bayedsolid Chapter 156: Gemstones Born from Ore
Chapter 156: Gemstones Born from Ore
She seemed easier to talk to than the soldiers, so the imprisoned villagers were not very afraid of her.
Lou Xiao's stepping on the hay seemed to have alerted the dazed villagers, and they rushed over as if awakened from a dream.
He shouted "Sir, please spare my life" and "Sir, I am innocent" and tried to grab Lou Xiao's legs, but was stopped halfway by Li Mingzhu's stern shout.
As a military general, Li Mingzhu looked fierce and had a strong physique. He could scare people to death just by taking a step forward and glaring.
"Don't be afraid," Lou Xiao squatted down and said kindly, "Tell me, when did you find out that you were feeling unwell? What symptoms do you have now?"
However, the villagers' eyes fell on Li Mingzhu's feet, and they looked at Lou Xiao without saying a word, obviously frightened.
Li Mingzhu shouted at the right time, "The master asked, why don't you answer quickly!"
The voice beside her was so loud that Lou Xiao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything in the end. She was still staring at the half-kneeling villager, waiting for someone to give her an answer.
"It was... about ten days ago. No no no... I started feeling unwell half a month ago. Sir! I didn't know it was a private mine! Sir, please spare my life..."
After answering half a sentence, they started to cry out for injustice. They thought they were arrested only because they committed that crime and did not think there was anything wrong with their physical discomfort.
It's just vomiting and the pain is all.
They all work in the fields, and if they have a headache or fever, they can just ask the village doctor to prescribe a dose of medicine and that's it.
Everyone has pain here and there, so why are you being so pretentious?
"Answer whatever the master asks! If you say any more, you will be beaten with a stick!" Li Mingzhu narrowed her eyes as if she was angry, and those who wanted to beg for mercy shut up.
It must be said that her approach was ruthless but effective. Everyone finally told her honestly where they were feeling unwell and when it started.
Half a month ago, five days ago, some even said they had fallen from a tree when they were young, and had been suffering from back pain for years.
They eat different things and are just nodding acquaintances. They know each other but don't communicate much.
It seems difficult to have similarities?
So in the final analysis, as Li Mingzhu said, the only thing they have in common is that they all work in a mine.
But aren't there two mines?
"Which mine is it?" Lou Xiao continued to ask.
The villagers next to each other looked at each other and said, "It's... the one in the mountain..."
This is where Lou Xiao found Sister A Mao.
"But it's not all bad... Zhao An who was with us is fine..."
"Who said that? She felt sick before I did... She went home early, so she didn't suffer like us."
"Zhao An? The Zhao An from the family of old cripple Zhao in the south of the village? She hasn't come back yet!"
"How is this possible... I saw her receive her wages with my own eyes, more than thirty taels of silver! Is she afraid of being punished and dare not come out? Is she hiding?"
The person at the back of the group had a look of resentment in his eyes. "Everyone has been convicted, how could she escape? Sir, please investigate thoroughly..."
Why should they be the only ones to suffer?
Lou Xiao just took a look and didn't say anything. She remembered that she saw those people throwing corpses into the pit, and she didn't know whether the disappeared Zhao An was in the pit.
"Could it be that it's gone..." Some people had already guessed it and began to get scared. "Could it be that the mountain god is punishing us for digging up the precious jade?"
At the beginning, someone warned us that there were spirits on the mountain and villagers were not allowed to enter.
They were jealous of the high wages, and when they saw others getting paid, they swarmed in, regardless of possible criticism.
"Baoyu? Don't try to shirk your responsibility!
You all know what the things mined from the private mines are used for. There is a huge difference between precious jade and ironware!"
If it wasn't a matter of ironware and related to the Ministry of War, Li Mingzhu wouldn't have come early and risked being blamed by His Majesty.
She intervened first. If the land was to be reclaimed again, she, the general of Yunzhou, would definitely be involved in the management.
Her benefits are indispensable.
But if it was Baoyu, then it would definitely have nothing to do with her.
"Unfair! We are ignorant! How would we know what they were used for...
We all know that there are priceless gems in the mine, but the foreman is keeping a close eye on them, so no one can take any out."
They never doubted the existence of the precious jade, otherwise why would they let the smallest one go down the deepest and narrowest passage?
And if it weren't for Baoyu, how could he afford such a large salary?
"No matter how ignorant you are, can't you see the difference between jade and iron ore?"
Li Mingzhu did not listen to their explanations, thinking that it was just a cunning villager who came up with a new way to exonerate himself.
"I have never seen the precious jade you are talking about, but iron ore..."
"I've seen it." Lou Xiao stood up after saying this. "Deep in the mine, there is indeed a kind of strange stone, extremely gorgeous and magnificent."
Li Mingzhu was stuck, thinking that this person had indeed entered the mine and came out, so she slowed down her voice and said,
"If the adults say there is, then there is. But this does not mean that the mine has nothing to do with the iron ore. They are still guilty."
Lou Xiao glanced at her and said, "Of course. But some heads have been chopped off at the entrance of the village, and the rest will not be held accountable.
Now we need to find out the source of the strange illness and see if it is related to the mine in the mountain."
Li Mingzhu was a little too radical.
She seemed to realize her problem and called a soldier nearby, "Go and ask each of them clearly, whether they are healthy or sick, which mine they work in."
After the soldier left, she reminded Lou Xiao, "You don't need to come and ask about this little thing in person. I've asked someone to investigate and there will be results soon."
Lou Xiao nodded, "Okay then."
She looked at the villagers who were still looking at her eagerly, wanting to say something, and comforted their anxious hearts.
"If the imperial physician has seen that you are not contagious, you will be allowed to go home. Please be patient."
"Okay, okay, thank you very much, sir!"
Several people hurriedly knelt down to express their gratitude. Lou Xiao said "get up" several times before leaving.
"Okay, let's go see what those who are seriously ill look like."
Lou Xiao signaled Li Mingzhu to lead the way, and Li Mingzhu had no choice but to do so.
However, he had not taken a few steps when a soldier came running over to report that King Youshan had already arrived outside.
"Sir?" Li Mingzhu looked at Lou Xiao hesitantly.
Lou Xiao waved his hand and said, "When King Youshan comes, go and welcome him. Just wait and see what I am going to do.
I don't need you to lead the way, I will find it myself."
Li Mingzhu heaved a sigh of relief as if he had been pardoned, clasped his fists and saluted, "I'll take my leave."
"Well, go ahead." Lou Xiao kindly let her go and walked deeper into the straw hut, which was not very big to begin with.
Li Mingzhu slapped the soldier who brought the news and turned around to walk out. "How could the King of Youshan be here? Is Master Li here too?"
When Li Mingzhu went out, she saw Xiao Zhengdu and his men standing a few steps away from the door. He said unhappily without waiting for her to perform the formal ceremony.
"Why are you alone? Where's she?"