Chapter 11: One Network Search

In the woodshed were two people, one of them dead.

The deceased was the man caught by the seven brothers on the road. He was already injured and had been dragged through the snow, barely hanging on to life.

Since Luo Shao was unwell, Wang Chaoming couldn't stay for the meal. After discussing urgent matters with Luo Shao, he exchanged a few words with Luo Shao, and then took his leave. Luo Jianchang saw him off in place of Luo Shao.

In the early days when the family branched out, even though the three branches were divided equally, the eldest and second branches had more offspring, so the family's five-room house in Changping Town was given to the eldest branch, while other houses in town were given to the second branch. As a result, the third branch had no house in town. In order to support the eldest and second branches, several houses in town were bought for rental purposes. By the time it was Luo Jinyin's generation, the third branch of the Luo family had lived in this house for four generations, so when people in Changping talked about the third branch of the Luo family, they were referring to this place.

Although Luo Jianchang was a nephew, he earned his own keep. He had been entrusted with the management of the family's estate by Luo Shao due to his reliability and astuteness. While he had seen some of the world, he had never encountered a situation like this before and was at a loss for what to do.

When he heard that the person who had just been locked in the woodshed had died, he became even more at a loss.

"How...how will this be resolved? If it were Cui Qi, it would be easier to handle; after all, he is a member of the family, and we could just give some money to his father. But the deceased is an outsider. This could lead to a legal dispute!"

Since Luo Shao couldn't get out of bed, Ming Lan, his personal serving boy, hurriedly came to find Luo Jianchang.

Having just been locked in the woodshed in the morning, Luo Jianchang was dumbfounded.

Being an illegitimate child, he had received his position thanks to Luo Shao's acknowledgement of his stability, integrity, and shrewdness. While he had some worldly experience, this kind of situation was completely new to him, and he immediately didn't know what to do.

Once he heard that the deceased was the person caught on the way here, he was even more at a loss.

"What...what are we going to do? If it were Cui Qi, it would be easier, as he is a family member and we could give his father some money. But the deceased is an outsider. This could lead to legal trouble!"

Luo Shao couldn't get out of bed, and Ming Lan had come to find Luo Jianchang on his behalf. He had never imagined that the young master would be so taken aback. Ming Lan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Despite being only thirteen or fourteen years old, Ming Lan had followed the master on various official duties since he was a child and was much more knowledgeable than Luo Jianchang, who typically spent his days in the estate dealing with servants.

He had come to find Luo Jianchang simply to have him represent the master and inform the county yamen while Lord Luo and the other officials were at the estate. Yet, Luo Jianchang's reaction was unexpected, and so Ming Lan could only offer some reassurance. "The Master already knows. This is a thief, and we are in the right. Young Third Master needn't worry."

When Luo Jianchang heard that Luo Shao already knew, he breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt uneasy. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a tender voice say, "Young Third Master, Miss would like to visit the mountain house to see Lord Luo and the other officials. Please come with us."

At only seven years old, Luo Jinyin, being a girl, would have been fine seeing the seven brothers alone. But to see Lord Luo, her father or elder brothers had to accompany her; otherwise, given Lord Luo's personality, he wouldn't pay her any attention.

Ming Lan had long lost hope in Luo Jianchang; seeing Luo Jinyin, he decided to go with the flow. "Since Miss has matters to attend to, Young Third Master should go ahead. I will return to the Master."

Luo Jianchang breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Luo Jinyin had come, or he wouldn't have known what to do with the dead person.

Seeing his relieved expression, Ming Lan and Xia Zhi exchanged amused glances.

Luo Jianchang accompanied Luo Jinyin to the mountain house in front. Lord Luo was standing under the covered corridor, looking quite unwilling.

Seeing the meek Luo Jianchang and the maid Xia Zhi come to see him, Lord Luo showed impatience.

The official's letter had already been given to Old Master Luo, and Lord Luo guessed the content of the letter, which was probably to protect Miss Luo on her journey. It seemed as if the seven brothers were just a ruse, and he was the Luo family's great benefactor. If such an incident hadn't happened in his absence, Lord Luo would have felt much better. Reading the official's letter, he only felt that he was being unduly flattered.

