There is a god in the sky

Chapter 338 Revenge 7

In front of everyone, Lin Qingsong said, "Lord Liu has shown me great favor, but I am only speaking the truth and there is no bias on my part."

Xiao Ji shook his head and laughed, his words laced with mockery, "Others can say that, but Lord Lin, you'd better not. Do you really want me to tell you how you were promoted?"

Lin Qingsong's expression suddenly changed, and he retorted sharply, "Xiao Ji, don't make false accusations!"

A young military officer at the end poked his head out and asked, "How was Lord Lin promoted? Lord Xiao, please tell us!"

Just as Minister Zhao was about to reprimand him, he recognized that the man was the only son of the Eldest Princess and turned his anger towards Xiao Ji.

"Xiao Ji, don't bring up things unrelated to the case. Are you trying to exonerate Shen Lan?"

Xiao Ji cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, "Shen Lan doesn't need to defend herself. What she said is completely unrelated to what Lord Lin said."

The town of Guli was afflicted by an epidemic, but the massacre of Guli was not due to the epidemic, but rather to the greed of the people.

Therefore, I urge you, sirs, to think carefully: if you were facing a small town where the epidemic had already been suppressed, would you still choose to massacre the town?

He walked up to the Minister of War, who shook his head with a resolute expression. "The illness is under control, why kill anyone? Isn't that just indiscriminate killing of innocent people?"

He then walked up to the Vice Minister of Revenue, who avoided eye contact with him and stammered, "This epidemic is not so easy to cure. Perhaps it is just Miss Shen's illusion."

She was so young back then, she couldn't distinguish right from wrong at all. She was easily deceived by those with ulterior motives, taking the false as the true. Is there any evidence to prove that her condition was under control at that time?

"Yes, she was so young at the time, and most of what she knew was taught to her by someone later."

“The source of an epidemic often results in countless deaths and injuries. Even if the epidemic was brought under control in the town at that time, there probably wouldn’t be many survivors, right?”

"What I fear most is that they think they're cured, but in reality they aren't."

"My Shen family's medical skills are not as weak as you all think. The plague that year was not a very serious disease. The disease was brought under control when the town was sealed off. I still remember the prescription for treating the plague at that time, and I can ask any imperial physician to verify it."

"How could you remember the prescription when you were so young? Someone must have taught you, right?"

In the eyes of the ministers, a girl of Shen Lan's age should be easy to control; she only knew a few prescriptions and that was not enough to be considered evidence.

But they are going to be disappointed.

“I have a photographic memory. I remember everything that happened when I was a child, including the name of every person in Guli Town.”

"Impossible!" Even the students of Wenyuange wouldn't dare say they had that ability.

Besides, so much time has passed, how could anyone possibly remember that?

The emperor said with great interest, "Someone, give her a set of writing materials. If you can really write down the names of everyone in the town, I will believe you."

Minister Zhao stopped her, saying, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! What if she's just writing nonsense?"

"Yes, the town is gone, how are we going to verify the names?"

“Aoki County is thousands of miles away, and it’s impossible to verify with the government.”

"Then I'll draw a picture for everyone."

Shen Lan sat down on the ground and spread the paper out on the floor.

Xiao Ji knelt down on one knee to grind ink for her, and asked softly, "Can your body take it?"

"It's alright, the medicine was already applied on the way."

Shen Lan assumed that Eunuch Wu's help was at the Emperor's behest, unaware that she was receiving special treatment.

The area where the medicine was applied felt cool and refreshing, which greatly reduced the pain.

She draws very quickly, with a spirited stroke, without any pause.

In this grand hall, there are many officials who understand painting, and quite a few who are skilled at painting.

Gradually, Shen Lan was surrounded by people.

When Xiao Ji saw the archway at the entrance of the town painted, he had a premonition that the situation should be stable.

"To be able to depict such a vast and detailed landscape with just a few strokes, this painting skill is truly remarkable."

"Look, this road leads into town. At the entrance, there are shops selling herbal tea and old men selling vegetables. On this street, there are also clinics, restaurants, and government offices. It's so realistic!"

Shen Lan is sketching the Shen family home where she used to live, drawing each tile of the house with great care.

There are jasmine flowers growing at the foot of the wall, branches extending out of the wall, and a kitten sleeping on the roof.

As Xiao Ji watched, he could even imagine Shen Lan squatting in the yard playing in the mud when she was a child.

Halfway through the painting, Shen Lan suddenly changed to a different color of ink.

She began by saying, "The day I escaped from the town, the soldiers started killing people."

Unbeknownst to them, a little girl stood on a high place, witnessing their crimes.

But there was nothing I could do; I could only watch as my hometown was slaughtered and mercilessly consumed by fire.

In her writing, scenes of murder are everywhere: severed limbs, the murderer's ferocious expression, and raging fires.

She paints casually, yet the scenes she depicts seem to come alive.

Tong Xiuqing squeezed over to take a look, but after just one glance, she retreated repeatedly, feeling as if a demon had been resurrected in the painting, its blood-red mouth wide open at her.

Everyone was looking at the painting, but Xiao Ji was looking at the person who painted it.

He noticed Shen Lan's trembling body and the sweat covering her head.

He wiped Shen Lan's sweat while advising her, "Take a rest, your body won't be able to take it."

Shen Lan shook her head and continued to draw the images in her mind onto the paper.

She had wanted to paint this picture for many years, but she had never done so.

Her past paintings are all filled with beautiful memories and the faces of her family and friends.

But what she remembers most clearly is that night when the fire raged fiercely.

Several people joined Shen Lan's group. Some helped spread out the paper, some fanned her, and others touched up her paint.

Yuan Shenxing was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. He did not hold a high official position, but he was passionate about calligraphy and painting and was also the emperor's court painter.

His eyes never left the painting from the very beginning. If he weren't afraid that touching it while the ink was still wet would ruin the painting, he would have wanted to touch every single stroke.

"It's incredible that there is such an outstanding woman in the world."

Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Xiao Ji told them, "Miss Shen and the Hermit of Rongshan are close friends despite their age difference."

Rongshan Jushi was a figure who had been famous in the art world for decades. Especially after he went into seclusion, his paintings became even more valuable.

"I see, this little girl is really something."

"Such outstanding painting skills, yet he became a coroner, alas..."

When Yuan Shenxing heard this, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He stared at Shen Lan's hands and muttered, "How could these hands touch a corpse? What a waste!"

Shen Lan drew for a full hour, a speed that was enough to make her stand out from the crowd.

This painting is a full three zhang long, depicting half heaven and half hell.

The emperor only stepped down from the high platform after seeing Shen Lan put down her pen.

The courtiers all stepped aside.

The emperor walked around the painting, his eyes filled with amazement.

As an emperor, his favorite thing to do when he was young was to go out of the palace to inspect the surroundings. However, since his health deteriorated, he has not left the palace for more than ten years.

Moreover, he had never been to any of the prosperous and wealthy prefectures he visited, such as the remote southern town of Guli.

It was only then that he realized that the architecture in Lingnan was very different from that in the north, and the local customs and traditions were also quite different.

Judging from this painting, even if we cannot confirm that what Shen Lan said is true, we can confirm that her identity is real.