Chapter 112 Dongshan
After learning from the mute woman that Xue Huaiyuan's former subordinates were sent to Dongshan, Ye Mingyu had the mute woman sent back. Just as Jiang Li thought, because the mute woman was old and outsiders thought she couldn't speak, Feng Yutang didn't take the mute woman seriously, and no one noticed when Ye Mingyu's people sent the mute woman back.

In the room, Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu were still sitting opposite each other. It was already late at night, but they were not sleepy at all. Ye Mingyu looked at Jiang Li and said, "Ali, this is not a simple matter."

Although Ye Mingyu knew from the beginning that the Xue family case was no trivial matter, it was after all about overturning the verdict of the guilty official. Whenever the verdict was overturned and the injustice was cleared, the interests of other people would inevitably be infringed. Feng Yutang, the current county magistrate of Tongxiang, was clearly not a good person, so what Jiang Li had to do was naturally not that simple.

But what the mute woman said was beyond Ye Mingyu's expectation. Feng Yutang dared to blatantly turn the former officials into slaves and control the life and death of others at will. This can be said to be very arrogant and cruel. If it is said that there is no big force behind it, Ye Mingyu will never believe it. Although Jiang Yuanbai is the prime minister, the powerful officials of Beiyan are not just Jiang Yuanbai.

Ye Mingyu thought that he no longer dared to underestimate the seriousness of the matter, but unexpectedly, he still underestimated it.

Jiang Li looked at Ye Mingyu and saw that Ye Mingyu looked serious. She knew what Ye Mingyu was worried about and said, "I know, uncle, but I don't plan to give up."

This sentence was what Ye Mingyu expected. Jiang Li had gone through so much trouble, even confronting Feng Yutang. If she really backed down so easily, it would not be Jiang Li's character. Moreover, Ye Mingyu thought that Jiang Li probably knew much more about this matter than he did.

He was a rough man, not as smart as Ye Da and Ye Er. He couldn't think of any strategy to help Jiang Li, so he had to do what Jiang Li said and do his best to help Jiang Li within his ability.

So Ye Mingyu just hesitated for a moment, and then said straightforwardly: "In this case, Ah Li, I won't persuade you. Just tell me what to do next, and your uncle will go with you."

Jiang Li felt warm at the words, and she said, "Although the mute woman said those people are now in Dongshan, it has been so long, I don't know if Feng Yutang and his men have moved them away, or if they are still alive." Jiang Li paused, and said, "Uncle also heard what the mute woman said. Life in the mines is difficult, and Feng Yutang is determined to torture them. I don't know how long ordinary people can last in there."

"What you said makes sense," Ye Mingyu said, "I will take some people to Dongshan first to see what the situation is like for those people. Tongxiang is not big, so it shouldn't be difficult to go to Dongshan overnight."

Jiang Li continued, "Not only that, if they are really in Dongshan, Feng Yutang must have arranged supervisors in the mine. My uncle's people must see how many people they have and whether they can avoid them without alerting them. If they must be alerted, can they be captured in a short time to prevent them from notifying Feng Yutang and waiting for reinforcements to arrive, and it will be difficult for us to take action."

Ye Mingyu chuckled: "Don't worry, your uncle is already very familiar with these threatening things."

Jiang Li nodded: "I wonder if my uncle can give me an answer tomorrow?"

"So fast?" Ye Mingyu was surprised.

"It's not that I want to embarrass my uncle." Jiang Li said apologetically, "It's because we don't have much time left. In seven days, Xue County Magistrate will be executed. If we can't find enough evidence to raise doubts and suspend the execution within seven days, everything will be in vain."

Ye Mingyu sighed, knowing that what Jiang Li said made sense. If Xue Huaiyuan died, everyone would be dead, and there would be no point in doing anything else. He said, "Okay, I'll do my best this time. Ah Li, when I'm not here, you should wait for me in the mansion and be careful."

Jiang Li said, "Okay." She took out a Tongxiang map she had drawn from her sleeve and handed it to Ye Mingyu, saying, "This is the Tongxiang map I drew based on what others said. Uncle, take it and use it when necessary. I can also draw a map of Dongshan, but you have to wait for an incense stick of time."

Ye Mingyu took the map, but was stunned to see that it was densely drawn and marked in great detail. Jiang Li said that she drew it based on what others had said about Tongxiang, but when Ye Mingyu traveled with the sea merchants, he knew that such a map could not be drawn so carefully by others unless they were very familiar with the environment.

