I really don't want to take shortcuts anymore

"I understand." Luo Qianhuai's fingers tapped lightly on the rosewood desk, his eyes thoughtful but without a trace of fear.

"Oh, by the way, Chief Steward Hou." She glanced at Hou Zhong calmly, "Where is the guard who came to report the news earlier?"

"Before I left, he should have been resting in the side hall." Hou Zhong turned his head and asked his wife: "Why don't you go and invite him over?"

The woman was even more surprised than he was: "As soon as my husband left, the guard also left, saying that he had official business to attend to and could not delay... How come you didn't see him?"

As soon as these words came out, Xing Xuan and several guards all frowned. Luo Qianhuai noticed that the guard eagle standing at the door disappeared in a flash, thinking that he went to investigate in person, so he changed the subject again:

"Earlier, Chief Steward Hou said that in order to welcome me, the garden has prepared hot soup, tea and food, which can be prepared now. After I rest and eat, call everyone over so that I can meet them."

Hou Zhong really didn't expect that after knowing what happened before, Luo Qianhuai would still be in the mood to rest and eat. But looking at her calm eyes, it didn't seem like she was joking, so he couldn't help but ask: "Madam, are you planning to rest here tonight?"

Luo Qianhuai's black pupils were like mirrors, and he smiled slightly: "Why, Manager Hou doesn't welcome you?"

"How could that be!" Hou Zhong denied repeatedly: "I am just worried that those evil things will disturb Madam..."

"How dare you!" Xing Xuan raised her eyebrows and interrupted him: "Where do ghosts come from in the world? They are all fictitious. Who knows who is behind this? How dare you bring them to pollute my ears!"

"How can I have such courage?" Hou Zhong shouted: "Madam, please understand..."

Before he could finish his words, the guards at the door came up to him, grabbed his arms and dragged him out.

However, Hou's mother was a very perceptive person. Seeing this, she quickly pulled her daughter-in-law out to prepare. Soon she brought two other young women and brought bath water for Luo Qianhuai.

Luo Qianhuai went into the inner room, took a comfortable bath, put on the spare robe that Xing Xuan brought, drank a bowl of brown sugar ginger tea, and when he came out feeling relaxed, he saw that the food had been prepared.

Compared with Luo Qianhuai's usual expenses, the food here is simply mediocre. The staple food is only bait cake, a few wild vegetables and mushrooms, a dish of fish meat, and a bowl of stewed rabbit meat soup. The taste is just barely edible.

Luo Qianhuai took a few bites casually, then put down his chopsticks with a dull look, motioning Qian Duo and others to also eat.

Qian Duo had been hungry for a long time, and as soon as he got permission, he started to eat voraciously, but the three guards refused to eat. Xing Xuan whispered in his ear, "Madam, don't worry about us. We have our own cakes and pastries, so it's fine."

Luo Qianhuai put this section aside completely. After dinner, Hou Zhong had adjusted his mentality and brought more than 50 people to the bluestone steps outside the house, lining up to kowtow to her.

Luo Qianhuai was not reserved either. He went out personally to meet them one by one and asked Xing Xuan to give out reward money.

Official slaves were different from ordinary servants. Even if they became private slaves, their status was lower than that of slaves who had signed a death indenture. They had no chance to be freed in their lifetime. So once they signed the indenture, they were considered hers. Their life and death were in her hands. Therefore, Luo Qianhuai didn't mind letting them live a better life.

There were more than 50 people, more than 40 adults, and eight or nine children. All of them were thin, pale and skinny, and looked malnourished, which indirectly confirmed that Hou Zhong's statement was true.

The brand new copper coins were strung together with red strings and placed in a large basket. Xing Xuan and a personal guard, one reading the household register and the other distributing the money, each person received 1.5 coins, regardless of whether they were adults or children.

It is said that money can make the gods know you. Once these shiny and heavy things were taken out, most of the worries on everyone's faces were immediately dispelled. The children could not hide their thoughts anymore. They all showed bright smiles and looked at Luo Qianhuai with joy on their faces.

Soon all the money was distributed. Luo Qianhuai looked at the faces below who were looking up at her and said a few words.

He first talked about the future arrangements for Qinglu Garden, which was mainly to grow rice. Everyone was required to start tilling the land and make preparations from now on. In addition, they had to find a suitable small courtyard to serve as a workshop and select five or six smart people to help Manager Qian.

"I also roughly understand what you are worried about." Luo Qianhuai finally said: "What I want to tell you is that there are no ghosts in this world, and what happened before was all man-made. I promise you here that I will investigate this matter as soon as possible, redress the injustice for the deceased, and never let the evildoers go unpunished."

When she said this, her face was serious and solemn, and someone below covered his face with his sleeves and cried quietly.

They should be the relatives of the victims. Luo Qianhuai felt sad and was about to tell everyone to disperse when suddenly a bright flash of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder.

The thick dark clouds that had been gathering for half a day finally turned into heavy rain that poured down, and the sky and the earth were dark.

"Ah!!" A cry of extreme horror suddenly came from the crowd.

When Luo Qianhuai and everyone else looked, they saw a monster slowly walking from the end of the corridor.

The monster had a prominent head and horns, and its four hooves stepped on the ground. It looked like a tall deer. Its body was emitting pale green flames, and its four long legs were not bent or stretched, and it walked straight forward. At first glance, it looked like it was floating in the air.

The farmers were now screaming and shouting, and running around. Soon most of them had run away, leaving only a very few brave people who stayed where they were and protected Luo Qianhuai.

The two bodyguards flew over directly without Luo Qianhuai saying anything.

"Don't have physical contact with it!" Luo Qianhuai reminded quickly.

She said it at the right time, as the two guards had already seen the true face of the monster. They carefully picked it up with the tips of their swords, peeling off a layer of brown skin. It suddenly fell apart, but the green fire inside became more and more intense, even spreading up along the tips of the two guards' swords.

"Water can extinguish this fire!" Luo Qianhuai said again.

Upon hearing this, the two guards jumped into the rain without hesitation. As expected, the pale green flames on the swords were extinguished when they came into contact with water, but the burned part of the sword tip turned into a light pink.

"Madam." Xing Xuan saw Luo Qianhuai passing the crowd and heading straight for the pile of monsters that were still burning, and couldn't help but stop him:

"This thing is so evil, why do you have to take the risk yourself......"

Luo Qianhuai had a playful smile on his face, but his steps were getting bigger and bigger.

"It's getting more and more interesting." She looked at the monster that was invisible to her and said, "I didn't expect that such a small place would have such a talent."

Xing Xuan was stunned: "What talent?"

Luo Qianhuai said no more. He stood in front of the monster and looked at it.

It was originally a tall deer, but now it was just a skeleton covered in fur. The green flames burned strangely on the skeleton, with no intention of stopping.