There is a god in the sky

Chapter 427 Gathering

Shen Lan never expected to see Xiao Ji here.

She had never felt her feelings for him so deeply.

When we parted, I was worried about whether Li Ge could be resurrected. I didn't have much time to think about it. It turned out that seeing him again would be such a happy thing.

"And who are you?" The young master of the Ma family swaggered around Jiangling, not even putting the prefect in his eyes, and he showed no fear whatsoever when looking at these young people in front of him.

Xiao Ji did not answer him; his gaze remained fixed on Shen Lan.

Suiying stepped forward, picked up the man, and threw him far away.

"Why are you here?"

Xiao Ji took her hand and led her away from the noisy place, saying, "Let's find a place to talk slowly."

Shen Lan glanced back and saw Sui Ying mingling with the Ma family's guards.

These guards were just ordinary thugs, no match for Suiying.

Xiao Ji did not know beforehand that Shen Lan was in Jiangling.

He came here on official business. After entering the city, he heard about the recent series of cases and that the government had invited a very famous female coroner from the capital to examine the bodies. He immediately followed her here.

The two walked side by side.

"Let's go here." Xiao Ji turned and entered a teahouse, casually taking Shen Lan's hand as he entered.

Li Ye followed silently behind, his brows furrowed, as if he had encountered a problem.

After entering the private room and taking their seats, Xiao Ji told Shen Lan the purpose of his trip.

"You mean, the imperial court received a report that someone was illegally mining gold in Jiangling? But isn't there a mine right outside the city?"

"Yes, there were gold mines in Jiangling, which were mined by the imperial merchant Ma family. The court has always paid the Ma family good compensation. But some people say that there is more than one gold mine in Jiangling, and there is an even larger gold mine being secretly mined."

"You suspect the Ma family? That was the young master of the Ma family just now."

Xiao Ji shook his head, "There are no suspects for the time being. The Ma family is too conspicuous. I've investigated them secretly, and the possibility is slim."

"And... what about Prefect Liu?"

Shen Lan's first thought was the top official of Jiangling. After all, as the prefect, there was no reason why he wouldn't know about such a big thing as mining.

"Wait, the hidden gold mine, the successive deaths of farmhands, perhaps this series of murders is related to that mine."

She recounted the autopsy results, explaining that some information, though easily overlooked when scattered, could be pieced together to lead to new conclusions.

Clues can be found in the sand under the deceased's fingernails, the wounds on their body, the scars on their feet, and so on.

"If you have time, you can stay in Jiangling for a couple more days, which will give you a chance to escape."

Shen Lan and Li Ye both hold official positions, and if they disappear without cause, the imperial court will definitely investigate thoroughly.

They didn't completely conceal their whereabouts when they left the city this time; the traces they left behind were too easy to trace.

Xiao Ji took on the case and left the city so quickly to clean up their mess along the way.

"Where are you living now? Why don't you move in with me first, and we can do everything together for the next few days, okay?"

Shen Lan originally wanted to leave immediately after the autopsy, but Xiao Ji's arrangement was the safest, and she had no reason to refuse.

Moreover, the government-run areas are indeed no longer safe.

"it is good!"

After Li Ge was picked up and settled into the place arranged by Xiao Ji, Prefect Liu had already received the news and rushed over.

Xiao Ji is different from Shen Lan and Li Ye.

He held a high official position, came from a good family, and was deeply trusted by the emperor, so Prefect Liu had no airs in front of him.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xiao Ji smiled and said, "Having just heard about Lord Shen's experience in examining the body for the Prefect, I'm sure Lord Liu will solve this case soon?"

Prefect Liu noticed his dissatisfaction and quickly apologized: "It's just that more and more people are dying, and the people are in a state of panic, so I have no choice but to trouble Lord Shen."

However, with Lord Xiao here, this case will definitely be solved.

Prefect Liu wanted to push the case onto Xiao Ji with just one sentence.

After all, Xiao Ji is the chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, so it's appropriate for him to take over the case.

"It's a pity, I'm here on the Emperor's orders to investigate another case, so I don't have time to help Lord Liu with his case."

"Oh? What case requires Lord Xiao's personal involvement?"

Xiao Ji shook his head inscrutably at him. The latter immediately stopped asking.

The two were meeting for the first time, and Xiao Ji had a bad impression of him, so they had nothing to say to each other.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they made an excuse to see the guests off.

When he returned to the backyard, he saw Li Ye helping Li Ge walk and exclaimed, "I never imagined that there was such a miraculous medicine in this world."

Shen Lan brought over the medicine that she had prepared.

"It's amazing, but it also has a lot of side effects."

She reached out and plucked a tuft of Li Ge's hair.

His hair used to be thick and black, but now there are a few strands of white hair.

Li Ge's pulse has always been weak, and his body is like that of an old man in his twilight years.

She strongly suspects that the biggest side effect of this drug is that it accelerates physical aging.

Li Ge pulled his hair back from her hand and laughed, "It's nothing, at least I was given a second chance at life."

He swallowed the bitter medicine in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, "At least I can return to my roots now, and I'm content."

From the day he entered the palace, he dared not hope that he could return to his hometown, be buried there after his death, and reunite with his family.

"However, I still caused you a lot of trouble and even lost my official position, so it was a bit of a loss."

Li Ye rolled her eyes at him. "What kind of bullshit official position is this? I've wanted to leave for a long time. If it weren't for you... never mind, you looked better when you were selfish and self-serving."

The next morning, Xiao Ji led them out to investigate the case openly and honestly.

Although he did not involve Prefect Liu in the investigation, he still used the government officials.

After three days, Xiao Ji located the hidden mine in a village outside Jiangling City.

This place is neither deep in the mountains nor in a remote, untouched area.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be associated with mines.

But Xiao Ji discovered that the villagers in this village were strange.

The farmers here are stronger, with bright, piercing eyes, and are quite different from ordinary farmers.

Moreover, he had checked the tax records of the government office and found that most families in this village did not pay taxes to the emperor, but settled their accounts with silver instead.

There are only two possibilities when farmers cultivate land but do not deliver grain.

Either the food they grow needs to supply a larger population.

Either they don't grow food at all.

But the fields in the village are real; even in winter, you can see signs of cultivation.

Therefore, Xiao Ji suspected that there were people hiding in the village, and quite a few of them.

But he couldn't say where he was hiding it.

Shen Lan strolled casually along the village paths, and would approach and speak with any women or old women sitting in front of their homes.

But these people spoke in a dialect she couldn't understand, making communication impossible.

She didn't step into the family's courtyard until she took out her money bag and bought a pot of water from a household with one tael of silver.

After repeating this several times, she realized that something was wrong with the village.

"No one in the entire village raises chickens or ducks, but every household keeps dogs, and they are all hunting dogs."

"In the countryside, it's common for families to keep hunting dogs to guard their homes and property."

"No, hunting dogs are only kept by hunters; ordinary farmers only keep mongrel dogs."

Li Ye replied, "I asked several families, and they all said that the men in their families go hunting in the mountains in their spare time, so that should be the reason why this village is relatively prosperous."

The rumors circulating outside are indeed true.

In the prosperous Muyun Village, the men are not only skilled farmers but also hunters. They are all strong and healthy and know how to make money.

Women from other villages consider it an honor to marry into Muyun Village.