Chapter 47 He didn't care if others laughed at him, but...
Although they were reluctant and worried, neither Shen Lingyue nor Yan Yi asked them to stay.
We still don't know what the situation is like in the mine. There are so many Imperial Guards sent on orders, and so many miners being cruelly enslaved. Human lives are at stake, and the situation is urgent.
For the first time, Yan Yi complained about not working hard enough: "If only I had read more books back then."
She bombarded Pei Jingyi with all the information she could think of regarding mine collapses, heavy metal poisoning, disaster preparedness plans, and various other countermeasures.
Pei Jingyi's deep and focused gaze remained fixed on her. As Yan Yi spoke of those obscure facts that seemed to be outside her comprehension, a slight ripple arose in his heart, which he quickly suppressed.
...She cares about him and his safety, which is why she is so open and honest with him.
This was a side of Yan Yi that Pei Jingyi had never seen before, yet it fascinated him even more.
"Okay, I've written it all down."
He earnestly assured her, made a solemn promise, turned and left, his pace gradually quickening, yet remaining steadfast and composed.
Yan Yi watched his receding figure, feeling empty inside. She unconsciously clenched her fists until a slight sting brought her back to her senses. She composed herself and regained her usual calm demeanor.
She said to Shen Lingyue, "I remember there was a small pond on the way here. It was in a low-lying, sheltered spot. Let's go there and wait for news."
The place where they were standing had just been affected by the aftershocks of the explosion, and it was uncertain whether toxic fumes would drift over. For safety's sake, they decided to move further away.
Shen Lingyue had just seen Pei Jinghuai off and was feeling flustered, so she subconsciously followed Yan Yi's instructions.
The two led the little fox back a short distance and came to the edge of the pool, where they wet the handkerchiefs they carried with them for later use.
Shen Lingyue approached the water and sniffed. "Strange, this place is clearly closer to the mine, so why doesn't it smell of pollution?"
"Maybe the groundwater isn't connected," Yan Yi guessed casually. Just then, the little fox jumped in excitedly, its fur shaking wildly and splashing them with water.
"Scarf!" Shen Lingyue shouted, covering her face. "Don't think I won't hit you just because you did something good today!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The little fox intensified its antics, splashing around incessantly in the pool, then lowering its body to plunge into the water, making Lingyue chirp incessantly, its large tail swung out, leaving afterimages.
To Yan Yi, it sounded exactly like the classic line, "Your Majesty, come and chase me!"
She chuckled at her own imagination, and as she watched Shen Lingyue leap down to catch the fox with boundless energy, her worries seemed to wash away like water.
...
Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai rushed back to the grove where they had been hiding, only to find it in complete chaos. Looking down into the mine, they saw thick black smoke billowing upwards, with a few flickering lights visible in the distance.
He grabbed a passing Imperial Guard and asked, "What's going on? Weren't you supposed to wait for us to come back before taking action?"
"Lord Pei?" The Imperial Guard rubbed his smoke-reddened eyes before recognizing the two men with handkerchiefs covering their faces. He spoke rapidly, "A guard slipped into the woods to hide something and accidentally discovered our trail. Brothers, we were a step too slow and didn't have time to silence him. He fired a signal flare..."
Despite spending their days in remote, untouched mountains, these guards are well aware that they are engaged in a life-threatening crime, and each of them is a desperate man.
As soon as the signal flare was fired and the whistle blared across the sky, Yang Han, the commander of the Imperial Guards, knew things were about to go wrong. He immediately ordered his men to rush down and arrest the men.
The area below was already in chaos due to the small landslide earlier, and now, with the warning flare, the guards immediately began to scatter in all directions, ruthlessly cutting down any miners who blocked their escape route.
One of the guards, cornered by several Imperial Guards, knew escape was impossible. Without a second thought, he pulled a tinderbox from his robes and threw it towards a nearby house, grinning maliciously, "If we're going to die, we'll die together—"
The detonators from the previous batch, which hadn't yet been transported out of the mountains, were stored there.
