Chapter 210: Escape
Everyone couldn't help but look towards the source of the sound.
Qu Wenmin appeared at the gate of the village on horseback, followed by several light cavalrymen.
Upon seeing this, the leading officer immediately dismounted, knelt down, and said, "General! I didn't know you were coming here in person. Please forgive me!"
Qu Wenmin glanced at Chen Fenghe and said calmly, "No need to be so polite, Commander Xu. Get up."
Chen Fenghe glanced at Qu Wenmin and his entourage and noticed that the masked man, known as "Master," wasn't among them. She then calmly glanced at the bandits, only to see a look of relief on their faces.
Lieutenant Xu stood up, clasped his fists, and reported, "General, I was just about to send these rebellious people..."
Qu Wenmin's face was icy, and he said coldly, "Captain Xu, did you not listen to a word this general said?"
Commander Xu was stunned for a moment, subconsciously glancing at the bandit who had previously claimed to have information about the Northern Rong spy. Then, he suddenly came to his senses and fell to his knees with a thump: "Damn you, subordinate!"
At this time, several other soldiers were walking over from a distance with a woman and several children.
Chen Fenghe looked over. Who else could it be but Qin Mengyue and the three little guys?
Qin Mengyue saw Chen Fenghe and Xiao Yunshuo standing beside her, and couldn't help but cried out with sobs: "Fenghe..."
"Sister!"
"Sister-in-law!"
Shen Yichuan, Shen Qingxing, and Xiao Yunhao also cried out in tears.
Qu Wenmin finally dismounted and clasped his fists towards Qin Mengyue, saying, "My… Miss, I'm sorry to have frightened you. I'm late."
Chen Fenghe frowned slightly. What was Qu Wenmin up to?
Speaking of which, when they were abducted here, those people kept saying that they couldn't be touched. It was obvious that they were instructed by someone.
She originally thought that it was Qu Wenmin who secretly instructed them to kill them so that she could win credit to the emperor or the prince he supported.
But if this was the intention, why would he save Qin Mengyue and her?
Qin Mengyue, however, had no doubts. She nodded slightly towards Qu Wenmin and said gratefully, "Thank you, General Qu, for saving us! I've already said before that I'm no longer a queen, nor a young lady. General Qu, please don't address me that anymore. Just call me Madam Qin like everyone else, to avoid giving people a reason to talk and bringing disaster upon yourself."
Upon hearing this, Qu Wenmin looked up at Qin Mengyue with a strange look before saying, "Mrs. Qin, Madam Qin."
Qin Mengyue nodded, walked towards Chen Fenghe, grabbed her hand, and quickly glanced at Xiao Yunshuo before whispering in fear, "You...are all fine, so I'm relieved."
Qu Wenmin coughed twice and said, "Captain Xu, what are you still standing there for? These bandits are illegally mining gold and kidnapping innocent people. Their crimes are heinous. Why don't you arrest them immediately?"
When the bandits heard this, they couldn't help but be stunned.
Then, someone said impatiently, "General..."
However, before he could finish his words, one of Qu Wenmin's followers shouted, "You bold bandits! How dare you make such a commotion! Silence them!"
Immediately a soldier stepped forward, stepped on him to the ground, and then picked up a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his mouth. How could he utter a word?
The attendant then continued in a loud voice: "Listen up, all you bandits! You've illegally mined gold and kidnapped innocent people. This is already a capital crime! If you dare say another word, even your entire family will be beheaded along with you! I advise you to surrender! Otherwise, you will all be executed on the spot without mercy!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the "bandits" could not help but look at Qu Wenmin angrily, but no one said a word.
A sneer appeared on the corner of Chen Fenghe's lips.
It seemed that these bandits had become abandoned. His words just now were clearly a warning to them not to talk nonsense, otherwise, not only would they die, but their families would also die.
Seeing that no one dared to say anything more, Qu Wenmin's expression eased a little.
He sighed inwardly.
These "bandits" are all his trusted followers, otherwise they would not have been sent here to mine gold.
But if anyone is to blame, it's because they are too stupid. One hundred thousand taels of gold were lost without even knowing how they were lost, and even he aroused the suspicion of his master!
The "master" had just ordered that they be tortured to extract confessions. It would be futile for him to protect them now; it would be better to make the best use of them!
Moreover, listening to what Shen Fenghe said just now, it is clear that he has already suspected that these bandits are members of the army. It can be seen that the matter has been exposed. In this situation, there are only two options.
One is to kill all these coolies, including the former queen, the crown princess, and the ninth prince, so that no news of what happened tonight can be leaked out!
But... the former Queen, Crown Princess and Ninth Prince died during exile. Even if the current emperor is happy to see it happen, he must give an explanation to the people of the world.
