Ye Ranyi

Chapter 246 - 230: Honoring Over Eighty Victims of the Mining Disaster

Chapter 246: Chapter 230: Honoring Over Eighty Victims of the Mining Disaster


Song Wei’s pressure was neither too light nor too heavy. Although it couldn’t completely stop the pain, it somewhat alleviated it. Wen Wan felt very comfortable and fell asleep shortly after.


When she woke again, it was already completely dark outside.


The room was lit by candlelight, and the light was somewhat dim, with a faint smell of ink in the air.


Wen Wan got up and saw Song Wei sitting by the desk, writing something.


Hearing movement, Song Wei looked up, "You’re awake? Are you feeling better?"


Wen Wan nodded, "It doesn’t hurt anymore."


"Are you hungry?"


Wen Wan touched her stomach, indeed feeling a bit hungry.


Song Wei put down his pen, got up, and went outside. Soon, several men dressed as shop servants came in one by one carrying food boxes, quickly filling the round table in the outer room.


When Wen Wan came out, fully dressed, she noticed the dishes were all very light, and there was also a bowl of jujube, brown sugar, and ginger water.


After those men left, Song Wei pulled Wen Wan over to sit down, explaining, "I ordered a late-night snack from an outside restaurant while you were asleep, and also ordered a soup that would help you."


Actually, the food at the post house was quite good too, but going out of the way to buy was mainly for that bowl of jujube, brown sugar, and ginger water, wasn’t it? Ordering other things was just to avoid suspicion.


Understanding his intention, a warmth surged in Wen Wan’s heart.


Taking the spoon handed by Song Wei, she sipped the soup and asked him, "Did you ask the restaurant people if there’s any soup suitable for a daughter to drink these days?"


When she was at home, because she didn’t experience pain, she mostly just avoided spicy and stimulating foods and rarely drank this, so it was normal for her husband not to know.


Song Wei didn’t answer directly, he just looked at her, "You don’t like it?"


Wen Wan lowered her head, using the soup as an excuse, and muttered, "As long as it’s bought by my husband, I like it."


As soon as she said this, she felt the man’s gaze linger on her for a long time, as if he were weighing the sincerity of her words.


Wen Wan didn’t dare to lift her head, her movements drinking the soup becoming awkward.


Song Wei didn’t say anything, shifted his gaze, and seeing her only drinking soup without eating, he picked up his chopsticks and placed food into her bowl, saying softly, "These are all the dishes you love to eat."


Wen Wan nodded but still didn’t dare look at him. After finishing the meal, she washed briefly behind the screen, and when she came out, she saw that Song Wei had put away the ink and brush, and she asked him, "Finished with your work?"


Song Wei glanced outside and replied, "It’s late, we should rest."


Wen Wan, having slept earlier, wasn’t feeling sleepy and jokingly said, "Then you sleep, and I’ll keep watch for you."


Keeping watch was indeed the duty of her as the "little book boy."


Song Wei poured himself a cup of tea, and just as he was about to take a sip, he paused at her words, his eyes filling with amusement, "What if you sleepwalk again?"


Wen Wan was suddenly so embarrassed she wanted to disappear.


It was her first time disguising as a man, acting as the little book boy for her husband. Since leaving the Capital, she found it very novel, and when she insisted on keeping watch for Song Wei at the post station the first night, she couldn’t resist crawling into bed.


Caught by someone pretending to be asleep, she blushed and claimed it was sleepwalking.


It wasn’t entirely her fault; who made her husband so good-looking? She wasn’t made of wood, and guarding such a handsome man while he slept, how could she really remain indifferent?


Hearing him bring it up again, Wen Wan directly covered her face with her hands, "I-I’m sick these days, I won’t sleepwalk."


After speaking, she quietly opened her eyes, peeking through her fingers to see the man smiling softly.


Then she heard him say, "Since you’re sick, rest well, you can’t stay up late."


In the end, Wen Wan was carried back to bed and obediently lay down to sleep.


----


The coal mine case investigation began the next morning.


Song Wei didn’t go to the county government; he directly arranged for Wei Baihu to take men to Da Huan Mountain and dig up the remains of the unfortunate miners.


After the mine accident years ago, few people remained in the nearby villages. Four years had passed, and Da Huan Mountain had become a desolate mountain. With so many lives buried, even without rumors of ghosts appearing at night, no one would dare come.


More than twenty Jinyi Guards dug from morning till evening, barely uncovering a corner, and by nighttime, they unearthed two skulls.


Song Wei had them return to rest, and the next day, they took the two skulls and the Jinyi Guards to the county government.


County Magistrate Lu was unaware of Song Wei’s purpose on this trip, still immersed in dreams of promotion and wealth. Seeing Song Wei personally come to the county government, he hurriedly bent over to welcome him inside, then noticed the two Jinyi Guards behind Song Wei carrying a box, thinking it might contain something good, and couldn’t help but be curious, "Lord Imperial Envoy, this is...?"


"I have something to ask County Magistrate Lu."


Song Wei walked toward the public hall and directly took the main judge’s seat, then glanced at the two Jinyi Guards carrying the box, "Open it and show County Magistrate Lu."


The lid was quickly opened, revealing the two skulls inside, a chilling sight of bones.


County Magistrate Lu was so startled by the sight, his face changed completely, and he immediately looked at Song Wei, "Why does Lord Imperial Envoy have a dead man’s head in his hand?"


