The Prodigal Son

Qin Yu originally wanted to go down and check immediately, but everyone stopped him.

The collapsed section of the mine shaft has just been excavated, and it could collapse at any time.

Given his current status, who would dare let him take such a risk!

In the end, Qin Yu could only wait outside for Ding Che and the others to come out and investigate the situation.

About an hour later, Ding Che and his group finally emerged from the mine, bringing with them some skeletons and miscellaneous items.

"call……"

Breathing in the fresh air, Ding Che reported to Qin Yu: "We've only dug out the main mine shaft. There are multiple shafts leading in different directions, and many places are still collapsed, making excavation much more difficult! So far, we've discovered a total of 323 bodies..."

"So many?"

Hearing Ding Che's words, everyone was shocked.

This is only what has been dug out.

If we dig it all up, wouldn't there be thousands of people inside?

"There are indeed quite a lot."

Ding Che nodded gravely. "Among them were the corpses of several constables from Xinpu County..."

As he spoke, Ding Che took out another piece of tattered cloth and handed it to Qin Yu.

Although many years have passed, it is still easily recognizable as the uniform of a yamen runner.

"No identification badge found?"

Guo Yang frowned and asked.

"No!"

Ding Che shook his head. "Their identification badges were probably confiscated, or perhaps it's not appropriate for them to wear badges for this kind of work..."

Ding Che deduced that most of these people were probably killed after being forcibly driven into the mine.

Most of these people were probably just people in charge of gold mining or supervision; many of those actually in charge of mining are probably still buried in other mine tunnels.

Because the area they've already excavated simply can't accommodate so many people mining.

Based on the current situation, it appears the murderer buried the person in several separate incidents.

The first and second times, those buried were probably miners, gold prospectors, or supervisors.

The third burial, which involved the people they first dug out, likely involved those who had escaped in the chaos but were later captured, killed, and buried again. Alternatively, it could have involved people who lived far from the mine, who were all captured, killed, and buried together.

Finally, it's time to clean up all traces at the scene...

Listening to Ding Che's analysis, Qi Dachui couldn't help but curse angrily, "These beasts! They're worse than animals!"

Nan Que'er and Lü Si nodded in agreement.

These people will stop at nothing to keep the secret!

frenzied!

"Stop cursing! They dared to assassinate even the crown prince, do you expect them to have any humanity?"

Qin Yu sighed softly, "Let's clean up these things first and see if there are any clues!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu squatted down to examine the items that the people from the Treasure Mirror Bureau had brought out of the mine tunnel.

Besides iron picks and steel shovels, they also brought out rusty yamen runners' swords, as well as miners' lamps, shoes, and other items.

"These lights are also important clues."

Ding Che picked up a lamp. "I think I saw a similar lamp when we were in Taozhou!"

"Taozhou? Taozhou again?"

Qin Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. "It seems we'll have to conduct a thorough investigation in Taozhou sooner or later!"

Currently, several things are pointing to Taozhou.

It can be roughly determined that many things were procured in Taozhou!

If we follow these clues, we're sure to find something!

"These are the standard-issue arrowheads of the Imperial Guard!"

At this moment, Guo Yang noticed something unusual about a skeleton.

Qin Yu turned his head and saw that Guo Yang had already picked up the bone with the arrowhead embedded in it.

This arrow is unique; it's triangular, with serrated ends and a blood groove in the middle.

These arrows were much more complicated to make than ordinary arrows, and only the Imperial Guard was equipped with them.

"Yes! There are similar arrows on the skeleton next to it!"

Ding Che nodded and said, "These people should be one of the assassins. They were wounded by arrows when they tried to assassinate the Crown Prince, and were then brought here by their accomplices. But by the time they got here, they probably couldn't hold on any longer or had already died from their injuries, so they were all thrown into the mine and buried..."

The few pairs of broken shoes and pieces of clothing he brought out all came from these people.

These are also the directions the investigation will take.

A glint flashed in Qin Yu's eyes. "In other words, it's now certain that the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince is related to Sun Min!"

"It's confirmed!"

Ding Che nodded emphatically, "Otherwise, how could the Imperial Guard's arrows possibly have landed on these people! Moreover, their bones are noticeably thicker than ordinary people's, so they must have been quite strong in life!"

As Ding Che finished speaking, the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped several degrees.

Although some evidence had been gathered to suggest that Sun Min's death was related to the Crown Prince, these were mostly speculations and inferences.

The standard-issue arrowheads of these Imperial Guards are irrefutable evidence.

A hidden gold mine directly changed the political situation in Da Ning, implicating thousands of officials, and even Zhao Yi became the scapegoat!

If the Crown Prince had successfully ascended the throne, perhaps the brutal war of a few years ago could have been avoided, and the Empress Dowager and Zhao Luan would not have had so much infighting.

The real culprit behind this indirectly caused the deaths of countless people, many of whom were outstanding talents!

It even brought about the downfall of the prosperous era of Da Ning!

The culprit behind this should be found and chopped into mincemeat!

"Now that the evidence is complete, it's time for us to leave!"

Qin Yu stood up. "Leave a small force to continue digging and exploring here! There's no need for the main force to waste any more time here! Take a few of all the artifacts of the same style, and send someone down the stream to find Boss Zeng and the others. Tell them we'll meet up in Bailu County, Taozhou!"

Since so much evidence points to Taozhou, let's start the investigation from Taozhou!

Taozhou isn't that big!

Even if we have to investigate Taozhou thoroughly, we must find the real culprit behind it all!

In a sense, Qin Yu's father, elder brother, and uncle, as well as Xu Wan's father, were all killed by this mastermind!

If we don't find the mastermind behind this, not only will the Empress Dowager and Zhao Luan not be able to sleep, but Qin Yu himself won't be able to sleep either!

Ding Che thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don't we just follow the stream downstream? That way we can run into Boss Zeng and the others directly!"

"Go to hell! Our flattery is still stuck in Huai County!"

Qin Yu glanced at Ding Che, "Furthermore, it's now confirmed that the assassins returned here after killing the Crown Prince and cleaned up the scene!"

"Many of those assassins must have died back then. They couldn't have carried the corpses very far, and besides, we haven't found many assassin bodies here!"

"This means the bodies must be buried near where the prince was assassinated. If we search from here to that side, we might find the burial site and discover more clues..."

"That's less likely."

Guo Yang shook his head and said, "Back then, when the Crown Prince was assassinated, tens of thousands of people searched the area around where the Crown Prince was assassinated, but they couldn't find the bodies of the assassins."

"Let's try our luck!"

Qin Yu didn't say much, "If we can find it, we will; if not, then forget it!"