Chapter 113 Dongshan
"Who is there?"

In the empty cave, the torch in Ye Mingyu's hand was reflected on the stone wall, stretching and swaying into two flat shadows. The voice of speaking echoed, seeming particularly weird.

He protected Jiang Li by his side, took two cautious steps forward, raised the torch in his hand, and suddenly fixed his eyes.

Then I saw two people sitting against the stone wall. I couldn't tell at first glance that they were two people because they were so miserable. Their clothes were tattered, they were dirty and smelly, and their bodies and hands were covered with bloodstains. They looked like prisoners.

When I saw Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu, neither of them moved, as if they were dead. Only their eyes moved slightly, and I realized that they were two living people.

Ye Mingyu was still in a daze, Jiang Li had already taken the fire from his hand and walked to the two of them and squatted down. She was not afraid at all, and looked at the two of them calmly. But her heart seemed to be weighed down by lead, and kept sinking.

Although she knew that Feng Yutang would do his best to torture Xue Huaiyuan's former subordinates, when she really saw this scene, Jiang Li still found that she had underestimated Feng Yutang's cruelty.

These two people were clearly dying. Maybe the guards outside didn't know, or maybe they knew and just watched coldly, hoping that these people would starve to death inside. If Jiang Li hadn't come today, these two people would not have survived tonight.

When the two men saw Jiang Li squatting in front of them, their eyes moved slightly again, but they were still dead silent and motionless.

Jiang Li looked at their faces carefully and finally recognized them. They were Gu Da and Gu Er who used to be with her father. Gu Da and Gu Er were twin brothers. After their parents died, Xue Huaiyuan saw that they were good at martial arts and made them officials. In her memory, Gu Da and Gu Er were always walking around in high spirits. Their beautiful swordsmanship once made Xue Zhao very jealous. He pestered Gu Da and Gu Er to teach him swordsmanship.

But I didn't expect that he would be in such a mess now.

Jiang Li said softly: "Gu Da, Gu Er, I am Jiang Li, I am here to take you out."

Gu Da's eyeballs moved slightly, as if he had just recognized where Jiang Li was standing. He moved his lips, but Jiang Li did not hear any sound and did not know what he was saying.

"His voice is hoarse from shouting. He hasn't had any water for two days and can't speak." A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind. Although it was hoarse, it was still audible.

Jiang Li looked back and saw two more people standing behind the stone wall. One of them was a little better and looked much more energetic than Brother Gu. His eyes were very bright and he looked at Jiang Li vigilantly. The other one was frail, and it was unknown whether it was because of the torture by Feng Yutang, but he was so thin that he seemed to be broken in half by a gust of wind.

It was the stronger man who spoke.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Ye Mingyu simply couldn't believe that these were the officers and soldiers of the past. They were even more miserable than the exiled officials who had committed serious crimes, and the refugees had never been so pitiful. It was as if everything was only supported by one breath, and these people would fall down immediately with just one breath.

Jiang Li looked at the person who was speaking, her eyes almost moistened. After a pause, she said, "You must be Peng Xiao."

The man, Peng Xiao, looked at Jiang Li and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm here to take you away from here." Jiang Li said, "I want to overturn the case for County Magistrate Xue."

As soon as these words were spoken, a gleam of light flashed in the eyes of Peng Xiao, the people around him, and the dying Gu Da and Gu Er.

Jiang Li looked at Peng Xiao, feeling a sense of sadness in her heart.

The four people who appeared in the cave were all her past acquaintances, like relatives. Gu Da and Gu Er often debated swords with Xue Zhao. Peng Xiao was the leader of the officers and soldiers under his father. Jiang Li still remembered that although he was the head of the officials, he was very kind to others on weekdays. When he smiled, he showed a mouthful of white teeth, as warm as the sunlight in winter. She and Xue Zhao both regarded him as their elder brother. The thin man who was almost blown down by the wind was called He Jun. He was the only one who could read among all the officials. He often asked Xue Fangfei questions and was a very studious person. Xue Zhao once joked that He Jun might not want to be an official. With the heart of taking the imperial examination, he might as well have a good relationship with Shen Yurong. One day, when Shen Yurong passed the imperial examination, she could promote He Jun and let He Jun be a proofreader.

When one person becomes enlightened, the whole family will benefit from it. However, this saying did not come true in the Xue family. Shen Yurong did become enlightened, but she climbed up by stepping on the blood of the Xue family. And the studious He Jun was trapped in this mine, and was only skin and bones.

