The cave was dimly lit, but by the torchlight, one could discern a dark blue robe.

It belonged to He Yanxiu!

Su Yujin hurriedly reached out to move the stones covering the robe.

Everyone else also rushed to help.

Since they had seen the fabric, there must be someone under the rubble. No one dared to step forward but instead carefully moved the stones one by one to examine the area.

First, they found He Yanxiu in the rubble, then Xing An, followed by several guards, Wan Mingjun, the supervisor of the mint, and his subordinates. In total, there were about a dozen people, all unconscious.

“Carry them all out to a cool, spacious, and well-lit place. Everyone spread out; don’t crowd around!” Su Yujin shouted.

The cave was already running low on air, and the sudden collapse had blocked the narrow space for so long with so many people inside, most of whom were having difficulty breathing. It was crucial to ensure they had plenty of fresh air.

Many present had already witnessed Su Yujin’s medical skills during the previous incident of copper sulfate poisoning, and they all followed her instructions to quickly carry the people out and place them in a cool, open area.

Su Yujin hurriedly checked the pulses of He Yanxiu and the others one by one.

Each person had varying degrees of external injuries and concussions, which had caused them to faint. Fortunately, their timely rescue prevented further damage to He Yanxiu and the others due to a lack of air.

Su Yujin’s current task was to treat everyone’s wounds and prescribe an herbal decoction to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis and to clear the meridians, tailored to each individual’s condition.

With over a dozen injured people, Su Yujin couldn’t handle them all by herself. Qu Zhiwen and the others washed their hands, disinfected them with alcohol, and, following Su Yujin’s instructions, cleaned the wounds with medicine, applied medicinal powder, and bandaged them.

With help from others, Su Yujin naturally breathed a sigh of relief and focused on treating He Yanxiu’s injuries.

He Yanxiu was the most seriously injured among them.

His entire body was covered in severe bruises, even his cheeks. Most importantly, the insides of his hands were a bloody mess, with some cracks at the base of his thumbs, and both wrists were dislocated…

Judging from the injuries, He Yanxiu must have been lifting a heavy object like a rock…

Su Yujin pursed her lips and, while bandaging He Yanxiu’s wrists, used several smooth, flat pieces of wood to stabilize them.

Dislocations were usually accompanied by ligament tears or strains; this method of immobilization would help He Yanxiu’s wrists recover.

By the time everyone’s wounds had received initial treatment, it was completely dark.

After a simple bowl of hot noodle soup to fill their stomachs and resting for a while, Qu Zhiwen began arranging for people to carry He Yanxiu and the others, whose injuries had already been initially treated, down the mountain for further treatment and recuperation.

Su Yujin was also prepared to return with them.

Qu Zhiwen needed to stay here to handle the aftermath, so he instructed a few people to carry Su Yujin down the mountain in a sedan chair.

“No need. Just follow along. If any of the men carrying the stretcher ran out of strength on the way, you could step in and take their place for a bit.”

At this moment, she couldn’t be pretentious or presumptuous, lest she embarrass He Yanxiu.

“But I felt something was amiss after I arrived here.”

“What do you mean, Miss Su?”

“A sudden mine collapse is not uncommon, and those experienced miners are highly skilled. They should be quite familiar with the rescue efforts after a collapse. Why were the people present so flustered at the time, and there wasn’t even a wooden frame to support the entrance?”

Qu Zhiwen nodded solemnly upon hearing Su Yujin’s words. “So, Miss Su and I are concerned about the same thing.”

“Just now, when Miss Su was treating Lord He and the others, I questioned those people. They only said that they were going to build a scaffold for support based on their experience and then clear away the stones, but the guards on duty scolded them not to cause trouble, saying they would rescue Lord He and the others themselves.”

“These guards are all assigned by the Ministry of Revenue to guard the Mint. They are all paid by the capital and have a lot of power. Those people thought that the guards must also want to rescue Lord He and Lord Wan as soon as possible, and perhaps they did have a better way, so they dared not say anything more.”

“Who was the guard who scolded them? Have you found him? ” Su Yujin frowned.

“No,” Qu Zhiwen said. “I ordered people to look for the guard according to the descriptions those people gave, but we did not find the guard they said scolded them.”

As expected.

Su Yujin curtsied to Qu Zhiwen. “Lord He and Lord Wan are both unconscious at the moment. We’ll likely have to ask them after they wake up to know the details. There are some things I, as a woman, shouldn’t pry into, but the situation here is complicated. I can only say that everything depends on Lord Qu.”

“I understand what you mean, Miss Su,” Qu Zhiwen replied, bowing. “Please rest assured, Miss Su. And please inform Lord He after he wakes up that I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Lord Qu.”

“It’s my duty, Miss Su; you flatter me.”

While the two were talking, the stretcher and other equipment were already prepared for departure. Su Yujin packed her medicine box, handed it to the yamen runner accompanying her, and followed.

Despite being wrapped in a thick cloak, her figure was incredibly slender, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

But Su Yujin walked with an upright posture, much like a pine tree standing tall and straight in the snow, inspiring a sense of respect.

“Miss Su, please take care.” Qu Zhiwen couldn’t help but bow to Su Yujin and the others, and only straightened up after they had all disappeared into the night.

“My lord, it’s late; please go and rest. I have prepared a clean room for you so that no one will disturb you.”

“I’m afraid we can’t rest now.”

Qu Zhiwen’s eyes were bright, and the dim light from the lantern he carried reflected the resolute look on his face. “Summon everyone here; I have questions to ask.”

This matter must be investigated thoroughly!

On Su Yujin’s side, the group was heading out of the mountain.

The road was rugged, the night was dark, and they were all carrying heavy stretchers, so their progress was very slow.

What would normally take a little over an hour during the day had taken them more than three hours to reach the foot of the mountain.

Before entering the mountain, Qu Zhiwen had already instructed someone to go back and report, calling for reinforcements. At the foot of the mountain, dozens of constables and seven or eight carriages were waiting.

The stretcher was replaced by a carriage, carrying the still unconscious He Yanxiu and the others towards the prefectural city.

Once on the carriage, the utterly exhausted Su Yujin finally breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing her sore and swollen calves and sprinkling some medicinal powder on the blisters on the soles of her feet.

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