There is a god in the sky

Chapter 191 Sowing Discord 8

The Tong family launched a massive search for the missing person throughout the city.

After Tong Juntao smashed the Liu family's gate, he was locked in the ancestral hall.

Clearly, Minister Tong also felt that the Liu family should bear some responsibility for this matter.

That night, the lights were dim, and only Tong Juntao and Qiu Yu saw her face after she put on makeup.

Unless she takes the initiative to approach them, they should have a hard time finding her.

She continued walking, and when she passed a mutton stall, she bought two bowls of mutton offal soup and a few mutton patties to take home.

The bookstore was already closed, so Shen Lan went straight to the backyard and saw Xiao Yi helping to chop firewood.

"Xiao Yi, you've worked hard these past two days."

Xiao Yi put down his axe, piled up the firewood, washed his hands, and said, "It's nothing, it's what I should do. Xuan'er is young, it's not safe for her to be home alone."

"Thank you. I just bought some food. Let's eat together."

Xiao Yi left with only two pieces of bread, and Shen Lan and Xuan'er divided the rest of the food together.

After finishing her meal and taking a hot bath, Shen Lan lay in bed still thinking about what had happened at the Marquis's residence.

The secret medicine that Lady Hou was taking was also taken by the emperor, which means that the medicine was definitely safe and effective.

According to Imperial Physician Lan, this medicine is extremely potent, and if Lady Hou takes an excessive amount, her body may not be able to withstand it.

What about the emperor?

He's been taking medication for a long time, so how could he not have any health problems?

My cousin said that Liu Engui killed the people of Guli Town back then in order to seize a prescription from the Shen family.

That prescription must have been given to some important person, in exchange for his ten years of rapid advancement in his career.

What if that important figure was the emperor?

is it possible?

If the imperial physician surnamed Shen mentioned by Imperial Physician Lan is her grandfather or a member of the Shen family, then it seems plausible that someone would come to the Shen family to ask for the prescription.

She got out of bed, dressed, and went to the Liu residence.

Inside the Liu residence, many people were still awake.

Mrs. Liu had just been scolded and was complaining to her son.

"Your father has gone mad. He's scolding me for a lowly concubine. Did I send that slut into Tong Juntao's arms?"

Liu Xianyang suddenly felt a little guilty.

The concubine was extremely beautiful and always gave him flirtatious glances, which almost made him lose control.

Unexpectedly, she hooked up with the second young master of the Tong family.

That idiot is good for nothing except for his privileged background.

"Mother, please don't be angry. Father has lost face this time, so it's inevitable that he'll take his anger out on you."

"Hmph, it's not that we disgraced him. He's just a worthless person we picked up along the way. We've said he's no good, but he just couldn't bear to get rid of him."

"After all, Father is Minister Tong's subordinate. If we don't mend our relationship, I'm afraid Father's career will not go smoothly in the future."

Madam Liu waved her hand, "Don't worry about that. Your father has made great contributions to get where he is today, and the higher-ups remember it."

Liu Xianyang asked in confusion, "What great achievement?"

"Don't ask about that. Just study hard and try to pass the imperial examination in three years. Then father and son can serve in the same court. If you train hard for more than ten years, the Liu family will depend on you in the future."

Liu Xianyang didn't like hearing such words.

He was forced to study by his parents from a young age, and watched his father work hard to get to where he is today. He didn't actually like being an official.

But he also knew that if he didn't become an official, he wouldn't even be as good as a good-for-nothing like Tong Juntao in Bianjing.

"Mother, I know. Please get some rest."

"Yes, you can go back to the academy tomorrow. Don't worry about things at home."

Liu Xianyang obediently agreed, "Okay."

Shen Lan followed him back to the outer courtyard and met her cousin.

He was kneeling on the ground shirtless, with shocking whip marks on his back.

Liu Xianyang entered the courtyard, seemingly ignoring the kneeling man, and walked past him.

Shen Lan lay on the roof, lifted a tile, and wanted to see what Liu Xianyang would do next.