"Who are you and why do you want to overturn the verdict for the adults?" asked He Jun.

At this time, he was actually clear-headed and able to ask Jiang Li.

"My name is Jiang Li." Jiang Li's frankness surprised Ye Mingyu. She said, "I am the legitimate daughter of the current Prime Minister Jiang Yuanbo. I came to Tongxiang this time because I was asked by Xue Fangfei, the daughter of Xue County Magistrate, to overturn the case for the Xue family."

"Jiang Yuanbai?" They were all confused for a moment. To them, Yanjing was too far away, and the Prime Minister in Yanjing was someone they had never seen before. Peng Xiao stared at him and said, "Miss Xue is dead."

Jiang Li sighed in her heart. Even Peng Xiao and the others knew about this. It seemed that Xue Huaiyuan knew it even more. It made sense. In order to torture Xue Huaiyuan, Yongning would of course tell him the bad news one by one, making him live a life worse than death and slowly collapse.

"Miss Xue is dead, but her death was not simple." Jiang Li said: "Xue Fangfei and I are old friends. This time, I am here to clear the injustice for the entire Xue family."

Not only Peng Xiao and the others, Ye Mingyu was also stunned. He never knew that Jiang Li was related to Xue Fangfei. So, when the Xue family got into trouble, it was not just Xue Huaiyuan who was implicated, but also the children of the Xue family. This meant that the family was going to be annihilated. What kind of deep hatred would lead to this? Ye Mingyu realized that this matter was not simple.

"How do you plan to overturn the Xue family's verdict? Why should we believe what you say?" He Jun asked.

Jiang Li stood up and looked into He Jun's eyes. "I plan to use you as witnesses and the loopholes in the files as physical evidence. I will gather the people of Tongxiang, collect evidence of Feng Yutang's guilt, and go to Beijing to overturn the case and announce it to the world. If the Dali Temple can't figure it out, I will go to the palace to file a complaint. Feng Yutang is not the mastermind behind this matter. There is someone else behind it. This other person is enough for the emperor to pay attention to, so I am not afraid that the complaint will not be successful."

"As for how you can believe what I say, Feng Yutang now controls the entire Tongxiang, and the people are even afraid to talk about the Xue family. The Xue family is like this, and so are you. In fact, except for me, no one has stood up to vindicate the Xue family. I don't need to lie to you. You have nothing but your life now, and even this life is only half left. If I want your life, there is no need to go through so much trouble. I can get it easily."

Peng Xiao and the others fell silent.

Jiang Li was right. The four of them were weak now, some were sick and some were disabled. Even the tall man behind Jiang Li could probably take down the four of them alone. If Jiang Li really wanted to deal with them, there was no need to make up any lies.

"Now, I just ask you, are you willing to go out with me and clear the name of your Lord Xue?" Jiang Li asked.

Her gaze was firm and fearless, yet it inexplicably made people become more resolute as well.

Peng Xiaoxian raised his head and looked at her, then spoke word by word, "I'll go out with you."

"I'm going too!" He Jun said, "We've been in this mine for so long. Fifteen brothers were tortured to death until only five of us are left! Why don't we want to die? We have to fight to survive until now. Is it because we are afraid of death? No! We just hope that one day we can go out and overturn the case for the adults. Such a good person like the adults was framed by others. This is a joke in the world! Now that you, the lady, are willing to overturn the case for the Xue family, the five of us brothers are willing to follow you!"

In the corner, Gu Da and Gu Er supported each other to stand up. They were probably extremely weak, and their voices were so hoarse that Jiang Li couldn't hear them, but she could see the movement of their lips, and they were saying "yes".

"But that's not right." Ye Mingyu smacked his lips. "There are at most four people here. Aren't there five of you who survived? Where is the other one?"

Peng Xiao glanced at Jiang Liye and Ye Mingyu, then turned and walked forward, saying, "Follow me."

After passing a cave, there was a person lying on the ground against the stone wall. At first glance, I thought he was dead, until I approached and squatted down, I saw that he was still breathing slightly, but it was very weak. It was like a candle with a spark, which would be extinguished immediately with a breath.

Xiao Hei? Jiang Li saw the man's face clearly.

"Heizi has been ill for more than ten months. We don't think he will live for many more days." He Jun said hatefully, "Feng Yutang's people won't call a doctor for us. Our other ten brothers were tortured to death like this." As he spoke, he tremblingly unbuttoned the clothes on Xiao Hei's back.

