Since arriving in the northern desert, with brilliant strategists like Chief Secretary Xie and Attendant Chen around, Qi Chenglang has avoided using his brain whenever possible.

But now that Xie Changshi, a man of great wisdom, is not around, he has to direct the rescue efforts while also racking his brains to think things through.

Now that the iron ore mines have been exhausted, what are these people still doing going down into the mines for?

Also, why were most of the missing persons government officials?

Is there some kind of conspiracy involved?

Qi Chenglang's sharp eyes swept over each survivor, and after a while he pointed to one of them and said, "Come with me for a moment."

The man nodded, reassured the people around him, and followed Qi Chenglang toward the dense forest.

Qi Chenglang, not noticing no one was around, asked in a low voice, "Tell me the truth, what exactly happened with the iron mine collapse?"

The man looked at Qi Chenglang, and his eyes soon reddened: "My father told us at noon to evacuate immediately. I had only led them out for a short while when the iron mine collapsed. My father, and those people, didn't make it out..."

The man clenched his fists, veins bulging on his neck, tears streaming down his face, yet he suppressed them, daring not to let out a sound.

His father was gone, and the deep-seated hatred of his family, the people at the iron mine—all these burdens rested on his shoulders.

A soft sob is the most heartbreaking.

Qi Chenglang sighed silently, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "No matter what, we still have to rescue them, just in case..."

The man raised his head instantly, his eyes gleaming: "You mean, my father might still be alive?"

Qi Chenglang glanced in the direction of the iron mine.

He didn't know what the iron mine used to look like, but now it had almost turned into a small hill, and those trapped inside had almost no chance of survival.

But Qi Chenglang didn't dare say that, scratching his head and saying, "Who knows? Your father's martial arts are so high, and he's prepared, he must have left himself a way out!"

He offered only a few words of simple comfort, and the man's clenched hands suddenly loosened, revealing a smile more painful than a grimace: "You're right, I can't give up like this, I..."

Qi Chenglang suddenly shushed him: "Shut up."

The two men instantly stood back to back, their eyes blazing, their bodies on high alert.

Just then, Xueye walked out with Gu Yuzhi on her back, shook off the withered branches and leaves on her body, tilted her head to look at the two of them, and grinned at Qi Chenglang.

Gu Yuzhi jumped off Xue Ye and tilted his head like Xue Ye: "Guard Qi, what are you doing here? How's the situation over there?"

He blinked and looked at the person next to Qi Chenglang, but it was too dark for him to see who it was. However, he instinctively sensed that this person was not his guard and asked curiously, "Who are you?"

Qi Chenglang quickly clasped his hands in a salute: "Your Highness, this is a serviceman serving in Xinliang. I summoned him alone to inquire about the situation of the iron mine collapse."

The man knelt down as soon as Qi Chenglang mentioned the words "Your Highness": "Your subject Huo Liangyao pays respects to Your Highness, Prince Wen."

A disgraced official?

Gu Yuzhi felt that this person's voice was loud and clear, and he was quite different from the prisoner he had seen in Xinliang last time.

He was somewhat curious, but he also knew what was most important right now: "Guard Qi, how is the situation? How many people are injured? I brought Xue Ye with me; she can help with the rescue."

Qi Chenglang secretly gave Huo Liangyao a hand gesture, and Huo Liangyao quickly and quietly retreated: "Your Highness, the entire iron mine has collapsed, and the chances of survival for those buried inside are extremely slim."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but exclaim, "Then what should we do?"

He listened carefully and heard voices talking not far ahead, but it was strange that there were no injured people wailing here, even though it was also a disaster site.

It seems that apart from the mountain collapsing, this place is no different from other places.

"Your Highness, I reasonably suspect that this collapse was man-made. Therefore, as long as those buried have taken refuge in the mine, there should be a chance of survival."

The reason why Huo Liangyao's father ordered him to lead these people to evacuate urgently was probably because he had discovered some secret, and the buried officials were the evidence.

The Huo family is still burdened with a blood feud, and Huo Liangyao's father would certainly not be willing to lose his life before the great revenge is taken!

Qi Chenglang looked in the direction of the iron mine; this iron mine must be hiding many secrets.

He looked away from Xueye and thought to himself, "It would be best if Xueye's mother came."

That big wolf always gave him the feeling that it was no ordinary creature.

With his green eyes glowing in the snowy night, Qi Chenglang said in a low voice, "Xueye, did you remember the scent of that person just now? If you did, I'll take you around the iron mine. Can you help me find a way to break through?"

With a roar, the snowy night engine carried Gu Yuzhi towards the iron mine.

It walked and sniffed as it went, until it reached the back of the hill, where it stopped, sniffed carefully again, and began to scratch the ground with its paws.

The meaning is quite clear: he smelled the same scent as that person here.

Qi Chenglang quickly called everyone over, and they started digging from where they had dug in the snowy night.

Qi Chenglang then summoned Huo Liangyao and obtained a floor plan from him. Based on the underground conditions shown on the floor plan, they began rescue operations in other areas.

Having completed his mission, Xueye withdrew from the crowd and hid in the woods, occasionally glancing up in this direction.

Gu Yuzhi stayed here.

When Xie Changshi and Gu Yuzhi discussed petitioning for a general amnesty for the iron mine's service personnel, Gu Yuzhi had already reviewed the existing list of service personnel at the iron mine.

He finally realized that Huo Liangyao's father was Huo Qiyuan, a former general of the Northern Desert Army.

Huo Qiyuan was implicated in a corruption case involving the Northern Desert Army and was sentenced to beheading by his father, the emperor. However, due to his father's death and his elder brother's ascension to the throne, the execution of over a hundred members of the Huo family was commuted to exile.

Gu Yuzhi squatted on the ground, resting his chin on his hands, blinking his big eyes as he watched the rescue operation ahead.

He had thought that a villain who embezzled military funds would be even more despicable than Qian Kang and Huang Fu, but just now, he vaguely felt that Huo Liangyao was not such a villain.

Gu Yuzhi whispered his doubts to Wen Shu, only to see Wen Xiuzhu swiftly close his fan, his face full of disdain: "Your Highness should know that a bad person will never have the word 'bad person' written on their face."

He rose from a small merchant to become a royal merchant, witnessing the true colors of countless high-ranking officials and nobles along the way.

It's just a marshal who embezzled; what's so strange about that?

Shu Xiaohan, however, held a different opinion: "Your Highness, I think the Huo family might be innocent. Look at how Chief Guard Qi and Huo Liangyao talk to each other; they don't seem like they're treating prisoners."

In those political dramas, the grand marshal who guards a region is the most vulnerable to being schemed against!