The scheming empress starts by conquering men

Everyone's eyes turned to Shaodian Sishui. The terrified and hopeless people suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in their hearts.

Could it be possible that you could intercede for them and forgive them?

If the noble man intercedes for them, then the Lord will definitely forgive them.

Xin Yinzhen was a little frightened. Did the nobleman want to punish her as well?

"Dan girl, what do you want to say?" Xin Yinzhen asked with gritted teeth.

Just when everyone was daydreaming and worried, she slowly spoke.

"Sir, these unruly people who hid salt are guilty of capital punishment. Logically, I shouldn't plead for them."

"But if they are all executed, what will happen to the mines?"

"They stole so much salt and also took away forty gold coins. Just the day before yesterday, I gave each of them a fine coin. This is a considerable expense for me!"

"Killing them like this, wouldn't that be too easy for them?"

The people who had just had hope suddenly became disheartened and their eyes looked dim and hopeless.

It's not a plea, it's just that the punishment is too light!!

Oh my god! They are finished.

Xin Yinzhen breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately she was not being blamed.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked, "What about the Yidan woman's opinion?"

Shaodian Sishui sighed and said helplessly: "They should be first-time offenders, why not give them a chance?"

When Diao Min heard her say this, he immediately nodded.

"Yes, yes, we are all first-time offenders..."

"Your Excellency is right, this is our first offense!"

"Your Excellency, please understand that we are really just first-time offenders!"

In order to avoid death, everyone changed their confessions, from being wrongly accused at the beginning to being a first-time offender.

Shaodian Sishui said: "Since they are first-time offenders, instead of chopping off their heads, why not let them work in the mines as compensation?"

"They will be paid one shell coin per month. When they have dug enough gold to make up for the stolen salt, they will be allowed to leave the mine."

"This way, we can give them a chance and also help them work for the mine. Why not do it?"

Shaodian Sishui bowed and saluted Xin Yinzhen.

"What do you say, sir?"

Xin Yinzhen was startled and trembling as she quickly returned the greeting.

"Yes, I think the Dan lady's suggestion is very good."

She looked at the unruly people below.

"Do you have any objections?"

Everyone quickly shook their heads.

"No, no, we have no objection! Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir!"

"Thank you for begging for mercy for us, thank you so much!"

"We are willing to work. We are willing to work."

They can still get paid for their work instead of working like slaves, so what else would they not want to do?

The people watching couldn't help but discuss it privately.

"This noble man is so kind-hearted! Are you going to let them go just like that?"

"If it were me, I would definitely kill them to relieve the hatred in my heart!"

"It's really abominable. How could this noble be so kind-hearted as to let them go like this?"

"If we were working for a noble man, this wouldn't have happened, and we wouldn't have stolen the gold."

"It's not just about gold. As long as I can have a full stomach, I am willing to work in the mine. It's a pity that the mine is not hiring anymore."

"Hey, hey, hey, did you know that this noble lady opened a salt workshop in the city and is hiring people? She is so kind, why don't we go and take a look?"

"real or fake?"

"I've heard about that, but I heard there's no pay for working there!"

"No wages?"

“Who will go to work then?”

"There is no salary, but each person can receive two taels of fine salt every month! It is certified by the government, so we can also get salt!"

"What is fine salt?"

"It must be salt. People can get salt. Are you kidding me?"

"It's really true. If you don't believe me, go and see. It's written on the notice outside! You can sign up now. It's in the south of the city."

"I gonna go see!"

"I'll go too, I'll go too."

Everyone ran away excitedly. What happened inside was of no importance to them.

Shaodian Sishui sighed, shook his head, and took out the new contract with great helplessness.

"Then let's sign a new contract!"

The unruly people swarmed in, wanting to sign a new contract.

Shao Dian Si Shui said, "It is better to read it carefully first, so as not to regret it after signing."

The unruly people ignored it and rushed to sign the contract.

Regret? I will never regret it in this life!

They don't want to die, they just want to live. Being alive is better than anything else.

However, there were still a few people who could read and write and so glanced at it briefly.

My body suddenly froze.

Although the above contract conditions are few, they are too harsh. They will have to be free miners for the rest of their lives!

Article 1: All miners will receive one shell coin per month to offset the value of gold until forty pieces of gold are used to offset the value.

Article 2: Working eight hours a day, each person must dig no less than thirty stones of salt ore. If the amount is less than one stone, one deerskin coin will be deducted.

Article 3: You are not allowed to leave the mine until all the gold is returned. Anyone who leaves will be considered in breach of contract and the prefect can arrest and execute him at any time.

No matter which one it is, it's fatal.

One gold can be exchanged for a thousand fine coins.

However, one premium coin requires ten shell coins to exchange.

Their salary is just ordinary shell coins, not high-quality goods.

Even if it is a fine product, they cannot work every day to complete the task.

How is it possible for each person to dig thirty stones of salt ore a day?

Just like they did yesterday, the family members took turns digging without sleep, and the total amount dug by more than 40 people was just over 100 stones.

But now, the requirement is 30 stones per person, and there are 43 of them, so they can’t dig up all the stones even if they die!

Not to mention that it also says that if the amount is less than one stone, one deerskin coin will be deducted.

How can they make money to repay their debts? They might not only fail to repay the gold but also end up in debt again.

"Those who have signed the contract can go back to work. Those who do not want to sign it are at the discretion of the prefect."

Shaodian Sishui's voice came from behind them. The people who saw the contract trembled, gritted their teeth and signed the contract cruelly.

Being beheaded is better than being alive. At worst, they can bully the slaves and ask them to help them dig!

Anyway, they are still civilians, and with those slaves, they can make up for the amount of mining they do.

Youzi's family also wanted to sign the contract, but Shaodian Sishui simply took the contract away.

You Zi's mother was startled and shouted, "My dear, I haven't signed yet!"

Shaodian Sishui chuckled and looked at the others with a signaling look.

"You guys better not sign the pledge. I'm afraid you guys might get in alive but not get the money."

She doesn't care about the life or death of this family.

What she cared about was that this family was good at speaking. If someone went in and misled people, it would be more trouble than gain.

She just wanted to see these people suspicious of each other and secretly hate each other.

Don't give them a chance to breathe.

You Zi's mother looked at the rest of the people and saw that they were glaring at them angrily, as if they wanted to kill their entire family.

When they thought that if they entered the mine, their family might be beaten to death by this group of people, You Zi's mother screamed in despair and collapsed to the ground.

It's all death!

How could this be? Why did their family become like this?

Xin Yinzhen also saw through Shaodian Sishui's plan, and immediately had Youzi's family imprisoned in the dungeon, waiting for an auspicious day to be beheaded after the witch's divination.

Among the few scattered civilians watching outside, there was Ji Xingchen's spy. Seeing that the matter was over, she left quietly and went back to send a pigeon to tell the eldest son what had happened in the city in the past few days.

After the case was closed, the remaining people dispersed.

Xin Yinzhen invited Shaodian Sishui to stay for dinner, and she looked around.

"Why don't you see Lord Shao?"