In the ward, when Yang Hong saw Zhao Xian, he became as aggrieved as a child and burst into tears.
During this period, Yang Hong suffered a lot. After arriving at the jade mine, he had no intention of doing hard labor and even tried to be clever. However, the thugs in the mine did not fall for his tricks and beat him up.
After being beaten several times, Yang Hong did not change much. The thugs could not bear it any longer and broke his leg this time.
In the eyes of the guards, Yang Hong was nothing more than a slave, and it wouldn't be a big deal to beat him to death.
After being beaten this time, Yang Hong clearly learned his lesson. Even though his leg was broken, he still had to do the work.
Only then did he begin to deeply regret his past actions, realizing that all of this was the result of his own actions.
He didn't know if he would make it out alive. If he had the chance to leave, he was determined to repent and start anew.
Months passed, and he worked in this dark and dreary mine, while the slaves who had been abducted with him were tortured to death one by one.
Seeing this, he was utterly disappointed, knowing that he would die here sooner or later, just like them.
Just when he was in despair, he was rescued. Later he learned that it was his brother-in-law who had traveled a long way to Yuanxi to save him.
Moreover, after he was rescued, he received special care, and his gratitude at this moment was beyond words.
His body is slowly recovering. So what if his leg is broken? As long as he's alive, that's all that matters.
He remained in a daze for several days. On this day, he felt much better and was surprised when Zhao Xian came to visit him, which made him very excited.
"Yang Hong, don't be sad. It's all over now. In a few days, when you're feeling better, I'll take you home. Your parents are waiting for you."
"Are Father and Mother alright?" Yang Hong asked.
It seems that Yang Hong is not senile and still remembers his parents.
"Don't worry, they're all fine. Your mother suffered a lot to save you."
Then, Zhao Xian began to recount what had happened in Yingkou Town. Yang Hong listened with trepidation, never expecting that so many things would happen after he was trafficked.
The government mobilized so much resources and spent so much time to rescue these slaves.
"Mother, you have suffered so much. I have survived this ordeal. I must repent and be a good son to my parents." Yang Hong shed tears again.
The matter in Yuanxi has been almost resolved. The more than one hundred soldiers that Bao Ping brought from Qing'an Prefecture, as well as the dozens of soldiers who came from Yuanshui to reinforce, did not suffer a single death in this quelling of the Xiao Taiyuan incident, which can be described as a remarkable achievement.
It was time for them to leave Yuanxi. The whole city came out to see them off, and Prefect Jin even escorted them out of the city gate.
Li Xue, Zhao Xian, and the others did not leave with Bao Ping's group. They felt that they would be more comfortable going back alone, as there would be too many constraints if they went back with the main group.
Since Yang Hong's injuries still needed a few more days to recover, they decided to stay in Yuanxi for a few more days until Yang Hong was better, and then take him back with them.
At this time, Prefect Jin's memorial had been written, and he used the 800-li express courier service to send it to the capital as quickly as possible. If nothing unexpected happened, the memorial would arrive in the capital in three or four days.
Currently, the security situation in Yuanxi is good, and Li Xue no longer needs to disguise herself as a man. She and her four guards have returned to their female attire and are preparing to explore Yuanxi City.
Li Xue suddenly remembered that Zhou Tong also had a jade mine, so she decided to go and take a look. She also wanted to see what a jade mine was like.
Zhou Tong's jade mine is completely different from Xiao Taiyuan's jade mine. Xiao Taiyuan's jade mine is mined according to the direction of the jade vein, which often requires deep underground mining. Therefore, the jade mined from this type of mine is of very good quality and is more likely to produce top-quality jade.
Zhou Tong's mine is an open-pit jade mine. This type of mine is mined in the open and it is difficult to dig deep, which means that it is not easy to produce high-quality jade.
Occasionally, they can mine good quality jade, but once these jade stones are mined, they must be sold to Xiao Taiyuan at a low price.
Therefore, even if they knew there were very good jade stones in a certain area of the mine, they would rather leave them there than dig them up and sell them to Xiao Taiyuan.
The situation is different now. Xiao Taiyuan's power has been destroyed, and they no longer have to worry about Xiao Taiyuan taking possession of the top-quality jade they dig out of their mines.
Zhou Tong was not alone in this; other jade mine owners did the same. They knew where the best jade was in their mines, and they could then dig it out with confidence.
At that moment, Zhou Tong was leading his men to select jade in the mine when someone came to report to him that several merchants had come to the mining area and wanted to see the jade in their mine.
Those who usually come to their mining area to buy jade are mostly regular customers, so Zhou Tong asked:
"Which merchant has arrived?"
"These businesspeople are here for the first time. I've never seen them before. There are both men and women."
There were both men and women. Zhou Tong was stunned. The customers who came to his mine to buy ore were usually men. He had never seen a female customer before.
"Tell them to wait a moment, I'll be right there."
Zhou Tong quickly left the mining area, changed his clothes, and prepared to meet his client.
Next to the mining area, there is a row of houses. These houses are mainly used to store mining tools, pile up jade, and serve as places to eat and rest. There are not many miners here; they are usually family members.
Among these houses, one room was slightly decorated and was tidier than the others; it served as a reception room where business could be discussed.
When Zhou Tong arrived at the reception room, he was stunned. He recognized Zhao Xian and the other men, but he did not recognize the girls, yet they seemed somewhat familiar.
"Manager Zhou, we meet again," Li Xue greeted him.
Zhou Tong was stunned again. He recognized Li Xue's voice.
"You are, Li...."
"Yes, she is Li Xue, a princess of the current dynasty, and the daughter of the Fourth Prince."
"Ah." Zhou Tong was taken aback. He finally realized that Young Master Li was Princess Li Xue. She had been disguised as a man before, and needless to say, her female guards were also disguised as men.
"Greetings, Princess." Zhou Tong hurriedly knelt down; a princess of the current dynasty was no ordinary person.
"Manager Zhou, there's no need for such formalities. Please rise."
Seeing Zhou Tong stand up, Li Xue introduced Zhao Xian to him.
"This is the Registrar of the Ministry of Works of the Imperial Court."
"Greetings, Your Excellency." Zhou Tong quickly bowed deeply to Zhao Xian.
"Manager Zhou, there's no need for such formalities. The government's capture of Xiao Taiyuan this time was largely thanks to you, Manager Zhou, who led the team to report and provided crucial information, which allowed us to completely eradicate Xiao Taiyuan's influence in Yuanxi. You have made a great contribution this time."
"You flatter me, Your Excellency. Eliminating Xiao Taiyuan is most beneficial to us jade merchants. From now on, we can conduct our jade business with peace of mind," Zhou Tong said.
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