Time flew by, and before sunset, everyone packed their things and prepared to return to the county town.

Of the group, only two people knew about iron ore, so no one showed any unusual behavior on the surface.

After a long day, everyone except those rushing to catch their trains closed their eyes to rest.

An hour later, everyone finally returned.

In the courtyard, Aunt Qu was sitting on a stool, picking out the small stones from the rice.

"I'm back!"

"Oh dear, Aunt Qu, why are you cooking? Didn't you say you'd cook when we got back?"

Sister-in-law Zhou put down her farm tools and snatched the winnowing basket from Aunt Qu's hands.

Everyone performed their duties: those who were supposed to cook cooked, those who were supposed to clean cleaned, those who were supposed to feed the horses fed the horses, and those who were supposed to feed the donkeys fed the donkeys.

Only a group of children were playing in the yard, and soon the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen.

While she was at it, Zhen Wanwan had already given the twins and Yuan Huizhou a bath.

The two little ones have grown a bit more recently. Because they are eating well, they look like eight or nine-month-old babies, but they are actually only six months old.

Granny Zhang said with a smile, "Young Master and Miss are so handsome! They're like little celestial attendants sitting under a Bodhisattva..."

"That's right! I've had younger siblings before, but I've never seen anyone as good-looking as the young master and young lady."

The people inside started showering the little ones with compliments, and the two little ones were very enthusiastic in their attempts to please them, which melted everyone's hearts.

"Is Wanwan done showering? Come out and eat!"

Old Mrs. Li shouted loudly from outside the house, calling them to come out for dinner.

"Coming right away!"

Granny Zhang stayed behind to look after the child, while Zhen Wanwan took Yuan Huizhou to the living room.

Almost everyone had arrived. After a busy day, everyone was starving and felt like they could eat a whole cow.

Zhen Wanwan decided to eat and drink her fill before talking about that matter.

Clearly, Zhen Fugui thought the same way, as he still carried that piece of ore in his pocket.

They plan to use it as evidence after Zhen Wanwan reveals her true colors to everyone.

"Stop standing there, everyone! Eat quickly, then you can sleep well. We'll have to get up early again tomorrow to clear the land!"

Everyone was starving this time, so they didn't talk much at the dinner table.

Zhen Wanwan swallowed her dinner with difficulty. The food was still tasteless. She thought about finding an excuse to take out the seasoning from her space.

While everyone was clearing the table, Zhen Wanwan coughed twice and said, "Father, Mother, brothers, and sisters-in-law, I have something I want to tell you..."

Zhen Fugui's back straightened instantly, as if waiting for an opportunity to take out that heavy stone.

"Here's the thing... Today, my older brother and I found iron ore near our homestead. I suspect that the place where we're about to settle is actually a mine!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously noisy area gradually quieted down.

Everyone stared at Zhen Wanwan in disbelief.

Zhen Fugui hurriedly took out the iron ore and held it above his head so that everyone could see it clearly.

"We picked this up from there, Dad, I personally dug it out of there!"

"This is absolutely true!"

After a long silence from the crowd, Qu Huaiyuan stepped forward and carefully examined the stone.

He then affirmed, "This is undoubtedly iron ore!"

Grandpa Zhen frowned deeply. Logically speaking, the discovery of iron ore should be a good thing, but it was only for powerful and influential people.

They were all ordinary farmers, the only one who was slightly better off was Qu Huaiyuan, who had the title of a child scholar.

But they absolutely cannot touch the iron ore business!

If something unexpected happens, the whole family might lose their lives!

"We can't keep this for long. Let's all go take another look tomorrow. If it's real, let's give it away!"

"Uncle, this is unacceptable!"

Qu Huaiyuan would occasionally talk with scholars in the county who had achieved official rank, and he was more aware of the current national situation than anyone else.

In peaceful times, they might have been rewarded for donating the mine.

But now that war is raging everywhere, and iron is an important component of weapons, if it were exposed, it would definitely cause everyone to scramble for it!

Then they'll never have a peaceful day again!

Everyone turned to look at the agitated Qu Huaiyuan, wanting to hear his opinion.

Grandpa Zhen valued this studious child highly, so he solemnly asked, "Huaiyuan, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

Qu Huaiyuan pondered for a moment, then solemnly addressed the crowd: "We need to suppress this information and absolutely cannot let it leak out, otherwise... otherwise everyone's lives will be in danger, no... even the entire Guangling County will be plunged into crisis!"

Hiss... Everyone was stunned by what he said.

"How could it be so serious?"

Zhen Wanwan frowned; she hadn't expected things to escalate to this extent!

At first, she was complacent about discovering the mine, without considering how she could protect it given her current status!

"Brother Qu, do you think that we are of lowly status and cannot protect this mine, and that we will only attract the covetous eyes of others?"

Qu Huaiyuan nodded, then shook his head, and finally sighed helplessly, "Actually, there's still a more serious problem, which is... which is that the Third Prince has already declared himself emperor..."

"The Fifth Prince publicly declared that the Third Prince had rebelled and was preparing to send troops to purge the court of corrupt officials!"

"What!"

Zhen Wanwan was also shocked, not expecting such a big thing to have happened outside.

Grandpa Zhen's hands trembled involuntarily. If this mine was real, could Guangling County still be saved?

In a corner where no one was paying attention, Tianbao blinked her big eyes, wanting to tell her mother that they couldn't break into Anqing Prefecture!

Because their biological father is here!

Before she froze to death in her previous life, the Third Prince had already defeated the Fifth Prince's men, but he still couldn't conquer Anqing Prefecture.

In the end, for some reason, Zhu Yuan surrendered voluntarily, which is why she saw him at a banquet.

I heard that he eventually adopted Fang Ruzhu as his goddaughter and used his military power to protect her.

Thinking of this, Tianbao's heart sank again.

Although she and Fang Ruzhu were not switched in this life, the memories etched into her bones still affect her emotions.

Putting that aside for now, Zhen Wanwan couldn't calm down for a long time after hearing the news from Qu Huaiyuan.

So that's why she hasn't received a reply to the letter she asked Feng He to deliver to Zhu Yuan a few days ago!

No wonder she waited and waited but never received a reply…

It seems things are in complete chaos outside.

"Brother Qu, do you know how the battle is going outside?"

Qu Huaiyuan only knew a little bit about what was going on outside, and that was all.

"I don't know!"

Suddenly, Zhen Fuyou had an idea and whispered in Zhen Wanwan's ear, "Little sister, isn't Lord Feng still in Guangling County? We can ask him..."

Her second brother had the same idea as her!

"Second Brother, let's go find Lord Feng after we've discussed the iron mine matter!"