The more cowardly a person is, the more wild they are; I've driven the villainous minister craz

"Cui Niang, what are you looking at?"

"Cui Niang? Cui Niang?"

It wasn't until a magnified face appeared in front of her that Yu Wan realized the other person was calling her 'Ma Cuicui'.

She gave an awkward smile and replied, "You Niang, what's wrong?"

The woman named "You Niang" was a woman in her late twenties, a few years older than Yu Wan. She and her husband had been lured to this place a few months ago.

The men's work is heavier; You Niang's husband died of exhaustion a few days ago, leaving her all alone.

Most of those who die from exhaustion in this area are men, while fewer women die.

Yu Wan felt that these women were probably the ones who most wanted to escape.

If given the chance, Yu Wan wanted to escape with them.

She gets closer to a woman who has lost her husband here, while Yun Shang appears in other mine tunnels.

The cave was dimly lit, and everyone was covered in dirt, making it extremely difficult to identify them. The presence or absence of one person would go unnoticed for a short time.

Yun Shang successfully blended into the crowd under the name "Ma Dazhuang," and because of such a simple and down-to-earth name, he did not arouse any suspicion from others.

Meanwhile, at the Huicheng County government office.

Ever since Prince Chen received news that Yun Shang was being hunted down, he has been sending people to search for him secretly in Wushaoling.

Among the corpses found at Wushaoling, there were only assassins and guards from the Prince Chen's mansion; Yun Shang was not among them.

Since no body was found, Prince Chen believed that Yun Shang must still be alive.

In order not to alert the enemy, he could only secretly send people to search for Yun Shang's whereabouts.

“Your Highness.” Mingwei felt that Yun Shang was very likely in trouble, unlike Prince Chen who was optimistic. “There are signs of someone falling off the cliff. It’s been a day, and our men haven’t found a way down. With a cliff so deep that it seems bottomless, there’s no way anyone could survive falling down there…”

Prince Chen interrupted him directly, "I believe in Yun Shang. He won't die so easily."

Seeing the stubbornness on Prince Chen's face, Mingwei silently swallowed the words he was about to say.

Prince Chen said, "Continue to secretly send more people to search for him. Tell them to pay extra attention to whether there are any marks on the tree trunk. If Yun Shang is still alive, he will definitely find a way to send a message to me."

Although Mingwei felt that the chances of Yunshang being alive were slim, he still agreed.

After finishing his conversation with Yun Shang, Ming Wei hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Highness, there have been people watching outside the mansion recently. I have secretly observed them, and those people are also secret guards. They are well-trained and unlike ordinary people."

Prince Chen seemed completely unsurprised by what he heard.

He raised the corners of his lips, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Most likely, he's one of the King of Qi's men. He's worried that I still have other useful advisors under my command, and he wants to eliminate them all."

Mingwei frowned. "Young Master Yun is still a commoner, so Prince Qi has no scruples. But if Young Master Yun passes the imperial examination with flying colors, Prince Qi will certainly not dare to act so openly against him."

Although Emperor Wenjing was addicted to wine and women and was incompetent and ineffective, he attached great importance to the annual imperial examinations. He would take the time to personally test the talents selected through the examinations and then place them in suitable positions.

Whether these people ultimately became corrupt officials or honest officials was no longer within Emperor Wenjing's considerations.

Emperor Wenjing believed in only one thing: with such talented people around, even if the Great Zhao Dynasty did not continue to prosper and grow stronger, it would never perish.

As long as the princes don't touch these people, Emperor Wenjing won't bother with them.

Upon hearing Mingwei's words, Prince Chen frowned deeply and said:

"The imperial examination is next spring, which is still several months away. Anything could happen in such a long time. Even if Yun Shang manages to escape unscathed this time, what if the King of Qi continues to take action? It's impossible to escape every time."

Prince Chen looked at the new buds sprouting on the branches and suddenly spoke up, "If we can't wait for the imperial examinations, there are still the special examinations."

In the Great Zhao Dynasty, in addition to the regular civil service examination held every three years, there were also special examinations held at irregular intervals to select talents.

The examination for technical personnel is an additional examination held when there is an urgent need to fill certain vacancies.

Those who passed the imperial examinations could also obtain official titles and positions, and would also gain favor with Emperor Wenjing.

As long as someone shows their face in front of Emperor Wenjing, other princes may try every means to win them over or frame them, but they will not directly send someone to kill them.

Because if anyone did this, once it was discovered, Emperor Wenjing would surely punish them severely.

Mingwei's eyes lit up. "That's right. We can let Young Master Yun take the imperial examination. As long as Young Master Yun ranks at the top, Prince Qi and the other princes will not dare to harm Young Master Yun so blatantly."

A smile appeared on Prince Chen's face.

This method is indeed feasible.

Although he sent people to protect Yun Shang, there were always areas he couldn't cover.

And most importantly, Yun Shang is still a commoner, just an ordinary student. Dealing with an ordinary student is too easy and too risk-free for Prince Qi and his group.

When people have no scruples, they are capable of doing anything.

Chen Wangchao beckoned to Mingwei and whispered a few words in his ear, instructing him: "Send the letter to the Empress Dowager and let her handle it."

Mingwei agreed with a serious expression.

As the sun set in the west, darkness fell once more.

But for Yu Wan, Yun Shang, and the others who were in the mine, it made no difference whether it was dawn or not.

There is no day or night in the mine, so the two can only judge the time by eating two meals a day.

After only one day in this godforsaken place, Yu Wan already felt unwell all over.

She couldn't imagine how a person's mind would break down if they were in this situation for a long time.

Fortunately, she and Yun Shang did not come away empty-handed during that day and night.

Yun Shang has already figured out the other two mine tunnels. They will stay here for at most one more day to understand the guard arrangements in the mine before they can start preparing to leave.

In fact, Yu Wan was very suspicious that Yun Shang had no way of leaving this place.

It should be noted that none of these conscripted laborers managed to escape.

She was completely baffled and asked Yun Shang for an explanation.

Yun Shang remained silent, his expression unfathomable.

Yu Wan could only attribute it to the protagonist's halo.

With the protagonist's halo, can the male lead be treated the same as other cannon fodder minor characters?

Before going to sleep, the two shared and summarized the information they had gathered throughout the day. As the surroundings became completely quiet, they also fell silent in the darkness.

Darkness and fatigue fostered sleepiness.

The cave was small, so two people sleeping together had to be very close together.

Normally, Yu Wan would never have stood so close to Yun Shang.

But in this special situation, she had no choice but to stick close to Yun Shang.

Firstly, because the cave is small, and secondly, because the temperature inside the cave is low, if you don't sleep next to someone, you'll wake up from the cold halfway through your sleep.

Between waking up frozen and being close to Yun Shang, Yu Wan chose the latter.

Anyway, it's not like it's the first time we've slept together.

Yu Wan fell into a deep sleep, nestled close to Yun Shang. She was so tired that she didn't dream and slept very soundly.

She seemed to be lying on a cloud, comfortable and relaxed.

But in the next instant, the world spun around, the soft clouds beneath her vanished, and she plummeted into the endless abyss!