Chapter 71 You let him go! I'll let you go!

  Everywhere in the coal field was filled with coal ash and sand dust, the air quality was not good. The county magistrate had a bitter face as soon as he came in but didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction in front of Zi Ruoye. However, he took out his handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, not letting too much of the foul air enter.

  "Cough, cough, cough" Liu Qingyou felt a bit uncomfortable, lightly coughing a few times, but refused to leave the coal field. Taking a step forward, grasping Zi Ruoye's hand, feeling that she didn't shake off his own hand, he finally relaxed.

  He is now a kept man of a dead slut, how can he not get close?

  Zi Ruoye was surprised by the safety facilities in the coal mine, with such flat roads and high safety ratings. She had thought it would be a simple wooden structure, but unexpectedly, it was also very delicate inside. It seemed that Tai Shou had chosen the safest one to take her to visit.

  After walking for a while, they heard the sound of laborers. The man said hesitantly, "Just ahead is where everyone mines coal."

  "Let's go take a look then." Zi Ruoye said softly, seeing that the man seemed to be quite afraid of them, even her voice had softened slightly, after all, it wasn't good to scare people.

  "Sir, now that we've finished the coal mining inspection, can't we go back?" She had been a county governor for so many years, when had she ever come to such a desolate place, and her heart was already somewhat impatient.

  Zi Ruoye didn't bother to respond to Tai Shou and continued walking forward with the man. After a while, they indeed saw laborers mining coal.

  The county lieutenant stepped forward, looking displeased, and said, "You all come quickly to see the Inspector General." The laborers, who were mining coal day and night, were startled by the sudden appearance of these people.

  Isn't that Taishou? How did he end up in the coal field? Although they had doubts, they still put down their tools and walked forward.

  The coal mine was pitch black, and the workers' faces were also pitch black. However, it wasn't hard to see that each person had a pale complexion. Zi Ruo Ye slightly furrowed her brow, crouched down, and asked, "Do you guys have shift changes every day? How many meals do you eat in a day?"

  Those laborers were stunned, but the man who had been nodding and bowing lightly asked, "Sir, what is a shift change? We usually have one meal to eat." After finishing speaking, he fearfully shrank to the side, as if afraid of being beaten.

  Those laborers looked at the man who spoke, they had indeed never heard of a shift change, but neither had they seen that man before? But still replied, "We only have one meal a day." They were all farm women with only labor power, so they came to the coal mine to dig for coal and barely had enough food to eat.

  One meal a day?

  Mining coal is a very labor-intensive task. "Governor, I have a suggestion, are you willing to listen?" Ziyueye stood up, and in the dimly lit coal field, her sparkling eyes lightly flickered.

  "Please, sir, speak." The county magistrate was startled in his heart. What those laborers just said wasn't wrong, but laborers were the lowest of the low, and giving them a meal for the day was already an act of great kindness. But he didn't expect this inspecting official to ask, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

  "You can set a shift system, from morning to noon is one shift, and from afternoon to evening is another shift. The two shifts take turns, and the remaining time allows the workers to go home and rest. This way, the coal mining will not be reduced either. And also provide them with three meals a day, they can only work hard after eating their fill." Zi Ruoye said lightly, but her tone was passionate and commanding. Humans are living beings with flesh and blood, not wound-up machines. She glanced at the workers standing beside her, her expression darkening, fearing that many of them had already died from exhaustion.

  "But, sir... isn't this a huge waste of time?" Although she had never been to the coal mine before, the laborers here always started work at the hour of the dragon, but the adults didn't start until the hour of the dragon's tail, this shift system was a blatant waste of so much time!

  "It won't do, always being reckless isn't right either, this thing is about efficiency." Zǐ Ruò Yè said with a smile, and immediately turned to the laborers and said, "I'll take responsibility for your governor's response. The King of Ye in the capital is an acquaintance of mine, if there's anything you can report it to him." Zǐ Ruò Yè directly made a conclusion on behalf of the governor, although the reputation of the King of Ye wasn't good, but after all he was still a king.

  This sudden change left the laborers at a loss, and the man took a slight step forward, opening his mouth with some disbelief. "Sir, are you saying that we can eat our fill from now on? And not have to work all day?" The man seemed somewhat excited, and it was only then that Zǐ Ruò Yè noticed that his eyes shone with a moving color like precious stones.

