As for why Ding Yun didn't directly lead dozens or hundreds of bodyguard robots to rescue her entire family early on, saving them from further suffering in prison, there were two main reasons.
First, Ding Yun could sense that while the original body's owner claimed not to hate her mother, she still felt a lingering discomfort. Letting her mother stay in prison a bit longer would help alleviate the original body's inner unease. After all, the original body had died because of her. What was wrong with her mother staying in prison a little longer?
Second, and more importantly, Ding Yun was concerned about her father's stubbornness. Even if he were rescued, he might still adhere to the principle of "a loyal subject dies when the ruler demands it." Therefore, there was no need to rush. It would be better to let him suffer more in prison, perhaps even waiting until he was being escorted to the execution ground, after several others had already been beheaded, and he truly felt the threat of death. Only then might he change.
So, from the very beginning, Ding Yun had no intention of rescuing her family early. As long as they weren't facing a death threat in prison, she wouldn't intervene. Even if they lost limbs, she had ways to heal them. It didn't matter.
Of course, there was also the fact that the original body had died, but her family was still alive, which made Ding Yun feel a little uncomfortable. She selfishly wanted them to suffer a bit more to achieve some psychological balance. Besides, the original body hadn't specified that they had to be rescued early. Therefore, Ding Yun felt no guilt whatsoever.
She stayed in the deep mountains and old forests, and each day she would spend her time learning about the situation in the capital, her parents' and family's situation in prison, and the mining progress. The rest of her time was dedicated to watching various fantastic movies and TV shows from the secondary technological plane.
It had to be said that this golden finger was truly powerful, making it feel like a vacation. Ding Yun couldn't be more satisfied with the experience and had already decided to praise it highly in her trial report. This was the kind of golden finger she wanted! Those systems that made her headache just to figure out how to use them, or that required a plethora of prerequisites to activate, what were those? Were they golden fingers or tormentors of the host?
...
While Ding Yun lived a carefree life, the entire ruling class of the country was thrown into chaos and panic by her actions, specifically her actions of purchasing vast quantities of goods across the country. They were busy with constant demands to investigate, and panicked because they couldn't uncover any information, fearing punishment.
Of course, while local officials had a difficult time, officials in the capital had it even worse, especially those specifically tasked with investigating the matter. This time, more officials were involved, not only the Dali Temple Vice-Minister and the Capital Prefect, who were already responsible for the investigation, but also the Commander of the Imperial City Department and the leader of the Dark Guard. In essence, the forces of the imperial court combined with the emperor's personal forces, and still, they found nothing.
It wasn't that they found no information at all, but rather that they found no useful information, no information they wanted. However, regardless of whether they found anything, the existing information was enough to make their scalps tingle. Thus, they had no choice but to brace themselves and report to Emperor Minghui together. Going together at least distributed the pressure. At the very least, they wouldn't all be punished together.
Soon after, Emperor Minghui summoned the four of them and instructed them to report their findings in turn. The Capital Prefect spoke first. He began by confessing his inadequacy and then stated that during the city-wide search, they had found no secret passages or channels for clandestine entry or exit. The perpetrators seemed to be able to fly or burrow through the earth.
Following him, the Vice-Minister of Dali Temple also began with an apology. Then, he truthfully reported his latest findings:
"Your Majesty, the latest information I have uncovered is so absurd that I find it hard to believe myself, yet I swear it is not a lie. I beg Your Majesty to let me finish without interruption. According to the information I have gathered, in almost all medium and large cities nationwide, someone has been purchasing high-quality medicinal herbs, exquisite jade jewelry, and other items with extremely pure silver.