The explosion was deafening. Several Imperial Guards who were closest to the scene died instantly, while those who were a little further away were blasted away by the blast wave, landing in a daze and unable to get up for a long time, groaning incessantly.
The explosion triggered a chain reaction in the mine, burying some of the miners who had just rushed in to rescue others.
The already narrow mine entrance had collapsed, making it difficult to enter. Soon after, acrid fumes, mixed with billowing black smoke from the explosion, began to drift out from the gaps, filling the air. Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai, their faces covered with damp handkerchiefs, rushed into the crowd below and immediately shouted warnings to take precautions, hold their breath, and try to drag people away from the smoke area, telling them not to linger.
Amidst the chaos, they finally found the centurion Yang Han, who was already bruised and battered, his clothes torn in several places, and his face smeared with soot.
"Lord Pei, what should we do now?"
Yang Han looked annoyed. He thought it was a simple task to catch someone, but it turned out to be such a big problem.
Pei Jingyi pondered for a moment and quickly made a decision: "We should not stay here for long. Let the miners who have not gone down the mine evacuate first, and capture a few guards alive to interrogate them slowly in the forest."
Yan Yi said that the toxic gas produced by the cinnabar explosion could penetrate even exposed skin.
To make it easier for miners to work underground, they usually wear shirtless...
Pei Jingyi had no time to think it through; he could only do his best to get as many people away from here as possible.
"Run! They've gone mad!"
Suddenly, a terrified scream came from afar. Pei Jingyi looked in the direction of the sound and saw dozens of swaying, dark-faced figures suddenly rushing out from the billowing black smoke. They seemed to be out of their minds and pounced on people to tear them apart.
Pei Jinghuai was startled and blurted out, "A zombie!"
Yang Han's expression also changed. "Could it really be possession by an evil spirit?"
Local folklore says that mining disturbs the earth's veins and alarms the mountain god, and there are often legends of spirits and monsters in these deep mountains...
He began to regret it, thinking, "I should have gone to the Imperial Observatory to borrow someone."
I was in such a rush to leave that I forgot to bring the amulet my wife got for me.
"What zombies? Those are miners poisoned by cinnabar." Pei Jingyi glared at his younger brother speechlessly. "Don't demoralize the troops."
"Oh, okay." Pei Jinghuai breathed a sigh of relief. If it's just a person, then it's easy to deal with!
Unable to contain himself, he rushed out, as if entering an empty field, slashing left and right, swiftly and decisively knocking out several miners and dragging them away.
The Imperial Guard squad also recovered from their initial chaos, listening to Yang Han and Pei Jingyi's orderly arrangements and commands: extinguishing fires, rescuing people, arresting people, and retreating.
Pei Jingyi calmly instructed: "Only save the survivors. We'll count the casualties once the smoke clears. We need to be quick."
...
Neither Pei Jingyi nor Pei Jinghuai participated in the subsequent interrogations and searches.
These are all tasks assigned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and they will report the results directly to Emperor Qingxi.
Both of them were eager to return home and wanted to get down the mountain as soon as possible.
Pei Jinghuai took off his smoke-blackened face mask, turned his head away, and coughed a few times.
Pei Jingyi frowned slightly. "How are you feeling? I told you not to run so far, but you wouldn't come back no matter how much I called you."
“It’s alright, did you forget I can hold my breath?” Pei Jinghuai waved his hand and said, “I remember there’s a small pond halfway down the mountain, let’s go there and tidy up a bit before we go down.”
Although he and Pei Jingyi didn't have to be at the forefront, being in that environment, they were covered in dirt and grime, and their hair was covered in a layer of dust, making them feel stuffy and uncomfortable.
Pei Jingyi has always been particular about cleanliness, and even if his younger brother hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't want to go back to see Yan Yi in such a disheveled state, so naturally he had no objections.
