Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 1260: Chapter 1169: Female Prime Minister 108

The location of the gold mine is somewhat hidden. If Yang Yixuan had not intentionally searched earlier, it wouldn’t have been easy to find. No wonder it has remained hidden for so long.

Yin Shuangshuang walked around inside the gold mine once. After coming out, she was silent for a while, then asked Gao Ya, who had accompanied her, ”Chai Pengfei only told you about the gold mine; did he mention how many gold mines there are?”

Gao Ya shook her head confidently, ”I’m certain Chai Pengfei only mentioned that they found one gold mine and no more. Why, my lord, do you suspect there are more than one gold mine?”

Yin Shuangshuang nodded, ”Look at this gold mine; it’s so small in scale that it could be completely mined in no time at all. How could it have been mined for such a long time?

Gao Ya, you’ve been in Qinglin County for quite some time. Have you noticed anything strange in Qinglin County, no matter how big or small? Tell me whatever comes to mind.”

”Well...”

Gao Ya hesitated, lost in thought for a while, then suddenly remembered something and said to Yin Shuangshuang, ”When you put it that way, there is indeed something that struck me as a bit odd.

Qinglin County is remote, and there aren’t usually any merchants coming and going. Yet, Qinglin County has a coach station specifically for transporting goods for people.

You know, there’s really no specialty product or anything worth selling around Qinglin County that would require such a service. But oddly, this coach station is quite large and does good business.

Every once in a while, at intervals of a month or a fortnight, a large batch of goods is transported away.

I’ve carefully observed this and found that each time they transport goods, the wheel ruts in the ground are very deep, indicating that the carriages must be carrying something very heavy.

This matter has always struck me as odd, but back then I was focused on revenge, so I only puzzled over it briefly and didn’t think too much more about it or investigate further, so there isn’t much more I know.

Thinking about it now, might this coach station be in league with Chai Pengfei and those people, handling the transportation of the gold?”

Yin Shuangshuang let out a cold laugh, ”They’re definitely in league, but it’s not necessarily gold they’re transporting. The gold mine extraction isn’t that fast; it can’t be moved out by the batch every fortnight or month.

There should be another vein, definitely not a gold mine, but one that’s more important to them.

Manager Gao, do you know when this coach station was established? Has the owner of the coach station changed in the meantime? Have you had any dealings with him?

What do you think of the coach station owner’s demeanor? Does he seem like a regular businessman, a scholar, or possibly the scion of a noble family?”

Yin Shuangshuang didn’t say one thing she felt—the presence of an aristocratic family in this.

Gao Ya thought it over carefully before saying, ”The original owner of the coach station was surnamed Zhou, though I haven’t met him often. But I do know that the coach station later had a change in ownership.

The scale of the original coach station wasn’t large; the owner was the son of a local wealthy man. After the family fell into decline, they were left with just this big shop front, so they opened a coach station, but business wasn’t doing well.

Then all of a sudden, one day the coach station changed owners. It’s said an outsider, a Noble, purchased it at a high price, expanded its scale, and turned it into what it is now.

I’ve seen the new owner of the coach station; he’s gentle and refined, like a scholarly bookworm, unlike a businessman. However, the steward accompanying this owner is very shrewd.

He reminds me of those astute stewards I saw when visiting other large families with my father when I was young.”

With such obvious features, it doesn’t take much to confirm in Yin Shuangshuang’s mind that the owner of this coach station is definitely dispatched by an aristocratic family, specifically for the gold mine and some other unknown mine.

The Zhou Family—there are three prestigious families with this surname, though they can really be considered one, as the Zhou Family is a large aristocratic family dominating among other families, and the other two are just minor offshoots.

Back then, the one who lost all composure in the Golden Hall and cursed Yin Shuangshuang, calling her a hen crowing at dawn and a heretic who should be burned, was just from the Zhou Family.

The Zhou Family has always aimed to restore the glory of the previous dynasty and butterflies joyfully before the Emperor, daring to do anything.

If it’s that Zhou Family, such a small-scale gold mine wouldn’t draw the attention of their enormous wealth, but what if there’s a large iron mine nearby?

Iron is precious—it can be made into weapons and armor. What sets the current aristocratic families apart from the previous dynasty is that they can no longer possess private armies or weapons.

A private army is easier for aristocrats to manage; only weapons are particularly well-guarded by the court, beyond their reach. The allure of an iron mine far surpasses that of a gold mine for an aristocratic family.

”Lord Yang, please have your subordinates continue searching for the hidden vein, which is likely an iron mine. I believe that is the most crucial.

During the search, make sure your people don’t stray too far from each other, and be extra cautious. The place is unlikely to be as easily breached as this one.

There are bound to be many guards there, possibly even hidden sentries. Make everyone be extremely careful to avoid unnecessary casualties.”

”Leave this to me. I will definitely find this hidden iron mine,”

Yang Yixuan agreed very readily, but then looked at Yin Shuangshuang with some hesitation, finally speaking after some pause.

”Lord Yin, you’ve been out here for too long; I’m afraid your health can’t take it. This kind of search will likely take some time, possibly dragging into late night hours.

Why don’t you return to the county to await news? I can lead the soldiers in the search myself, and once there’s solid news and everyone is captured, you can come back.”

Yin Shuangshuang shook her head, ”That’s not possible. Both Hu Bingchen and Xu Huirong must know about Chai Pengfei’s attack on me and are certainly waiting in the county for definite news.

If I don’t return, they won’t know the outcome of things—even if they’re anxious, they’ll stay put. Once I return, they’ll immediately know I’ve taken care of Chai Pengfei.

If Hu Bingchen and Xu Huirong find out about this, whether they choose to fight to the death or flee overnight to save themselves, it would create big trouble for us. I can’t go back and alert them.”

”But Lord, your health surely can’t bear this!” Yang Yixuan became anxious. Though he had never met Yin Shuangshuang, he had a high regard for her.

Now, seeing first-hand her exhausting efforts for the people, he found his admiration turned to worship, and he deeply worried about Yin Shuangshuang’s health.

Not only Yang Yixuan, but also Wei Yingnan, Yan Yi, and even Ying Yi, who originally had no attachment, were all very concerned about Yin Shuangshuang’s well-being.