However, the most baffling part is that these events all occurred a few days ago, specifically on the fourth and fifth of this month. When this happened in the capital, it was on the fourth. In essence, they swept through the good things in all medium and small cities across the country in just two days. And this is not the most absurd part. The most absurd part is that, according to the shopkeepers, the buyers were always the same dozen or so individuals, and their appearances never changed. In two cities separated by a thousand miles, the same person who was purchasing goods in Nanling City half an hour ago was in Jinhe City half an hour later. The existing evidence proves that these individuals are likely not human. Even with the fastest horses, it would be impossible to travel thousands of miles in just half an hour. Even the legendary 'shrinking the ground into an inch' is not this fast. Therefore, as Prefect Li just said, these individuals can likely fly or burrow through the earth, otherwise, there is no explanation. I know this is incredibly difficult to believe, but the existing evidence indeed points to this conclusion. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"
After finishing, the Vice-Minister of Dali Temple lowered his head. Although he was reluctant to admit the existence of supernatural phenomena, the evidence was undeniable. The possibility that these ostentatious merchants were human was very low, and he couldn't imagine any person or force possessing such magical abilities.
Emperor Minghui looked at him with disappointment and immediately turned his gaze to the Commander of the Imperial City Department and the leader of the Dark Guard. These two were his trusted confidantes, whom he trusted more than any civil or military official. Seeing the emperor's gaze, the Commander of the Imperial City Department and the leader of the Dark Guard knew he wanted them to take over. However, they also hadn't uncovered any further results. Therefore, they could only reply with distressed faces:
"Your Majesty, I am incompetent. According to the information investigated by my subordinates, Vice-Minister Zhu's findings are likely accurate. If it's not due to supernatural phenomena, then it's possible that a force has secretly cultivated many multiples, using them to shop in various locations and create the illusion that they can fly or burrow through the earth. Or perhaps they utilized disguise techniques.
However, regardless of the method, they did indeed spend thirty million taels of highly pure silver in just two days, purchasing a large quantity of goods and then disappearing with them. Crucially, their movements did not pass through any city gates, leaving no trace."
To avoid leaning towards the idea of them being able to fly or burrow, the Commander of the Imperial City Department had to contrive two possible explanations to barely account for the current investigative findings.
Subsequently, the leader of the Dark Guard regretfully stated that the information he had gathered was not significantly different from others. The general content was basically the same. The perpetrators were incredibly discreet and wealthy. Furthermore, their operational efficiency was extremely high. They were so discreet that even with their combined efforts, they could only gather some of the information revealed, while the hidden information remained completely unknown, like fleeting shooting stars.
They were so wealthy that in two days, they spent more than half a year's tax revenue of the nation. Their efficiency was so high that they covered all cities, large and small, nationwide within two days and carried away a large amount of goods. These three aspects were something even Emperor Minghui could not achieve. He couldn't even come up with thirty million taels of silver right now. He might be able to gather items worth thirty million taels of silver, but he truly couldn't produce the cash. Not to mention him, even the national treasury couldn't produce thirty million taels of silver at the moment. In all the years since the founding of the nation, the national treasury's silver reserves had never exceeded thirty million taels.
While Emperor Minghui might not have fully trusted the ministers' words, when his trusted subordinates, the Commander of the Imperial City Department and the leader of the Dark Guard, said the same thing, he had no choice but to believe them. However, the absurdity of the information they presented had indeed exceeded Emperor Minghui's acceptable range.
At this point, he could no longer maintain his composure. He stood up agitatedly and roared, "Then what are you trying to tell me! Are you saying that those wealthy merchants are either deities descended from heaven, who brought some silver from the immortal realm for a shopping spree and then flew back? Or that there is a force within our Great Jing with immense power and wealth that is hidden from me? A force you cannot even investigate? Don't you find this absurd?"
Faced with Emperor Minghui's questioning, what could the four present do? Yes, they also found it absurd, but the investigative information was as it was. What could they do? They couldn't directly deceive the emperor and lie to him. It was a true dilemma, where telling the truth was difficult and not telling the truth was also difficult. It was enough to drive them to despair.
"Your Majesty, we also find it hard to believe, but the current investigative information can only lead to this conclusion!"
