Chapter 12: Continuous Allocation

Zhang Hantang left?

Upon hearing this news, Luo Jinyan was stunned.

Luo Jiazhuang was not a royal palace, but it was not a vegetable garden either. People came and went as they pleased.

Not long ago, Zhang Hantang had reprimanded Xia Zhi, and within half an hour, he left.

Eldest brother Zhang Guangsheng looked apologetic, rubbing his rough hands and repeatedly apologizing.

"Little Seventh is young and worried that Master Luo would look down on him, so he wanted to make a name for himself in the martial world before coming back to serve. He left in a hurry, and I, as his elder brother, apologize to Miss Luo on his behalf."

Saying this, Zhang Guangsheng bowed deeply, and the others hesitated at first, but then they also bowed, except for Fang Si, who had a fiery temper. He grumbled, "Big brother, why are you defending him? What kind of name does he want to make for himself? He's just..."

Before he could finish, Third Brother Mo Jiakang nudged him with his elbow, signaling him to be quiet, and then pulled him to apologize to Luo Jinyan.

Luo Ming sneered, with a hint of schadenfreude, "A rotten egg can't be propped up against a wall."

His voice was low, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present. Fang Si, who had just straightened up, suddenly became furious and shouted, "Who are you calling a rotten egg?"

Luo Ming snorted, "All of you are, especially the Seventh Brother who is afraid of dead people."

The brothers were all hot-blooded men. They could sell their strength and even their lives to fill their stomachs, but they would not allow anyone to insult them like this.

"Those who rely on their ancestors' glory to make a living are the real rotten eggs. You're just better at being born into a good family. If you have the guts, show us what you're made of. Let me, a real man, show you who the real rotten egg is!"

The men surged forward, even the usually steady Zhang Da had a grim expression. Fang Si grabbed Luo Ming by the collar, and his fist, the size of a bowl, swung up.

"Stop, stop," Luo Jianchang said with a forced smile, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, it's all a misunderstanding. You are all guests in our Luo family. Let's not make Master Luo lose face. Besides, it's not good for Miss Luo to be frightened."

At this, everyone remembered that there were women in the room and turned to look at Luo Jinyan.

Miss Luo was young, but they had all worked together to escort her back.

A light chuckle, like a small pebble dropping into a pond, rang out. Luo Jinyan stood beside Xia Zhi, her delicate face beaming with a pure and innocent smile.

The air in the room seemed to solidify, and everyone fell silent. The rough men felt somewhat embarrassed and withdrew their fists, tucking their hands into their sleeves, afraid that she would see the dirt under their fingernails.

Luo Jianchang wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. It was the dead of winter, but he was sweating profusely.

Luo Ming glanced at Luo Jinyan and then at the other brothers, coldly saying, "What's the point of showing off in front of a little girl? If you have the guts, come with me to the woodshed!"

With that, he walked out, and the other brothers looked at each other and then followed suit. Before Zhang Da and Lu Zhenping could say anything, Fang Si had already rushed out.

Seeing his sturdy figure disappear at the door, Zhang Da laughed, "Of course we have to go. Even if Little Seventh is not here, we can't let people look down on us brothers. Let's go to the woodshed!" With that, he led the others out in single file.

Luo Jianchang breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and followed, "Wait, I'll show you the way, sirs."

After running a few steps, Luo Jianchang remembered that Luo Jinyan was still there, so he turned back and lowered his voice to scold Xia Zhi, "You girl, you really don't know any better. Hurry and take Miss back. Can you handle it if she's frightened?"

After speaking, and seeing that neither of the two paid him any attention, he sighed and hurried off to lead the way.

There were three woodsheds in the manor, and the one for prisoners was the small woodshed in the outer courtyard.

Cui Qi and the thief had been brought back only in the morning, and with such an incident, Master Luo would naturally have Lin, the steward, take care of it. Lin was not in the mansion, but he should be back by tonight, so Luo Jianchang had locked up the two in the woodshed in the front courtyard, making it easier to interrogate them.

Luo Jianchang thought his arrangement was the most appropriate, but he forgot one important thing.

The front courtyard was a busy place with people coming and going.

Cui Qi had not been seriously injured; he had been tied up and gagged, and the other thief, who was already injured, had been dragged through the snow and was barely conscious. Seeing that he had no strength to escape, they had just tied him up without gagging him.

In the woodshed, there were two guards. At noon, a servant girl had brought them food, and the two guards had eaten their fill and chatted for a while before they remembered to check on the prisoners, only to find one of them with a deathly pale face, already dead.

Cui Qi was scared out of his wits and had already lost control of his bodily functions. He removed the cloth from his mouth and begged for mercy incessantly.

Luo Ming frowned, the stench in the woodshed almost making him retch. He forced back his nausea and walked over, while Zhang Da had already squatted down beside the dead man.

He used his hands to open the dead man's mouth and leaned in to smell, then said to the other brothers, "We made a mistake. This guy had poison in his mouth. He must have fainted on the way and then bitten the poison sac to commit suicide after waking up."

He had just finished speaking when Luo Jianchang, who was standing far away, began to pound his thigh with his fist. "Suicide, although it sounds bad when it spreads, at least it's not being beaten to death. Even if it causes trouble with the authorities, I'm not afraid."

Luo Jinyan glanced at his elder cousin who was more than ten years older than him and couldn't help but smile. "I should still tell father to handle the matters in the front yard, and not let him get involved."

However, Luo Ming had already walked up to Cui Qi angrily and said, "Stop pretending, how did he die? You saw it with your own eyes. If you don't explain clearly, I'll finish you off right now."

As he spoke, he swiftly drew his waist knife, the gleaming blade flashing with a cold light. Xia Zhi was startled and stood in front of Luo Jinyan.

"Sir, please listen to me, I'm innocent. I've served the old master for a lifetime, but the third young master dismissed me while the old master was away. I'm at my wits' end."

Before he could finish, Luo Jianchang hurriedly retorted, "You're talking nonsense. You've accumulated gambling debts and caused chaos in the village. Of course, I had to dismiss you. Does the Luo family have to pay off your debts as well?"

Seeing that the two were about to argue further, Luo Ming angrily told Luo Jianchang to shut up and let him continue.

End of excerpt.

Dear readers, here's today's update.

Yesterday, when I finished writing the chapter for Jin Yuliangyan, there was a sudden power outage in the neighborhood, and it wasn't fixed until midnight. I'm really sorry.

I want to finish this section quickly, but there are many details that can't be left out. I've already condensed it once, but this chapter can only be written up to this point.