Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 614 - 612

Chapter 614: Chapter 612

"I’ll drive the carriage!" Shen Chengyao said. The emperor must not be left halfway, and besides, leaving the carriage parked halfway wouldn’t be appropriate. It would cause a traffic jam.

At this point, Yang Liu stepped forward: "Master, let me handle the carriage!"

So the carriage was driven by Yang Liu and Yang Mei, and Zhao Yong and Xiao Fuzi were responsible for taking the two old people home.

The rain seemed to be lessening slightly.

Xiao’er peered through the carriage curtains and saw Zhao Yong and Xiao Fuzi helping the two old people onto a cart, then moving the cart aside to let the carriage pass first.

The rural paths were generally narrow, and two carriages could just barely pass side by side.

The weather was bad and the road was difficult, and by the time they reached the villa, it was already dark.

Thankfully, the rain had stopped. If it didn’t rain again tonight, the farmland would be quite dry by morning, which would make the harvest much more convenient, without having to wade through the muck.

Xiao’er personally cooked a simple dinner. Not long after everyone had finished eating, Zhao Yong and Xiao Fuzi returned.

The two men were soaking wet. After they changed their clothes and had dinner, the Emperor called them in for questioning.

"How is the old man doing?" he asked.

Rui’an County Lord gave us a bottle of medicinal pills. After he took the pills and returned home, he said that his waist no longer hurt from the fall," Xiao Fuzi answered.

The Emperor nodded his head at this, he could trust the medicine from Rui’an County Lord. Then he asked, "Where did the old man’s sons go? How come they still have to harvest even in such heavy rain?"

"The old man’s only son went to mine half a year ago. His daughter-in-law was about to give birth, and with the heavy rain, the old man was afraid she would fall, so he did not let her harvest," Xiao Fuzi replied.

"Mining? Where did he go to mine? Did his son commit some sort of crime?" The emperor asked, puzzled. Mining was exhausting and hazardous work, and many people didn’t want to do it. In general, homes with only one son, and no grandson, did not have to force anyone to go mining unless they had committed a serious crime.

"The old man said his son had done nothing wrong. He was very filial and honest but they were poor. Half a year ago, someone came to the village to recruit workers for two taels of silver per month. With his wife about to give birth and the house too small for when the baby grows, he thought that if he mined for five months, he could earn enough to build an extra room for his family. He planned to return to help with the autumn harvest and witness his child’s birth," Zhao Yong reported.

"The family was hoping that he would come back for the autumn harvest. They didn’t expect the village’s grain to have been harvested, and their own grain was barely half-harvested. It rained heavily in the last few days, their son hadn’t returned, and the old man was afraid that the grain would spoil, leaving the family without food for the next year. So he braved the rain to harvest the grain," Zhao Yong continued.

"Two taels of silver is a lot? In that case, many people from the village must have gone, right?" Shen Chengyao pondered upon hearing this.

Mining labour does indeed pay well. Shen Chengyao had heard that most people earned a tael and a half of silver per month. But even at this wage, few people were willing to do this job. If the wage was two taels of silver, many people would be willing to go. If his own family was still as poor as before he left, and his child didn’t even have enough food to eat, he would not hesitate to earn two taels of silver a month.

"Indeed, many went. Virtually every household in the village had men go. However, in the past six months, not one of them has returned, and no money has been sent back to their families," Zhao Yong replied with a nod.

The Emperor seemed thoughtful upon hearing this.

"Do you know which mine they went to?" Shangguan Xuanyi inquired.

"Qi Mountain Iron Mine!"

"Qi Mountain Iron Mine? Wasn’t that mined out half a year ago?" Shen Chengyao was surprised.

The Qi Mountain Iron Mine was reported to the Imperial Court to have been exhausted half a year ago, and the Imperial Court had even sent officials to verify it. Yet it now turned out that heavy recruitment to mine Qi Mountain Iron Mine had taken place half a year ago. This was clearly a case of some people deceiving their superiors and subordinates!

"Could the old man have remembered incorrectly?" Shen Chengyao glanced at Zhao Yong.

"I also worried that the old man might have misremembered, so after leaving his home, I inquired from other villagers. It is certainly the Qi Mountain Iron Mine, even the village chief said so", Zhao Yong confirmed.

"Qi Mountain Iron Mine is not far from here. We can go and investigate by ourselves tomorrow," Xiao’er proposed after hearing this.

Throughout the night, all was quiet.

Suddenly, a loud booming sound echoed in the distance, as if something had collapsed.

In her slumber, Xiao’er thought it was an earthquake. She sprang from her bed and shouted, "It’s an earthquake, run!"

The guard on duty, Yang Liu, quickly reassured her, "Miss, don’t be afraid, it’s probably not an earthquake, more likely a mountain collapse nearby."

Despite the noise, Yang Liu didn’t feel the ground moving, so she believed it was not an earthquake.

"Let’s not take shelter in the house, it’s safer to stand in the courtyard," Xiao’er got out of bed, put on her coat and was about to head outside when Shangguan Xuanyi’s voice rang out: "Girl, were you frightened?"

Xiao’er opened the door, "No, but I was half-asleep and thought there was an earthquake! Is your highness alright?"

"I’m fine, we are all standing in the open space in the courtyard," Shangguan Xuanyi took Xiao’er by the hand and led her outside.

As they left the room, they saw Shen Chengyao and the Emperor already standing in the open courtyard.

Both of them asked Xiao’er with concern whether she was frightened.

Xiao’er shook her head: "I thought it was an earthquake."

"So did we! Luckily, it wasn’t," Shen Chengyao replied, still a bit shaken.

"It’s almost daybreak now. Let’s not go back to sleep, but start our duties after breakfast." The Emperor glanced at the sky and suggested.

Naturally, everyone agreed. The sky would be getting lighter soon, and they wouldn’t be able to sleep if they went back now.

"Yi’er, come with me to check on Qi Mountain Iron Mine. If I heard correctly, that loud noise just now should have come from the direction of the mine," the Emperor said, looking in the direction of the sound.

Shen Chengyao had initially wanted to persuade the Emperor not to go into the fields. But now that he was proposing to investigate the Qi Mountain Iron Mine, he was even more anxious. This would be more dangerous than harvesting rice!

"Mr.Shangguan, you should stay at the villa. We young people can handle the investigation. Didn’t you come to enjoy the fun of farming? Let my father take you to harvest in the field. If you find that boring, you can go fishing in the river!" Xiao’er added.

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