So the two of them headed straight for the small pond.
Then he unexpectedly ran into Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi, who were grilling fish on the shore.
Snap.
The stick she was using to string fish fell to the ground. She stood up and asked incredulously, "How did you all get like this?"
They left as two dashing young men, how did they end up accidentally wandering into a black coal mine?
The little fox got a bargain, snatched the half-cooked grilled fish, and ran away.
Pei Jinghuai's mind raced, and he immediately said, "Didn't I tell you to go down the mountain first? Why are you having a picnic?"
The worry on Shen Lingyue's face vanished instantly, and she said angrily, "Wasn't it all because I was waiting for you guys!"
She and Yan Yi can't just eat pancakes and drink cold water all day, can they?
She beckoned fiercely to Pei Jinghuai, "Come here and let me take a look."
Pei Jinghuai dawdled over, letting Shen Lingyue pat him back and forth several times, and still had to explain: "I'm not injured, I'm really not injured."
Shen Lingyue was relieved after personally checking the fish, and snorted, "Go wash it quickly, I'll grill it for you after it's clean... Hey, where's my fish?"
...
The four of them didn't descend the mountain until after dark. Under the cover of darkness, no one in the village noticed anything amiss, assuming they had lost track of time while playing in the mountains.
Shen Lingyue randomly grabbed a farmer who was returning home from work in the fields and asked him if he had heard any noises during the day.
The man recalled for a moment and shook his head: "No, I just heard two muffled claps of thunder. I thought it was going to rain, but it didn't rain after I waited for a long time."
Shen Lingyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief and went back to Yan Yi and said, "It's alright. It seems that the commotion from the mine won't easily reach the bottom of the mountain."
Yan Yi nodded: "After all, there's a mountain between us, otherwise the people on the estate would have noticed something was wrong long ago."
Back in my room, this thrilling day was finally coming to an end.
Shen Lingyue was soaking in the bathtub and didn't even know when she fell asleep. In the end, Pei Jinghuai carried her to bed.
The next afternoon, the two young couples who had "gone out of town for sightseeing" finally returned to the Marquis's residence.
Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai didn't even enter the gate of the Marquis's residence; their carriage turned around and headed straight for the palace.
Pei Jinghuai was still unhappy, "Why don't you just go and report to His Majesty?"
He wanted to get back to Danyue Pavilion as soon as possible and get a good night's sleep.
The bed in the manor was too hard and too narrow; he hadn't slept well for several days.
Pei Jingyi looked at him, silently gathering his inner energy, reminding himself that this was his younger brother, his own younger brother.
"You're giving up your title, and you're even giving up the dignity your younger siblings should have when they go out to social events?"
Pei Jinghuai frowned. "What do you mean?"
Pei Jingyi glanced at him meaningfully and said, "If you continue to be so irresponsible and waste your days doing nothing, when your sister-in-law goes out to visit others, people will say behind her back that she has a really bad life, marrying a good-for-nothing playboy husband..."
Pei Jinghuai clenched his fist: "...Holy crap!"
It's just about getting close to the old emperor so you can get a minor official position sooner.
It doesn't matter if others laugh at him, but they can't laugh at his wife.
...
Shen Lingyue was unaware that Pei Jinghuai had suddenly decided to "strive for advancement." She and Yan Yi went to Tanghua Garden first.
Meng Wanyin's insomnia has worsened these past few days. She never expected that simply sending her daughter-in-law to check on a fishpond in Xiaowangzhuang would lead to such a big case.
While she worried about whether they were doing well on the estate and whether they might encounter any danger, she was also secretly relieved that Shen Lingyue was clever enough to notice the abnormality in the water source in time.
Otherwise, wouldn't the Marquis's mansion have to take the blame?
Seeing the two return safely, Meng Wanyin held one in each hand, looking them over from left to right, extremely satisfied.
"It's truly a stroke of good luck that Yunzhao and Huaizhou were able to marry you. The Pei family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke."