The Luo family was from a distinguished family from the foundation of the nation. He was the second son of the Lord of Jianning, and his older brother was the heir. Last year, he had caused a scandal by breaking the leg of the nephew of Lady Li. To maintain peace, the Lord of Jianning had sent him to garrison duty.

The official was just trying to curry favor, and had conveniently found an opportunity with Miss Luo. It was clear to Lord Luo. As Miss Luo was young, not yet of age, the official had sent him to Changping, and had also hinted at getting a letter for the Lord of Jianning to express gratitude towards him.

The more Lord Luo thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He had never felt so embarrassed and simply wanted to leave early the next morning.

Seeing Xia Zhi leading a young girl along, he furrowed his brow, then remembered that this was Miss Luo.

Xia Zhi smiled as she said, "Lord Luo, you may not know yet, but the thief caught on the way has suddenly died. My young mistress would like you to come to the woodshed to take a look."

Not only was Lord Luo taken by surprise, even Luo Jianchang was stunned. He had assumed that Miss Luo wanted to thank these benefactors in person, but he had never expected that she would want to bring Lord Luo to the woodshed to see the deceased.

Before Lord Luo could speak, Luo Jianchang hurriedly said to Xia Zhi, "Miss is just a child. How can you allow her to do such nonsense? The woodshed is not a place for you to visit. Besides, Lord Luo has traveled a long way, and he..."

He prattled on, but Lord Luo interrupted him and, casting a glance at the stunningly dressed Luo Jinyin, said to Xia Zhi, "Very well, lead the way."

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I have translated the story up to this point. Let me know if you would like me to continue with the translation.

Luo Jianchang swallowed the unfinished words and he felt that the young master Luo seemed unreachable and imposing, but unexpectedly so easily persuaded. He was surprised that the young master Luo agreed to such naïve words from a child.

Xia Zhi seemed to have anticipated his agreement and said with a smile, "Master Luo, please don't worry. Miss has also invited Mr. Zhang from next door."

Luo Ming didn't immediately understand who Mr. Zhang was, but Luo Jianchang already knew. Although he was not used to big responsibilities, he was well-versed in family matters. As soon as the seven brothers arrived today, he had memorized all of their names. He just hadn't expected that Luo Jinyan would let the youngest, Zhang Hantang, go with them.

Could it be that, in the eyes of a child, the youngest Zhang Hantang was the most fun?

Luo Jianchang felt that this young maid Xia Zhi was quite immature. When the mistress is mischievous and the maid lacks discipline, it's the consequence of not having any senior female member in the family to advise. He resolved to have the elders persuade Shao Congshu to remarry soon.

While Luo Jianchang was muttering to himself, Xia Zhi had already taken Luo Jinyan's hand and led Luo Ming to find Zhang Hantang. Seeing this, Luo Jianchang quickly caught up.

The reason why Luo Jinyan wanted to find Luo Ming first and then Zhang Hantang was because she thought Zhang Hantang would be harder to persuade.

Although Luo Ming had not mentioned his identity, Luo Jinyan had guessed some of it. Guarding the city gate wasn't a good job, but it wasn't something that would be passed down without ancestral heritage. If she remembered correctly, the Hou Mansion of Jianning was surnamed Luo. When they encountered the bandits on the way, Luo Ming happened to be absent. This was not only a dereliction of duty but also a disgraceful humiliation. As someone with his background, losing face in front of a few gangsters would not go down well with him.

Luo Ming, inexperienced and full of youthful vigour, must want to take the opportunity to salvage his reputation, so Luo Jinyan guessed that he would definitely agree wholeheartedly.

Zhang Hantang might have realized something and would prefer to leave. If this man didn't want to get involved, it would be difficult to distract him with the few words Xia Zhi taught her. It made more sense to let Luo Ming pull him in.

If he stayed, the others would as well.

Ignoring the dead body in the timber shed, if Wang Chaoming's relative was really Prince Ning, Zhao Li, the more outsiders came to the village, the more trouble it would cause, and the more unable he would be to stay here.

From the time Wang Chaoming entered to now, it had only been an hour, which was the best solution Luo Jinyan could come up with for the time being.