Chapter 184 Darkroom

"Master, Madam, I am late."

It's not that he was late, but he was addicted to what he heard outside the door. He wanted to continue digging out the secrets of Xiahe Village, and these rabble refused to say anything.

Aunt Zhang was so frightened when she saw the visitor. She was stunned for a while and realized that the situation was hopeless. She immediately knelt on the ground and cried, "Only we know the secret of the gold mine. As long as you agree..."

Xie Zhao raised his eyelids calmly and said calmly, "I don't agree."

Not to mention that he slaughtered more than a hundred villagers, he deserved to die even for blaspheming his wife.

Without any orders from the master, the subordinates removed the jaws swiftly, without allowing the men to make any noise, and dragged them out quietly.

"My benefactor, I know where they hide the gold!"

Ningxiang took the initiative to step forward. Before her father died, he had a premonition that these people would do something bad, so he transferred some of the gold in advance.

It can be said that apart from her, Aunt Zhang and the others were also unaware of the situation, otherwise they would not have been looking for survivors in the village.

In addition to silencing the witnesses, they also need to find out the whereabouts of some of the gold mines.

Inside the small Buddhist temple, the eternal lamp had burned out, plunging the place into complete darkness.

Xie Zhao did not question Ningxiang, but lit a fire stick to illuminate the room and knocked on the surrounding walls. He said to Jiang Yuzhu, "Yuzhu, from the outside of the Buddhist hall, the layout is different from that inside. There should be a hidden space inside the Buddhist hall."

After knocking a few times, Xie Zhao skillfully took out a brick.

There was a mechanism inside. He pressed it with his hand, and there was a click. The whole wall moved, revealing a bronze door.

The double door knockers of the bronze door are gilded, with two symmetrical ferocious beasts protruding on the left and right.

"Yuanhe, is there any danger in there?"

Jiang Yuzhu stared at the bronze door, remembering that the storybook said that secret rooms were equipped with mechanisms, and reminded Xie Zhao not to take it lightly.

Xie Zhao pointed to the carving on the door knocker and said, "Madam, don't worry. In Da Qi, there are no more than two people who are proficient in designing dark rooms."

The ferocious beast door knocker represents the lowest level of mechanism and is considered a trivial trick.

Back then at Duke Mao's mansion, Xie Zhao led his men to the mansion's secret room, which was the highest level of the secret rooms. The door knocker was a dragon head, and there were densely packed mechanisms inside that were linked together.

Open the ferocious beast door knocker, and you will see a tung oil lamp burning forever on the blue brick wall.

The interior is not big, dry and ventilated, and can hold more than a dozen large boxes.

Xie Zhao opened it casually and found a box of nourishing medicinal herbs inside, which looked to be of top quality.

The rest of the boxes contained mostly jewelry, antiques, porcelain and other valuable items.

Jiang Yuzhu played with the golden butterfly hairpin, examined it carefully by the light of the fire, and said in amazement: "Yuanhe, this is a piece of jewelry made by a butterfly!"

Zhao Fendie's favorite piece of jewelry was a golden butterfly hairpin with twisted threads. She asked a craftsman to carve the word "Fen" on the top.

After she and Ji Chengyun divorced, she went back to Ji's house to pack her things and had a quarrel with the Ji family in order to find her beloved jewelry.

The maids and the old women just said they didn't see anything. In the end, Zhao Fendie had no choice but to admit it as she didn't want to continue arguing with the Ji family.

Xie Zhao came to Jiang Yuzhu and found a few items made in the palace from the box. He said confidently, "These jewels should have come from the black market in Beijing and were transferred here through channels."

People like Aunt Zhang are ruthless bandits.

After making money from gold mining, spending large quantities of gold would arouse suspicion, so people would try to launder the money in the black market.

Most of the antiques, calligraphy and paintings purchased with gold were stolen items, and the prices on the black market were very low.

They bought them at low prices, then sent them to places like Jiangnan through special channels among the bandits for resale. It was a very profitable business and they made a fortune.

