Chapter 64: Undisturbed Dust
From the information gathered before, Luo Jin learnt that Luo Xin was born in a small town called Qinan. Here wasn't far from Qinan City. She asked about the location and hired a vehicle to go to Qinan City.
Xiao Lian asked: "This Luo Xin also has the surname Luo. Is she related to Elder Sister?"
"I'm not the only one with the surname Luo in the world." Luo Jin shook her head, "I don't recognize her. I can only say... probably the same type of people?"
This Luo Xin wasn't only a novel transmigrator like her, but also the author of this book. It was a pity that the setting of this book was too weird and the author couldn't survive when she came.
Luo Jin was guessing since she transmigrated to the identity was also called Luo Jin, did this mean that one of the conditions for transmigrating was that there must be a character with the same name in the book?
She always thought that Luo Xin was the author's pen name, but she didn't expect it to be the real name?
Was there a character called Luo Xin in the novel?
She thought about it for a long time. There was probably some hidden setting. She didn't remember such a character. The main storyline had ended and this Luo Xin died more than ten years ago. It was unlikely that she would have any connection with the protagonist, meaning she had no chance to appear.
It was spring in Jiyuan Country, with red flowers and green willows. Quite full of vitality. Although it was a small city, it was quite prosperous. The street vendors were shouting hard and the sound of bargaining can be heard from time to time.
Xiao Lian pulled Luo Jin, "Elder Sister, I'm hungry."
"Then let's go eat something. There's a noodle shop in front."
Luo Jin stopped the carriage, took Xiao Lian out of the carriage, and went into the noodle shop.
The server greeted them with a smile, "What would you two ladies like to eat?"
"I heard from the coachman that there is a special clear soup noodle here," Xiao Lian said, "I want to try it."
Luo Jin said, "Two bowls of clear soup noodles, a few side dishes, and a pot of tea."
There weren't many people in the store at this time, so they found an empty seat and sat down. Soon the server brought the food one by one.
Xiao Lian ate with relish. Luo Jin took a bite, but found it a little bland. She didn't particularly like the light taste, so she clipped some vegetables to put it in and also scooped in a spoonful of vegetable soup with a spoon.
She took another bite. The saltiness was perfect.
"The clear soup noodles are to be eaten for their own fragrance. It's a waste for you to eat them like this." A slightly hoarse voice sounded in her ears.
Then, a tall man sat beside her. She turned to look at him.
He had his back to the window. Half of his dark gray eyes were hidden in the darkness, seemingly dim and unclear.
Luo Jin almost spit out the food in her mouth. In the end, she controlled herself and swallowed it to not appear rude.
"Shui... Yingchen? Why are you here?"
Shui Yingchen said calmly: "If two odd people entered the Jiyuan Kingdom and I didn't know, then I, the Emperor, would be a failure."
He leaned against the back of the chair and looked at her sideways, "Tell me, what are you planning?"
Hearing his tone, Luo Jin couldn't help but ask cautiously: "Have you recovered your memory?"
"Hmph."
Sure enough, he recovered his memory. It was still that bad temper.
Luo Jin's body stiffened slightly, "You won't... hit me, will you?"
"I promised not to hit you, so I won't," Shui Yingchen glanced at her, "Don't worry, the Emperor’s words aren’t given lightly and won't go back on his word."
Luo Jin breathed a sigh of relief and asked tentatively, "Then you specially came to this small town to..."
"I'm afraid you'll do something bad, so I'm here to keep an eye on you."
Shui Yingchen slowly uttered.
Luo Jin smiled awkwardly, "Your Majesty, don't you have to attend the morning court? Don't you review memorials?"
Her emperor attended the morning court every day, reviewed memorials every day, and was a complete workaholic.
Shui Yingchen replied: "I have some useful ministers and have always believed that the emperor only needs to know how to use people, not to do everything personally."
Luo Jin clapped her hands: "I believe that you aren’t managing because you are too lazy to manage."
"So?" Shui Yingchen stared into her eyes, "What conspiracy are you up to?"
"Conspiracy... of course I can't tell you." Luo Jin simply showed a bit of temper to him. She was used to putting her nose high. Since Shui Yingchen could keep his promise and not beat her, she dared to show some temper.
Shui Yingchen was silent for a long time before saying: "Qinan City is the hometown of that person. Out of all places, you come here. Is it for that person?"
Not wanting to evoke his despaired memories, Luo Jin denied it directly, "No, I think the scenery here is good. I came out for a walk... passing by, passing by."
"This place is remote. Do you have to pass by here to go anywhere?" Shui Yingchen mercilessly exposed her lies.
"..."
Luo Jin was silent for a while, and whispered: "I'm sorry."
"Why apologize?"
"I disturbed your peace."
Xiao Lian was eating noodles on the side. She sucked a noodle and turned to look at Shui Yingchen, "Are you Elder Sister's friend?"
"No." Shui Yingchen answered straightforwardly.
Xiao Lian thought for a while and asked again: "Then are you a bad person?"