Upon learning that his son and daughter-in-law had returned home, Pei Xian, who had come all the way from the front yard to inquire about the news, thought: ...
He cleared his throat, pretended not to hear, and entered the room, asking the two in a friendly tone, "Was the trip smooth?"
Shen Lingyue slipped behind Yan Yi and gently poked her back.
—The homeroom teacher is calling on you to answer a question, you go first.
Yan Yi pursed her lips and answered Pei Xian's questions in an orderly manner.
Upon learning that Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai's first nighttime exploration of the mine had failed to uncover any information about the mastermind, Pei Xian's eyes fell into deep thought.
But after a brief silence, he resumed his kind and amiable elder demeanor, saying, "You have done a great service to the family, averting a major disaster ahead of schedule. It is truly a blessing for the Pei family."
He looked at Meng Wanyin and said, "Take two hundred taels of silver from my account and give it to my two wives to calm their nerves."
Meng Wanyin immediately said, "Does the Marquis intend to give each of them two hundred taels? That would be four hundred taels."
Pei Xian: ...
He put his hands behind his back, coughed twice, and said, "Well, four hundred taels it is then."
At worst, I won't go out drinking with people this month.
Shen Lingyue hid behind Yan Yi, barely able to suppress the smile on her lips.
Who wouldn't like having more money? Well done, mother-in-law!
...
The Imperial Palace.
After listening to the Pei brothers' report, Emperor Qingxi gestured for them to rise and offered them seats and tea.
"Fortunately, you discovered it in time, otherwise this malignant tumor would have continued to run rampant under my nose for who knows how long."
In particular, Pei Jingyi explained to Emperor Qingxi in detail the harm that cinnabar poison could cause to the human body, which made him feel a sense of dread.
Those Taoist priests used realgar, cinnabar, and other similar stones to refine elixirs.
"The founding emperor left a will that any descendant of the Xiao family who dares to believe in alchemists, pursue the art of immortality, or take elixirs indiscriminately shall not be buried in the imperial mausoleum after death."
Although Emperor Qingxi knew he was getting old and increasingly felt powerless, he never thought of relying on elixirs to prolong his life.
He would occasionally summon the Taoist priests of the Celestial Master's Mansion to the palace for philosophical discussions, but at most he would learn some Taoist health preservation techniques, and he always kept his distance from elixirs.
Putting everything else aside, even the people in their own Celestial Master's Mansion frequently blow up their alchemy furnaces, so Emperor Qingxi doesn't trust them either.
Pei Jingyi sat below, his posture still upright. He carefully spoke, "Although cinnabar is poisonous, if used properly, it can also be a good medicine for calming the mind and soul. Your Majesty need not worry. However, it is necessary to remind the officials of the Ironworks to pay close attention to mining safety when managing the mines under their jurisdiction."
Emperor Qingxi nodded, "Go back and write a memorial, and bring it out at the next grand court assembly so that all departments can discuss it."
Illegal mining persists despite repeated crackdowns; who knows who the powerful figures behind these individuals are?
This is a good opportunity to send a warning to those evil spirits below; it's time to teach them a lesson.
Emperor Qingxi and Pei Jingyi exchanged questions and answers. Seeing that Pei Jingyi had a clear mind and answered fluently, Emperor Qingxi admired his nephew even more.
Turning my head, I saw Pei Jinghuai sitting next to me, sneakily hiding the pastries from the plate into his handkerchief.
Emperor Qingxi coughed. "Huaizhou, didn't you eat enough this morning? If not, I'll have someone bring you another plate."
Pei Jinghuai thought he had done it discreetly, but he was caught red-handed. He touched his ear sheepishly and said, "Your Majesty, I am not hungry. I just... thought my wife would like this dessert and wanted to take it back for her to try."
It's all because Shen Lingyue always talks about how delicious the imperial cuisine in the palace is.
