The servant quickly responded and was about to leave when Lin Yan'an suddenly asked curiously, "Steward Chen went to find me a beauty. He saw that I didn't like the ordinary women in the manor, so he said he would find me a celestial being."
Speaking of which, he hasn't come back for so long. Could it be that he went to see a celestial being on his own?
"Lord Zhu, you'd better go and find her quickly. I, this young master, want to see what kind of celestial beauty has captivated Steward Chen."
As he spoke, he looked at the other person with a hopeful expression.
Seeing that Zhu Shichang's expression was off, he knew he had made the right bet.
Everyone says that there are many dirty things happening in the backyard, and he had heard a lot about the affairs of those high-class mansions. He only mentioned it tentatively, and the man's expression changed.
It seems that Steward Chen has gotten involved with someone in this estate, and Zhu Shichang has discovered some clues about it.
Zhu Shichang's face was ashen, and his hands, which were resting on his lap, were clenched into fists. He suddenly remembered the servant's report to him a few days ago.
To say that Steward Chen was caught having an affair with his concubine, I'm afraid Steward Chen is probably sneaking into some slut's bed again right now.
The thought that bastard dared to do such a thing in broad daylight, even when he was around, made him furious, and his face turned from green to black.
It took him a while to suppress his anger, and he said expressionlessly, "Since Steward Chen went to find a celestial being for Young Master Lin, then forget it, there's no need to look anymore."
If you see him later, have Butler Chen come to see me directly.
The most important thing right now is Lin Yan'an. As for the matter of Steward Chen and his concubine, he can deal with it slowly. They're just a pair of adulterers, not worth getting angry about.
If he really took Lin Yan'an to find someone, wouldn't that person find out about his affair? Where would he put his face then?
The servant acknowledged and quickly withdrew.
Seeing this, Liu'er was stunned for a moment, but didn't say much. Just as she was about to leave, she looked up and met Lin Yan'an's gaze. He glared at her fiercely, leaving her completely bewildered.
Too lazy to think about it any further, I simply logged out.
Seeing this, Lin Yan'an snorted coldly, muttered a few curses at the ugly maid, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Although we don't know what Jiang Yimian and the others are up to, the disappearance of Butler Chen is definitely related to them.
If Zhu Shichang really went to look for him, he would search the entire estate and still not find him, which might make him suspicious.
He needs to stall for time.
It would be best if Zhu Shichang didn't have time to react, or if he realized the loopholes in his words later.
Thinking it over, he just smiled and said, "Since Lord Zhu wants to discuss business, how can we do without some music? Wouldn't it be wonderful to listen to music while we talk?"
Zhu Shichang was preoccupied with which concubine had gotten involved with Steward Chen, and didn't listen to what the other party was saying. He simply instructed the people outside, "Do as Young Master Lin says."
A moment later, a pretty young woman walked in carrying a pipa. Lin Yan'an casually picked a piece of music and then leaned back lazily in his chair, secretly observing Zhu Shichang.
Seeing that the other person's face remained pale and that they seemed distracted, I found it both amusing and worrying.
He didn't have much time to stall. If Zhu Shichang realized what was happening and went to find someone, he and a few guards wouldn't be able to stop him at all.
Now he can only hope that his helper will arrive soon.
*
Inside the mine, Jiang Yimian and her companions avoided many people looking for them, constantly moving between several tunnels.
Hearing the various chaotic footsteps around him, Zhao Xiaonian felt a sense of fear and said in a low voice with dissatisfaction, "What exactly do you want to do? If we are discovered, we will all die."
"If you want to die, don't get me and Uncle Jiang involved."
Although there was a high chance of dying on the mountain, at least he could live a few more days, and he didn't want to die now.
Jiang Yimian glanced at him and, seeing that he genuinely cared about Jiang Dazhuang, patiently reassured him, "Don't worry, nothing will happen. Just stay close to us."
Zhao Xiaonian was somewhat skeptical, but there was no other way at the moment.
Chaos had broken out in the mine. If he went back, not only would Uncle Jiang be discovered, but he might also be suspected of trying to escape, and he wouldn't survive. He had no choice but to go with them for now.
Thinking it over, he moved closer to Wang Jinbao and asked curiously, "How did you know there were other ways out? When did you go there?"
During the past six months he had been up the mountain, he had been to almost all the caves in the mine, and he had no idea what the place Wang Jinbao was talking about was, let alone discover any other way out of the mine.
He is now very doubtful.
Wang Jinbao only looked at the few caves in front of him, and as he walked towards the innermost one, he said, "You came up the mountain too late, it's normal that you don't know."
In order to get down the mountain, he would always find opportunities to look around. At that time, the mountain was not very big, and he learned about the place early on.
Although the location has changed several times in recent years, there is a road connecting each mine, seemingly to facilitate the transportation of iron ore.
Although he didn't know what that place was for, he would always look for that road whenever a new mine opened.
Zhao Xiaonian was startled and glanced at the person next to him with a strange look. "How long have you been here? The longest I've seen is only two years, which was when I first came up the mountain. I guess he's long gone by now."
"Have you been with him longer than that person?"
Wang Jinbao didn't say anything. He hadn't just stayed on the mountain for two years; it had been a full three years. In fact, the first batch of ore was dug out by people from his village.
However, over those two hundred-plus people gradually died over the past three years, and now there are very few left, so few that you can count them on one hand.
Seeing that he ignored her, Zhao Xiaonian lost interest in asking questions and carefully followed the group, nervously looking around, afraid of falling behind and being captured.
The group wandered further and further off the beaten path, encountering fewer and fewer miners along the way. Eventually, even the calls for help became indistinct.
The group walked in silence for almost half an hour before finally arriving at the place Wang Jinbao had mentioned.
Several shirtless men, all with muscular builds, were standing at the corner, chatting against the stone wall.
There were also quite a few people walking around looking around, clearly a patrol team.
Meanwhile, from the cave just a wall away, a series of loud, banging sounds were coming from inside.
Wang Jinbao pointed to the stone wall and whispered, "They're crushing ore in here. I don't know about the cave over there. There's a wooden door blocking it, and they close it quickly every time someone comes out. I'm not sure what they're doing there, maybe they're smelting iron."
Zhao Xiaonian exclaimed softly, "Smelting iron? What are they planning to do? Sell it to blacksmith shops to make money?"
If he hadn't come here today, he would have had no idea why these people on the mountain were making them dig so much iron ore; he only thought they wanted to exchange it for silver.
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