Chapter 14

Luo Zhong suddenly opened his eyes and glared at Luo Wei. He was right, that was the reason he sold out his own master, but he didn't think that Luo Wei would put it so frankly in front of everyone.

Luo Wei stared back at Luo Zhong, "In truth, Uncle Zhong, you've been all wrong about this. You're someone who sold out his own master for gain. Do you think the one you're selling us out to would believe that you wouldn't sell him out in the future too? You're not trustworthy anymore, how can you still expect to get rich?" To be honest, Long Xuan didn't mistreat Luo Zhong in the past life, and Luo Zhong got all the riches and wealth he wanted, but Luo Wei just wanted to make sure the past didn't repeat itself in this life.

Luo Zhong's eyes didn't leave Luo Wei. In Luo Wei's beautiful eyes, he couldn't find any turbulent emotions, only a stillness and clarity. When did Luo Wei ever have this eyes before?

Luo Wei asked him, "Uncle Zhong, are you not planning on begging for mercy?"

Luo Zhong suddenly burst into laughter. In this family, the eldest son Luo Qi and the second son Luo Ze had called him uncle since they were young, only this third son Luo Wei had never called him that. Now that he is calling Luo Zhong "uncle", it was only filled with a sense of mocking, "I never thought that the youngest master of the house would be the best at putting on a show!" Luo Zhong said to Luo Wei through gritted teeth.

"If I didn't pretend to be crazy and really sell how stupid I was," Luo Wei said, "How could I stay by your true master's side for this long?"

"Were you really trying to just improve your station in life?" Luo Zhi Qiu opened his mouth and asked Luo Zhong. Being betrayed by someone he trusted the most wasn't a good feeling and he wanted to understand.

But Luo Zhong replied, "There's no sense in saying anything else, your humble servant only asks for a quick death."

Luo Wei spoke up, "Father, Uncle Zhong actually has another home outside of the estate, with a good wife and a charming son. His desire for improving his station is really for the two of them."

"You!" Luo Zhong had already planned to die, so he wasn't worried, but he didn't think that aside from all this, Luo Wei somehow also knew about his secret family outside of the estate. What's he going to do to them?

"Relax," Luo Wei said, "Our family has always been very good to people. As long as you listen to my father, nothing will come to your wife and son."

Luo Zhong responded, "I've already sold out once, why would I sell out again?"

Luo Wei followed, "Are you afraid that your true master would kill your wife and child if he found out about this? That is a big problem. I can't kill people, but I can make someone wish they were dead. Uncle Zhong, maybe you should take the gamble and see if it's worse to offend your master, or if it's worse to make me mad."

Luo Ze didn't really understand what Luo Wei wanted Luo Zhong to do, but Luo Zhi Qiu caught on quickly. If Luo Zhong sent out some false information, this mining case in Yu Zhou that's been rotting on his desk--the one that's the biggest embezzling case in the Xing Wu era, linking five regions in the east and south--might finally get turned around. With this in mind, Luo Zhi Qiu addressed Luo Zhong, "Do you know how dire of a crime it is for an bondservant(1) to betray their master? And you actually have a son. By rights your son should be bound to the Luo estate as well, should he not? Luo Zhong, there's some things you really should think through right now."

This single sentence broke all of Luo Zhong's hopes. He had nowhere to run, truly unable to beg for either death or life.

Luo Wei spoke up from the side, "Father, looks like we ought to bring Uncle Zhong's wife and son into the estate first. They're still our servants after all, if they live outside for too long, they might forget the reason they belong to us."

"Lord chancellor!" Luo Zhong knocked his head against the ground hard in a kowtow. It was hard enough to break skin and bleed. He was resigned to his life born as an servant belonging to a noble family, but his only son, would also be a servant as well? Then what were all these years spent teaching his son to read for?

Luo Zhi Qiu breathed a long sigh, addressing Luo Zhong, "As long as you do as I command, as chancellor, I shall protect your son."

Luo Zhong prostrated himself and knocked his head on the ground again.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Bondservant - A person bound in service. The original text often uses "servant" and "slave" interchangeably, but in this case, this is closer to a servant who either through lineage or some reason became bound to serve the family. Though household servants in this sense are not much more than a slave on paper, in terms of status, they are closer to hired domestic help and sometimes are given wages or an allowance. This also explains why Luo Zhong has the surname "Luo", as he belongs to the family.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES:

Took me a long time to find a word for the kind of servant that Luo Zhong is. With the context I've had from reading other things, it reminded me of serfs who were taken into a noble family to act as servants in feudal times. Though both serfs and slaves are sort of the same kind of thing during feudal times, in Chinese there's a clear distinction of status even between the words used.

Isn't Luo Wei badass in this chapter??? So cold!! But it also makes sense because he knows this guy's betrayed his family and caused their property to be seized and family to be destroyed. Still, our poor little Wei Er is getting pretty devious!