It would be strange not to realize something was fishy.

But...

Ordinary mines transport smelted iron ingots out, so why was this place doing the opposite?

To cover their tracks, they even deliberately used ore and scrap metal as a disguise, hauling it out daily.

If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, you would never suspect there was something wrong with the iron ingots from this mine!

Ye Chutang’s gaze shifted to the foreman who had just beaten the worker. She could vaguely make out what looked like a door behind him, but there was no way of knowing what lay inside.

One thing was certain, however: all the smelted iron ingots were being sent in there.

"This iron mine produces and consumes its own product. How interesting," Ye Chutang mused.

Shen Yanchuan, however, said nothing.

Hearing no response, Ye Chutang turned her head.

"What do you think—"

Something cool and gentle brushed against her forehead.

Ye Chutang froze.

The air around them seemed to congeal. Ye Chutang blinked, but all she could see was the smooth line of the man’s jaw.

Shen Yanchuan stood right beside her, and with his superior eyesight, he had naturally seen everything clearly as well.

Connecting this to the faint, rhythmic sound of hammering from before, the suspicion in his mind was all but confirmed.

It was precisely in this moment of deep thought that he failed to hear Ye Chutang’s words right away.

When he realized what had happened, his lashes fluttered, and he instinctively looked at the woman before him.

Only then did he belatedly realize—they were standing too close.

The already cramped space seemed to shrink even further, until they could hear each other’s breathing.

Yet, what was running through Ye Chutang’s mind at that moment was—’This man’s face is disguised, but the rest of him doesn’t seem to be.’

’Mmm... he really is handsome. His shoulders are straight, his neck is long, and even his Adam’s apple is beautifully shaped. When it bobs up and down, it gives off a rare, ascetic vibe.’

It made one want to—

’Resist.’

Ye Chutang squeezed her eyes shut and discreetly took a soft breath.

’How can I be thinking about this stuff when there’s important business to attend to???’

’They say a handsome face is a dangerous distraction. It’s really true.’

’If I’d known, I shouldn’t have drunk that pot of wine earlier this evening...’

"You’ve been drinking?"

The man’s low, leisurely voice sounded by her ear, startling Ye Chutang so much that she immediately looked up. For the moment their eyes met, she felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

"Hm?"

’Don’t tell me he figured out what I was thinking!?’

Shen Yanchuan hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from her and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"You smell of wine. Can’t you smell it?"

In truth, the scent was very faint, but at such close quarters, and with his heightened senses, it seemed quite strong to him.

Ye Chutang crinkled her nose.

"Is it that bad...?"

She had specifically tried to air out the smell of wine before coming. She could only blame this man, Shen Yanchuan, for being too perceptive.

"I had a little. What, am I not allowed to drink?"

’Why is he looking at me so strangely?’

Shen Yanchuan seemed to chuckle. "Of course you can. I’m just surprised that Second Miss Ye would be willing to drink such common liquor."

Ye Chutang froze for a second.

’I’ve never been picky about this, have I? Why would Shen Yanchuan suddenly say something like—’

"To ignore the many fine wines of the Capital City’s Yunlai Tavern, only to come to this small town and sip on some nameless swill... Second Miss Ye certainly has peculiar tastes."

Ye Chutang: "..."

She was silent for a long time before finally speaking in disbelief.

"Shen Yanchuan."

"Are you really holding a grudge just because I didn’t send you any wine?"

Shen Yanchuan glanced at her and said coolly, "I’m surprised Second Miss Ye even remembers that."

Ye Chutang: "..."

’It would have been one thing if Shen Yanchuan had denied it, but he just went and admitted it so directly!?’

’The dignified Heir of Duke Dingbei isn’t hurting for a single pot of wine!’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Ye Chutang’s lips parted, just as she was about to speak, when she suddenly heard a commotion in the distance. She immediately fell silent and looked over.

Several figures seemed to be carrying something as they walked.

They were far away and the light was poor, so the overlapping silhouettes made it hard to see what it was.

But the next moment, Ye Chutang saw them toss the "thing" aside.

It was a person!

"Pah! What damn luck!" one of them spat on the ground. "This is the third one to die this month, right?"

Another chimed in, "You said it! If they keep dying like this, we’ll never finish our work!"

In their chatter, there was no sorrow for their dead coworker, only complaints.

"In the end, it was exhaustion! But who isn’t exhausted? And to think he looked like he was in good shape. Turns out he couldn’t handle it!"

"His death doesn’t matter, but having to recruit someone to replace him is just another hassle."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! If someone hears you, do you have a death wish!?"

But the man who’d been shushed only grew more indignant.

"So what? It was one thing when they paid more silver, but recently, there’s been no word from the higher-ups. We haven’t seen a scrap of meat in days! Who can stand it if this keeps up!?"

"Didn’t Mr. Liu say the situation is special and it’ll be fine once this period is over? Besides, so what if you can’t stand it? Now that you’re here, did you really think you’d get out in one piece?"

The speaker’s voice trailed off, and the group fell silent.

"Forget it! Let’s go!"

The men turned and left.

Ye Chutang’s brow furrowed.

Listening to them, it seemed that death was a common occurrence at this mine, and no one, from the top down, seemed to care.

’What exactly are they doing here?’

"Should we go take a look?"

The man’s question suddenly came from her side.

Ye Chutang turned her head and met his gaze.

After a moment, she gave a slight nod.

"Okay."

There was only one foreman guarding that main gate. As long as they dealt with him, they could get inside.

Of course, it went without saying that the inside would be heavily guarded as well.

This venture of theirs—

"It would be best if we can find something. If not, we still must leave within half an hour," Shen Yanchuan said.

They didn’t have much time left, and that was assuming everything went smoothly.

Ye Chutang nodded in agreement.

...

「Inside the city.」

Su Pei’er lay on her bed, tossing and turning.

The small couch beside her was empty. Second Miss Ye had not returned since leaving that morning.

’She must have gone to that iron mine outside the city, right?’

Su Pei’er clasped her hands together and prayed silently.

’I hope she’s safe...’