As a result, he came into the room, tore up a book, smashed an inkstone, and then went to sleep after sulking.

Shen Lan wanted to kill someone.

But she knew that killing Liu Xianyang was not her goal.

Like Shen Qing, if his goal was simply to kill the son of an enemy, he would have killed Liu Xianyang long ago, even if it meant exchanging lives.

She broke off a piece of tile and threw it in front of Shen Qing, but did not go to see him.

Shen Qing looked up and searched around, then slowly got up and, supporting her aching knees, shuffled out of the yard step by step.

He saw a bottle of medicine at his doorstep and forced a bitter smile.

"You're really making a fool of yourself."

He held the medicine bottle, pushed open the door, and entered the house, treating his wounds himself as usual.

But this time, he didn't feel pain, only a little ashamed.

Shen Lan shouldn't have seen this.

On the third day, Liu Xianyang did not get up for a long time.

Madam Liu sent someone to urge him to come, only to learn that Shen Qing was injured and could not leave the house today.

She didn't pay much attention at first, thinking she could just find another servant. But when the servant went to wake the young master, he discovered that the young master was sick.

Liu Xianyang's illness this time is somewhat complicated. He not only caught a cold, but also developed rashes all over his body.

After looking in the mirror once, he locked himself in his room and refused to see anyone except the doctor.

When Madam Liu saw that her son was ill, she had no time to care about her husband.

Lord Liu had to go to the Tong family every day to apologize and make amends, sending them gold, silver, and beautiful women, which finally dispelled Minister Tong's suspicions.

Shen Lan would go to the Liu residence every day to check on the young master Liu's condition. If he had recovered somewhat, she would give him some more pollen.

Liu Xianyang gets rashes all over her body whenever she touches flowers, something Shen Qing told her.

She squatted there for several days, observing Mrs. Liu for a while each day.

From the conversation between mother and son that night, Shen Lan felt that Madam Liu might know everything about what Liu Engui had done back then.

Madam Liu must have known about what Aunt Wu refused to tell her back then.

Perhaps it would be easier to find a breakthrough by focusing on Madam Liu.

In addition, Shen Lan also stole an account book from Liu Engui's study.

That was a record of his bribes to superiors at various levels over the years, with the largest amount spent being on the Tong family.

They were all given to Headmaster Tong under the guise of thanking him for his teaching.

Yishan Academy is clearly not as sacred as it is rumored to be.

Shen Lan suddenly wanted to know if there were mountains of gold and silver hidden in the house of that Headmaster Tong.

Unfortunately, the Tong family was heavily guarded, making it difficult for her to get in and investigate. Otherwise, she would have liked to go to the Tong family to find out what was going on.

Shen Lan copied the account books several times and slipped one copy to the homes of several officials in the Ministry of Revenue, as well as one to the residence of the Minister of Justice.

This document is unsigned, so it cannot actually convict Liu Engui.

However, when a person's secret is no longer a secret, his good days are over.

He will be unable to eat or sleep properly.

Xiao Ji took up his post at the Criminal Investigation Department.

Upon assuming office, Magistrate Xu presented him with a mountain of unsolved cases that had accumulated over the years.

"Lord Xiao, you are capable and should take on more tasks. We are truly at a loss with these cases, and we beg you for your help."

Xiao Ji casually opened a volume of the case file, looked at the case details and the evidence collected back then, and then tossed it aside.

"Judge Xu, you overestimate me. This case is so old that even the identity of the deceased cannot be found out. I am powerless to help."

He pulled out the latest case file from below and said with a smile, "The last case of the dancer who hanged herself was closed as a suicide, but the maid died after she was released from prison. Has Magistrate Xu followed up on that?"

"Is that so? The government doesn't care about people who are released from prison. I wonder where she died?"

"The mass grave outside the city."

"We...we can't possibly handle all the cases in this area, don't you think, Lord Xiao?"

Xiao Ji wasn't really going to investigate, since he already knew who killed Qiaoyu.

To think that the murderer can be apprehended through legitimate investigative methods is simply wishful thinking.