There is a god in the sky

Chapter 75 Xikou Post Station 9

Xiao Ji picked up a small pair of pliers.

He had seen Shen Lan use this before; it could pick out crumbs from under the fingernails of the deceased, and also pick out tiny things from inside the body.

"The blacksmiths in Aoki Prefecture are so skilled!" Xiao Ji exclaimed.

Shen Lan smiled as she recalled the old blacksmith who had been so bothered by her that he had passed the shop on to his son ahead of time.

"That blacksmith is quite skilled, but unfortunately he is getting old."

Shen Lan asked, "My lord, how many days will we stay in Jiangzhou?"

“The prefect of Jiangzhou is a good friend of my father, and he may warmly entertain us for a few days.”

Since there's a personal connection involved, I'll probably stay a few more days to fill in the missing documents.

"Besides the tools, we also lost some materials. I wonder if you could reimburse us for those as well?"

“Of course,” Xiao Ji said generously.

He was glad he hadn't left his valuables in the guest room; otherwise, he would have had to beg for alms all the way back to the capital.

"The lord said before that gunpowder is only available in the military. So what rank is required to obtain more than ten catties of gunpowder?"

Shen Lan had learned on the way that the Da Xi Dynasty did not yet have real firearms.

Gunpowder was initially used to make firecrackers and fireworks, but since there were frequent cases of firecrackers and fireworks exploding, the military has been using gunpowder to develop firearms.

"Only the Imperial Ordnance Bureau has access to such things. All fireworks and firecracker workshops belong to the imperial court, and the gunpowder they use must be applied for in batches."

To obtain large quantities of gunpowder, besides officials of the Ordnance Bureau, only the managers of the various manufacturing workshops could do so. Of course, with money and power, acquiring gunpowder wasn't difficult.

"The explosion at the post station wasn't very deadly; otherwise, given our distance at the time, none of us would have escaped."

"So?" Xiao Ji asked humbly.

He didn't know much about gunpowder, since ordinary people rarely had access to it, let alone used it to commit crimes.

Shen Lan, on the other hand, was much more experienced.

“I remember there were several large vats in the corner of the main hall. Last night, an official asked if they were wine vats, but the fake postmaster replied that they were not and that they were intended to be used to pickle vegetables.”

The fuse lit by that Taoist priest surnamed Guo was connected to those large vats. Once the gunpowder was ignited, it inevitably exploded inside the sealed containers, creating such a loud noise.

"If that's the case, it's probably more than ten pounds."

"Well, the person surnamed Guo can't possibly be a villager, and those believers are probably swindled from somewhere."

Xiao Ji analyzed, "Judging from their accents, they are from Jianzhou. If Prefect Jiang sends someone to investigate and see which villages or towns have missing persons, we might find out."

The two reviewed the case here and made several guesses, but ultimately could not draw a conclusion due to insufficient evidence.

Xiao Ji joked, "It seems the journey to the capital won't be peaceful, Miss Shen, you must take good care of yourself."

"Don't worry, I won't hold Lord Xiao back."

“Miss Shen has saved everyone several times. She is intelligent and brave. I would be very worried if something were to happen to her.”

"Then why don't you give me a raise?"

"Okay." Xiao Ji didn't say how much the price would increase, but Shen Lan never faced financial difficulties again after that.

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea has long passed, so Shen Lan went to the carriage to supervise Fu Qingyan's answering of the questions.

Fu Qingyan was sweating profusely from working.

It's a very simple question, but it's not easy to glean a profound meaning from just a few words.

After answering all the questions, his hands were so sore he could barely lift them.

"How long has it been?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

It turns out that focusing on one thing for too long can make your mouth dry.

"Two whole hours." Shen Lan lifted the carriage curtain, letting him see the sunset on the horizon.

He wrote all afternoon.

Fu Qingyan felt dizzy and collapsed in the carriage, limp on his limbs, and said, "It's been so long! I'm exhausted. Master Shen, can I rest now?"

Shen Lan didn't let him get up, but instructed him, "You can memorize your lessons while lying down. I'll have Lord Xiao correct these questions for you tonight."

Fu Qingyan felt utterly hopeless; it turned out that all the teachers he had encountered before were good people.

"Miss Shen, your future husband will surely be a remarkable person of our time!"

Shen Lan snorted coldly, "My husband doesn't need to take the imperial examinations."

"Why?" Fu Qingyan sat up and asked.

"Because a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations will not marry a female coroner."

This is a very simple issue of matching social status and economic conditions.

Shen Lan never thought she could marry any important person.

However, it must be admitted that she might not be interested in ordinary people, so she will most likely remain single as she was in her previous life.

Fu Qingyan was disheartened; he was the only one experiencing this inhumane treatment.

He secretly decided that he must find a scholar for Shen Lan to marry!

That night, they entered a small town where the only inn was open.

With people coming and going here, there shouldn't be any more strange cases happening here.

The group was exhausted and sleepy, so they asked the restaurant to prepare a delicious meal and brought hot water back to their room to shower and change before going to bed early.

Shen Lan had another nightmare that night.

She dreamed that she was holding a gun and killing her enemies one by one.

Then the blood flowed onto the ugly statue, staining the entire statue with a bloody glow, and then the statue moved.

It transformed into a giant python, opened its mouth, swam towards her, and then tightly coiled itself around her body.

Shen Lan had difficulty breathing and suddenly opened her eyes.

Light was already streaming in through the window. Shen Lan noticed something heavy on her. Looking down, she saw Xuan'er hugging her tightly.

No wonder she felt short of breath.

It seems Xuan'er had a nightmare last night, otherwise she wouldn't usually sleep like that.

The inn is located on the busiest street in town, where vendors' cries could be heard early in the morning.

Shen Lan was hungry.

She gently moved Xuan'er's hands and feet away, got up, dressed, and went downstairs with her wallet.

"Fragrant fried dough sticks, two coins each..."

Shen Lan hadn't eaten fried dough sticks in a long time, and she didn't expect to find them in this small town.

She bought five fried dough sticks, ten steamed buns, and a basket of brown sugar steamed cakes, intending to take them with her as snacks on the road.

Back at the inn, everyone else had gotten up, ate a simple meal, and then continued their journey.

Xiao Ji was too tired last night and didn't have time to correct Fu Qingyan's work, so he switched places with Fu Qingyan this morning and sat in the carriage.

He corrects questions quickly, and his handwriting is both fast and beautiful.

Compared to him, Fu Qingyan's handwriting is simply illegible.

Shen Lan watched Fu Qingyan read through the window. The clear, melodious reading voice surrounded the carriage, its intonation refreshing and invigorating.

When Fu Qingyan gets stuck, Shen Lan can remind him of a word or two.

Sui Feng asked curiously, "Miss Shen, have you been to school?"

"I've read some."

The memories from her childhood are so vivid that Shen Lan can still recall the scene of reciting her lessons back then.

But she remembered the contents of the Analects not because she had memorized them when she was a child, but because she had just read the book in advance.

She has a very good memory.

Sui Feng secretly thought to himself: If no one knew that Miss Shen was a coroner, everyone would think she was a talented woman.