But he said nothing, only laughed and said: "Okay, okay, with this, I think our work will be half as easy. Ah Li, the rest is up to you, I'll go and explain to the brothers first."

Ye Mingyu went outside to tell his younger brothers. Jiang Li looked at his back, feeling guilty and touched. Ye Mingyu knew a lot of doubts, but for her own reasons, he didn't ask anything and trusted her. This trust was precious and she would always remember it in her heart. Since arriving in Tongxiang, Ye Mingyu has been standing by her side to help her. Tonight he has to travel overnight and has not rested at all. Jiang Li didn't want him to work so hard, but on the other side was his father.

She believed that while she was thinking about countermeasures, Feng Yutang must have been thinking of ways to tell Princess Yongning about the situation in Tongxiang. Once Princess Yongning knew about this, she would undoubtedly try to get Feng Yutang to stop her, but Jiang Li thought it was more likely that Yongning would directly ask Feng Yutang to kill her.

The key to this war between her and Feng Yutang was time. Whoever was faster would have a better chance of winning. She didn't dare to stop, she couldn't afford to waste even a moment.

"Tong'er, help me grind the ink." Jiang Li said.

Tong'er hurried to the table, and Jiang Li picked up the pen. She had been to Dongshan with Xue Huaiyuan once because of curiosity and because Xue Huaiyuan wanted to know what Dongshan was like. Although it was only once, she still remembered the places she had been to. Although Dongshan may be a little different now because of Feng Yutang's "mining", the general location should not have changed.

She drew the location of the Dongshan mine tunnel, which would make it easier for Ye Mingyu and his team to investigate. However, after Ye Mingyu had initially found out what was going on over there, she would have to go to Dongshan herself. She had been with her father's men day and night in the past, and knew them best. If Ye Mingyu wanted them to stand up and believe in herself, she couldn't do it, so she had to talk to them in person.

It won't be long, it will be done soon.

……

After an incense stick of time, Jiang Li gave Ye Mingyu the map of Dongshan Mountain. Ye Mingyu was not careless. After receiving the map, he immediately set off with his men. Dongshan Mountain was not far from here, but when exploring in an unfamiliar place, one must be careful.

After Ye Mingyu left, Jiang Li was not idle either. She continued to pick up Xue Huaiyuan's files and read them slowly. Tong'er and Bai Xue advised her to take a rest for a while. She was tired of reading non-stop. But Jiang Li could not listen to them. She just read silently until the cock crowed three times. She felt sleepy and went to bed to take a nap.

But the rest didn't last long.

Jiang Li woke up by herself. She didn't know why. Although she was very tired, she was probably worried about Xue Huaiyuan. She knew that she couldn't waste any more time. Even in her dream, she was still somewhat sober and prepared to wake up. When she was half asleep, she vaguely heard Tong'er whispering to someone outside: "The girl just went to bed not long ago. She went to bed at dawn last night. Uncle, you should wait for the girl to rest for a while."

Jiang Li suddenly opened her eyes and stood up from the bed, and saw Ye Mingyu, who was exhausted outside. Although he looked tired, his eyes were bright.

Jiang Li's sleepiness was swept away instantly, and without any hesitation, she immediately asked, "Uncle, you're back."

Ye Mingyu and Tong'er then realized that Jiang Li had come out. Tong'er asked anxiously, "Hey, girl, why are you up?"

"Yes, Ah Li," Ye Mingyu also said, "Why don't you sleep a little longer?" They men travel all year round, so not sleeping for a night is nothing. But Jiang Li is still young, and she is a girl, so it is inevitable that she will be very tired.

"I woke up," Jiang Li asked, "Uncle, how was the investigation in Dongshan?"

When asked about the business, Ye Mingyu didn't care about anything else and replied: "Ali, I took people to check. What the mute woman said was right. There are people in the mine tunnel on the East Mountain. But there are people guarding outside. We took advantage of the night watchman falling asleep to walk to the entrance of the mine tunnel. We wanted to go in, but the East Mountain cave was too big and we couldn't find the way. We were afraid of getting lost and alarming others, so we retreated first."

Jiang Li murmured, "Yes, the terrain of the Dongshan Cave is indeed complicated. People who don't understand it can easily get lost inside. Uncle, it's right for your people to withdraw in time, otherwise they will get lost inside and easily get trapped."

