The prefect was scolded and vented his anger on Xie Yuan.
He ordered people to flog Xie Yuan and asked him if he had invited reinforcements.
Xie Yuan kept his eyes closed while being punished, and also kept his mouth closed and did not speak.
The boy's clothes were soon soaked in blood.
Seeing that his face was pale, the prefect was afraid that he would be killed, so he ordered others to take him down and keep him under strict supervision.
The number of people guarding him was doubled to prevent him from escaping.
Because he was concerned about his injuries, the prefect even hired someone to give Xie Yuan the golden sore medicine.
He asked several more questions one after another, but he couldn't even ask a single word.
Seeing that no one came to Nanhai County to look for Xie Yuan after so many days, the prefect slowly felt relieved. When he saw that Xie Yuan was recovering from his injuries, he put shackles on him and drove him back to mine.
Nowadays, there are few strong men in Nanhai County, and there are also very few slaves. The number of people in the mines is getting fewer and fewer day by day.
Therefore, no matter how big the official Xie Yuan is, if there is one more labor force, there will be one more labor force.
When Nannan saw Xie Yuan limping to receive the meal, her eyes suddenly turned red.
She quietly walked over and stuffed her steamed cake into Xie Yuan's hands.
"Ada, my mother's face was as white as yours when she went there. I gave my steamed cake to Ada to eat. Ada will get well soon." Nannan sniffed the two lines of snot from her nose.
Xie Yuanxiao.
The little girl made a noise in the mine, thinking that everything would be better after eating steamed cakes.
He stretched out his hand to rub his messy hair and handed the steamed cake back: "Ada just suffered some minor injuries and will get better soon. If Nannan wants Ada to take you out, just eat the cake obediently. Don't worry about it."
Give what you have to others.”
The little girl held the pancake and asked nonchalantly: "Can't Ada do it too?"
"No." Xie Yuan said warmly, "Nanny can just keep it for herself."
There are two meals a day here, and each meal only consists of rotten steamed cakes and coarse buttermilk.
Because we didn't have enough to eat, people often grabbed food, and even beat us to the head for a piece of steamed cake.
Not long after Xie Yuan came here, he had already seen several slaves beaten to death for a piece of steamed cake.
The little girl's kindness has no effect here, they will only steal the steamed cakes from her hand more brazenly.
Nannan nodded heavily, hugged the steamed cake and started eating it.
After the meal, Xie Yuan was driven back to mine, and his daughter was also rushed over to help.
The two of them chatted while working.
"Ada doesn't look like a Westerner."
"Well, I'm from the Central Plains."
"Where did Ada come from?"
"I come from... Yumen Pass."
"Where is the Jade Gate?"
"On the border of Dajin, there is a vast desert with infinitely beautiful scenery."
"Is there a moon there too?"
"You can see the full and waning moon everywhere."
"Ada, have you ever eaten caramel? My mother said that caramel is the most delicious in the world."
"I haven't eaten it, but I have bought it for others."
"oh oh."
"..." "..."
When resting at night, Nannan couldn't sleep, so she quietly came to find Xie Yuan again.
Then she saw Xie Yuanzheng and several slaves gathered together, using stones to draw something on the ground.
"Ada, are you playing in the mud?" The little girl walked over curiously.
The slaves looked up and immediately became alert when they saw Nannan approaching.
Xie Yuan glanced at them calmly, then covered the picture on the ground with a handful of sand, stretched out his hand to hold Nannan in his arms, rubbed her head and said, "We are practicing calligraphy."
"Xi Zi? What is the word? Can it be eaten like steamed cakes?" The little girl tilted her head in confusion.
Xie Yuan was silent, picked up a stone and wrote two identical words on the sand.
"This is the word. This is my daughter's name." Xie Yuan pointed to the official script on the sand and said warmly.
"Nanny..." the little girl chanted and suddenly lowered her head,
"I once saw that my mother wanted to teach me this, but later she became ill, so I just thought she wanted to teach me how to live in the mud."
Xie Yuan rubbed the little girl's head: "When we go out, Ada will teach you how to read and calligraphy, okay?"
"Okay." Nannan nodded. Thinking of something, the light in her eyes suddenly went out.
"But...can we really go out?"
"Yes. Ada promised to help you escape."
Nannan took advantage of the bright moonlight and pestered Xie Yuan to teach her several words, and then she fell into a deep sleep.
When the little girl fell asleep completely, the slaves next to her all had red eyes.
"This little girl is so pitiful. She is like a frog in a well. She has stayed in this deep mine for ten years."
"I was looking at her like that just now."
"Yeah, I thought she was a craftsman sent by someone else."
"..." "..."
They talked quietly, with guilt in their eyes.
Xie Yuan said warmly: "Have you written down all the pictures you just drew?"
Several people nodded: "I've written it all down."
Xie Yuan nodded.
These slaves are actually his clients.
After being unable to contact Xie Yuan, Cui Heng knew that something had happened to Xie Yuan, and immediately sent several smart retainers to inquire about the news.
These hangers-on knew that Xie Yuan had gone to check the salt mine before disappearing, so they pretended to be refugees and were deliberately arrested. As expected, they saw Xie Yuan.
After several people met, Xie Yuan learned that Cui Heng was secretly gathering soldiers and was on his way to lead the troops.
With the guarantee of backup, Xie Yuanan made up his mind and began to observe the path out of the mine.
After several days of observation, he discovered that besides the road he took when he was imprisoned, there was actually a very hidden path.
This road was the road that several people who escaped had dug to the outside.
Later, the soldiers boarded up the wooden planks and nailed them down.
But it's just a very thin board.
However, because the prefect and Taigong Xu sent people to guard the place strictly and even killed chickens to scare monkeys, the slaves behind did not dare to think of escaping again.
"My lord, I have gone to see it - this road actually has two forks, one leads to Kuaiji County and the other leads to the seaside. The exit of Kuaiji County is strictly guarded by soldiers, but no one goes to the one by the seaside.
.”
A doorman spoke in a low voice,
"I think we can go to Kuaiji County via the seaside road. I have been there before, and I remember that road - there is a port at the end of that road, where our manor is."
Xie Yuan nodded: "Okay."
The plan was finalized, and the next step was to encourage those in the mine to escape with them.
Xie Yuan and a group of retainers spent several days secretly lobbying.
Some people were recently arrested and knew that Xie Yuan came from a poor family and had done a lot to help the people and deal with many corrupt officials who had gained power based on their status.
Also because of Xie Yuan's background, they did not think that Xie Yuan was deceiving people, so they believed him.
As soon as they saw someone decide to follow Xie Yuan and run out, the rest of the people began to waver.
They all want to get out, and none of them want to be locked up in this never-ending mine for the rest of their lives.