His Majesty will naturally order a thorough investigation. By then, he will not only bear the blame for killing the Empress, the Crown Princess, and the Ninth Prince, but the illegal mining of gold will no longer be covered up, and his family will be destroyed and his property will be confiscated!
Therefore, from the very beginning, this road was a dead end.
He could only sacrifice his own followers to protect himself!
Thinking of this, Qu Wenmin couldn't help but feel a little regretful that he shouldn't have asked someone to bring Qin Mengyue and others here.
I got carried away for a moment and ended up making things worse!
However... after digging the gold mine, these followers would have to be killed. It was just a matter of time.
What annoyed him even more was that his 'master' came to visit suddenly and check the gold mine, but he happened to find that the entire warehouse of 100,000 taels of gold had been emptied, which made his 'master' suspicious of him.
Things have come to this point, and Qu Wenmin has no choice but to take things one step at a time.
Those "bandits" were quickly arrested and sent to the torture room that already existed in the village to be severely tortured.
As for the coolies, their weapons were confiscated and they were temporarily locked up in the yard.
Qin Mengyue couldn't help but ask, "General Qu, these people were forced to do hard labor in the mines for no reason. Thanks to your help, they were able to escape and reunite with their families. I hope you can send someone to escort them home safely. They will definitely spread the word about your achievements..."
Qu Wenmin's eyes twitched almost inaudibly before he smiled and said, "Madam Qin is absolutely right. I will take care of this matter myself."
Chen Fenghe watched coldly from the side, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised at Qin Mengyue's influence on Qu Wenmin...it was really great.
If she were Qu Wenmin, even if she couldn't do anything to Qin Mengyue, Xiao Yunhao and her, the safest thing would be to kill as many people present today as possible to silence them.
Qu Wenmin agreed to Qin Mengyue so readily?
Qu Wenmin then said, "Madam Qin, you must have suffered a lot along the way. I see there is a kitchen and plenty of food in this village. Let them prepare some food for you."
Qin Mengyue immediately shook her head and refused, "General Qu is still very considerate. But it's not necessary. My status is sensitive now. If General Qu takes too much care of us, it will inevitably give people a reason to criticize me..."
Qu Wenmin looked at her for a moment before saying, "In that case, I'll ask them to prepare a few steamed buns and some simple side dishes. That's fine, right? Even if Madam Qin doesn't think about herself, she should at least think about the nine... the children, right? If the eldest lady refuses again, I don't know what to do..."
Qin Mengyue couldn't help but sigh when he mentioned the eldest lady again. She could only say, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you, General."
Qin Mengyue, Shen Fenghe and the three little ones were placed in a separate room.
Sure enough, after a while, two soldiers came in with food boxes and placed several home-cooked dishes on the table.
Although it is a home-cooked dish, it is more refined than ordinary food.
A few bowls of glutinous rice, a plate of fried tofu, a plate of stir-fried bacon with dried beans, a plate of pickled radish, and a plate of stewed egg with mushrooms.
Qin Mengyue looked at the mushroom stewed eggs on the table and was startled. She couldn't help but say with a somewhat sad look on her face, "It's hard for him to remember what I like to eat."
Chen Fenghe slowly put the rice into her mouth, not knowing whether to respond or not.
It seems... my intuition might be right...
After two nights and one day of tossing and turning, Chen Fenghe was exhausted. After dinner, she just touched the pillow and fell asleep.
Of course, she had developed a habit in the army, so no matter how deep her sleep was, she would wake up immediately if there was any movement.
However, the "rumbling" sound in the second half of the night was earth-shattering, and even the deepest sleepers would probably wake up.
Chen Fenghe and the others rushed out and saw that the mine, which had been dug hollow, collapsed with a loud bang for some reason!
Fortunately, everyone slept far away from each other, otherwise there would have been countless casualties.
Lieutenant Xu sent someone to investigate for a while, then returned, riding his horse and pacing among the crowd, saying, "This mountain has collapsed due to years of corrosion! Everyone, when you go back, it's best to keep your mouths shut. Just say you were captured by bandits and brought up the mountain to dig for rocks, and that's fine. If you say anything about the gold mine, you'll lose your head!"
Shen Fenghe listened quietly, a sneer on his lips.
It was hard to say whether the mine had collapsed on its own. Although she had emptied the warehouse of explosives, these soldiers could certainly bring some more.
However, not revealing that they were captured to dig for gold—even though Qu Wenmin deliberately frightened them in order to cover up the secret—was indeed for the good of the lives of those captured.
After listening to this, Chen Fenghe went back to sleep.
Anyway, the gold and gold ore are all in her space. Although this wave of troubles has not been found out who the "master" is, it is not a loss.
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