She said this as if she often walked in Dongshan and knew the situation inside very well. However, Ye Mingyu did not notice the strangeness of Jiang Li's statement at this moment, and said: "Although we have not entered, we can be sure that there are indeed people mining gold in the mine. As for whether it is those officials, I don't know because I don't know the officials in the past."

Jiang Li asked: "How can uncle be sure?"

"Feng Yutang's people are such bastards. We arrived at the mine at night, but it was so late and the miners were still working!" Ye Mingyu was also indignant when he mentioned this matter: "This is treating people as if they were not human beings. It's really abominable!"

Jiang Li lowered her eyes. Since Feng Yutang was determined to torture those people, he would naturally not let them have an easy time. However, how many of those officials could survive working day and night like this?

"Uncle, can you tell me how many miners are there in the mine?" Jiang Li asked.

Ye Mingyu said: "I don't know the exact number, but I guess it's definitely not much."

Jiang Li's heart sank, and she asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Because there are too few guards," Ye Mingyu said, "There are only two people in total. If I wasn't unfamiliar with the terrain, to be honest, I could have knocked down these guards by myself and rescued the miners inside. But think about it, if there were really so many people, why would Feng Yutang only send two people to guard? Isn't he afraid of any problems? Unless there are not many people to begin with, he thinks two people are enough to guard, so there will be no problem."

Jiang Li was silent for a long time, and said, "Uncle is right." In fact, there is another possibility. In Feng Yutang's eyes, a new emperor appoints new ministers. Xue Huaiyuan is already a dying man. The Xue family has no descendants, so these former subordinates have naturally become abandoned. Who can save an abandoned child? Anyway, no one will come to save them, so there is really no need to send too many people to guard them.

But Jiang Li knew that this might just be something she had thought up to comfort herself, and what Ye Mingyu said was more likely. But at least, there were still people alive, which was a good thing after all, which meant that there was still a chance to find the witness she hoped for.

"Ali, we have found the people now, but the terrain on the Dongshan side is complicated. We can't find a way to bring all of them out for the time being. Also, even if we can take the people away, I am not familiar with Tongxiang, and I don't know where to hide these people safely. If Feng Yutang sends people to search, it will be easy to find their whereabouts. After all, Tongxiang is too small."

This is also true, and what Ye Mingyu is thinking is not unreasonable.

Jiang Li pondered for a long time and said, "Where to hide the person? Uncle Mingyu, don't worry. I have a way." Although Tongxiang is small, it is not unobstructed. She and Xue Zhao grew up in Tongxiang and have walked through every corner. Those abandoned secret rooms, which Xue Zhao once shared with her as fun things, have now become treasures without others knowing.

Although Ye Mingyu was curious about how Jiang Li solved this problem, he never asked questions that he shouldn't ask. He was simple-minded and didn't want to think about complicated questions, so he said, "Okay, let's not talk about this for now, but how do we get those people out? If you want them as witnesses, you have to take them away from Dongshan. Once Feng Yutang knows that you have this plan, or guesses it, he will kill people to silence them, and then we will be in trouble."

"Uncle Mingyu, the reason you feel troubled is not because of the people guarding outside, but because you are not familiar with Dongshan and are afraid of getting lost in the numerous mines inside." Jiang Li said, "Leave this matter to me."

Ye Mingyu asked: "What do you mean? Ah Li, what can you do?"

"I'll go to Dongshan," Jiang Li said, "and go into the mine. I'll lead the officials out."

Ye Mingyu almost jumped up when he heard this. He said, "Are you kidding me, Ah Li? How can you get in?"

"Yes," Tong'er, who had been listening, couldn't help but persuade her, "Girl, this is your first time in Tongxiang, and your uncle doesn't even know how to get through the mine tunnel. It's so dangerous inside, how can you take the risk?"

"I'm not taking any risks." Jiang Li said, "I know how to get inside the mine."

"No," Ye Mingyu said, "It's too dangerous. Besides, how do you know how to get through the mine?" "Uncle Mingyu," Jiang Li looked into Ye Mingyu's eyes and said seriously, "I said, I know how to get through the mine."

Ye Mingyu was stunned.

Jiang Li's eyes were clear and distinct, like a stream of water, but the firmness in them turned the stream of water into a hard rock. She was not lying, he really knew how to get around in the mine.

Ye Mingyu suddenly didn't know what to say. His niece was sincere, gentle and kind, but there were countless mysteries about her, and sometimes people felt that they would never be able to get into her heart.

"Okay." After a while, Ye Mingyu said, "But I can't let you in alone, Ah Li, I want to go with you."