On that back, the clothes and flesh had been fused together, and the bloody mess gave off a foul odor. It was hard to imagine that this was the flesh of a living person. The whip marks on it were all embedded in the flesh, leaving no intact skin.

"The whips they used to beat us were all barbed." He Jun looked at Xiao Hei and said, "Xiao Hei was young, but he managed to hold on to the end. Now he is almost gone."

Jiang Li knew Xiao Hei, the youngest of his father's men. He was about the same age as Xue Zhao, but he had a childish face, and looked like a naughty boy. Every time she saw Xiao Hei, she felt like she saw Xue Zhao. Xiao Hei lying there motionless made Jiang Li's heart ache.

She has lost too many people around her.

"Let's take them out right away and find a doctor for him. He can't die." Without further ado, Jiang Li made a prompt decision and said to Ye Mingyu, "Uncle Mingyu, you help carry Xiao Hei, and I'll support Brother Gu. Let's leave here as soon as possible. When the people outside come, we will send them to the secret room and find a doctor. Xiao Hei can't be delayed any longer."

"But how do we get out?" He Jun couldn't help asking, "Although we have been in the mine tunnel for several months, the roads in the mine tunnel are all connected. We eat and sleep in the mine tunnel and have never walked outside the mine tunnel."

"Don't worry," Jiang Li said, "I know how to get there."

"How do you know how to walk?" Before he could even ask, Jiang Li had already helped Ye Mingyu carry Xiao Hei. He Jun had no choice but to swallow his doubts and follow Jiang Li forward.

A group of people walked out of the mine.

Jiang Li supported Gu Da and Gu Er. Although she was wearing the clothes of a man's servant, her face was delicate and fair, and her skin was as white as jade. She looked like a young lady from a wealthy family. Peng Xiao also did not forget what Jiang Li said when she introduced herself. She was the daughter of the current prime minister. Such a rich daughter supported these dirty and smelly people, who were almost like ants in her eyes, but her eyes were very gentle, without a trace of disgust.

Peng Xiao was a little dazed. The girl pursed her lips, looking gentle and resolute, which reminded him of his parents' daughter, Miss Xue. Miss Xue was also the pride of Tongxiang. In their hearts, she was like the moonlight, and no one could insult her. Miss Xue was beautiful and smart, but she was not arrogant at all. They watched her grow up. Later, when they learned that Miss Xue was in trouble, and that she was in trouble with such a terrible crime, none of them could believe it.

The adults didn't believe it either, but instead of waiting for the truth to come out, they ended up having the adults thrown into jail and becoming prisoners.

Fortunately... Peng Xiao looked at Jiang Li, who was supporting Gu Da and Gu Er, taking care of their steps while moving forward firmly. In the dark mine tunnel, she couldn't see her hand in front of her, but she seemed to know which direction had light, as long as she kept going, she would be able to find the exit.

Fortunately... as long as I keep going, I will see hope. Peng Xiao thought to himself, as if he was suddenly injected with infinite strength, and he walked forward with renewed energy.

……

When they reached the exit, it actually took less than half an incense stick of time, but Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu both felt that this time was extremely long. Ye Mingyu's men were waiting outside, and when they saw them come out, they couldn't wait to welcome them in. Jiang Li gave the carriage to Xiao Hei and Gu Da and Gu Er, who were too weak to walk. Ye Mingyu was still thinking about what to do with Jiang Li, but he saw Jiang Li climb on the horse without hesitation, and her beautiful movements made Ye Mingyu's eyes light up.

"Let's go, uncle." Jiang Li said, "There is no time to lose. We have to rush to the next place and hide them first."

Feng Yutang's people will soon find out that the official in the mine has been kidnapped, and they will surely search for them. It will be safer to send them to the secret room before Feng Yutang starts searching the whole city.

Ye Mingyu agreed with Jiang Li and rode with the convoy. He asked Jiang Li, "How can we ask a doctor to come and see them? Will Feng Yutang's people find us if they follow the doctor? Even if they can't find us, the people are afraid of Feng Yutang's power, so how can they dare to help?"

"Find a doctor with a wife and children, take their wives to the secret room, and prepare all the medicinal materials." Jiang Li whispered, "There is no other way. The situation is special, so we can only force them. Then promise them enough silver and guarantee to send them out of Tongxiang, and they will agree." Jiang Li thought for a while and said, "Let's find Doctor Zhong from Baohetang. He is very suitable."

Here it comes again, Ye Mingyu thought to himself, Jiang Li was too familiar with Tongxiang's deeds, as if she knew everything about Tongxiang. But what was going on? Ye Mingyu didn't ask more, even if he didn't understand it in his heart, he respected Jiang Li's own secrets.

