Chapter 134 Buried Alive
His eyes were wide open, his hair was messy like weeds, and he looked like a bandit.
I have to admit that some people do have the potential to be bullies. They are clearly reporting others, but in the end they make people think that they are the defendant.
Zhao Yuanxi didn't believe You Caitie or Cheng Kuan. She only believed in evidence. "You said he stole and sold government-made ironware. Do you have any evidence?"
Cheng Kuan quickly replied, "I have smelted a lot of ironware for Cai Tie Ling, and now I am hiding it in the cave behind."
Zhao Yuanxi was talking to him, but his peripheral vision was paying attention to You Caitie's expression. Seeing a flash of panic on his face, he said, "You lead the way, we'll go take a look."
You Cai Tiedao said, "Your Majesty! I know I am seriously suspected. If I try to stop you, you will only distrust me more. However, the road there is dangerous and there is always the risk of falling debris. How can you dare to take such a risk yourself? This matter should be investigated by the county magistrate or prefect. If I have indeed committed such a heinous act, I will die as an apology."
Zhao Yuanxi smiled and said, "Of course I'd rather believe you. Since you have a clear conscience, let's go and see if that proves your innocence. As for those broken stones, I think I'm lucky; they shouldn't hit me."
You Caitie's face darkened.
All the prisoners who had just rioted had been caught and were hung on beams, and the overseers were whipping them with whips.
The wailing sounds that came one after another made one's scalp tingle.
Cheng Kuan also felt a chill on his back. He almost died here.
He subconsciously moved closer to Zhao Yuanxi, and caught a glimpse of the empress dowager's cold face from the corner of his eye, but felt very relieved.
Zhang Han saw him getting closer and closer, and immediately put his long spear across his neck, "Behave yourself."
Cheng Kuan was frightened and moved to the side reluctantly.
You Caitie followed behind, looking at Zhao Yuanxi's back, with a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.
The cave is located at the foot of the mountain, close to a river with several fishing boats floating on the river.
The entrance to the cave was not deep, and one could see the bottom at a glance from outside. Things inside were scattered all over the floor, and even the furnace had gone out. There was nothing left except some ores.
Zhao Yuanxi walked in slowly, the gravel under her feet creaking. She suddenly squatted down and picked up a piece of gravel.
"How is that possible? Where are those things? I clearly packed them all!" Cheng Kuan was stunned and glared at You Caitie angrily, "Did you send someone to move the things away in advance?"
You Caitie was unhurried. "It's unfair! Queen Mother, I've been with you the entire time. How could I have the time to order others to move things away? Honestly, this place was originally a resting place for the prisoners. Later, I thought it was spacious and close to the mines, so I added a furnace here for convenience!"
"If the Queen Mother doesn't believe me, you can look through the account books here. The annual output of ironware from this kiln is recorded."
"I am old now and just want to live a peaceful life. How dare I do something like this that will cost me my life!"
His words were so sincere that Zhao Yuanxi could hardly help but believe them. She asked, "Zhang Han, what do you think?"
Zhang Han looked around, his eyes finally landing on a wooden box next to the ore pile. He took two steps forward, lifted the wooden board, and picked up a black stone. "Iron Mining Order, is this Shi Nie?"
Stone, that is, coal, is often used as fuel for smelting metals.
The mined coal contains a large amount of sulfide, and there is currently no desulfurization technology, so it is not widely used as a fuel for ordinary people's lives, but is only used in workshops for smelting iron and copper.
It is not surprising that there are coal blocks here, but Zhang Han remembered that there is no coal production here. These coal blocks must have been transported in from outside. However, he just looked through the account book and there was no record of coal blocks in the account book. Charcoal was still used.
So where does this coal come from?
Zhao Yuanxi spread out her hands, revealing the small piece of coal slag she had just picked up, and couldn't help but smile, "Caitieling, can you first explain where this coal came from?"
You Caitie took a few steps back, looking flustered. "This, this is of course what I bought for iron smelting!"
"Then why is this coal not recorded?" Zhang Han asked.
"minister--"
"Oh no, he's trying to run away!" Zhang Han rushed forward to catch him, but unexpectedly, rubble fell from the top of the cave and stopped him.
A large number of rocks fell, and Zhang Han, who was closest to the cave entrance, was hit in the chest.
If Li had not acted quickly and pulled him back, Zhang Han would have been almost buried alive by those stones.
It was not until the last huge rock blocked the cave entrance and blocked out the last ray of sunlight that the sound of the stones falling to the ground gradually subsided.
Everywhere has been blocked.
The surroundings were pitch black, and the faint sound of You Caitie's triumphant laughter could be heard. "Your Majesty, I'm so sorry! You didn't have to die, but you insisted on following me. I couldn't do anything about it."
"I didn't want to make a big deal out of this, but you forced me to do it!"
"If you don't die today, I will be the one to die."
"Don't worry! No one can find you. Everyone here is my people. Even if the king sends people to investigate, they can only find that you, Queen Mother, disappeared after leaving my place. I have nothing to do with you."
Jang Geum took out a lighter and the faint light illuminated everyone's faces.
"Empress Dowager, are you okay?" Jang Geum made a fire stick and stuck it into the cave entrance to illuminate the surroundings.
Zhao Yuanxi shook her head, her face looking really bad. She was too aggressive!
Since ancient times, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. She was too confident in herself, or rather, too confident in her identity, and forgot that those who did bad things did not follow the rules.
Water suddenly rushed into the cave.
The water gathered in the cave, soaking their shoes and socks.
Zhang Han was badly injured just now. Being supported by Li, he spoke with difficulty, "Queen Dowager, they are going to flood this place. We must find a way to get out first."
Most of the space in the cave has been blocked by rocks, and the remaining space is not large. As the water level rises, they can only wait for death.
Everyone started moving stones.
Cheng Kuan, who was most familiar with the place, said, "I know there is another way."
Everyone looked at him.
"That old thief is very evil. The prisoners here are either tortured to death or killed by him after serving their sentences. I am just in case." Cheng Kuan was quite proud.
The reason he was able to survive until today under that old man's hands was not just due to his brute force.
Cheng Kuan moved the rocks behind the iron smelting furnace, revealing a passage that was only wide enough for one person to pass through. "This road leads to the cliff by the river. Once we get to the cliff, we can jump in, find a way to get ashore, and then kill that old thief."
"These are all stones, how did you dig them out?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"I have a chisel. Those people here don't come here often. Although there are guards at the entrance, they only guard those who come in. My brothers and I dug for almost a year before we dug this cave through."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