Song Wei said, "I brought a forensic doctor who has already examined the corpse. These two people have been dead for nearly four years, and the skull was unearthed from Da Huan Mountain. County Magistrate Lu, do you have any recollection of this?"


Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Lu was completely dumbfounded, his teeth chattering, "Da, Da Huan Mountain?"


"If you’ve forgotten, I can certainly refresh your memory." Song Wei said with a subtly imposing demeanor, "Four years ago, County Magistrate Lu had people post a notice that the Da Huan Mountain Coal Mine was hiring, offering fifty coins a day, and over a hundred workers were recruited to mine coal. Later, a mine disaster occurred, and eighty percent of the miners were unable to escape in time and were buried alive inside.


The next day, I was the one who came to strike the Injustice Bell, and I still remember County Magistrate Lu saying that the Da Huan Mountain Coal Mine was an officially approved court operation. In that case, please present the documents from the court’s approval back then."


Not giving County Magistrate Lu a chance to speak, Song Wei continued, "If you think I lack evidence and am deliberately framing you, I also have witnesses. Among those hundred-plus miners back then, two were close relatives of mine, one being my biological father and the other my father-in-law.


Furthermore, the entire populace of Pingjiang County can testify that the county government indeed had people post hiring notices back then. County Magistrate Lu, you can’t deny this.


As for the official operation you mentioned, if it is true, then after such a tremendous disaster, why is there no record of this case in the Three Judicial Departments of the Capital? Did County Magistrate Lu carelessly forget to report it upwards, or did you report it, but someone above handled it improperly, lost the case midway, and it never reached the Capital?"


County Magistrate Lu never expected Song Wei to revisit the mine disaster from four years ago. He was already so frightened he went limp, collapsing directly to his knees, continuously banging his forehead on the ground, his voice trembling, "I beg for Lord Imperial Envoy’s discernment, I was coerced, otherwise... if no one had put a knife to my throat, even if you gave me a hundred guts, I wouldn’t dare commit such a heinous crime!"


Song Wei asked, "Who coerced you?"


"This..." County Magistrate Lu immediately found himself in a dilemma.


He didn’t know if he should reveal the names of those involved.


Song Wei’s voice sounded again, "If you have no evidence to prove you were coerced, then in the case of the mine disaster from four years ago, you are the main culprit. I am obliged to escort you back to the Capital for a trial by the Three Judicial Departments."


"I beg for Lord Imperial Envoy’s mercy, I was truly coerced," County Magistrate Lu was already trembling beyond coherent speech.


The loss of more than eighty lives, once adjudicated by the Three Judicial Departments, would undeniably result in a death sentence, and might even implicate his entire family.


But he was clearly a victim in this case!


"Where is your evidence of being coerced?" Song Wei pressed further.


County Magistrate Lu thought carefully and then realized that those few people had dumped the mess on him and left without a trace. Everything was handled solely by him, and those people merely collected money without lifting a finger."


Realizing he had been framed, County Magistrate Lu felt darkness before his eyes, nearly fainting.


The Jinyi Guard, quick and nimble, revived him just in time.


County Magistrate Lu, still kneeling on the ground, sobbed uncontrollably, "Lord Imperial Envoy, if I have spoken any falsehood, I am willing to suffer the wrath of the heavens."


Song Wei shifted his gaze from him, "All those beheaded criminals said the same thing before their execution."


County Magistrate Lu: "..."


After a while, he wailed again, "Lord Imperial Envoy wants evidence, I will investigate immediately. There must be transaction records for the coal they mined, and I will surely find clues."


"Three days," Song Wei said.


"Three days is too... too short," County Magistrate Lu wiped his sweat as he pleaded, "Seven days, at least seven days."


Song Wei did not argue further, "Seven days from now, if you cannot find the evidence, then I will have no choice but to follow official protocol."


"Thank you for your leniency, Lord Imperial Envoy..."


——


Upon exiting the county government office, Wei Baihu asked Song Wei, "If Lu Zhao cannot produce the evidence, what does Mr. Song intend to do?"


Song Wei paused slightly in his steps and gazed in the direction of Da Huan Mountain, "I have always wondered, how did those three children convince County Magistrate Lu to help them recruit workers four years ago?"


Wei Baihu immediately understood, "I will have someone investigate right away."


Song Wei reminded, "Focus on investigating who else from the Su Family might have been involved."


——


With the Jinyi Guard’s tasks dispatched accordingly, Song Wei also mobilized over a hundred people from the county government to go to Da Huan Mountain and exhume all the buried corpses.


After four years, identifying the bodies was impossible, so they could only use public funds to prepare a coffin for each miner and erect a grave on site.


In just a few days, more than eighty new graves appeared on Da Huan Mountain. Song Wei had paper money prepared and, together with Wen Wan, paid respects to each grave.


The good deeds and actions of such an excellent official moved the populace to tears and met with unanimous approval.


Amidst the praise from the people inside and outside the city, Song Wei felt no honor or pride; his heart was heavy and in pain.


Those more than eighty miners’ bones, he had watched them being exhumed one by one from the depths of the earth, with over twenty bones impossible to piece back together.


And these people once had their own family, their own life, and decades of life ahead of them.


All of it destroyed in an instant because of the impulsive folly of three children.