Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 99 Xue Wuchen? Xie Mingchen?
"Exactly! The cinnabar ore is right here, it's not going to get lost, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Although cinnabar is worthless here, it's said to sell for a high price outside. I guess those nobles make their money from it."

"So how much do you think this thing can sell for? To me, it's just a rock."

"Let me think, it should sell for at least twenty or so coins per pound, right? If it's any cheaper, there won't be much profit to be made."

"How come I heard..."

"Okay, just say a few words."

The more silent man spoke up to stop his companions, whose talk was becoming increasingly absurd.

"Have you forgotten what's most important here? Keeping your mouth shut and not saying things you shouldn't say."

“Brother Yang, we’re the only brothers around here. Who would bother spreading rumors like this? Besides, these guys are here in the mine for life, they’re not going to leave. They’ll die here anyway. Is it alright for them to say a few words?”

"Alright, that's enough. Stop saying unnecessary things."

Yang Hui stopped the others and glanced at Jiu Que and the others, and then everyone fell silent.

After a while, the overseers got up, grumbling, and urged those who had already eaten to continue mining. Jiu Que, on the other hand, joined everyone in washing the dishes; a small mountain of rough pottery bowls awaited washing. Jiu Que wasn't one to be pampered; she rolled up her sleeves and worked alongside everyone else. Those working nearby, being observant, couldn't help but show her a little more concern when they saw Jiu Que's demeanor.

He's still just a child. If this happened in an ordinary family, they might start criticizing him right now.

In the days that followed, Jiu Que seemed well-behaved, working diligently alongside everyone. Over time, the women working in the kitchen came to trust her completely. The oldest woman even praised her.

"Luckily, Xiao Jiu, you're not the type to cry and whine all the time. What good would it do to cry your eyes out and go blind in this place? You'd never get out anyway, so you might as well make your life better. There were stubborn people like that before, and now they're probably buried somewhere. Just listen to your aunt. Although working here is tough and tiring, look at those miners and porters, and you'll know that we're doing pretty well. We even get to eat some leftovers from the adults sometimes. There are many children from ordinary families who have never eaten meat in their entire lives..."

Jiuque nodded repeatedly as he listened.

“You’re right, people really should cherish what they have. Life is better now than before, at least we can eat our fill. Before, I had to wait until my parents and my other pampered older siblings had eaten before I could eat. There was usually nothing left, and I didn’t have any oil or fat in my stomach all year round, which is why I’m so thin. In the few days I’ve been here, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger.”

"That's right, your aunt would never harm you."

A group of women were chatting and laughing by a small river. In the distance, Wang Mo walked over and saw that Jiu Que was almost surrounded by the women. His expression was displeased.

"Alright, wash the dishes and hurry up and prepare the next meal. Those supervisors are in a bad mood today, so don't go near them."

That aunt seemed to have a good relationship with Wang Mo, and she even asked a question in a low voice.

"What's wrong with them? The people in our mine are pretty obedient, and no one's arguing back. What are they angry about? Did they get more work from above?" "No, this morning a foreman at the mine had his leg broken by a rock falling from the mountain. They're all in a bad mood right now. Don't go near them, or you'll suffer."

"Oh, I see. We know that now."

Everyone knows how tough things are. Although the foremen in the mine are much better-tempered than those in other mines around, it's best not to provoke them on matters of life and death.

Everyone was working carefully when they saw a group of people coming from afar, making a lot of noise, with occasional screams mixed in.

"Wang Mo! Quickly get some clean water! And some cloth!"

Yang Hui directed everyone to lay a man, his face contorted in pain and screaming incessantly, flat on a large table. Then, he took a clean, damp cloth from Wang Mo and used it to wipe the blood from the man's legs. The man's clothes had been torn off, and now that some of the bloodstains had been wiped away, the mangled wounds were revealed, a sight that sank to everyone's hearts.

With such a severe injury, it's likely that this leg cannot be saved.

Everyone looked grim. The foreman with the broken leg seemed to have noticed something from their expressions, and he started screaming in pain, pleading with Yang Hui for help.

"Brother Yang, Brother Yang, please save me! I don't want my leg to break. If I break my leg, I'll be useless, and those officials upstairs won't take care of me! How can I work like them if I break my leg? I'll die! Please save me, Brother Yang!"

The man's shrill screams drew Yang Hui's attention, and after a moment, he sighed.

"I heard that among the people captured from the zombies at the nearby mine a few days ago was a doctor. I'll go and call him over. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate."

"Thank you, Brother Yang! I just wanted to try, I don't want to die..."

Yang Hui hurriedly left with two men, while Jiu Que, hidden in the corner, suddenly noticed something. Wait! The doctor brought back from the nearby mine? Could it be Xie Mingchen?

Jiu Que felt a rare surge of anticipation, so while working, he kept a close eye on the man surnamed Yang. Sure enough, after half an hour, several more people returned. One of them, though covered in dust and dirt, possessed a slender figure, bright eyes, and a faint medicinal fragrance, all indicating that he was none other than Xie Mingchen, whom he had been waiting for!
Of course, Xie Mingchen was tightly blocked by the supervisors of the two mines at the moment, and had no spare energy to look to the side, so he did not discover Jiu Que immediately.

The people here were incredibly excited to see Yang Hui and his companions return. After all, working in such a reckless mine, accidents could happen at any time; today's comrades might be tomorrow's themselves. Strangely enough, although they had recruited people from all over the country, they were desperately short of a doctor.

A while ago, the only old doctor in their neighboring mines also died. They didn't really care about the lives of those laborers, but their own lives were much more precious.

"What is this doctor's name?"

"My surname is Xue, Xue Wuchen. Where is the injured person? Is he still conscious?"

Xie Mingchen looked somewhat worried, which was perfectly normal for a doctor to worry about his patients. Seeing him like this, the others weren't angry at all; instead, they felt much more at ease, since everyone was extremely cautious when it came to their own lives.

(End of this chapter)