kvmb Chapter 494 Thanks to you for coming
Chapter 494 Thanks to you for coming
Back at the place where the overseers were resting, Pei Ji had already ordered his men to tie up all ten or so overseers.
Hearing the commotion, they rushed forward to help, and the bound overseers also looked over quickly.
Boss Ma stared in shock at Lu Yangyang and the others, then looked back, not seeing Brother Zhang.
Having worked together for so long, no one understands Brother Zhang better than Boss Ma. Don't be fooled by the fact that they are led by him; in reality, it is Brother Zhang who is truly ruthless and intimidating to his subordinates. He only managed to become the foreman by pulling strings.
Knowing Brother Zhang as he did, he knew that the woman had cut off his arm, and he was determined to avenge her; he would never let her come back alive.
In this mine, these so-called government officials are no match for them.
But it wasn't Brother Zhang who returned; it was that woman and those lowly miners!
Boss Ma immediately realized that something was very wrong.
And Lu Yangyang did indeed walk towards him.
The knife in her hand was still stained with blood. The tip of the knife struck his face, and the cold, bloody touch made his legs go weak. His brain went blank, and he began to panic.
"Stop looking. Your accomplice was disobedient and I've already killed him. Now, you either honestly confess everything about this mine and bring everyone out, or I'll kill you too. The choice is yours. Don't even think about doing anything funny. One cut is enough." Lu Yangyang stared coldly at Boss Ma.
This was the first time Boss Ma had ever seen such a chilling aura emanating from a young girl, one that gave him the creeps.
He had initially held some hope, but since Brother Zhang had died at the hands of this little wench, he figured he wouldn't have enough lives to squander. He swallowed hard and made his decision.
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you." He immediately admitted defeat.
With Boss Ma as the supervisor and leader, things went much more smoothly from then on.
Lu Yangyang first sent a group of people out with the miners, and then another group came down. She also calculated the time, and after she and Pei Ji took turns making two trips, she also left the mine first, and then arranged for people to go down to rescue people in turn.
Then he ordered people to take the rescued miners to be settled.
It took until almost dark to finally rescue everyone one by one.
After confirming that all the miners had been rescued, Prefect Ling immediately ordered the mountain to be temporarily closed before leading his men down the mountain.
After descending the mountain, the miners reunited with the craftsmen who had been rescued the day before. They finally had a sip of hot soup and then prostrated themselves on the ground, weeping bitterly. They believed that they had truly met a good official who had rescued them from a dark and hopeless hell.
Looking at the people prostrate on the ground weeping, Prefect Ling's eyes reddened as well, and he shouted to everyone,
"Fellow villagers, you are all subjects of the Great Zhao Dynasty, subjects of Yuzhou Prefecture. As your magistrate, I have failed to promptly discover your plight and rescue the people under my jurisdiction; this is my fault. I assure you, I will give you an explanation for the injustice you have suffered. The Taoist priest Shangqing, posing as a celestial being, manufactures poisonous pills, swindles and deceives, harms the people, and harbors pirates; his crimes are numerous and countless. I will thoroughly investigate this case, hold a public trial in Yuzhou City, execute those responsible, and restore justice to all the people!"
Hearing these words, the people cried even louder.
They didn't care whether they could get justice; they only cared about surviving. In the past few years, the government hadn't cared about them. Instead, those people, using the government's name, had driven them to the brink of despair, leaving them nowhere to escape and turning them into fish to be slaughtered at will.
As night fell at the foot of the dark mountain, torches illuminated the people who were weeping on the ground, and also the sky covered by layers of gloom.
With red eyes, Prefect Ling went to report to Zong Que, bowing deeply to him with his hands clasped in front of him.
"Your Highness, thank you so much for coming."
Since Zong Que was deposed, in order to avoid being discovered, Prefect Ling has always referred to him as "Young Master." However, this address of "Your Highness" is as sincere as before, indicating that he recognizes Zong Que as the Crown Prince, and this has never changed.
"Please rise, my lord. If it weren't for you, this matter wouldn't have been resolved so smoothly." Zong Que raised his hand and ordered someone to guard the vicinity. Just then, Lu Yangyang came over, and Zong Que beckoned to her.
Lu Yangyang ran over, looked at Lord Ling who was about to get up, and asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"
Prefect Ling stood up and sighed, "I was just telling the young master that if he hadn't come, Yuzhou would have been in chaos within two years."
This chaos means rebellion; Yuzhou is bound to rebel.
These people have been oppressed to the extreme. Historically, people would not rebel unless they were driven to the brink of desperation. But given the current situation in Yuzhou, rebellion is not far off.
Lu Yangyang remembered the person they had seen in the tomb.
She subconsciously looked at Zong Que, and Prefect Ling also looked at Zong Que, but neither of them asked a question.
Both of them had seen the emperor, and the face in the tomb was clearly identical to the emperor's. Even if one could see the differences, such an appearance made it hard not to have any suspicions.
Zong Que naturally noticed their confusion. He had just beckoned Lu Yangyang over to explain the matter to them, "He is the Emperor's younger brother, Prince Shun."
Upon hearing this, Prefect Ling immediately snapped out of his reverie: "Prince Shun? Of His Majesty's brothers, I've heard that Prince Shun is the least remarkable, and has a peculiar and eccentric personality. It's said that he died many years ago. How could he..."
Lu Yangyang also asked, "Is he and His Majesty twins?"
Zong Que nodded: "The royal family has always believed that twins are unlucky. So when the Imperial Uncle was born, the Empress Dowager secretly sent him to the Cold Palace to hide his existence. Later, a concubine in the Cold Palace went mad and knocked over a candlestick, almost burning him to death. This matter was then brought to the attention of the late Emperor. Since things had come to this, the late Emperor gave him a title, but also concealed his true identity, forcing him to show his true face to the world. Therefore, everyone thought that he was just born to a palace maid in the Cold Palace. The Empress Dowager disliked him and simply pretended that he did not exist."
"Many people in the palace actually knew about this, but they all chose to keep it a secret. Even after my father ascended the throne, he remained as invisible as ever. Because of the rumor that twins share a common destiny, my father never killed him. Those who knew his identity, or even those who guessed it, did not dare to kill him."
"After the Chenzhou case, he was sent to Yuzhou, and news of his death spread a few years later. Therefore, the rumors about Prince Shun are from at least ten years ago, and naturally no one remembers him. In the years before, he lived a life of debauchery and did not cause any trouble, but later..."
Lu Yangyang understood, "Later, the Crown Prince came to find him and bewitched him. The two hit it off immediately and became accomplices, like snakes and rats in a den."