"Liu Jing, have someone keep an eye on Tong Mingshan. We're going to check out the iron mine now."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Su Wenzhou was slightly taken aback when he heard Liu Jing address Su Ruojin as the Eldest Princess.
What princess?
He remembered that Xiao Jin was given the title of Princess Chang Le, not a princess.
Su Ruojin then remembered that she hadn't told Su Wenzhou about Yuan Hong, so she briefly told Su Wenzhou about Xiaoyue.
Su Wenzhou was stunned for a long time after hearing this.
That little Yuan Hong who used to follow him around calling him Third Master every day actually became the emperor of Xiaoyue.
This is somewhat surreal.
He was planning to wait for Yuan Hong to come back so he could mentor him and train him to become a great general in the Su family army.
Alas, a promising future general has been lost.
*
The iron mine is located in the western suburbs of Yulin, some distance from the city. The autopsy and other matters had already delayed things considerably, and by the time Su Ruojin and the others arrived, it was already completely dark.
There were noticeably fewer people at the mine because it was nighttime.
Torches were lit at the entrance to the mine, guards were on duty, and miners came and went from time to time.
"Third Brother, what time do they transport the ore tonight?" Su Ruojin asked.
"It's almost midnight."
Mining at midnight?
Why is it so late?
Su Ruojin looked up at the sky; it was still an hour before zi shi (11:00 AM). "Then let's wait."
Half an hour later, a large number of miners suddenly arrived at the mine, and it instantly became hot.
"Hurry up, load the ore onto the carts. If we delay, no one can afford the consequences."
"Hey, you over there, be careful, move quickly."
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
......
The overseers held long whips and would occasionally lash the ground with them, making a sound, while urging the miners to speed up.
The miners would push carts, carry loads on their shoulders, or lift the iron ore in pairs to weigh it on a scale before transferring it to horse-drawn carts.
Once all ten wagons were loaded with iron ore, at exactly midnight, the wagons began to move.
"Let's go, follow them."
The horse-drawn carriage carrying the goods was moving slowly, and guards accompanied it, so Su Ruojin and the others were not having any trouble keeping up.
Qinghe is not particularly far from the mine; it takes about an hour to get there.
"Quickly, load it onto the ship."
As soon as the carriage arrived, workers came down from the boat to help load it onto the ship.
The flag at the bow of the ship bears a large character "Chu".
The flag has intersecting yellow and white stripes, and also features the emblem of blacksmiths; it is the flag of the ironworks.
The workers carrying the materials were wearing the uniforms provided by the ironworks and moved very quickly.
So it seems this ship really does belong to the Ironworks.
Transporting iron ore in batches, or even multiple times when production is high, is not considered wrong by anyone; in fact, the responsible officials are often praised for their diligence.
After looking for a while and not seeing anything wrong, Su Wenzhou was about to dive into the boat to take a look when Su Ruojin grabbed him.
Previously, Su Ruojin felt that something was wrong with this official ship, but she couldn't figure it out at the time.
But just as Su Wenzhou was about to leave, she realized exactly what was wrong with the official ship.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com