Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 27.1

Chapter 27.1
I’m Your Shadow, Cui Heng

Her voice wasn’t loud, but the courtyard was too quiet, making these words stand out. Everyone looked over, including the Inspection Department Master, who had a cold look on his face. When his gaze fell on her bloodstained body, his aura tightened for a few moments before he said softly, “Zhu Que, take her to heal her wounds first.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Zhu Que sniffed and hurriedly greeted Luo Wanqing, “Get up, follow me.”

Luo Wanqing got up and followed Zhu Que to leave. Before she left, she looked back and saw Xie Heng turn his head to look at the person who delivered the message, frowning slightly, “Where’s Luo Wanqing? Is she also dead?”

She listened to Xie Heng’s question and felt strange. There was nothing for Xie Heng to ask about her specifically. When she filed a complaint that day, didn’t Xie Heng immediately leave? How could he know about her?

Zhang Jiuran’s letter told her she had already rescued her family but was discovered and intercepted by Xiang Sizi. Then, the ones who died in the landslide were not her family and were even more unlikely to be the real Luo Wanqing. But Xie Heng didn’t know, and he was concerned about the death of the Luo Family, especially Luo Wanqing.

Why?

Luo Wanqing felt suspicious in her heart, but for fear of being noticed by others, she dared not to stay longer and followed Zhu Que out of the courtyard. Acting nosy, she casually chatted: “Zhu Que Ambassador, what’s this Luo Family? Who’s Luo Wanqing? Why is Master so concerned about it?”

“In the future, you can call him Young Master like us.” Zhu Que walked in front and carelessly said, “Master is for outsiders. You must know you’re not following the Inspection Department but Young Master. You must be clear in your heart who you listen to and who you serve.”

Hearing such a reminder, Luo Wanqing didn’t dare to say more and respectfully said, “Yes.”

“This Luo family was originally a rich merchant in Jiangnan. The head of the family, Luo Qushu, was imprisoned for smuggling salt and was sentenced to death. His family was exiled to Lingnan.” Zhu Que saw her proper behavior, so he replied to her question and didn’t cover it up. He carefully said, “Originally, this kind of small case couldn’t even reach Young Master. But something happened, which made Young Master notice it. When Young Master intended to interrogate Luo Qushu personally, he found out that Luo Qushu killed himself in prison for fear of the punishment.”

When Luo Wanqing heard this, she squeezed her fists. Her face was gloomy over as she queried, “Fear of punishment and killing himself?”

“Our Inspection Department has handled so many cases, and if ten of them have killed themselves in fear of punishment, nine of them have something fishy going on.” Zhu Que snorted a laugh, followed by some regret, “But at that time, we couldn’t find evidence, and those involved were not easy to handle. Young Master intends to put this case on hold, like a few other cases. Unexpectedly, the Luo Family’s Miss Luo Wanqing tries her way to meet Young Master to complain,” Zhu Que gestures up, “You don’t know that Miss Luo looks like a fairy. That kind will break at first touch. But she dug through the dungeon and killed a shadow guard. What a determination! But she was still persuaded by Young Master, who promised that he would be able to redress her later. As a result, unexpectedly ……”

Zhu Que paused. A trace of pity surfaced on his face, and he sighed, “Human calculations are not as good as heaven’s. This Miss Luo has a thin fate. Young Master is a man who keeps his word,” Zhu Que shook his head, “His heart must be sad now.”

Luo Wanqing listened quietly and looked back at the bright courtyard. Is the person behind the screen that day Xie Heng? He was planning to overturn her family’s case. She wouldn’t have believed Zhu Que’s words if it were a month ago. At that time, her eyes were full of hatred. After seeing Jiang Shaoyan’s extreme evil, she was more willing to believe that the whole world was evil. Xie Heng was afraid of Li Guiyu, Zheng Pingsheng, and other people’s power and was unwilling to stand up for a commoner like her. But now, during this journey, she has seen so many cases of injustice, Zhang Jiuran’s father, Qin Jue’s family, plus her Luo Wanqing. The world is so big that even if the Inspection Department wanted to manage it, how could they handle it?

