Chapter 864 The Man with the Red Birthmark

"How long have you been working at the Binotta Mine?" Zhang Heng then asked the waiter to bring two more glasses of wine to the miners opposite.

"I have been working at the Binotta mine for five years, but during the two years in between I changed to other jobs, loading and unloading goods at the dock. The work was a little easier than in the mine, but the income was also less. For two years Later, I had a fourth daughter and needed more money, so I went back to the mine." The older miner said, then pointed to the younger miner beside him, "He is my nephew, and he only went down with me this year. Mine is a good boy who works hard and never complains."

"Well, when did you start suspending work this time?" Zhang Heng asked next.

"The time was about half a month ago," the old miner tried to remember.

"Sixteen days ago to be exact," his nephew added on the side. "We went to the mine to work as usual in the morning, but the supervisor told us that there was an accident and the mine tunnel collapsed. We could not start work until it was cleared. , everyone can only go home and wait for news.”

"Did you go to the mine tunnel after the incident?"

The old miner and his nephew looked at each other, "We said we can help clean up. After all, our wages are paid daily, and there are many mouths waiting for food at home. We don't know how long the shutdown will last. Can we resume work earlier? We resumed work earlier, but the supervisor didn't let us in. Even if we said we could do it without paying, he told us that the slaves could handle it and we didn't have to worry. But now... we have stopped working for two weeks. These two weeks Here we can only live by doing odd jobs here and there. If it weren’t for the gold coins you gave us, we would be going to borrow money.”

"Did anything unusual happen before you stopped working, or did anyone you haven't seen come to the mine before?" Zhang Heng leaned back and changed into a more comfortable position.

"Cobb's eldest son Krasai didn't like the mine or us, but a few days before the incident he suddenly went to the mine to inspect. We saw him chatting with the supervisor for a long time, avoiding other people, and what happened The night before the collapse, there was nothing happening in the mine tunnel, and there was no rain or anything that night, so everyone was surprised by the collapse the next day," said the old miner.

"Then, is there anything else worth noting?"

So far, what the old miner has said only proves from the side that the landslide in the Binotta mine is indeed very likely to be man-made, but it does not provide any clues about the person behind the scenes. In this case, Zhang Heng You have to go back and visit Krasay or Cobb.

The old miner shook his head, but then Zhang Heng noticed a look of hesitation on the young miner's face after hearing this.

"If you think the money is not enough, I can pay you three more gold coins." Zhang Heng added.

"Oh no, you misunderstood. You gave us two gold coins just for asking. We can't ask for more. The reason I didn't say it before was because I didn't want to cause trouble to the person who told me this. ." said the young miner.

"Um?"

"I have a friend, she is a... servant of the Cobb family." The young miner hesitated.

"slave?"

"Yes, she actually heard something a few days before the shutdown and told me, but I didn't tell anyone else, and I also told her not to tell anyone else."

"Don't worry, you can get my guarantee that we won't leak what you told us to others, right?" Zhang Heng looked at Daichius, who immediately nodded repeatedly with a serious look on his face.

"I have always been strict with my mouth and never talk nonsense."

"Well, I believe you." The young miner finally made up his mind and said, "A week before the incident, someone visited Cobb late at night. The two of them stayed in the study for almost the whole night, plotting something. , in the middle of it, someone was called to pour the water. It was at that time that my friend heard Cobb say, this matter is too dangerous, you have to come up with a higher price, etc., and the visitor replied that it was just a delay. No one will know the time when those bronze statues were cast, and my friend went out after that."

"Has your friend seen the visitor's face?" Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, she told me, mainly because the impression was so profound. She said that there was a red birthmark on the left side of the man's face, like a ball of flame."

"Oh, this narrows the scope immediately." Zhang Heng said, "There are not too many people with red birthmarks on their faces in Rome, and there are not too many people who dare to do something to the bronze statue. I believe it is not difficult to find out. Come out." Then he took out two more gold coins and threw them to the young miner, "Don't refuse your reward. You did me a big favor. You deserve it. I have nothing else to ask. You can go."

The young miner collected the money, thanked Zhang Heng again, and then left the tavern with his uncle.

On the other side, Daichiusi had a nervous and embarrassed smile on his face. He put down the wine glass in his hand uneasily and asked Zhang Heng, "Are we... involved in something?"

"What do you think?" Zhang Heng asked.

"I'm just a small character, why would this kind of thing happen to me?" Daichius complained with a bitter face, "How could anyone focus on those bronze statues? The delay in delivery not only deceived me, but also What’s the benefit? Besides, this is a statue of His Majesty the Emperor. Who dares to have trouble with His Majesty the Emperor?"

Zhang Heng was noncommittal, "It's too late to talk about this kind of thing now. If you don't want to take the blame, just resolve the matter with me. You heard what he said. You should know some of the people in the Senate. Whose faces do you know?" Are there any people with red birthmarks on their faces or their faces?”

"No one in the Senate should have red birthmarks on their faces... As for my subordinates," Daikius frowned, "With my status, the number of senators I can come into contact with is limited, but I have a friend who said A visitor who specializes in contacting all parties for the approval or rejection of a certain proposal. He has basically met everyone. If this visitor with the red birthmark really exists, my friend should know who he is working for."

"Very good, then let's go visit your friend next." Zhang Heng said, finishing the wine in the glass and throwing down six copper coins for the wine fee.

And when he heard that he could finally leave the Southeast District, Daikius was relieved, but at the same time, he also felt a little strange, because after such a long time, no one came to trouble them. This was still the same person who once Is it the Southeast City district that snatched Fabino's engagement ring and beat him to the ground at the same time?