Pei Jinghuai had just eaten a piece of pine nut pastry, and wanted to give her the remaining pieces to take home and try.
Emperor Qingxi was taken aback, then burst into laughter, teasing, "People who have married are different; Huaizhou knows how to cherish people now."
Pei Jinghuai wanted to find an excuse for himself, and then a thought struck him: "Your Majesty, this time it was thanks to my wife's quick wit and intelligence that she was able to discover the anomaly in the fishpond of the Marquis's estate that we were able to conduct the follow-up investigation. You are the Son of Heaven, possessing the wealth of the whole world, so it's not too much to reward her with a box of pastries, is it?"
Pei Jingyi stood up and apologized to Emperor Qingxi, "Your Majesty, Huai Zhou's words and actions were inappropriate. Please don't take it to heart."
"Hey, I've said it so many times, we don't need to be so careful with what we say among our own family."
Emperor Qingxi became interested. "Tell me in detail how your wife discovered the anomaly?"
Pei Jingyi's reports were all serious matters, which were to the point, but lacked some details.
He still remembered Pei Jinghuai's wife, the daughter of the Shen family. Last time she went to the palace to express her gratitude, she stared at Consort Gao in a daze, making the consort laugh heartily. When she returned, she was still praising the Shen family girl for her good taste.
Upon receiving Emperor Qingxi's message, Pei Jinghuai immediately perked up and showered him with praise.
Emperor Qingxi listened intently, "You rescued a little fox, and that fox even knew how to send a message to save its master?"
"Yes, our Weibo is so smart!"
Pei Jinghuai blurted it out, then slapped his lips.
Oh no, how did it actually become a scarf?
Emperor Qingxi was stunned for a moment before he realized what he meant, then pointed at Pei Jinghuai and laughed, “This name… is mischievous.”
Pei Jinghuai resigned himself to his fate. After praising Shen Lingyue and Weibo'er, he didn't forget to mention Yan Yi.
"My sister-in-law is also very smart. She is well-read and knows a lot. She taught Chen and my brother to cover their mouths and noses with wet cloths to avoid the poisonous smoke, and she even recognized those ores..."
His voice trailed off under Pei Jingyi's warning gaze. Suddenly realizing what he had done, he quickly changed the subject, "It's all because I'm not well-read and have little experience. I almost mistook pyrite for nugget gold, hahaha!"
Fortunately, Emperor Qingxi didn't think too much about it. Every young lady in the capital was well-read and had her own strengths. Otherwise, Princess Tong'an wouldn't have been able to establish Yunshao Girls' School, and she probably wouldn't have been able to hire many female scholars to teach there.
He listened for a long time, but he was still most interested in the little fox named Scarf.
"This fox is intelligent. The Imperial Concubine will surely like it. Have your wives bring it to the palace for her to see another day."
Pei Jingyi gently reminded her, "Your Majesty, this fox is shy and untamed. Even I was almost scratched by it. I'm afraid it might hurt the Imperial Concubine."
Emperor Qingxi had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea. At Pei Jinghuai's request, he bestowed upon Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi each a box of pastries and a box of pearl flowers as a reward for their "meritorious service".
Pei Jinghuai happily left the palace with the box of pastries in his arms, but only after getting into the carriage did he realize that he had forgotten to do something important.
"I also contributed a lot, why didn't His Majesty reward me?"
Pei Jingyi gave him a look of exasperation, "All you ever talk about is how intelligent and kind-hearted your sister-in-law is, how she's been rewarded. How could His Majesty possibly remember you?"
Pei Jinghuai curled his lip, unconvinced, and said, "Tch, I don't even care about such a small achievement. Next time, next time I will definitely do something bigger, so that His Majesty will reward me with something truly deserved."
Pei Jingyi closed his eyes and pinched the space between his eyebrows.
I'm tired, I can't carry it anymore.
...
After Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai left the palace, the smile on Emperor Qingxi's face gradually faded, and his expression slowly darkened.