She begged Xie Heng, and Xie Heng remembered her, which was already good. Even if there are mistakes, they must go through their own paths. She feels that he is a good person.

Luo Wanqing felt complicated. She pursed her lips and noticed that something was wrong. She subconsciously said, “What make Young Master notice such a small case?”

Initially, she thought it was because of her complaint, but she didn’t realize it was something else.

“You’re quite a prying person.” Zhu Que smiled.

Luo Wanqing’s heart tightened slightly, realizing she had asked too much. But she did not expect Zhu Que to praise her immediately after, “Good habit! An excellent scout should have this quality.”

Luo Wanqing choked, not knowing whether she must cry or laugh.

Zhu Que didn’t hide it either and excitedly said, “I’ll talk to you about this. Don’t talk to anyone else. That Luo Wanqing, previously was the fiancée of the Third Highness, that prince who returned from the countryside, you know it, right?”

“Yes.” Luo Wanqing nodded, “The whole world knows.”

“That Luo Wanqing, ah, likes our Master!”

When these words came out, Luo Wanqing was a bit confused and let out a question, “En?”

She like Xie Heng? How did she not know?

“How did you know?” Luo Wanqing inquired curiously.

Zhu Que brought some pride and affirmed, “I heard it. Our Inspection Department has monitored the Third Prince for a long time. When he went to the cell to see Luo Wanqing and his people forced the Inspection Department’s people to go far away, I personally eavesdrop on them.”

“You heard?” Luo Wanqing blinked.

Zhu Que’s face was slightly embarrassed, and he coughed lightly, “I didn’t hear it all. That,” Zhu Que said solemnly, “Third Prince is powerful.”

“Oh.” Luo Wanqing nodded, “Then what did you hear?”

“I only heard one sentence,” Zhu Que seriously said, “Luo Wanqing said that she has liked our Young Master since she was a child, that Third Prince is her spare, and that she will also take Third Prince’s head to celebrate her and Young Master’s wedding. This is giving our Young Master too much face! This kind of thing I must let Young Master know, so I immediately came back to report. As a result, Young Master heard her father’s name and decided to interrogate him.”

As Luo Wanqing listened, she was suddenly glad she had changed her identity. She didn’t want to use Luo Wanqing’s identity to see Xie Heng in her life. It was too humiliating.

She smiled with difficulty, “Young Master and this Luo Qushu know each other?”

“That’s for you to ask Young Master.” Zhu Que shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk ahead. “But this Luo Qushu is a Cui Clan disciple, and Young Master’s mother’s clan is Cui Clan, so it’s not surprising that he knows them.”

Luo Wanqing said nothing. She silently memorized this information and followed Zhu Que to a small building.

Zhu Que opened the gate, pointed to a room, and said, “We don’t have many female ambassadors in the Inspection Department. Originally, Aunt Bai Li lived alone in this small building, but now, you’ll have a room. When Aunt Bai Li returns, you should listen to her arrangements.”

Luo Wanqing nodded at the words. Bai Li is a name she heard from Liu Xiniang, the best scout of the Inspection Department. Listening to Zhu Que calls her ‘aunt,’ so she should not be too young.

“I’ll leave it all to Zhu Que Ambassador to make arrangements.” Luo Wanqing saluted.

Zhu Que nodded, quite satisfied with her understanding. He said: The doctor and the maid will come soon to give you a check-up and medicine. Our Inspection Department has nothing except for money. I observed that you’re an expert in the medical field. You can ask whatever medicine you want to the maid.”

“That ……” Luo Wanqing hesitated, somewhat embarrassed, “My monthly salary ……”

She must go to the medical center to ransom Zhang Jiuran tomorrow. That horse belongs to the Inspection Department. They didn’t ask her today because they were busy. But if they asked tomorrow, she at least had to return the horse.

She was penniless, so how to take care of Zhang Jiuran?
She didn’t know what to do with the parasites in Zhang Jiuran’s body. Whether to renew life or raise people, it was all about money.