"Your Majesty, I personally believe that the possibility of a powerful and terrifying hidden organization existing within the common folk is very small. Because if this organization were truly that vast and terrifying, why would it suddenly expose itself at this time? Moreover, they weren't purchasing anything of critical importance. This is highly illogical..."
However, before Vice-Minister Zhu could finish, Emperor Minghui interrupted him: "Then what are you trying to say? Are you trying to suggest that those individuals are celestial beings descended to earth, bringing silver from the immortal realm specifically for shopping?"
"Your Majesty, I did not say that. However, those individuals were indeed elusive, and it is certain that they possessed some special abilities. Even if they were not gods or immortals, they were most likely from some secluded family or sect. Perhaps they were genuinely just purchasing items. After all, so far, other than not entering the cities through official channels, their other actions have been relatively legal, and their transactions were normal. Perhaps Your Majesty need not worry too much."
Since the situation couldn't be investigated, they could only try their best to comfort Emperor Minghui, making him feel that these shoppers were not a threat, and perhaps they were simply buying things. Why make such a fuss? And why exhaust the people and the treasury over this matter? The emperor couldn't sleep due to his anxiety, and thus, his ministers also lived in constant apprehension and couldn't sleep soundly.
With the first person speaking, the rest quickly followed suit, comforting Emperor Minghui. They hoped he would stop dwelling on the matter and tormenting them. Every time they returned with no results but had to report, they were terrified. If this continued, they might lose several years of their lives.
However, Emperor Minghui couldn't bear the thought that there were forces in this world he didn't know about, forces that he couldn't investigate in detail. This made him extremely uncomfortable, even anxious and irritable. After all, how could he tolerate others sleeping soundly on his couch? If he didn't get to the bottom of it, he would have nightmares at night. Therefore, he was unwilling to give up.
But he also knew that these ministers had genuinely done their best, and this matter couldn't be rushed. Thus, they had to compromise. He wouldn't demand immediate results from his subordinates, but they couldn't abandon the investigation. They had to continue investigating, and they also needed to keep a closer eye on things, and as soon as there was any news or development, they had to investigate thoroughly or make an arrest.
With that, the matter was temporarily settled. The previously large-scale investigation was shifted to secret operations.
Concurrently, they issued wanted posters nationwide for Ding Yun and her bodyguard robots, with the reason for the pursuit being their lack of household registration, making them unregistered residents. It had to be said that this was the first time a nationwide manhunt was initiated solely for lacking household registration. Normally, nationwide wanted notices were for those who committed heinous crimes and escaped, or at least for notorious bandits who had taken many lives. Lacking household registration was hardly a major offense. Many people in the deep mountains and old forests were unregistered.
However, the authorities were helpless. They couldn't fabricate a crime to issue a wanted notice, and the only thing they could definitively determine about Ding Yun and her companions was their probable lack of household registration, making them unregistered. In other respects, they were merely engaging in normal trade, which was not illegal.
However, Ding Yun was currently residing in the deep mountains and old forests. Ordinary people, let alone mountain dwellers, would not venture into such deep and dangerous areas. Therefore, no matter how many wanted posters were distributed, no one could find her. As for her bodyguard robots, because she had purchased the all-around type, they were currently with her, serving as her housekeepers and chefs. They were also impossible to find.
Moreover, the bodyguard robots had many interchangeable face templates. Even if they needed to go out for any reason, it would simply be a matter of changing their makeup and appearance. In short, they were very safe. The only truly unsafe aspect was the mining operations. There were no issues with mining for ore underwater or picking wild medicinal herbs in the deep mountains and old forests. The main problem lay within the Jing Kingdom itself, especially in areas with many people, where the mining robots and equipment had been exposed several times.
Although they were eventually scared away by the holographic horror movies and terrifying sound effects that Ding Yun had prepared to create an atmosphere of dread and supernatural phenomena, they had indeed caused some commotion, and even some eerie legends had spread. The short-term impact might not be significant, but over time, people would inevitably become suspicious.