Chapter 51 Iron Ore!

Upon entering the cave, a putrid stench assaulted the nostrils. Inside, two or more people huddled together, creating a scene of utter depravity.

She was wearing the official robes that had been stripped from those people. After she went in, they glanced at her casually and impatiently chased her away.

"Get out of the way, this area is full!"

"Don't you know the rules...?"

Shen Lanxi suppressed her urge to kill, her eyes quickly scanning the women. Her heart had been pounding ever since she entered the cave, and it wasn't until she saw the last one that her heart finally settled.

There is no Shen family member here!

There was no time to linger; the bodies of more than a dozen people outside still needed to be dealt with.

The surrounding area is full of abandoned pits. If you just throw these people in, even if the search party works themselves to death, they will never find them!

"Nu Bai, besides here, are there any other places where there are women?"

Nu Bai: "The mountaintop is quite far away, so we can't scan the exact number of people!"

Shen Lanxi immediately flew towards the mountaintop. The mountaintop and the area below were like two extremes, one heaven and the other hell.

The entire mountaintop is filled with grand halls with carved beams and painted rafters, with dozens of rooms of various sizes in front and back rows!

Nu Bai: "We found the female members of the Shen family in the last row of rooms!"

Shen Lanxi immediately sneaked in and woke up everyone in the room one by one.

"Young Miss..." The women of the Shen family were all moved to tears when they saw Shen Lanxi.

Shen Lanxi: "What are you all doing here? Where is the others?"

Shen Yuantang repeated it with a sob in his voice, and it was the same as what Shen Yuanxin said!

"We were originally going to be thrown into the Xiaoyao Cave, but the people escorting us said that some important people were coming in the next couple of days, and that they thought we were good-looking, so they decided to keep us to entertain them!"

At this point, the women of the Shen family began to choke up.

Shen Lanxi: "If you want to attract those people, then keep crying!"

The women quickly covered their mouths.

"Miss, please save Yuanqing and Yuanzhao. We don't know where they've been taken, or if they're still alive!" Wei Rulan couldn't help but cry as she spoke of her son.

Shen Lanxi frowned: "I'll get you out of here first!"

"Okay, okay, eldest sister, please take us out of here quickly!" The Shen family's illegitimate daughters nodded repeatedly.

Shen Yuantang glared at the concubine's daughters and forcefully stopped them: "Big brother, I heard from the people watching us that they're going to teach us manners these next couple of days, so they shouldn't do anything to us. You should go and save Father and my brother first!"

"That won't do. We're women. What if those people barge in and insult us?"

“My elder brother and father are men; at most, they will suffer some physical pain. We are women; if those people were to ruin our chastity, we would rather die!”

"Yuantang, you are young and don't know much, so don't interrupt. Listen to the adults' instructions!"

The women chattered amongst themselves, pushing Shen Yuantang behind them.

Shen Lanxi changed her mind!

“It’s almost dawn. If I lead you, we won’t even get halfway up the mountain before we’re discovered.”

"Then what should we do?"

Shen Lanxi glanced at the fruit and pastries on the table and said, "If what Yuan Tang said is true, those people shouldn't make a move on you these next two days. I'll find a place to hide first, and then come back tomorrow night to take you down the mountain!"

After a few seconds of silence, a dejected voice of compromise rang out.

"Okay, you must come to rescue us as soon as possible tomorrow night!"

"good!"

People are coming this way, and there's more than one voice!

"Someone's coming, I'm leaving!"

After leaving the mountaintop, she immediately returned to the mountainside. The sky was already beginning to lighten, and the guards in the mountains had already started whipping the people in the caves to get up and work!

She found the nearest cave and sneaked inside!

"You black rats, get up and get to work right now!"

"Anyone who dares to dawdle, I'll throw them into the hole and feed them to the poisonous snakes!"

Shen Lanxi, carrying her whip, avoided the other guards and walked inside with the prisoners.

There was a torch every eight or nine meters in the cave. I thought I could see the people inside clearly, but they were all disheveled and their faces were as black as Bao Gong's. Those with poor eyesight couldn't even see their noses and eyes.

Fortunately, she actually saw Liu Laohu.

Perhaps because he hadn't been there long, Liu Laohu's features were still visible on his face. Besides Liu Laohu, there were several constables and Liu Yanhui as well!

Shen Lanxi took advantage of the dim light to pat Liu Yanhui on the shoulder.

Liu Yan turned her head back.

Shen Lanxi said silently: It's me!

Liu Yanhui did not recognize Shen Lanxi until they walked into a dimly lit place and a piece of dried meat was stuffed into her hand.

He had only ever tasted that familiar sweet flavor at Shen Lanxi's place.

Liu Yanhui quickly stuffed the dried meat into her mouth and chewed rapidly with her head down.

The confusion and helplessness I felt yesterday vanished without a trace at this moment!

Shen Lanxi slipped two more eggs back to Liu Yan in the dim light, and she also ate something herself.

Upon reaching the deepest part, these people were driven to dig for stones.

Shen Lanxi also dug out a piece, but it was impossible to tell anything about it with the naked eye!

"Master, it's iron ore!"

The Great Zhou Dynasty had very strict control over salt and iron, which were both government-run. This mine clearly did not meet the standards for government-run mines.

Judging from the skin color of these miners, the depth of the cave, and the scale of the main hall on the mountaintop, this place has probably existed for more than ten years, or even longer!

Moreover, this mine is not far from Cangzhou City, so it's impossible that it went undiscovered by the imperial court for so long.

Unless this mine has connections with officials in Cangzhou City, or has already colluded with them!

She originally thought that the world was peaceful and prosperous, but she didn't expect it to be all an illusion. Not only were there foreign enemies, but the internal situation was also rotten!

"Young Master, it's iron ore!" Liu Yanhui whispered to Shen Lanxi, taking advantage of the fact that they were mining there.

Shen Lanxi: "Your mother and sister are both safe on the mountaintop!"

Liu Yan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when the sound of whipping and cursing suddenly rang out from not far away.

"Stop playing dead. If you dare to play dead, I'll beat you to death!"

"Really dead? No breath?"

"You two, come here and drag him to the snake pit to feed the snakes!"

Everyone else trembled with fear at the mere mention of the snake pit.

Shen Lanxi was on the list of those selected, and she went with another person to dispose of the corpse!

"Damn it, what bad luck! Why did they have to send me to the snake hole..."

Shen Lanxi said in a low voice, "Big brother, I'll go in and throw it away in a bit, you wait outside!"

"You're pretty good at handling things, newbie?"

Shen Lanxi hummed in agreement.

"You're pretty clever, kid. I'll think of you if anything good happens in the future!"

"Thank you so much, brother!"

After walking for about twenty minutes, we arrived at the snake cave.

"Go in, but don't blame me for not warning you, don't get too close, and once you're thrown into the pit, get out quickly!"

Shen Lanxi nodded, and after dragging the person inside, she immediately switched to carrying them with one hand.

This person is still breathing, but if they don't receive treatment soon, they won't live much longer!

After walking forty or fifty meters, Shen Lanxi put the person aside.

"Four people, come out!"