Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 105 Poor Wei Yuan
After a long while, faint knocking sounds came from below. Only then was the fierce-looking foreman satisfied, and he left cursing.

"Damn it, these laborers need a good beating. How long has it been since I beat them up? They just won't listen if I don't. They have no manners at all. But this batch is almost used up too. Tsk, why are they dying so frequently and so quickly? It's just mining, is it really that tiring? Really..."

Hearing no movement from above, the laborers toiling away at the mines below secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They were thankful that the overseers, pampered and unwilling to come down, would have discovered them quietly resting below.

This mine is incredibly deep. For some reason, as soon as you enter, you feel nauseous, gag, and dizzy; in severe cases, you even experience shortness of breath. The overseers say that evil spirits haunt the mine, so they don't come down easily. This, however, gave them a chance to rest.

"Brother Wei, are you alright? Why don't you stop and rest? You're still injured."

One of the group of sweating laborers, a boy with a somewhat youthful and immature face, spoke softly. He was looking at Wei Yuan, a tall man who exuded a sense of security even in the dim light.

He was the unluckiest member of the four-man team. Perhaps because of his tall stature and apparent strength, he was immediately assigned to the most dangerous and arduous work in the mine shafts after being brought there by the zombies. Of course, fearing a conflict if he woke up, the overseers preemptively beat him severely, leaving Wei Yuan covered in injuries. Although it was dark down there and he couldn't see clearly, Wei Yuan could smell the stench of blood on himself.

He swung his arm forcefully, his strong muscles propelling the pickaxe in his arm to slam it against the mine wall in front of him. A burst of sparks suddenly erupted, carrying away some of the frustration in his heart.

Although he occasionally suffered disdain from self-proclaimed enlightened scholars and generals over the years, his adoptive father was the most trusted chief steward by His Majesty's side! Apart from some verbal and eye-rolling snide remarks, no one dared to disrespect him. Even His Majesty, although he did not value him at first, did not deliberately suppress him. In short, he had a very good life in the past few years.

Not to mention that he has now been highly valued by His Majesty and has even begun to investigate a major case in Qianzhou. Who would have thought that he would die before he could even get started? He was drugged and kidnapped on the way before he even entered the territory of Qianzhou Prefecture with Princess Ying and the others. This is a great humiliation for Wei Yuan!
Princess Ying and her two companions were one thing—they were either defenseless women or frail imperial physicians—but he had practiced martial arts since childhood. While his skills might not be the best in the land, they were certainly among the best in the capital. His Majesty had sent him out precisely because of his martial arts prowess, so that he could protect Princess Ying and her companions!
Unexpectedly, he was kidnapped by a group of mindless, undead zombies! He was even forcibly awakened by a group of villagers! Heaven knows how frustrated and devastated Wei Yuan felt when he regained consciousness and, enduring the excruciating pain, finally understood his predicament! Even now, thinking back on it makes him grit his teeth!

Wei Yuan swung the pickaxe even harder, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth!

"I'm fine." This didn't sound like he was fine, but everyone knew he was injured, so they didn't say anything more and could only continue working.

Wei Yuan fixed his gaze on the ore in front of him, swung his pickaxe a few times, and finally pried it out. With a clang, the fist-sized ore fell to the ground, attracting the attention of those around him. Many people showed envious expressions, but when they realized that the ore belonged to Wei Yuan, they looked away. The mine was poorly lit, and it seemed that darkness breeds malice; disputes over ore were commonplace. The overseers above only cared about the ore, not the person; whoever found the highest quality ore would get a bonus, and might even get meat.

Judging from the sound, the new kid has found some pretty good quality ore; he'll have an extra meal today.

Wei Yuan casually tossed the stone into the basket on his back and continued working on another piece of ore. Ten days ago, he wouldn't have believed he'd work so hard for a meal, but now he had no choice; the situation forced him to. If he didn't work hard mining, he wouldn't even have enough to eat in this godforsaken place, let alone have the strength to find the other three people.
I wonder how the three of them, Princess Ying and Chunyu Shuang, are doing now. Physician Xie is a man, so I don't need to worry too much, but Princess Ying and Chunyu Shuang...

In this godforsaken place, Wei Yuan wasn't unaware of the fate of the beautiful women who had been captured, but he resisted the thought. He simply couldn't imagine what it would be like for a woman like Ying Jiuque to be wantonly humiliated. Good heavens, had Princess Ying already killed those who dared to insult her? But in this place, with so many overseers, she was all alone; she was no match for them. If they swarmed her, even he wouldn't be able to handle it, let alone a woman like Princess Ying.

Regardless, his mission had already failed more than halfway, and even if he returned safely, his adoptive father would beat him half to death. Before he came, His Majesty and his adoptive father had repeatedly instructed him to protect Princess Ying, but before even entering Qianzhou Prefecture, he had lost her completely, and now he had no idea where she was, hiding in some obscure corner. Thinking about his future fate, Wei Yuan felt utterly miserable.

At the same time, his hatred for Liang Heng, the prefect of Qianzhou, grew even stronger!

That damned corrupt official! These laborers, dragged in from all directions, must be connected to him. They were just passersby, arrested without even revealing their identities; it shows how many innocent people have been forced into mining over the years. He even found refugees from Qingzhou here!

Qingzhou was suffering from a severe drought, and many people were unable to survive and had to flee to various places. He had initially found it strange that there were no large groups of refugees in the capital, but now he realized that they had been lured to Qianzhou to make a living. However, they were caught and thrown into this dark and dreary mine as soon as they showed their faces, where they toiled all day but could not even fill their stomachs.

He absolutely must get out of here alive and report the situation to His Majesty. Otherwise, that old dog Liang Heng will really think he can control everything! Doesn't he know that the descendants of eunuchs are best at filing complaints?! If he can get back alive, he'll definitely sue him to death!
(End of this chapter)