  The county governor looked at the man with a strange expression, not understanding why he spoke out multiple times. Yesterday, the respected master said that someone would be sent to follow her on the next day, and then she saw this dirty man again today. If it weren't for the respected master's orders, she would have beaten this talkative man to death already. With a somewhat displeased expression, she said, "Don't speak nonsense! When did I ever not provide you with enough food?" Coal mines had always been monopolized by the imperial court, and there was no such thing as individual mining.

  Zi Ruoye intercepted the county magistrate, who was about to go forward and hit someone, pressed down on his shoulders, using a bit of force, "County Magistrate, don't get agitated, I didn't say anything, did I? From now on, just follow my arrangements."

  The pressure on his shoulders made Tai Shou grit his teeth, and he was even more shocked in his heart. How could this big man have martial arts skills? The pain in his shoulders was like being pinched to pieces, and he hastily said, "Yes, sir, I'll go out and instruct them right away." In his heart, he was even more shocked by the faint imperial aura on Zi Yue's body. Although she was smiling, her inner self was involuntarily afraid.

  The man, however, seemed to be frightened and hid behind Liu Qingyu, his body trembling with fear, his eyes welling up with tears, biting his lip and not making a sound.

  "Don't be afraid, the dead bastard won't hurt you." Liu Qingyao said softly, not minding the man's dirty appearance, and held his hand to give him strength.

  The man nodded slightly, lowering his head and covering the faintly flickering light in his eyes. If the county magistrate dared to really hit him, he would surely lose his life on the spot!

  He still doesn't know what identity the woman in front of him who spoke for her has? Is she a patrol inspector? And also acquainted with Ye Wang from the capital? Hehe, it's probably not that simple...

  The laborers finally came to their senses after this commotion, and one by one, they knelt down, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" Although the figure of this gentleman was even thinner than that of the governor, in their hearts, his figure had long been taller than that of the governor.

  "Ah!" Zi Ruoye jumped back, "What are you doing?! You scared me to death! Don't kneel down suddenly." But her voice was tinged with a hint of delight. This time when she returns, this governor is definitely going to be dismissed and investigated. Let that scoundrel Zi Yanran send someone reliable over to manage Ning City instead.

  Liu Qingyou saw Zi Ruoye being playful again, walked up to her and said "You damn fool! Can't you be serious for once?!" But in his heart, he was happy for her, wondering why she could always unintentionally capture people's hearts.

  "How can I not be serious?" Zi Ruoye's face was bitter, she was obviously very serious. "Where did you put the coal you excavated?" This time, Zi Ruoye directly bypassed the Taishou and asked the laborers present.

  "We put the coal we excavated directly into the hole behind, and then someone will come to transport it away tomorrow." One of the laborers stood up and said. "Please follow me, sir."

  The county governor was shocked and thought to himself that something was not right. Just as he was about to speak, he met Zi Ruoye's gaze, which seemed to be able to see through him. He felt a chill run down his spine and wondered if she already knew something. But that was impossible - apart from the respected master and herself, no one else could know. He comforted himself with this thought, feeling that he had been thinking too much. Only then did he put his mind at ease and follow Zi Ruoye as they walked away.

  After walking to the place where coal was piled up, there were indeed a lot of coals, like a small mountain, only this small mountain was a bit too much. A hint of smile flashed across Zi Ruoye's eyes, and her mouth corners lightly hooked up.

  "Today's coal seems to have increased? Didn't those people take it away?" The laborer subconsciously said, looking at the obviously several times more coal. Normally, their extraction volume is not small, because they are not the only ones working, and all the extracted coal will be placed here. But today, it looks like a hoard of several months' worth...

  "I'll definitely punish those who only eat and don't work!" The county magistrate said hastily, with a tone of anger, as if he knew nothing about the matter.

  Zi Ruoye, however, walked forward and touched this lump of coal and that one. Except for the top layer being irregular, all the coal below was regular, clearly tribute coal. Holding it in his hand to admire it, "You can go ahead and busy yourselves," he said to the man and the laborer. The laborer heard him, nodded, and retreated.

  The man's eyes flickered slightly, and upon seeing the coal core in Ziyue Ye's hand, he nodded in understanding. It seemed that this time's plan had fallen through. His gaze swept lightly over Ziyue Ye's body before retreating.

  Liu Qingyu suddenly realized that the man would occasionally glance at Zi Ruoye, and he couldn't help but wonder about this man. Only then did he notice that he had unknowingly straightened his waist, standing idly by with an air of watching a play in his eyes. His doubts grew even heavier. This man was no longer as timid and reserved as he had been earlier...