"..."
"Can be considered to be?" Shui Yingchen said.
Xiao Lian laughed, "Bad guys won't say they are bad guys, so you are definitely not a bad guy. Eldest Brother, we are going to do something to save the world. If you are not a bad guy, then you must be a good guy. Will you come with us?"
As Luo Jin was about to say something, she saw Shui Yingchen nodded, "Okay."
"..."
Shui Yingchen said again, "Since you want to find that person's prophecy, I will go with you to prove that person was a liar who was seeking fame and reputation and completely destroy her reputation. Think of it as... revenge."
Luo Jin sighed, it seemed that she couldn't get rid of Shui Yingchen.
After the meal, they set off for Sangyuan Village, which was ten miles away and where Luo Xin was born.
Sangyuan Village was a small village with few people. It was afternoon. There were almost no people on the road. After walking for a long time, they saw a few sparse figures in the distance.
Luo Jin walked up and asked the villagers, "Fellow villagers, is there a family with the surname Luo in this village?"
The villager pointed to a place not far away, "The house over there belongs to the Luo family, but there is only an old man living here. The males of the Luo Family have moved out."
Luo Jin asked curiously, "Why?"
The villagers' expressions became mysterious, "You don't know. Their family has a mysterious curse. All the women in the family will not live past the age of 25. The locals all know. Who would be willing to marry into their family? They could only secretly move out. How immoral. If a girl from another family married their son without knowing the situation, it would be too painful to give birth to a daughter.”
Luo Jin asked: "Uncle, have you heard of a girl named Luo Xin in their family?"
The villager nodded, "That family’s lass died at the age of 25 years ago. It was pitiful. I heard that she was a female official in the palace. What a pity..."
Luo Jin thanked him and walked toward the Luo’s home in the direction pointed by the villager.
The Luo family's house wasn't small, but it looked dilapidated. It was obvious that it hadn’t been repaired for many years.
The door wasn't closed. Looking from the door, one could see a white-haired old man basking in the sun in the yard. He had a pot of tea next to him and his clothes were black, as if they had not been washed for a long time.
Hearing the sound of someone coming in, the old man raised his head and glared at them, "Who are you looking for?"
"Who are you... to Luo Xin?" Luo Jin asked.
"My daughter is dead. You’re finding her too late. She had been dead for almost 20 years." The old man rolled his eyes at them in dissatisfaction and waved his hand, "Leave!"
"I know. I came here to find out about her." Luo Jin took out a silver ingot from her sleeve and shook it in her hand, "They can do?"
The old man stared at the silver ingot and finally nodded, "What do you want to ask? Let me make it clear first, I don't know much. That lass wasn't close to me. She liked her mother more... Her mother died not long after she died, leaving me, an old man alone, with no one to take care of me."
Luo Jin didn't have a good impression of the old man, nor did she think he was pitiful. She guessed that this family probably had some family disease that was passed down to daughters but not sons, but the old man obviously concealed this matter, harming his wife and daughter.
"She made two predictions, one about the royal family... I know this, I want to know what the other prediction is." Luo Jin asked directly.
The old man shook his head, "I don't know, she didn't tell me what she had said. Rather tell outsiders than me."
Luo Jin felt that he didn't seem to be lying, but was still a little unwilling to accept this. She put the silver on the table and took out a gold ingot, "If you know, this gold ingot is for you!"
The old man stared at the gold with greed in his eyes.
He pondered for a long time before saying, "I overheard a little bit. There is a Huzhuang, thirty miles to the north. There is a family named Li there, who had a good relationship with that girl. She also knew a general from Dongyuan, surnamed Qiu. I don't know anything else. You can't break your promise!"
Luo Jin nodded, put the gold on the table,, "Put it away quickly, don't let the villagers see it."
The old man grabbed it and put it in his sleeves, "Of course I know, they have no good intentions."
Luo Jin no longer paid attention to him and left the yard.
With a father like this, Luo Xin probably wouldn't count on him for anything.
Soon after leaving the yard, they met another villager. Luo Jin asked the man about Huzhuang.
The villagers were stunned for a long time, "Who told you about Huzhuang? There is no one in Huzhuang thirty miles away. You are from outside, right? You must have been cheated!"
"No one?" Luo Jin was stunned, "How could there be no one?"
"There was a plague in that village ten years ago. All the people in the village died. After that, there is no one. After several years, the government heard that there was a ghost there, so they sent people to collect the bones. That place is unlucky. Who told you to go there? They must have bad intentions." The villagers said. Luo Jin looked at Shui Yingchen, "We seem to have been cheated."
Shui Yingchen shook his head, "Not necessarily. The old man doesn't seem to like to interact with others. He lost his daughter and wife more than ten years ago. It isn't certain that anyone would mention Huzhuang to him. Moreover, we are three young people and he is an old man. If he cheats us, we go back to settle accounts with him. Will he be able to resist?"
He pondered, "Let's go and have a look. It's only thirty miles away. We will be there in half a day."
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