Jiang Li wanted to say something, but Ye Mingyu waved his hand and said, "Ali, I know you have your own reasons for doing things. I won't ask you why or what it is, but I am your family, and I can't watch you take risks. If I were to go into the mine today, I don't think you would just sit there and watch."

Ye Mingyu's attitude was also very persistent.

Tong'er and Baixue looked at one and then the other, neither daring to speak.

After a while, Jiang Li said, "Okay."

When Ye Mingyu heard this, his serious expression disappeared and he said, "Okay! Ah Li, when do you say we should leave?"

Jiang Li: "Now."

"Now?"

"Yes, right now. Feng Yutang hasn't thought about the officials yet, but he will soon. Just in case, he will clear out everything that could be used as evidence, including the officials. So we don't have any extra time, we must bring all the officials out as soon as possible."

"But girl, you just woke up..." Tong'er reminded.

"I'm not in the way, Uncle Mingyu. We still have to work hard for a while. As long as we bring them out and hide them, we can relax for a while."

Ye Mingyu answered readily: "It's okay, Ah Li, if you have anything, just tell your uncle, and your uncle will never say no, just leave!"

Bai Xue and Tong'er looked at each other helplessly. This uncle and nephew were both so bold and daring, and they did things without fear.

"Then let's set off."

……

From decision to departure, it only took half an incense stick of time.

Although Ye Mingyu was rough and reckless in his actions, he would do things as soon as he thought of them, and would not hesitate to waste time. This kind of vigorous and resolute action coincided with Jiang Li's idea. The group took advantage of the morning to avoid pedestrians and secretly set out for Dongshan.

Not all of Ye Mingyu's men were brought along. Some of them had to pretend to be Ye Mingyu to fool the people Feng Yutang sent to monitor them.

There were seven people in the group, excluding Jiang Li. After Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu discussed it, the other six waited at the mine gate to pick them up. Ye Mingyu and Jiang Li went into the mine to search for the officials. Before that, they had to knock down the people sent by Feng Yutang to guard, but just in case, they might have a special way to send a message. It would be best to complete the search and pick-up within one stick of incense.

In fact, it was not difficult to find the contact person, but it was difficult to find the officials in the mine tunnels that extended in all directions. After all, there were many mine tunnels, and we didn't know which one they took. The people of Tongxiang didn't know the path in the Dongshan mine tunnel. Even if they knew it, who would dare to lead them? They all knew that it was Feng Yutang's territory.

So all the burdens fell on Jiang Li.

This time, because of the danger, Tong'er and Bai Xue were not brought along. Jiang Li also changed into a man's outfit, a short linen shirt, black pants, deerskin boots, and her long hair tied up and hidden in a hat. She looked like a handsome young man. But she hid her gentle beauty and brought out a bit of heroic edge.

Ye Mingyu asked Jiang Li: "Ali, don't worry too much. If we can't find them, let's go back. If we try a few more times, we will be able to find the way. You don't have to take everything on yourself." Ye Mingyu thought that Jiang Li was too concerned about the Xue family case. Although he didn't know why, Ye Mingyu didn't want Ali to be sad and blame herself because of it.

"Don't worry." Jiang Li smiled at him, "Uncle Mingyu, they won't be lost."

Ye Mingyu was stunned for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "Okay then."

The distance from Qingshi Lane to Dongshan is not far. Along the way, the carriages followed the route Jiang Li said. Ye Mingyu gradually discovered that the road Jiang Li asked them to take was very remote and had few pedestrians. Taking this road, it was indeed impossible for Feng Yutang's people to find them. Ye Mingyu felt strange. As far as he knew, this was Jiang Li's first time in Tongxiang, but Jiang Li was more familiar with Tongxiang than the locals.

Because of this, Ye Mingyu initially thought that Jiang Li's words that she knew the way to the Dongshan mine were words of comfort. Now, he gradually believed that Jiang Li did know the way to Dongshan.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage stopped. Ye Mingyu said from outside, "Ali, we're here."

Jiang Li jumped off the carriage.

Dongshan is located in the west of Tongxiang. On weekdays, almost no one comes here. This mountain is not as green and quiet as other mountains. Instead, it is extremely desolate. Occasionally, a crow's cry can be heard from the sky, which makes the place even more desolate.

Jiang Li raised her eyes and looked towards the direction of Dongshan.