  After they left, Zǐ Ruò Yè threw the coal lump and smiled, saying, "Governor, I didn't know that the coal produced here is so beautiful, every piece has edges and corners! Not even deep processing is needed!" Zǐ Ruò Yè knew that freshly mined coal produces a lot of dust, and needs to go through a process before it can be burned without releasing dust everywhere. But this process must be done after the coal is mined and deeply processed. Where would you find deeply processed coal in a coal field?

  "Th...this..." The county governor looked at Ziyue Ye's eyes, with a smile that was not quite a smile, and a determined expression. He was startled in his heart, feeling that his conjecture seemed to be true, but still pretended to be ignorant and said, "I don't know what you mean, sir?"

  Throw the coal in your hand out, directly hitting the governor's knee, hitting the governor's knee acupoint, and the governor knelt down. Zi Ruoye restrained the smile on her hands, her voice carrying a chilling coldness and an unangry yet majestic dignity, saying faintly, "Governor, do you really think I'm blind in the future? Or do you think I'm a fool?"

  Zi Ruoye walked towards the coal heap, swung her sleeve, and with a burst of internal energy, she opened the cloth covering the coal heap. Before her eyes were neatly stacked coal blocks, because they were to be transported to the capital, for aesthetic reasons, so that the coal wouldn't roll around, they had been made into angular shapes.

  "Then tell me, will these coals transform on their own? Ning City Governor, at this point do you still have anything to say?! " Zi Ruoye threw out the coal again, striking the governor's other knee. A person like him is not worth pitying!

  She colludes with the enemy and betrays her country! Any one of these crimes is enough to have her beheaded on the spot!

  The governor finally came to his senses, realizing that the man in front of him had been acting all along. He took a slight step back, "Hmph! I've lived for so long and didn't expect to be intimidated by a junior." Perhaps it was because of the exposure of the truth, but the governor was no longer afraid.

  "Cut to the chase, Ning City Governor, has Zi Xuan been treating you poorly?" Zi Ruoye asked in a low tone. For the past few years since Zi Yan took office, she had been diligent and hardworking, although she couldn't attend to every matter personally, but when reviewing memorials, she would sometimes drink on the rooftop with that emperor, often staying up all night to review documents, and then attending the morning court session the next day.

  "Hum! Zixuan is quite good to his subordinates, but it's not enough! The governor of Ningcheng is such a small official, how much salary can he have? Moreover, this place is so barren!"

  Zi Ruoye furrowed her brow, knowing that human desire was a bottomless pit. Ning Cheng had been the governor for so many years, and just from the official matches alone, he must have swallowed quite a bit. Yet, he was still an insatiable wolf! "Is it because of this that you betrayed your country? What benefits did Haiyue give you?"

  The governor was shocked, originally thinking that Ziyue Ye only knew about her private transportation of official media, but unexpectedly, Ziyue Ye also knew about her private contact with Haiyue. Haiyue, who was by the sea, lacked coal mines, and while gaining huge profits, also promised to give her a place to settle down after this matter ended. With a faint smile, Governor Ta said, "I really didn't think that Your Excellency could investigate these things."

  The words were unexpectedly clear, and the county magistrate's face also turned gloomy. "Having guarded this broken city for ten years, if it weren't for the coal here, how could I have stayed here for so long! Sir, you're not just a simple inspector, are you?" The air emanating from his body was far from that of an ordinary official.

  "What kind of person I am, you'll know soon enough. You just need to know that you're finished." Zi Ruoye's voice was calm and collected, did she think she hadn't noticed her gradually retreating? Zi Ruoye took a step forward, "Ning City Governor, as long as you tell me what kind of private dealings you have with Haiyue, I'll report to the Emperor and spare your life."

  "You really think I'm an ignorant child!" The county magistrate suddenly slapped his palm towards Zǐ Ruò Yè, who was shocked and hastily dodged. When he looked again, his heart almost skipped a beat!

  Willow is quiet and secluded!

  The county governor moved too quickly, and at this moment, he held down Liu Qingyou, with two fingers forming a hook, pressed against Liu Qingyou's neck. It seemed that if he used a little force, Liu Qingyou would directly splatter blood on the spot.

  Liu Qing's face was slightly pale, but she forced herself to calm down, "Don't think that holding me hostage will intimidate her, I'm just one of her lovers!"

  "Hmph! Although I don't know if she has you as her male favorite in her heart, but from the absurd class system she just showed, it's clear that she won't casually discard someone else's life! Am I right, sir?" The magistrate's sharp eyes turned to Ziyue Ye, with a hint of admiration in his gaze - both a merit and a demerit.

