Rolan got out of bed when the sky was already bright. (Quality#……net)

He put on his coat, walked to the window, and the hazy buildings had revealed their respective background colors, red tiles and gray walls mixed together, forming a vibrant variety of colors. Although it was still cold indoors, facing the sun, one could feel a little warmth.

The earth had thawed.

Walking into the office converted from a room, today's breakfast was already placed on the table, a fried egg and two pancakes, plus a cup of hot boiled water, the same as in the town, obviously prepared by Nightingale.

"Thanks," Rolan said to the empty recliner.

"How did you know I was here?" Nightingale's figure gradually emerged.

"If you can lie down, you won't sit," he smiled, sandwiched the two pancakes with the egg, and brought it to his mouth, "And the back of the chair is sunken, you'd have to be a ghost not to know."

"No, I like sitting too," she flashed and appeared directly at the table, turning over and sitting on the edge of the table, "Like here."

This set of movements was smooth and flowing, always pleasing to the eye, Rolan thought, especially the process of disappearing into the mist and then instantly emerging, it was like a quantum leap.

"You look like you're in a good mood, had a good dream?"

She raised her eyebrows, "Yeah, it was a good dream."

"That's good," Rolan swallowed the "egg burger" in a few bites, "You have to follow me today."

"Because of the assassination attempt?"

"Yeah," his mood turned serious, "If the «Gemstone List» is really being used by Tifeico, there may be other dark pieces in the Western Territory, and we can't review everyone." These people who are loyal to the royal family and have both courage and resourcefulness should not be wasted on assassinations, they could be placed in more promising positions to exert their abilities. Thinking of this, Rolan further strengthened his determination to eliminate Tifeico's forces as soon as possible.

"As you wish, Your Highness," Nightingale smiled, "Where is today's itinerary?"

"The mines and salt wells, this is also one of my main purposes for coming here."

……

After gathering Peiluo and a group of related personnel to the castle, the inspection team headed out of the city in a mighty manner.

Although Rolan was more concerned about the iron ore mines located in the Maple Leaf and Wild Rose families, the gemstone trade was also a pillar industry of the Longsong District, and it was also closest to the fortress, so the first stop of the inspection was placed on this famous Five-Color Gemstone Mine.

Due to the thawing snow, the ground became muddy, and carriages could not pass, so the group could only ride horses slowly, and it took most of the morning to reach the edge of the Endless Mountains. Rolan reaffirmed the truth of "If you want to get rich, build roads first", there was no hard road leading to the mining area, and once it rained, it would be impossible to transport the ore smoothly, no matter how high the output was, it would be useless.

The mine was located in a natural cave. After a short narrow passage, the interior suddenly opened up. Nearly a hundred bundles of pine resin torches could only illuminate the scene in the cave roughly. Rolan looked up and asked, "Is this cave naturally formed?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Peiluo nodded, "According to legend, even its discovery was an accident: originally there was a smooth rock wall here, and a vibration occurred on the earth more than three hundred years ago. The rock wall collapsed, revealing the current cave entrance. At first, the local hunters only used this place as a shelter from the rain, but later, as the exploration continued to deepen, the existence of five-color gems was discovered."

"You seem to know a lot," Rolan smiled.

"These stories are well known in the Western Territory," Peiluo waved his hand, and beckoned a man from the team to come closer, "His name is Denver.Kolian, he is the manager of this mine, you can ask him about the specific matters."

"Are you from Duke Liane?"

"No, Your Honorable Highness, the Kolian family does not belong to any lord," the man called Denver bowed, he was about thirty years old, but spoke like a calm old man, "Our family has lived around this mine for generations, and the hunter who discovered it was also one of the ancestors of the family. The family has served three dukes successively, and the maps of the mine drawn are as tall as a person, no one knows the mine like Kolian."

It could be seen that he was very proud of this. Even when facing the Graycastle Prince, he could still talk eloquently. And that calm temperament was particularly outstanding, coupled with a set of slim black zhifu, it was like the old housekeeper of those millennia-old families in the movies.

Since this group of people had passed Nightingale's review before departure, Rolan was not worried that he was a sleeper, "Why is there no one mining in the mine now?"

"Because the Evil Moon just ended not long ago, Your Highness," Denver replied without thinking, "The snow in the mountains will melt and flow into the mountains, and flow to lower places. Although drainage ditches and water collection wells are set up in the mine, the speed of water collection is much faster than human transportation, and the bottom of the mine cannot be entered temporarily. According to past practice, it will have to wait until summer to be mined normally."

"Is the iron ore mine in the Maple Leaf and Wild Rose territories also like this?"

"Although I haven't been there, I heard that the iron ore mines of the two families are higher in terrain, and the mine tunnels extend upwards, which is much better than here. But if you want to resume production, you have to wait at least a month."

"It seems you need to set up a few more steam engines to help with pumping." Rolan shrugged.

"Steam...engine, what is that?" Denver looked puzzled.

"A machine that can keep the mine running all year round," the prince couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, "There is still a lot you need to learn in the future – about mining."

The other party's expression seemed quite disbelieving, his lips moved, but in the end he did not refute.

Rolan didn't take it to heart either. The track mine car and the supporting steam engine pumping and traction system have been used very skillfully in the North Slope mine, and even sold a set to the ore tycoon in Silverlight City. Sooner or later, it will be replaced with more efficient steam equipment—it's just that he is not interested in gems, and will definitely give priority to the development of iron ore.

"If that's the case, let's go to the next inspection site." Rolan turned around.

"Wait, Your Highness... This is a little token from the Kolian family," Denver probably didn't expect the prince to leave immediately, and quickly stepped forward, took out a small wooden box from his arms, and handed it to him.

"Oh?" Rolan took the wooden box with interest and opened the lid. Two crystal clear gems were lying in the box, and the light of the torch made it refract red and green overlapping colors, dazzlingly dazzling. He couldn't help but stunned, "This... is the Five-Colored Stone?"

"Exactly, Your Highness, they are the best selections from the purest gemstones, and also the family's collection of a hundred years ago." Denver put his hand on his chest and said, "The Kolian family is very honored to serve the new owner of the Western Territory."

Rolan didn't listen to the second half of the other party's words at all, his attention was all focused on the gems, this light was too familiar, even if he knew nothing about minerals, he had heard of the big name of this kind of stone.

Compared with the quite ornamental name of Five-Colored Stone, in later generations, it also has another more popular name—Diaspore. (。)