Then he saw a bare round-headed mountain, sitting alone beside a dry lake. The mountain was covered with strange rocks, and the whole mountain looked strange, like the head of some monster, which made people feel terrified. Ye Mingyu came at night before, and couldn't see the face of the mountain clearly. Now that he could see it clearly, he felt creepy. He wanted to tell Jiang Li not to be afraid, but he saw Jiang Li staring straight at the mountain, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised. Not only did she not show the slightest fear, but she seemed to be a little happy.

Ye Mingyu suddenly didn't want to say anything.

In fact, Jiang Li didn't feel happy yet, but she did feel the intimacy. When she, Xue Zhaogang and Xue Huaiyuan came here, Xue Huaiyuan wanted to investigate the history of Dongshan and brought them here once, but they just looked at the entrance of the mountain and never entered the mountain.

But Xue Zhao was bold and adventurous by nature, and he secretly went inside a few times. Not only that, he also dragged Xue Fangfei along. Although she looked well-behaved on the surface, she was actually not bound by the secular world and was very happy to explore the secrets of Dongshan with Xue Zhao. It was just different from what was described in those unofficial biographies. They did not find any treasure, but after going there many times, she knew exactly what was inside and what the terrain was like.

Now Feng Yutang has people reopening the mines. Jiang Li initially thought that the mines had changed, but then she thought that her father's subordinates, including the officials, were only about a dozen people. It was not an easy task for a dozen people to reopen many mines. Moreover, Feng Yutang asked these officials to come here not to really dig for gold, but to torture them. You have to know that gold cannot be mined in Dongshan, and this has been a known fact for many years.

Therefore, the mine tunnel in the cave is most likely still the same as before. As long as nothing unexpected happens, we can still find those people.

Ye Mingyu asked Jiang Li and the two guards to wait where they were, while he and his men went to "knock down" the two guards first. However, he didn't know if the other party would have any tricks up their sleeves. If anything went wrong, the guards would take Jiang Li and escape first.

Jiang Li and the guards waited quietly in the bushes. While waiting for Ye Mingyu to come back, Jiang Li closed her eyes and recalled the scenes of exploring the Dongshan mine tunnel with Xue Zhao in the past.

When she was about to recall it for the second time, one of the guards beside her said, "The Third Master is back!"

Jiang Li opened her eyes and saw Ye Mingyu's happy face. Ye Mingyu said, "We knocked down both of them. We left a few people over there to watch. Ah Li, I'll go in with you first. The others will wait outside! If anything goes wrong, fire a signal arrow!"

Jiang Li thought, if there was anything wrong, she was familiar with the mine tunnels in Dongshan and could hide inside under the cover of the mine tunnels. However, she couldn't survive inside without food or water. Also, she had to come out again to deal with Xue Huaiyuan's problem, so she couldn't hide. Otherwise, the mine tunnels were an excellent place to deal with the bad guys.

As I thought about it, I found it interesting and couldn't help but smile.

This smile fell into Ye Mingyu's eyes. Ye Mingyu thought that he had done a good job. Jiang Li was very satisfied with the smile she showed, and naturally became more proud. He said: "Ali, don't wait, let's go in!"

Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu entered the mine entrance together.

The cave was dark, but the torch that Ye Mingyu lit illuminated the surroundings, making it easier to see the spaciousness of the mountain. Ye Mingyu looked online and was surprised: "My goodness, this place is really big. It's so big, can we find people? Where can we find them?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "It's okay, uncle, come with me." Without waiting for Ye Mingyu to continue sighing, she took the lead and walked straight forward.

Ye Mingyu was unable to stop him and could only hurry after him.

Jiang Li guessed correctly, the path in the Dongshan Mine Tunnel has not changed. Even if it is going to change, the previously dug mine tunnel does not need to be changed. Jiang Li walked forward according to her original memory, looking at the fresh footprints left behind and the changes in wind direction and smell.

The mine tunnel was very deep, and Ye Mingyu was afraid that Jiang Li would go too deep and not find the way back, so he made marks along the way. But his movements of making marks couldn't even keep up with Jiang Li's movements of moving forward. Jiang Li walked very fast and very firmly, and Ye Mingyu couldn't even stop her.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Ye Mingyu felt that there were mines all around him, and they looked nothing like before. He really didn't understand how Jiang Li could tell the difference. When he was about to ask Jiang Li whether he should leave, he suddenly heard a cough from deep in the mine.

Jiang Li asked: "Who's there?"

　It’s holiday! I wonder if everyone has a holiday for Dragon Boat Festival~ Let’s have fun!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)