Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 189 - 98 I am not Lian Duoduo_2

Chapter 189: Chapter 98 I am not Lian Duoduo_2
"Brother Erlang, can you smash this door open?" Lian Manman asked Erlang.
The door was just a simple construction of wooden planks nailed together and didn’t look very sturdy.
"I could," said Erlang, "but we don’t know whose house this is. If we smash their door and they get upset, what then?"
"Then smash it," Lian Manman said. "It must be Lian Duoduo. We’ve been searching for so long, the family here must know. If they’re hiding Lian Duoduo, they’re not good people. We’re in the right no matter how you look at it."
Lady He thought about it and nodded in agreement.
"Manman is right, Erlang, smash the door."
Erlang stepped back two paces and kicked the wooden door. Lian Manman heard the sound of the boards cracking. Erlang pushed again, and the door opened.
Everyone rushed in. This appeared to be an alley behind some estate, directly to the right of a side gate. Against the wall were two small rooms, with two men’s garments hanging outside, indicating someone lived there.
Lian Manman glanced around and walked straight toward the small house. The door was closed, and pushing it didn’t open it.
"Duoduo, are you in there?" Lian Manman called out. "Don’t be scared, we’ve come to find you. Your dad and your mom miss you terribly, and they don’t blame you for what happened with Sister Huahua. Come out quickly, let’s go home together."
No response came from inside.
"This window can be opened," Erlang moved to the window and pushed. One window swung open.
Lian Manman hurried over and looked inside. This room was probably an inner one; it was very simple, with a wooden plank bed against the wall, the bed adorned with pillows and a blanket, along with a table, two chairs, and two wooden chests. Apart from that, there was nothing else.
Erlang and Wu Lang jumped through the window into the room.
"She’s back here." Erlang found Lian Duoduo behind the bed.
Wu Lang opened the door from the inside, and Erlang walked out holding Lian Duoduo.
"I don’t know you; get lost, all of you, get lost!" Lian Duoduo struggled and hit Erlang as she kicked.
Her voice and her actions were unquestionably those of Lian Duoduo.
"Duoduo, have you gone mad? We’ve come all this way out of concern to find you," Lady He said, scrutinizing Lian Duoduo.
Lian Manman also felt that Lian Duoduo’s behavior was bizarrely out of character, as if they weren’t her family come to rescue her but enemies intent on harming her.
Just then, footsteps were heard near the side gate, and a peddler rushed in bearing his load of goods.
Clearly, he had seen the broken door and realized something was amiss. Upon entering, he saw Lian Manman and the others, as well as Lian Duoduo, who was still struggling against Erlang’s hold.
"What are you all doing here? In broad daylight, you want to rob and abduct someone..." The peddler, speaking with an accent indicating he was from out of town, put down his load and ran over.
"Aha, she was indeed abducted here; an old, blatant kidnapper," Lady He remarked, looking from the peddler to Lian Duoduo with a couple of clucks of her tongue.
"Who’s the kidnapper? Let go of Xuexue," the peddler said.
Lian Manman sized up the peddler. He appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a very thin frame, but a clean and even somewhat delicate face. He called Lian Duoduo ’Xuexue’!
"I’m telling you, peddler, you’ve abducted someone else’s daughter, and now you think you can justify it," Lady He said. "Erlang, grab him and take him to the Yamen. A good beating with the large plank will kill him."
Erlang then let go of Lian Duoduo to grab the peddler.
With his slender build, the peddler was no match for the tall and sturdy Erlang, who quickly subdued him by twisting his arms behind his back.
Lian Duoduo continued to cry and shout, scratching and kicking at Erlang.
"Don’t you dare arrest him, don’t you dare!"
"You little wench, is he your man? That’s why you’re defending him like this?" Lady He pulled Lian Duoduo away from Erlang and scolded her.
They were making such a commotion, yet no one came to gawk. Lian Manman surveyed the high walls around them and understood why Lian Duoduo could hide there for so many days without being discovered.
The peddler, now caught by Erlang, suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud.
"Please, I beg you, spare Xuexue. She’s so young, as a child bride, she can hardly do much work. Killing her brings you no good. How about this: whatever money you spent to buy her, I... I’ll give you double to redeem her. With that money, you can buy someone better, right? Isn’t that good for everyone?"
"What?"
Lian Manman was thoroughly confused by the peddler’s words.
"What child bride, redeeming with money, what nonsense are you talking about? She’s my uncle’s daughter, we’re family. She’s not called Xuexue, her name is Lian Duoduo," Lian Manman asserted. "Don’t think we’ll believe you just because you made up these stories."
"Ah?" This time it was the peddler’s turn to be shocked. He turned his head to look at Lian Duoduo.
"They are lying, they have evil intentions, they just want to capture me and kill me," Lian Duoduo cried.
Lian Manman held her forehead.
"You ungrateful girl, we’ve come all this way to rescue you, and you’re talking nonsense," Lady He pushed Lian Duoduo.
Lian Duoduo fell to the floor, crying loudly.
"Manman, I’ll go back to the village and bring the uncle and his wife," Wu Lang said.
Lian Manman nodded; they could force Lian Duoduo to return with them, but it was better to have Lian Shouren and Lady Gu come personally.
"Why does this estate seem familiar to me?" Lady He mused, wandering around the ground and speaking softly.
A figure peeked over the wall. Lady He looked up and made eye contact with the person.
"Yikes!" Lady He exclaimed. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for it with recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)