"Where's Yang Han? Has he come back yet?"
"Your Majesty, Commander Yang just arrived and is waiting in the inner room."
"Summon him in."
Yang Baihu quickly entered the hall.
Emperor Qingxi asked, "What were the casualties in this operation? How many people were captured alive? Have the masterminds been identified?"
Yang Baihu reported back one by one, and added: "According to the guards' testimonies, they were only responsible for supervising the miners going down into the mines in the mountains, and there were also several skilled craftsmen who were responsible for manufacturing detonators. Every month, a middle-aged man would go into the mountains, take away the finished detonators, and bring them the next month's rations and raw materials."
"When is the next time we'll go into the mountains to transport detonators?"
"Three days later."
Emperor Qingxi nodded, "Then you shall wait in the mountains for three more days. You must capture this contact and find out his identity."
Yang Baihu accepted the order and was about to leave when Emperor Qingxi stopped him.
He narrowed his eyes, his tone slightly somber: "Based on your observation, was the Marquis of Changning's residence truly completely unaware of the mines in the mountains before?"
Yang Baihu shuddered and immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, I... I did carefully observe the reactions of the two young masters of the Pei family, but neither of them showed any unusual behavior throughout the entire process. Chief Pei was very discreet and did not interfere with the search at all. The second young master of the Pei family even took the lead and rescued several brothers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In my opinion, the two of them have absolutely no connection with the private mines."
Emperor Qingxi breathed a sigh of relief and waved for Commander Yang to leave.
Yang Baihu left the main hall and hadn't gone far when he ran into Prince An.
He quickly bowed in greeting.
Prince An recognized the Imperial Guard uniform he was wearing, and his smile faded slightly. He waved his hand reservedly and walked past him.
Yang Baihu didn't take it seriously. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was just a knife in the emperor's hand. From the imperial family to the civil and military officials, they hated them more than they respected them, and avoided them like the plague.
After the eunuch announced his arrival, Prince An entered the hall with a gentle and harmless smile on his face.
"What troubles Your Majesty? Your humble servant is willing to share your burdens."
Emperor Qingxi snapped out of his reverie, smiled, and shook his head. "You're just a wealthy idler; how could you possibly understand the troubles of court life? Come, come, let's play a game of chess."
The two began to play chess.
Emperor Qingxi tapped the chessboard, then suddenly remembered, "The Dowager Consort has been away at Mount Wutai worshipping Buddha for three years; shouldn't she be back soon?"
Consort Li, the birth mother of Prince An, moved out of the palace to live with Prince An after the late emperor's death. She was a devout Buddhist.
Emperor Qingxi nodded to him, "The Dowager Consort is fasting and praying for blessings at Mount Wutai, and you and your husband have opened a charity in the capital to help the poor. Sooner or later, Heaven will see the sincerity of your family and bestow a son upon you."
Prince An forced a smile and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty is right. Mother Consort does indeed intend to return to the capital and will be departing soon. She wishes to return before the birthday of Guanyin on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month and hold a grand charity ceremony in the capital. She hopes Your Majesty will grant her permission."
"It is wonderful that the Dowager Consort has this intention; it is a great act of merit."
Emperor Qingxi readily agreed, and then said, "Can the Prince An's residence handle this? Why don't we invite the Ministry of Rites to draft a plan together?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's almost the end of the month, and I'm a bit busy in the real world [doge emoji]. I'll be taking a break from paying off my debts, but I'll remember everything and won't forget [cheering emoji][cheering emoji]
And today they finally got a new cover, hahaha!
It's funny. A few days ago I asked the graphic designer if I had been scheduled, and she said that the end of the semester was busy and I would have to wait until the weekend.
Me: Okay, okay, teacher, you review first~ Art teacher: I don't review... I'm the one who makes people review [laughing and crying emoji]
Me: ! So it really is a teacher ∠(°ゝ°)
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