There is a god in the sky

Chapter 52 The Murder of a Wealthy Family in Jianzhou (Part 15)

When Shen Lan woke up, she could still clearly recall every detail of what happened last night.

She covered her forehead, feeling extremely annoyed.

If she knew how little alcohol she could hold, she would absolutely not drink.

She washed her face with cold water to fully wake herself up, and when she walked out of the waterside pavilion, she was once again the calm and capable coroner, Shen.

"Good morning." Xiao Ji stood in the courtyard, looking refreshed, practicing his boxing.

"morning."

Shen Lan responded to him nonchalantly, and stood watching the boxing for a while, discovering that Xiao Ji was not a weak scholar.

His boxing style is both soft and strong, similar to Tai Chi, and powerful.

Come to think of it, she hasn't exercised since leaving Aoki Prefecture.

She never even displayed her martial arts skills in front of outsiders.

She knew perfectly well that she had to keep her life-saving methods hidden, which would also make it easier for her to do things secretly.

For example, she plans to steal Wu's body today.

"My lord, I have some personal matters to attend to today and need to go out."

She is a coroner and does not have to go to work on time.

“Okay, let me know if you need manpower,” Xiao Ji said generously.

Shen Lan doesn't need manpower, but she needs a place to hide people.

So she brazenly asked, "Does Lord Xiao have any other residences in the city?"

"Miss Shen, do you find it inconvenient to live here?" Before Shen Lan could answer, he convinced himself, "That's true. Living with a group of men like us, it's inevitable that there will be gossip."

He summoned the servant and instructed him, "The government previously rented a small house at the east end of the street. Find the key and give it to Miss Shen."

That place was rented by him to rest when investigating cases; it was located in a bustling street, which also made it convenient to gather information.

However, the house was small and there were no servants, so he was a little worried about letting Shen Lan live there alone.

Shen Lan wanted to explain that she didn't want to move out because of the difference between men and women; she just needed a place to settle Wu Shi.

However, she couldn't bring it up with Xiao Ji, so she agreed.

After taking the key, Shen Lan declined the servant's offer to take her there and left with her few belongings.

Fu Qingyan rushed over upon hearing the news, but Shen Lan had already left.

He stomped his foot and said angrily, "Why didn't you tell me you moved out?"

Xiao Ji rolled his eyes at him. "It's not like we'll never see each other again, it's just that we don't live under the same roof anymore."

"How can you let her move out alone? She's still a young girl."

Xiao Ji joked, "This little girl is much more capable than you."

Fu Qingyan ignored him and hurriedly took Guanshu to buy a maid.

This time, Xiao Ji didn't stop them. It would be safer for more people to live together, and there would be someone to run errands for them when they needed to deliver messages or things.

The house at the east end of the street is easy to find.

Jianzhou City was a thriving commercial center, and this location was incredibly valuable; even a small house could fetch a monthly rent of thirty taels of silver.

Thirty taels of silver was enough for Shen Lan to buy a small house in Qingmu County.

She put down her luggage and waited for the carriage at the agreed location.

The driver was overjoyed to see her, and wished she could stay away from her relatives for days so he could keep hiring her.

"Girl, get in the car quickly. We'll be faster today, so you can search a little longer."

Shen Lan was planning to act at night, so she said, "I may not be returning to the city today, so please take me there."

Drivers are not keen on doing one-way trips, since it involves going out of town.

However, seeing that Shen Lan was dressed in plain clothes and was all alone, the coachman couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

So he generously said, "Okay, it is indeed expensive and time-consuming to travel back and forth. There are villages near the manor, you can find a family to stay with for the night."

"Thank you."

After arriving at her destination and paying the fare, Shen Lan scouted the area nearby.

If she were discovered stealing someone, she might need to hide Wu to lure away the pursuers.

Summer nights come slowly.

Shen Lan took off her light-colored outer garment, revealing her night clothes underneath.

She tied her hair into a high ponytail, covered half her face with a black scarf, and then climbed over the wall of the villa.

Most people were eating at that time, and she found the courtyard where Wu was located by following the location in her memory.

The courtyard was quiet, without a single light.

Shen Lan thought to herself: Wu Shi's life here is not much better than in prison.

Seeing that the courtyard gate was open, she slipped inside and, as expected, did not encounter any servants.

Pushing open the door, the dark room gave off a chilling feeling.

There was a sense of desolation and loneliness at that time.

Shen Lan scanned the room but couldn't find Wu Shi. She went inside and searched carefully again, even looking under the bed.

But no, Ms. Wu is not here.

If it weren't for the wooden carving she hadn't finished yesterday still sitting on the table by the window, Shen Lan would have thought she had come to the wrong place.

"Where is he? Did he go out?"

Seeing that it was still early, she decided to wait inside to avoid being seen by others if she went out.

But as she waited and waited, the moon rose above the willow branches, yet the person she was waiting for never appeared.

At this moment, Shen Lan realized that not only was one person missing from the house, but even everyday items had disappeared.

When I came yesterday, at least I could still see clothes hangers and washbasin stands, but now all of those things are gone.

It's too empty.

This gave Shen Lan the creeps, making her think she had been hallucinating yesterday.

She opened the wardrobe and dressing table, and sure enough, there was nothing there.

This house could not possibly be inhabited.

She ran out of the house, heard someone approaching, and climbed up a big tree in the yard to hide.

"The head of the estate told us to lock this yard. Go in quickly and see if anything is still missing," a shrill voice commanded.

Immediately afterward, someone replied, "Auntie, I won't touch anything from a dead person, and Granny Sun already led people to search the place once."

"That Wu was once a favored concubine, and she had a wealthy merchant brother. She had a lot of money. What if she left behind some gold and silver treasures? You really don't want them?"

Wealth emboldens people.

Soon, a figure ran past under the tree.

Shen Lan felt ice-cold all over. She was perfectly fine yesterday, so why is she dead today?

She saw the little maid walk around the room once and then come out, and she cried out in fright, "Auntie... let's go, there's nothing inside, just a broken wooden carving."

"What a coward."

Shen Lan heard the sound of the courtyard gate being locked, and the sound of two footsteps walking further and further away.

Shen Lan jumped down from the tree and sat on the stone steps, thinking for a long time.

She had a feeling that she couldn't control anyone.

She had just begun to feel a sense of closeness with Wu when she died.

Did I come from another world with some kind of magnetic field? Or was I born with a cursed destiny of being a lone star?

She laughed self-deprecatingly, "Shen Lan, Shen Lan, you're a forensic doctor, how could you believe in this stuff!"

She went into the house and took away the half-carved wooden sculpture that Wu had carved. It could be seen that it was a small person, but the facial features had not been carved yet, so it was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

After leaving the manor, Shen Lan wandered aimlessly, not wanting to return to the city.

She happened to see two men carrying a stretcher up the mountain, and she instinctively followed them.