  Zi Ruoye pursed her lips and didn't take another step forward. She couldn't control other people's lives, everyone who came into this world had their own fate, but she couldn't ignore Liu Qingyou. Her eyes grew darker as she stared at the governor, not saying a word.

  "You're really something, aren't you? You think you're so great just because you've got a few tricks up your sleeve? Newsflash: in my book, you don't even come close to Li Yu's little finger! I only pretended to be nice to you these past few days because I didn't want to bother with you anymore. But now, I hate you! I hate you to death!" The stupid fool, why did he have to go and get himself kidnapped? Now the case that was finally starting to crack is going to fall apart right in front of him. Liu Qingyou bit down hard on her lip.

  Zi Ruoye didn't say a word, but her eyes looked at Liu Qingyou with helplessness, "Be good, don't speak." Then she looked at the governor, "Let him go!"

  The governor burst out laughing loudly, "Hahaha! I didn't expect to let you hear this conversation, sir. Do you think you still have any bargaining chips to negotiate with me?"

  "You let him go! I'll let you go!" Zi Ruoye said in her most gentle voice, "I, the king, have spoken and it shall be done!"

  The governor heard Ye Zi's words and was slightly stunned, "I didn't expect the adult to be King Ye!" It was completely different from what he had heard, and his body slowly retreated backwards.

  "Dead bastard! Don't answer her!" Liu Qingyou hastily said, cannot, cannot because he let the governor go. If the governor goes to Haiyue, there will be endless troubles.

  "How could it be! Governor! I, the king, have never gone back on my word!" Zi Ruoye didn't pay attention to Liu Qingyou, but continued to speak to the governor. As she watched the governor's figure retreat further and further back, the dark color at the bottom of her eyes grew thicker, and in her heart, she had already faintly guessed the governor's intentions, yet she still continued to advise him.

  The governor's eyes flickered slightly, and it seemed that he was considering in his heart, "Is what the prince said true?" The words carried a few parts of truth, but Ziyue Ye still caught the governor's eyes at the bottom of the virtual snake.

  "It's bound to be true! As long as you let him go!" Zi Ruoye looked at Tai Shou making the promise once again.

  The governor maintained his grip on Liu Qingyou, looking at Zi Ruoye and saying, "How can I believe what the prince says? If the prince can stab himself three times, then I'll really believe it!"

  Zi Ruoye's eyes narrowed slightly, and Liu Qingyou's face turned pale. Neither of them had expected the county magistrate to make such a request.

  "Damn it! Don't mess around! Don't mess around!" This time, Liu Qingyou was really panicked, struggling to stop him, but was sealed by the county guard and could only stare with his eyes, unable to speak.

  "Good!" Zi Ruoye's face was calm as she took out a small knife from her bosom, the same one used to carve the seal, extremely sharp.

  "Then let's get started! Prince Wang!" The governor looked at Ziyue Ye, but in his heart he was shocked and impressed by her audacity.

  Pffft!

  Three knives into flesh!

  Zi Ruoye stabbed herself three times on her left arm, except for a slight tremble in her eyes, her face remained calm and peaceful. After stabbing herself three times, she calmly looked at the Taishou, "Now do you believe me? Let him go!" Fresh blood flowed from the wound, and soon her sleeve was stained with a striking red color.

  Liu Qingyou had already cried to the point of being speechless, her tears blurring her vision. Damn it...

  "Haha! I didn't expect Prince Wang to be so true to his nature!" Perhaps it was because he saw Zi Ruoye's self-inflicted wound, and his inner excitement unconsciously revealed a flaw.

  Zi Ruoye's eyes flashed, and she swiftly threw out the dagger in her hand, directly stabbing it into the governor's hand!

  "Ah! You all go to death!" The county magistrate slapped his palm and hit Liu Qingyou, who suffered a slap in the face, but his body leaned towards Zi Ruoye.

  Damn it...... Before passing out, Liu Qingyu only saw Zi Ruoye's anxious face...

  "Qingyao!" Zi Ruoye was shocked and hurriedly caught Qingyao!

  The county governor rolled to the entrance of the cave and struck several palms on the stone wall, which was already unstable. The stone wall came crashing down! Who would know what she had done after Wang Ye died? By the time someone came to investigate, she would have escaped long ago!

  The workers were startled by the sound!

  The mine has collapsed!

  He hastily dropped his tools and ran for his life! The man also followed the laborer and ran out together!

  That scoundrel! What has he done? The man's eyes flickered, unaware of what Tai Shou had done...

  Digression

  It's really... setting an alarm at 6 o'clock is unscientific...

  The fish is sleeping again...

  Little Yezi is in big trouble!