Tsk, they are people of the underworld, they put character first and never force others to do things against their will.

……

The news that Jiang Li had kidnapped someone in Dongshan had not yet reached Feng Yutang's ears.

In Feng Yutang's mansion, in the study, Feng Yutang was pacing back and forth. His beautiful concubine was kneeling on the ground, gently massaging his legs. Working for Princess Yongning, he got a lot of benefits, not only was he able to build such a gorgeous mansion in Tongxiang, but also had a room full of beautiful concubines. His study was just a decoration, with many precious ancient books in it, but he only knew how to hang out here.

Today was a rare serious moment for him, and even the beautiful concubines could not arouse his interest.

After an unknown amount of time, someone's voice was heard and a servant came hurriedly from outside. Feng Yutang immediately dismissed his concubines, let the servant in and closed the door. The servant took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Feng Yutang. Feng Yutang picked up the letter, tore it out quickly, read it quickly, and slumped in the chair.

"Master?" The servant asked in a low voice when he saw that he looked unhappy.

Feng Yutang did not say anything, but his hand holding the letter was shaking slightly. Inadvertently, the letter fell to the ground. The servant took a quick glance at it, but did not see anything else clearly, but saw a shocking word "kill" that was particularly conspicuous on it.

Feng Yutang's heart was beating very fast.

There are special ways to send letters by carrier pigeon, and Princess Yongning's letters also come back very quickly. Feng Yutang has long known that Yongning is arrogant and lawless, which can be seen from her dealings with the Xue family. But Xue Huaiyuan is just a minor official after all, and in the eyes of Princess Yongning, it seems not a big deal to ignore a minor official.

Feng Yutang never expected that Princess Yongning would be so arrogant and domineering that she would not restrain herself at all when facing the family of the Prime Minister. She wrote in the letter without hesitation that if Jiang Li wanted to investigate the Xue family case and wanted to overturn Xue Huaiyuan's case, Feng Yutang must kill Jiang Li in Tongxiang!
Feng Yutang couldn't believe his eyes.

He wrote to Princess Yongning hoping that she could tell him what to do next, but Feng Yutang did not expect that Princess Yongning's method would be this. Murdering the daughter of the prime minister, Feng Yutang was terrified when he thought of this, he did not dare!
This is not an ordinary girl, this is the daughter of Xue Huaiyuan, the emperor's mentor, the chief academician, and the prime minister of the dynasty! Xue Huaiyuan's disciples are all over the world. I murdered his daughter. This is a serious matter. People will definitely be sent to investigate. Once it is found out that I did it, my life will be in danger!
If he had known this would happen, he should not have written to Princess Yongning in such a hurry. But now, Princess Yongning gave a direct order in the letter, asking her to kill Jiang Li. Having done so many things for Yongning, Feng Yutang also understood Yongning's personality. Those who obey him will prosper, and those who disobey him will perish. He had to follow Yongning's orders. If he didn't, he would be dead!
What should I do?
Feng Yutang felt that his forehead was covered with sweat, dripping down. He did not dare to look at the letter paper that fell on the ground, as if the black words on it had become a bright red death warrant.

Going forward means death, going backward also means death, what should he do?
The servant fell to the ground respectfully, not daring to breathe. After an unknown amount of time, Feng Yutang's voice came from above his head, light and fluttering, he asked: "What do you think of disobeying the master's order?"

"That's absolutely not allowed." The servant was shocked: "Master, you know the temper of this master. If... even his life will be in danger!"

Even the servants knew that Princess Yongning was a murderer, let alone him. Feng Yutang walked around the room twice in annoyance, and suddenly slammed the table and said, "Do it! It's better to live a miserable life than to die. Killing her may kill her, but if you don't kill her, she will die immediately. Kill her!"

He thought it through. Even if he killed Jiang Li, it would take some time for the investigators sent by Jiang Yuanbo to arrive in Tongxiang. At worst, he could take this opportunity to escape. Anyway, the money he had accumulated in Tongxiang was enough to support himself. Besides, he was working for Yongning, so Yongning had to protect him. Even if Yongning was a wealthy woman and didn't worry about a small figure like him, the reward would be considerable. But if he didn't do this, Yongning would immediately send someone to take his life.

In this case, it is better to seek immediate stability first and make plans for the future later.

"How many people are there in Jiang Li's group?" Feng Yutang asked.