“Monthly salary?” Zhu Que heard Luo Wanqing’s inquiry, then responded, “Oh, the monthly salary of the Inspection Department is all given uniformly at the end of each month, not much, twenty taels of silver. But if you need money, you can ask your Shadow. Each division ambassador has a different monthly amount. Your Shadow will help you submit it for approval. In the future, all your chores, besides carrying out your mission, will be arranged for you by the Shadow.”

Luo Wanqing listened to Zhu Que’s explanation and slowly reacted, “Then, everything I do handled by the Shadow?”

“Yes, you just need to work your ass off.” Zhu Que nodded. “The Shadow will take care of everything for you. Prepare weapons and clothes, look for a doctor, look for relations, disguise, etc. It’s all in one package, and you command him on it. However, you just came in. Normally, you’ll get the old Shadow whose partner just died, who, after all, is the senior. So, you must listen to him for the time being.” Zhu Que nudged her, “After you familiarize yourself with the Inspection Department, you’ll be the dominant one, and he’ll be the secondary.”

As Luo Wanqing listened, she couldn’t help but look forward to it, then said, “Then when will my Shadow come?

“Tomorrow.” Zhu Que pondered, “I’ll help you to ask Xuan Shan. It’s his management.”

“Many thanks to Ambassador Zhu Que.” Luo Wanqing smiled and thanked him earnestly.

Zhu Que nodded, then said, “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.” With that, Zhu Que turned around to leave.

Between the moments, Luo Wanqing suddenly remembered, “That, Zhu Que Ambassador.”

Zhu Que turned back in confusion. Luo Wanqing asked solemnly, “How is Qin Jue?”

Zhu Que’s movements froze. He subconsciously wanted to ask which Qin Jue she was asking about. But he wasn’t sure if Luo Wanqing knew that Qin Jue had changed identities along the way, so he could only answer according to what Luo Wanqing knew: “Alive, he’s fine. Found him with ten keys in his hand, shortlisted to become a Shadow.”

Luo Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief, and Zhu Que suddenly turned a corner, testing, “You want Qin Jue to be your Shadow?”

Luo Wanqing froze. She didn’t have this thought, but Qin Jue wasn’t out of the question. So she nodded and said, “I have no strong opinions.”

Zhu Que’s face showed embarrassment as he hesitantly spoke, “Then …… I’ll ask around and discuss it.”

Luo Wanqing saluted, “All listen to Zhu Que Ambassador’s arrangement.”

Zhu Que nodded, “Okay. Then you rest well. This matter is important. I’m leaving.” With that, he left the room in a hurry.

Luo Wanqing looked at his somewhat overly flustered back in confusion, not understanding what had happened. She sat briefly in the room, and a maid appeared at the door with the doctor and medicine boy.

Luo Wanqing let them come in to give her a check-up. She recalled Zhang Jiuran’s condition and asked the doctor for some life-preserving herbs.

The Inspection Department is generous. Those herbs she wanted were worth a lot of money, but the doctor did not even blink at her.

Luo Wanqing calculated the price of these medicines and felt that if she didn’t have enough money in the future, she would sell the herbs from the Inspection Department. After bandaging her wounds and explaining things, the maid made her bed. She was finally able to sleep. This bed was much more comfortable than when she was in Yangzhou, but she was somewhat unable to sleep. In the past few months, she was used to being vigilant, and suddenly relaxing her tense nerves, she was a bit unaccustomed to it. And there were too many things she needed to deal with.

How to save Zhang Jiuran?
And her family. According to what Zhang Jiuran said, the death of the Luo Family should be false. Her family should have left halfway with Zhang Jiuran before being intercepted by Xiang Sizi.

Xiang Sizi wants to blackmail her. Sooner or later, he will come to find her. It’s just that she does not know how her family is doing.

And — That fake Qin Jue.

Luo Wanqing’s mind flashed back to that person leaning against the window, smiling and looking at her, and couldn’t help but turn her head to look at the window. To this day, she didn’t know that person’s identity, name, or even what he looked like. She should have asked Zhu Que. Since it was someone sent by the Inspection Department, Zhu Que should know him, right?

But there was no hurry. Luo Wanqing closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing. The future is long, and they will meet again later. She couldn’t sleep, so she relaxed her breath and settled down. Before long, she felt much more comfortable in her heart and even fell asleep in a daze.