Su Rong’s reputation in Daliang had already spread like thunder, boosted by the rising influence of the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince becoming a firm heir to the throne. Even in the bleak city of Nanhuai, her fame was ringing loudly.
Upon hearing this, Su Rong stopped denying, "Then, thank you, your honor."
The official hurriedly replied, "Lady Su Qi, you are too polite. Please."
Su Rong nodded.
Then, led by the official, Su Rong set off for the Stone Quarry. Ning Ze, being fond of bustling activity, trailed behind Fen Ling and also followed.
On the way, the official asked tentatively, "Lady Su Qi, your large troop here is for..."
Su Rong glanced at him, "Are you curious, your honor?"
The official shuddered at once and quickly responded, "No, I am not curious."
His back was drenched in cold sweat from Su Rong’s glance. He desperately tried to recall if he had committed any serious crimes against the Imperial Court during his years as an official in Nanhuai City. He thought he hadn’t, but he couldn’t deny that he had committed smaller crimes such as embezzlement and accepting bribes. After all, those who were banished here by the Imperial Court were sinners, so oppressing them wasn’t a big deal, was it? After all, if he wasn’t strict in regulating the people here, there were frequently escaping criminals. He needed to rule this place tightly so that no one dared to run away.
"Don’t worry, your honor, I didn’t come for you." Su Rong offered him some reassurance.
The official was deeply moved by her words. His entire being came back to life hearing them. While wiping the sweat from his face he said, "Thanks, Lady Su Qi. Our Nanhuai City is desolate, freezing cold and impoverished. The criminals here are of all kinds - powerful bandits, humble soldiers, fallen bureaucrats and their families. Sometimes, I have to resort to some extraordinary measures out of necessity. Otherwise, I can’t control them."
Su Rong nodded. She understood the logic that without filth, there would be no fish. Crown Prince Yan Huisheng understood it even more.
In the Stone Quarry, despite the intense cold, the soldiers wielded whips to spur on the criminals who were slacking off or immobilized by labor. Everywhere you looked, the whole mountain was filled with scantily clad people forced into labor by the soldiers.
The official cautiously said, "Lord Thursday of the Duke Residence once sent a message, asking me to show some concern for the Qin Family, especially Qin Ruo. I didn’t want to offend Lord Thursday, so I arranged for the Qin Family to do some lighter work. I originally assigned Qin Ruo with accounting work, but he was concerned for his mother and traded the work with her, which was to load rubble into buckets."
Su Rong nodded.
The official glanced at Su Rong’s expression, seeing her expression remained unchanged, he felt somewhat relieved. He signaled a man behind him, "Bring Qin Ruo here quickly."
One person responded and left right away.
The official said to Su Rong, "The path ahead is difficult. At any moment, small stones could fall from the mountains. Please, Lady Su Qi, let’s wait here!"
Su Rong nodded, "All right."
She observed the environment in front of her without surprise. Criminals in such a harsh environment lived like this, working from sunrise and not necessarily resting at sunset. Those banished here by the Imperial Court were not allowed to leave without summons or amnesty.
She was here for Qin Ruo and didn’t plan to break the rules here.
"There are warm tents over there. Lady Su Qi, shall we wait in a warm tent?" The official asked again.
Su Rong had no objection and nodded.
The warm tent was meant for the foremen to rest. It was quite crude but thankfully, it was neat and not dirty.
The official waved his hand, asking everyone in the warm tent to leave, and then he invited Su Rong to sit inside.
Someone brought over hot tea, but Su Rong wasn’t thirsty and didn’t touch it. Fen Ling and Ning Ze, however, each drank two bowls and sat around the stove, examining it.
Fen Ling commented, "This stove is quite useful. It’s different from the ones sold in the market. The air outlet is not large, so it doesn’t produce a lot of smoke, but it has excellent ventilation, and the coals inside burn very vigorously. This stove is interesting."
"It’s because there is a heating channel underneath, which connects to the firebox. The smoke goes out from the exit on the top of the firebox, making the stove well-ventilated and long-burning." The official explained, "Qin Ruo had the stove modified when he arrived. Therefore, even though I had spoken out, the foremen supervising this area looked after him quite well, and he didn’t suffer much. By extension, the Qin family fared slightly better than others."
Of course, it was only slightly better.
That slight advantage came partly from the face given by Lord Thursday, who was thousands of miles away in the Capital city, and partly from Qin Ruo’s own capabilities. Otherwise, in such a harsh place, where people were ground down without any repercussions, no one’s face would be that useful.
In such a place, death was a daily occurrence. It was not unprecedented for ten or eight people to die in a day.
About half an hour later, the man sent by the official escorted an extremely thin young man. The young man was thinly dressed, his hands and face were purple from cold, his hands had frostbite, and his face also had a small area of broken skin, probably caused by falling rocks on the face, as mentioned by the official.
Even being in this state, his good looks were not diminished.
His clothes were tidy and not shabby. Presumably, in the Stone Quarry, this was considered as a decent appearance.
Fen Ling turned his head and said to Ning Ze, "Wow, he’s better looking than you."
Ning Ze glared, "I have not offended you. Why are you bringing me up to humiliate me?"
Fen Ling chuckled, "It’s the truth."
Ning Ze snorted.
When the official saw Qin Ruo arrive, he immediately stood up, "Qin Ruo, this is Lady Su Qi, Su Rong. You must have heard of her, she is the daughter of the Inspector Residence of Jiangzhou and also the Princess of Nanchu."
Although the Emperor, due to the depleted treasury, has not yet dared to announce Su Rong’s identity to the world, fearing that Dawei would use this as an excuse to attack Daliang. However, everyone in Daliang, court and country, except for a few civilians and those hiding in the remote mountains, had already heard of her widely speculated identity as the Nanchu Princess.
Even those born in the bleak city of Nanhuai had heard the rumors, which had quickly spread over there. The criminals, during their limited free time, would also catch fragments of the soldiers’ chatter and casual talk.
Qin Ruo himself was working when he was called by the official. He had no idea why he was being summoned. On the way, he asked about it. The official’s messenger gave him a hint, mentioning a lady who wanted to see him. He didn’t know who she was exactly, but he saw how the official was subservient and deferential towards her, indicating that she was an important person. That’s all he knew.
Qin Ruo guessed that it was his sister who had entered the Eastern Palace, but soon dismissed that idea. Qin Luan would not go this far, and she wasn’t at a position to bring the official to his knees. She was just a female officer in the Eastern Palace.
Qin Ruo couldn’t figure out who she was, so he stopped guessing. When he arrived at the warm tent and saw Su Rong—who he didn’t recognize—and heard the official introduce her identity, he was amazed and surprised. Of course, he knew about Lady Su Qi. Almost all the rumors of the past six months had been about her. However, he did not understand why she sought him out.
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