" miners, and asked the adults to make decisions for these poor people: "My lord, the grass people, etc. Although signed It’s a death contract, but according to the laws of Dayu, the master’s family can’t torture and kill slaves at will! People are beaten to death in this mine from time to time, and I ask you to be the master for the grassroots and those who died unjustly!”
Chen County Magistrate's expression turned serious. As a county magistrate, of course he knows Dayu's laws. According to Dayu's laws, even if a slave is guilty, the master will be killed with a cane at will, and the penalty will be 100 sticks; if the slave is killed without reason, The punishment will be three thousand miles; if you accidentally kill a servant, you will not be held accountable.
It's just that although the law stipulates this, killing slaves is generally a crime of ignorance.
However, if someone comes to sue, it must be investigated!
Master Hu outside the hall heard the corners of his mouth and eyes twitching, and couldn't help blurting out: "Stinky boy, what nonsense are you talking about?!"
"Snapped!"
County Magistrate Chen patted the gavel again, and said sternly, "You are so bold, how dare you shout in the courtroom! You still don't kneel down to me!"
"Mighty!" The yamen servants on both sides made threatening voices, Lord Tiger had no choice but to step into the lobby, kneeling beside Xiao Ying, Xiao Ying couldn't stop laughing secretly, this task is really fun!
…
Half an hour had passed when Master Tiger's subordinates hurried back to the Sigle Mountain Mine.
After Guanshi Deng learned about this, his face was so gloomy that he was about to drip water, and he secretly blamed Master Hu for his smooth sailing for the past two years, so that he was too careless in doing things. Ya!
It's great now, I'm afraid this matter is going to make a big fuss!
Guanshi Deng has been in this mine for many years, so he is naturally considered a local snake, but the county magistrate changes every three years. Now the county magistrate Chen has only been in office for less than a year, and he has only dealt with him a few times. The way a person is an official is very moderate, and the two sides do not interfere with each other on weekdays, but since someone beat the Wendeng drum, I am afraid they will still take care of it to some extent.
At least someone will be sent to check it out!
Thinking of this, Steward Deng's heart sank. He first ordered his subordinates to make some "preparations" quickly, and then hurried to the town by himself, but the place he was going to was not the county office, but the post station!
Since Second Young Master Xiao is anxious to make military contributions to this batch of iron mines, it's time for him to do something for himself.
So, within half an hour, Guanshi Deng was welcomed into Nangongyue's room by Zhou Dacheng. The guards had already reported to Nangongyue what happened in the county government office, and she also knew why Guanshi Deng came, but pretended to be I don't know, as soon as we met, he urged: "Guan Deng, you are in a hurry to ask to see me, is it because you have prepared the iron ore in advance?"
Guanshi Deng's expression froze for a moment, and he could only hold back his temper and laughed and said, "Second son, the two hundred stone iron ore can't be so fast, but the small one will definitely gather the iron ore as soon as possible..." As he said, he took advantage of the situation in embarrassment Said, "Second Young Master, the younger one is here to ask for something..."
He succinctly talked about the fugitive slave, and then said: "Second son, you also know that the surname of our mine is 'Fang', how could the Fang family torture and kill the miners! It's really hard to manage! Hey... "He sighed intentionally, "Although he said that he is not afraid of the shadow slanting, but if the government investigates, wouldn't the mine be able to start work for a while, and the 200-stone iron mine of the second son..."
He hesitated to speak, hoping in his heart that this dude would take the initiative to answer his words and solve the big trouble of the government for him!
It's a pity that he was disappointed again, this Second Young Master Xiao usually talks and acts very casually, but when it comes to critical moments, he becomes shrewd.
"Guan Shi Deng," Nangong Yue looked at Guan Shi Deng with a smile that was not a smile, and put away the paper fan in her hand, "You want to ask me to help you with something, is that what you ask for?"
Steward Deng's face almost froze. Didn't I already give him a box of valuable pearls? This Second Young Master Xiao is still not satisfied
But for the secret of the mine, for the sake of Baiyue... Guanshi Deng gritted his teeth, and tentatively said: "The second young master wants to..."
Nangong Yue twitched her lips, shook her head and looked at him with a sigh, she seemed a little disappointed, and said: "Guan Deng, the soldiers of the Southern Xinjiang Army are now throwing their heads and blood in front to protect their families and the country. As a citizen of Southern Xinjiang, you, Why don't you know how to contribute to the Southern Border Army?!"
An effort... The corner of Deng Guanshi's mouth twitched, and he understood instantly.
This Second Young Master Xiao wants to be a white wolf with nothing, and take away his two hundred stones of iron ore for nothing!
These iron ores are worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. This second generation ancestor must have wanted to give away the silver!
Guanshi Deng's heart was throbbing, even if he could get the help of His Highness the Sixth Highness, he would have to pay real money to buy back so much iron ore! Now not only do they have to go all out to make arrangements, but they also have to give away the iron ore to others for nothing!
Seeing Steward Deng's face turning blue and turning pale, Lily had endured so much that her stomach ached and her back ached. Shi Zifei's trick was absolutely perfect, she just cheated the Southern Border Army into getting two hundred stones of iron ore from Baiyue's hands! To marry the concubine of the world, the son of the world is really a blessing that has been cultivated in several lifetimes!