Chapter 494 Righteous Indignation

Chapter 494: Fury of Justice

Since Fourth Sister wanted to ask about this matter, Lei Nian'er didn’t mind doing this small favor—it was just a bit troublesome at most.

She helped Fourth Sister up and said, “I’ll do my best.”

However, the people Lei Nian'er sent out returned with nothing but reports of disappearance, their efforts like stones thrown into the sea.

Cousin Song’s trail had been erased without a trace, leaving not even a single clue.

Lei Nian'er pondered. By all rights, even if something had truly happened to her, there should still be some leads.

Unless someone had deliberately erased them.

What kind of influence could make even her unable to find any clues?

And why would they target an ordinary scholar?

Her highest status was just being related to the Lei family.

What threat could she possibly pose?

Lei Nian'er frowned. She had initially thought this would be a simple matter, but it turned out to be more complicated than expected.

At this point, Lei Nian'er didn’t want to give up and decided to continue investigating.

Meanwhile, the very Cousin Song they were worried about was seething with frustration at a mining camp.

“What did I do to deserve this?”

Originally, she had just gone out to buy an iron pot for her family and found a shop with poor quality but cheap prices.

When she looked into it, she realized they were privately dealing in ironware.

As a scholar, she naturally knew this was bad for the imperial coffers, detrimental to the court—private iron trade was a crime.

So she reported it, thinking she could make a good impression on the authorities and make it easier to earn favor after passing the imperial exams.

But not long after, she was knocked unconscious in her sleep and taken to this godforsaken place.

When she woke up, she thought she had gotten mixed up in some big scheme—that by exposing their racket, she had cut off their profits and was now doomed.

Instead, they just locked her up at the mining site to work.

They even kindly gave her a choice: mine, keep accounts, or die.

Cousin Song: "..."

How *very* kind of them~

As a bookish scholar, of course she chose to sit indoors and keep records~

Truth be told, the setup here wasn’t half bad. She even earned a monthly wage, way more than she'd earn in the city as an accountant or copyist.

And there was meat to eat every day.

She could never afford to live like this!

Her aunt did send money to support them, but there was still a whole family depending on her!

A pot of meat broth where everyone only got a sip with a few meat scraps was already considered good.

Aside from the frustration of being forced to work and the restriction of not being allowed to leave, Cousin Song didn't really resist.

The only thing was, she couldn’t even send a letter home to reassure her family.

Given how tightly guarded everything was, Cousin Song guessed that this iron mine wasn’t officially operated by the state.

She was stuck on this thieves' ship now, taking things one day at a time—though she had no idea how worried her family must be.

Meanwhile, Lei Nian'er, who was investigating Cousin Song’s whereabouts, grew more and more troubled.

She expanded her search and found that several families across Pingzhou had recently reported missing loved ones, all vanishing without a trace, just like Cousin Song.

What kind of conspiracy needed to silence so many innocent people?

As Leining’s daughter, Lei Nian'er shared some similarities with him—like this sense of justice.

Upon learning that a group of defenseless people had suffered due to someone’s selfish motives, her disgust for the mastermind behind it all reached its peak.

Her eyes practically burned with rage.

How could there be such absolutely vicious scoundrels in this world? These scoundrels clearly held no regard for Dayue’s laws!

If the mastermind were standing before her, she'd have cut them down right then to rid the people of this scourge!

Lei Nian'er continued her investigation, and the evidence seemed to point toward the King of Qin’s faction.

There wasn’t any concrete proof, but one of the King of Qin’s high-ranking officials had passed through Pingzhou and stayed there recently.

Then there were the underhanded dealings within the King of Qin’s faction—the transfers and promotions of officials—all closely tied to Pingzhou.

No definitive evidence, just vague hints.

Yet, everyone couldn’t help but suspect the King of Qin’s faction was behind it.

Lei Nian'er admitted to herself that she alone lacked the power to uncover solid evidence, especially when they were working together to cover their tracks.

She turned hesitantly to Bei Jingchu for help: “This is a personal matter.”

“You’ve got enough on your plate. If it’s inconvenient, don’t feel obliged to help.”

“I’d hate for my little problem to interfere with your more important affairs.”

Bei Jingchu chuckled, her tone ambiguous. “Right now, I’m having a secret rendezvous with Commander Jiang at Jialan Courtyard—what ‘important affairs’ could I possibly have?”

Lei Nian'er gave a careless shrug. “I get that you’re in a bad mood. If messing around with guys makes you happy, then I’ll just have to put in extra effort.”

*What a good sister,* she thought.

But now, she had to maintain her love-addled act.

So her expression turned serious, and she said sternly, “Nian'er, A-Shou is my chosen husband. Watch your tongue and don’t disrespect him.”