There is a god in the sky

Chapter 49 The Murder of a Wealthy Family in Jianzhou (Part 12)

The government is issuing a full-scale manhunt for Lu Yaxuan.

Officer Lei led a team to Lu Yaxuan's hometown to search for him, and the prefectural government also issued arrest warrants to various counties.

With such a powerful manhunt, it would be difficult for Lu Yaxuan to escape unless he was hiding in a deserted place.

Early that morning, Xiao Ji led his entourage to the gambling den, the very same gambling den that had driven the eldest son of the Luo family to the brink of despair.

Shen Lan did not go with them; she hired a carriage and left the city alone.

"Hey young lady, your relative is quite capable. That villa belongs to the former prefect." The coachman tried to get close to Shen Lan along the way.

Shen Lan also asked about Liu Engui, but unfortunately, he was just an ordinary citizen and didn't know much.

"We're here. That's the grand gate in front of us, but don't be silly and knock on the main gate. You have to ask at the side gate, okay?"

Shen Lan thanked him for his kindness, paid the fare, and got out of the car.

The mountain village in front of us is indeed very large. It is said that hundreds of tenant farmers live here and manage a large area of ​​fertile fields and mountains belonging to the Liu family.

This is much bigger than an average village.

Shen Lan had made preparations beforehand to sneak in and find someone.

She knocked on the side door, slipped a string of copper coins into the old woman's arms, and said in a sweet voice, "Grandma, I'm looking for someone."

Because of the benefits offered, the old woman was relatively polite and asked, "Who is the young lady looking for?"

"I have a distant cousin who I heard is working as a maid on this estate. I... I've lost all my relatives back home, so I wanted to ask if they need anyone here?"

The old woman saw that she was dressed plainly but had a beautiful face, and she had a little scheme in mind.

"What's your cousin's name? Maybe I know her."

"Her name at home was Er Ya, but I don't know if she's changed it now."

"Ha, if you call out 'Er Ya' in this manor, more than a dozen people will come running out. Since she serves the master, she must have changed her name."

"What should we do?" Shen Lan frowned, nervously clutching her small hands.

The old woman held her small hand and felt the calluses on her fingers, realizing that she was indeed a girl from a poor family.

She smiled and said, "How about I take you to see the manager? If he's willing to take you in, you can slowly look for your cousin later."

Shen Lan's eyes lit up, and she nodded with a smile, "Thank you so much, Grandma, you're such a kind person!"

The old woman smiled and led her inside, then walked around in a winding path for quite some time.

Taking the opportunity, Shen Lan asked, "Grandma, who's in charge of this village now?"

"Of course it's Liu Zhuangtou, he's a relative of Lord Liu."

"If Lord Liu is so capable, why do his relatives need to be village heads?"

"That's a good thing. Even relatives can be close or distant. Being a village head is already quite an achievement. He's in charge of over a thousand people and has already taken in more than a dozen concubines."

Shen Lan quickly covered her mouth and asked softly, "Then...then he wouldn't...I didn't want to be someone's concubine." After saying that, she showed just the right amount of shyness on her face.

The old woman said happily, "Don't worry, I guarantee I'll find you a decent wife."

Shen Lan wore her hair in a double bun like a young lady, and at her age, she was clearly unmarried, making her a perfect granddaughter-in-law for her family.

These lone young women are the easiest to manipulate.

"I heard that Lord Liu has many concubines. There was a big case in the city where the dead were members of the families of Lord Liu's concubines."

"You mean Mrs. Wu? She lives in the small courtyard in front. Let's keep our distance."

"why?"

"Bad luck!" The old woman wouldn't say more, so Shen Lan shut her mouth and didn't ask any more questions.

As she passed a rockery, she suddenly clutched her stomach and squatted down.

"Ouch, my stomach hurts so much..."

The old woman was startled and hurriedly asked, "Young lady, what's wrong?"

"My stomach hurts..." Shen Lan pressed the air bladder in her arms, making a series of "farting" sounds.

The old woman took a step back, pinched her nose, and said, "You really are... never mind, never mind. There's an outhouse just ahead on the right. Go quickly and come back soon. I'll wait for you here."

Shen Lan nodded, then ran away clutching her stomach.

After turning the corner, she ran briskly towards Wu's courtyard and climbed over the wall.

The courtyard where Wu lived was somewhat desolate, with weeds left unattended and no servants in sight.

Shen Lan pushed open the door to the main room and saw a woman with her hair down sitting with her back to her.

She walked over and called softly, "Jiaojiao, Wu Jiaojiao?"

Wu didn't turn around; she was engrossed in carving a wooden sculpture, her hands covered in blood.

She seemed oblivious to the pain and the sounds of the outside world.

At that moment, Shen Lan seemed to understand what the old woman meant by "bad luck".

Wu has indeed gone mad.

It seems she will have to return empty-handed today.

Unable to bear watching her self-harm, Shen Lan took the carving knife and wood carving from her hands.

Seeing that Wu did not react much, she found another piece of cotton cloth, tore it into strips, and used the strips to tie the wound to stop the bleeding.

After doing all that, I realized the other person was staring at me blankly.

Shen Lan was also stunned.

This face...

She turned and opened the window to let the light in, then carefully examined Wu's face.

As she turned around, the other person quickly covered their face and shouted, "Yuehua, run! Run..."

Shen Lan's whole body stiffened.

Yuehua is her mother's name.

She finally remembered that she had met Ms. Wu when she was a child. Ms. Wu was a good friend of her mother and had given her a pair of hairpins.

She told her mother to run; did she really know about the disaster?

Shen Lan forcefully pulled her hand down, making her look directly at her. "Jiaojiao, you still remember me, right?"

Wu's maiden name was Jiaojiao, which Shen Lan found in the case file.

"Yuehua, you are Yuehua."

Shen Lan's face is not exactly the same as her mother's, but it does resemble her by about 70%.

"Jiaojiao, how could you do this to me?"

"Yuehua...I...I did tell him to notify you, he lied to me! Wu Zhongjin lied to me! Yuehua, are you still alive?"

Shen Lan's heart skipped a beat; Wu Zhongjin really did know about that matter.

She remembered that Wu Zhongjin had visited her before the plague broke out in the town.

The reason she remembers it so clearly is because her father got very angry that time and kicked the guests out of the house.

His father was a gentle man and rarely lost his temper like that.

If Wu hadn't said those words, she definitely wouldn't have remembered this.

Could it be that Wu Zhongjin harbored resentment towards the Shen family because of that argument, which is why he was unwilling to relay messages for the Wu family?

Or perhaps Wu Zhongjin was afraid of offending Liu Engui and dared not let the news leak out, so he deliberately gave his sister a perfunctory answer.

Shen Lan revealed a sinister smile, her eyes filled with mockery, and said in a sinister tone, "No, I'm dead. I'm here to take you away."

Mrs. Wu actually breathed a sigh of relief and laughed foolishly.

"Okay, take me with you."

She reached out and grasped Shen Lan's hands; those hands were icy cold, and her exposed arms were as thin as bones.

Shen Lan then asked, "Did Liu Engui order the massacre of the residents of Guli Town? Why would he do such a thing?"

Wu shook her head vigorously, tears welling in her eyes, but said nothing.