Song Chengbing immediately noticed that something was wrong with Lu Cijian.
Although she looked gloomy a few days ago, she would occasionally smile, especially inexplicably touching her lips and smiling.
This was the first time he had ever felt like his cold, aloof apprentice was a complete idiot.
But today, the low pressure around him was so cold it could freeze a person to death, and he couldn't help but shiver.
He put down his teacup and coughed lightly. "The person we brought back has woken up, but is a bit weak. He might faint again at any time. If you have any questions, just go and ask."
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Cijian had already gotten up and left, heading outside.
Song Bingcheng found it amusing, shook his head, and silently followed.
Instead, I began to look forward to seeing the girl Jiang, whom I had never met before.
The only person who could possibly be so eager to get his disciple, who usually doesn't care about anything, to do so is probably that Miss Jiang.
The two walked in silence to a secluded courtyard. As soon as they entered, they could smell a strong medicinal odor.
Inside the house, a weak male voice cried out in terror, "Who are you? Why am I here? Don't try to take me back to do hard labor! I... I won't go! Xinghua Village! I want to go back to Xinghua Village!"
Song Xiaowu was at a loss when he saw the person in front of him suddenly go mad. Just as he was about to speak up to comfort him, he saw his master and young master walk in together.
He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "My lord, young master, this person may have lost his mind."
When we brought the person back that day, although they were already half-conscious, they weren't in this state yet.
Lu Cijian frowned, about to ask the doctor to come and take another look.
The pale-faced, unshaven man on the bed suddenly screamed again, curling up in the corner and muttering to himself, "No, I don't want to go back. I don't want to go mining. I don't want to be beaten to death or buried in the mine."
"Help! Help! Help me!"
Lu Cijian immediately walked over and hurriedly asked, "Which mine is it?"
The middle-aged man continued to repeat what he was saying, completely ignoring the questions from the people around him.
Lu Cijian then asked, "Do you know Jiang Dazhuang? Where is he now?"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man, who had been somewhat deranged, suddenly widened his eyes and cried out, "It's my fault, it's my fault for not bringing Dazhuang out with me. It's all my fault, it's all my fault. Dazhuang is still in that cannibalistic place."
Dazhuang, Dazhuang, I'm so sorry, so sorry, ah, I'm so sorry.
After the middle-aged man finished his tearful account, perhaps due to excessive emotional distress, he collapsed onto the bed and fainted again.
Lu Cijian quickly said, "Xiao Wu, go and call the doctor."
Song Xiaowu hurriedly ran out and soon returned with an elderly man.
Lu Cijian and Song Bingcheng retreated outside.
Lu Cijian frowned as he pondered what the person inside had just said. Although some of it was nonsense, if there was any truth to it, it still revealed many things worth thinking about.
For example, the mine that person mentioned.
Nowadays, in the Great Jin Kingdom, all the places where gold and iron mines have been discovered are heavily guarded by the imperial court. The people who mine there are either serious criminals or people who have been exiled to do hard labor.
None of those people had any chance of escaping, and the imperial court would not let them leave.
But the person inside the house, he had specifically investigated, was just an ordinary, honest man who had never done anything immoral.
Logically speaking, it would be impossible for someone from the imperial court to take someone to mine, so where is the mine he is referring to?
Besides the mines controlled by the imperial court, some people dared to mine privately.
Song Chengbing had obviously considered this possibility as well, and frowned as he said, "If someone really dares to mine privately, this matter could be a big or small one. We must investigate it thoroughly and report it to His Majesty."
If it were just ordinary aristocratic families mining for money, the imperial court would at most confiscate the mines and property, but might spare the families' lives.
But it's hard to say if there are other motives.
Lu Cijian responded, then asked, "Where did our people find this person?"
Song Bingcheng thought for a moment before saying, "Last time you said that Jiang Dazhuang might be in the territory of other forces, and our people can't find him."
So I specifically ordered people to check several places, especially within the territory of the King of Chu, but there was still no news of Jiang Dazhuang.
I was thinking he was probably dead and was about to tell you when someone suddenly found Liu Changsong in Pingjiang County.
After failing to find Jiang Dazhuang at first, they searched Xinghua Village again. Although the memories were somewhat distant, they actually found some things.
Jiang Dazhuang wasn't the only one who went missing back then; three other people from Xinghua Village who had gone out to work with him also disappeared.
Liu Changsong is one of them.
However, since these women didn't have many relatives to begin with, upon learning that their sons or husbands had disappeared, they either remarried or died from excessive grief, and were quickly forgotten.
But the Jiang family was different. Some members of the Jiang family still remembered Jiang Dazhuang, which meant that many people in the village still remembered his disappearance.
However, last year's famine caused most of the people in Xinghua Village to either die or be injured, making the investigation quite difficult.
They finally learned that Jiang Dazhuang wasn't the only one who had disappeared, but none of the people who knew the truth came forward. It seemed that those people, like Jiang Dazhuang, had vanished from the world.
Just as they were frowning in worry, people from Pingjiang County suddenly said they had found a man from Xinghua Village. Song Bingcheng immediately sent someone to bring him back. On the way, he learned from several other people from Xinghua Village that this man was Liu Changsong.
Lu Cijian nodded, carefully recalling whether there were any mountains near Pingjiang County suitable for mining, but couldn't come up with anything after thinking for a long time.
Pingjiang County is only half a day's journey from the capital. If there were any mines there, the imperial court should have discovered them long ago. How could others have gotten there first?
This is strange.
Song Bingcheng couldn't understand the mining matter either. Subconsciously, he felt that Liu Changsong was talking nonsense and had gone mad because of something. He would only know the truth once Liu Changsong came to his senses.
Just then, the doctor and Song Xiaowu came out of the house.
The doctor sighed deeply and said helplessly, "This person has gone mad from living in fear and terror for so long. It will be quite difficult to bring him back to his senses, unless..."
Song Bingcheng quickly said, "Unless something happens, this person must be sober."
If he initially took this person to heart simply because his good disciple's sweetheart had asked for it, now it's not just that.
Regardless of whether the mining matter is true or false, he must find out the truth.
The doctor thought for a moment before saying, "Unless this person is subjected to another shock, or is completely relaxed."
He wasn't sure if this method would work, but if he just wanted to give the people inside a brief moment of clarity, he could give it a try.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