The servant replied, "There are eight people in total, six guards, one big guy, and one Jiang Li."

"Eight people..." Feng Yutang pondered for a while and said, "Not too many. The master left a few assassins. Let's invite them over now. It's their turn to take action. We don't have enough manpower."

As he was talking, someone suddenly ran in hurriedly and said, "Oh no, sir, oh no!"

Feng Yutang had just made up his mind and was feeling uneasy. When he heard these words, he became even more annoyed and said angrily, "Why are you yelling? What's wrong with that?!"

"Master," the servant did not dare to say anything more, and only said, "Those people in the Dongshan Mine Tunnel were kidnapped!"

"What?" Feng Yutang was furious. "What are those people looking at? How could a good person be kidnapped right under their noses? Drag them away! Did you see clearly who did it?"

The boy shook his head.

"Humph, I know that without you telling me." Feng Yutang sneered, "Now the only people who dare to openly bring up the Xue family case in Tongxiang are that group of people. Those officials are almost useless. Who would care about ordinary people? It's obviously Jiang Li who did it!"

"But the terrain in the mine is complicated. How did they find the exit?" asked the servant.

"Who knows?" Feng Yutang snorted, and gradually felt uneasy. Jiang Li was obviously just a young lady who knew nothing, but she seemed to be familiar with everything in Tongxiang. It was precisely because of this familiarity that she could do many things easily, which put Feng Yutang's side at a disadvantage.

"They kidnapped those officials to overturn Xue Huaiyuan's case." Feng Yutang said with a gloomy face, "Search! Send all the people in the county office to dig deep to find those officials. I don't believe that so many people can disappear out of thin air!"

The servant hurriedly took the order and left, but Feng Yutang felt a little blocked in his heart. He couldn't tell why, but he always felt that something out of control was happening.

But no matter what, there is one thing he still has to do, and that is to assassinate Jiang Li.

In short, the source of all the unrest is Jiang Li. As long as Jiang Li dies, those officials will be found quickly. Without a leader, what is there to worry about them causing any trouble?
"This Second Miss Jiang is quite powerful." Feng Yutang's eyes flashed with cruelty, "But, that's all."

……

The Tongxiang Tavern was empty and no one was there.

After Lu Ji gave a huge banknote, the shopkeeper disappeared and never appeared again. Ji Heng had an extra tavern in Tongxiang for no apparent reason, although he didn't care.

"That must be Feng Yutang's people." Sitting by the window, Lu Ji followed the two people downstairs. There was a steady stream of officials emerging from the county government office, and it seemed that something important had happened.

"They are going to Dongshan." Lu Ji smiled and said, "Miss Jiang is very quick." The more he saw what Jiang Li did, the more he was amazed at this girl. In such an unfamiliar place as the Dongshan Mine, she was able to take away Xue Huaiyuan's men so quickly. For others, just finding the exit of the mine tunnel successfully and not getting lost inside is a matter of great anxiety.

So, it is Miss Jiang Er who is more capable.

"It's too late to go now." Ji Heng glanced downstairs and said, "Everyone has been sent to the secret room, what are you looking for?"

"How did Miss Jiang Er find the secret room here?" Lu Ji wondered. "She has never been to Tongxiang and has never seen anyone. How could she find such a secret room?"

"Don't you think she looks like she grew up in Tongxiang?" Ji Heng said with a half-smile.

"What do you mean?" Lu Ji was puzzled.

"Means nothing."

Lu Ji paused for a moment and continued, "Princess Yongning's letter should have been delivered to Feng Yutang. Your Excellency, what do you think Princess Yongning will ask Feng Yutang to do?"

"She has a vicious heart, not as kind and gentle as me. Of course I will cut off the roots of her." Ji Heng played with the folding fan with a relaxed tone.

"Would Feng Yutang do this?"

"meeting."

Lu Ji was silent for a while, then asked tentatively, "Second Miss Jiang has always been both intelligent and brave, so nothing should happen to her, right?"

For some reason, he kept watching Jiang Li like this. Originally, he was an outsider watching the fun, but after watching for a long time, Lu Ji felt like he was raising a child. He didn't want to stop raising the child halfway. At least not now.

"Not necessarily." Ji Heng said.

Lu Ji: "Will the Lord take action?"

Ji Heng: “No.”

　Lu Ji: I’ve been following this drama for so long that I’ve developed feelings for it/（ㄒoㄒ）/~
　　The Duke is about to be slapped in the face by himself (putting his hands on his hips and laughing wildly)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)