The output of the gold mine is enough to guarantee the wealth of several generations. The villagers wanting to hand over the gold mine to the government is tantamount to touching the death penalty. Aunt Zhang and others discuss and decide to do something drastic.

Ningxiang followed behind him and watched silently, when suddenly her eyes went dark and she fell to the ground.

Hong Jin and others entered the secret room and helped carry Ningxiang out to feed her porridge.

When Ningxiang woke up, it was already dawn the next day.

The large group of people was delayed on their journey and stopped on the official road not far ahead.

With the local officials coming to take over, Xie Zhao watched the people in the yamen being registered. It was not until the officials from the capital came to hand over that the group prepared to set off.

"Madam, please take Ningxiang in!"

Ningxiang ran after the carriage and knelt in front of the horse, crying.

Her parents are gone. Although she still has relatives in her hometown, they all look down on her because she is a girl. Ningxiang has no home anymore.

Xiahe Village will be taken over by government officials, and Ningxiang will be left alone with nowhere to go.

When she heard that her benefactor was going to the north, Ningxiang shamelessly begged: "Madam, Ningxiang can wash clothes and cook, and she can also do needlework and embroidery. If you don't know how, you can learn. Please take me in and give me a meal!"

Jiang Yuzhu took a sip of tea and pondered for a moment.

Hongli couldn't bear it, so she pleaded, "Madam, why don't we take Ningxiang in? She's very skillful, and she can run errands and deliver messages."

Although she is a maid who came here halfway, Ningxiang is smart and if she is trained in the future, she can be of great use.

"Okay."

Jiang Yuzhu ordered Hongli to take Ningxiang to the carriage. Ningxiang observed Jiang Yuzhu's expression and saw that she was tired, so she helped rub her forehead.

Jiang Yuzhu closed her eyes, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Ningxiang, your strength is just right."

Ningxiang hesitated for a moment. She had heard that there were some things that maids were not supposed to say, but she felt uncomfortable keeping it to herself, so she asked, "Madam, how did you realize that something was wrong with Aunt Zhang? And I said I knew where the gold was hidden, and you found the location accurately without my guidance."

"Red carp."

Jiang Yuzhu called Hongli out to clarify the confusion.

Jiang Yuzhu was not the only one who noticed something unusual. She only realized that Aunt Zhang was lying and that there was something strange about her.

Most of the details depend on Xie Zhao's keen judgment.

Hongli was a little proud: "You hid the gold and thought you could deceive my wife? My wife is an expert at hiding money and has a keen sense of money. All of the master's wealth is managed by my wife."

Jiang Yuzhu: “…”

"Hongli, let's get to the point. You're going off track again!"

Hongxiu pushed Hongli and then said to Ningxiang, "When Madam moved the table, she found it was very heavy, which did not match the weight of wood. She guessed there was something fishy going on inside."

The people of Xiahe Village hid gold by hollowing out the middles of tables, chairs and benches in their homes and stuffing gold bars in them.

If you don't move the tables and chairs on purpose, you won't be able to notice it at all.

Ningxiang looked at Jiang Yuzhu with extremely enthusiastic eyes and said, "Madam is really amazing. I want to be as smart as you in the future!"

Especially when it comes to hiding money, Ningxiang asks her lady to teach her some tips.

Jiang Yuzhu closed her eyes, feeling tired.

Gold mines were discovered along the way, which was a great achievement.

Jiang Yuzhu witnessed the tragic deaths of villagers and couldn't eat for several days. Shouldn't she deserve some compensation?

Thinking about the military supplies in the north, Jiang Yuzhu wanted to make more money.

After washing up in the evening, Jiang Yuzhu talked about her worries and comforted herself with words: "Yuanhe, I know you care about the people and will not take a penny from the villagers, but..."

It is a principle that we should not take it this time. If something similar happens again, we should not be lenient.

Jiang Yuzhu is making money not for herself.

Xie Zhao held a purse in his hand and handed it to Jiang Yuzhu, saying, "Of course, I will not use the things in the court, but the money on the bandits may not be reported to the local government even if they were given to them. They are all here."

In addition, Xie Zhao also thought of a good idea to make a lot of money.