Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 115 Night Attack
His eyes darted around several times before the manager, impatient, scrambled to his feet, dressed, and headed for the door. He wanted to see for himself how Yang Hui had managed to lose his men.

Before he even reached the door, he heard a commotion behind him, which immediately made him furious. Could something have gone wrong on his end?
"What happened? Go check it out right now, don't let anything happen here too. Keep an eye on all those laborers, even if they die in the cave, don't let them get away! Hurry up and go!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll go right away."

To avoid being laughed at by Yang Hui, the foreman straightened his clothes and walked to the door as calmly as possible. In the dim firelight, only a few dusty figures could be seen. The one in the lead certainly looked like Yang Hui. The foreman had no doubt; if the laborers had run away, they wouldn't be so openly running to the door demanding to see him. In the past, the first reaction of those who ran away was to burrow into the forest, trying to hide themselves in the dense woods.

Those who do this usually meet only one fate: death. They are either found by hunting dogs or die silently from poisonous insects and wild animals in the mountains. Few people venture out alone into these endless mountains.

The person in charge swaggered around and acted arrogantly.

"Yang Hui, I never thought you'd end up like this. What? Your men ran away, so you've come to me for help? Let me tell you, we haven't seen a thing all day. Who knows where your men have gone? But didn't you just get some recognition from above? If this gets out, I don't think you can even think about your position as head manager!"

"That's not how it works. It's just two laborers who ran away. I have plenty more people around. Even if I can't find them, I can kill them and the higher-ups won't say a word. But what about you... I heard such a commotion? Did your people run away too?"

In the dim light, people's vision was affected, and their hearing seemed less sensitive. Especially since the person in charge, although he and Yang Hui didn't get along, hadn't actually spent much time together. In addition, Yang Hui was probably anxious and agitated because his men had run away, so his voice was slightly hoarse, and it was hard to tell anything was wrong.

Hearing him say that, the burly steward couldn't hold back any longer.

"Stop spouting nonsense! Everyone knows that out of these eight mines, only the miners under my command are truly obedient! Don't try to drag me down with you just because your own men ran away!"

The two men both seemed quite resentful, exchanging barbs back and forth across the large door for a while. However, the noise inside grew louder and louder, and the person in charge finally couldn't deceive himself any longer and shouted impatiently towards the back.

"What's all the noise about?! Can't you even sleep peacefully at night? If you don't want to sleep, get up and start mining! I've been too good to you guys, and you've gotten too cocky, haven't you?"

Muttering curses, he walked towards the direction of the commotion. He needed to see what was going on. He didn't want anything to happen to his men, lest Yang Hui make a fool of himself.

He walked a short distance, and the noise grew louder and louder. The person in charge was already very impatient, but at this moment, a sudden inspiration struck him, and his eyelids twitched violently.

Something's not right. His mine is always the quietest place, and his laborers are kept under strict control like quails, not daring to make a sound even when they're sleeping at night. Why is it so noisy now? Could someone have sneaked in? But why is the timing so perfect, happening right when Yang Hui arrived, right after this incident?
Wait a minute, Yang Hui has said a few words to him, and he still can't seem to see the other person's face clearly. Although it was dark at night and the firelight wasn't bright enough, it seemed like the other person had been standing in the darkness the whole time, consciously making it impossible for him to see their face.

So was the person who just spoke to him really Yang Hui? Although he disliked that kid, he had to admit that the other party was a cautious person. How could his miners possibly run away? Even if they did run away, Yang Hui wouldn't let other mines know that something had happened to his miners, otherwise he would inevitably be reprimanded by his superiors at the end-of-month gathering.

The manager, having regained his senses, turned and roared, "Stop them! Don't let them in..."

"Pfft!"

After a very slight thud as a sharp blade pierced flesh, the foreman's burly body collapsed to the ground. The lackeys around him, who had been listening to him with trepidation, were all dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events.

They soon realized something was wrong, but how could their mediocre skills compare to those of Wei Yuan and Cui Zhufeng, two martial arts masters? Moreover, the guards following behind Cui Zhufeng had already caught up and were quite capable.

In no time at all, the foremen at the entrance had all been subdued. Wei Yuan didn't waste any time and walked straight towards the direction from which the noise came. It was he who had just disguised himself as Yang Hui; both of them were tall, and in the dim light, it was easy to mistake one for the other without careful observation.

Thinking of the county magistrate's plan, Wei Yuan was also a little excited. He had been tormented in the mine for so many days, and the anger in his heart was eager to be vented. Tonight, he would let him vent the raging anger in his heart.

"Are these people crazy, or have they turned into zombies? Why are they attacking people without any regard for anything?"

"Where's the person in charge? Go and call him quickly."

“I wouldn’t dare go. If I disturb his sleep, I’ll get a good beating.”

"We can't just stand here and let them beat us up. Let's tie them up first."

"If you have the ability, you go up there. I certainly don't. My old arms and legs are too weak to do any work every day. If I get injured because of this and can't work tomorrow, do you think that skinner will skin me alive?"

"Tsk..."

Five tall, muscular men were gesticulating wildly in the crowd, waving stones the size of human heads around them. The others, like rats being tossed about, dared not make any sudden moves. Such large stones, if they were accidentally hit, would render them unable to work for days. Given the foreman's temperament in this mine, if someone couldn't work for two days, they'd be thrown into a pile of undead. Therefore, everyone was momentarily at a loss. Just then, they heard a steady voice behind them.

"What's going on? What's all the noise about at this hour? Can't a person get some sleep?"

Although the voice was impatient, everyone looked up as if they had found a pillar of support. Strangely, however, they didn't see the short, stout man in charge, but instead saw a tall figure.

(End of this chapter)