There is a god in the sky

Chapter 133 Trip to Jiangling 4

Shen Lan took her hand and said, "If you choose to stay and live here, I won't force you."

The little beggar asked expectantly, "Do I still have to beg to survive? But... but I have no money."

Shen Lan kindly reminded her, "It's not just that you don't have money, you probably don't even have an identity, right? As a lone woman without a legal identity, you'll find it very difficult to move around in Jiangling."

Shen Lan sighed helplessly.

The little beggar immediately said, "I'll go! I'll go to Bianjing with you! Bianjing is so wonderful, I'll be your servant from now on!"

Shen Lan took her hand and boarded the ship, arranging for her to share a cabin with her.

"Set sail!"

The snow in the sky has stopped, and the snow on the deck has melted, leaving no trace.

Shen Lan cleaned the lapis lazuli in the cabin, replaced it with a silver chain, and then wrapped it around her wrist.

Miao Niang saw it, but said nothing.

Shen Lan understood that the probability of mistaken identity was very small, given that the same stone could appear on someone with the same name.

But she just couldn't quite believe that the quirky little girl in front of her was Miao Niang.

Perhaps it's because so much time has passed, and they're still too unfamiliar with each other!

"You..." Miao Niang began to ask, "What's your name? How should I address you from now on?"

Shen Lan looked up and stared into her eyes, then carefully introduced herself: "My name is Shen Lan, Shen as in Shen Zhiyuan, and Lan as in orchid. You can just call me by my name."

"So what is your relationship with that person?"

"Superior-subordinate relationship."

Miao Niang asked, puzzled, "A concubine? A maidservant? Or a servant girl?"

She thought it couldn't be a maid; what master would give way to a maid?

"No, I am a coroner."

Miao Niang didn't know what a coroner was, but it sounded quite serious.

"Oh, then Sister Shen..."

Shen Lan interrupted her, "Just call me Sister Shen, you should be older than me."

Miao Niang nervously gripped her hands, afraid that she might say something wrong.

Do you remember things from your childhood?

Miao Niang quickly shook her head, "I don't remember."

"Do you still remember things from when you were a few years old?" Shen Lan asked leisurely.

“This…” She racked her brains, afraid that she had said something wrong.

This silly girl must have known the original owner of this stone, but she didn't recognize that she wasn't it, which means she was too young back then. People change when they grow up.

"Probably five or six years old."

Seven years old is considered a big child. Unless someone is mentally challenged, who wouldn't remember?

Shen Lan didn't say anything, but then deliberately spoke in her hometown dialect, "Do you remember when we played together as children?"

Miao Niang was completely confused and shook her head, saying, "I don't understand, I forgot."

"Then have you forgotten what your last name is?"

"I really don't remember. I was too young when I was abducted."

"How do you know your name is Miaoniang?"

"It's just... just a random name."

She thought Shen Lan only recognized people by a stone, so names shouldn't be important?

Shen Lan felt a little sad; she knew she had made a mistake.

But since the stone is in her hands, she and Miao Niang must have had some interaction.

She probably even copied the name.

The rest of the trip went smoothly, except for the days getting colder and colder, nothing special happened.

It wasn't until the ships made a temporary stop at an abandoned dock that they heard some news from the outside world from passengers on other ships.

"Have you heard? A major case has occurred in Yangzhou. The prefect of Yangzhou is going to have a tough New Year."

"I guess he won't even last until the New Year before he's stripped of his official hat, right?"

"Who knows? But he's not exactly a good official either; the people of Yangzhou would love to have him."

Fu Qingyan carried the wine jar over and returned with the news shortly afterward.

"They said that an official who was plotting a rebellion was arrested in Yangzhou. He was the provincial inspector in charge of military affairs in Yangzhou. The evidence has been sent to the capital. The provincial inspector's house has been searched, and his entire family has been imprisoned."

Prefect Tian originally intended to send men to escort the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's family to the capital for trial, but before they could even set off, the entire family died in prison.

Xiao Ji, being a professional, likes to first guess the motives of the people behind things.

"Either the conspirators were afraid of being exposed by him, so they killed him in advance to silence him, or the provincial inspector was wronged and the person who wronged him wanted to make sure that there was no way to prove it."

Fu Qingyan nodded and said, "Cousin is right. That's what I think too. They must have been murdered, and someone with the ability to kill in prison must be a high-ranking official."

Shen Lan, biting into a freshly baked pancake, asked, "What's the name of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Yangzhou? How could a local official be involved in treason?"

The Da Xi Dynasty only lasted for four or five generations, and there are currently no signs of a change of dynasty.

If she had been born in a chaotic era, it would have been even more difficult for Shen Lan to take revenge.

"It seems his name is... Yu Ying."

The pancake in Shen Lan's hand suddenly didn't smell so good anymore.

She remembered the name; it was on the list she was looking for.

However, she had not yet discovered that Yu Ying had been promoted to Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Yangzhou.

This provincial inspector should still be in charge of military power.

"Who is that prefect?"

"Tian Ruyi, a member of the Tian family."

After Fu Qingyan finished speaking, Xiao Ji explained to Shen Lan: "The Tian family is the most prominent family in Jiangling. Tian Ruyi has an elder brother who is the Minister of War and a younger brother who serves in the army. They are both high-ranking officials and have considerable influence in the court."

"That Yu Ying once stayed in Jianzhou Prefecture."

Although Shen Lan couldn't find out what relationship this person had with Liu Engui, ten years ago, he was the one who controlled the military power of Jianzhou Prefecture.

Only after her investigation did she learn that he had been frustrated and unsuccessful in Jianzhou Prefecture for those years and rarely took charge of affairs.

Jianzhou, located in Lingnan, has always been a place of exile, and most of the officials who went there to serve were demoted.

Unlike officials like Xiao Ji, who were demoted directly after passing the imperial examination with top honors, they often never had the opportunity to be transferred back.

“I know,” Xiao Ji recalled. “I heard from the old officials in the government office that he has a bad temper but doesn’t like to get involved. Working under him is the easiest job, and you can make a lot of money.”

However, since he has been gone for many years, there are not many people discussing him.

Shen Lan pondered, "Leaving aside the nature of this case, could it be very similar to the Wu family massacre?"

"You mean... it was a massacre orchestrated by someone? But the entire Yu family is already in prison, why would he bother with this?"

Shen Lan couldn't figure it out either, since they hadn't been involved in the case at all, and a few words couldn't reveal the truth.

"Perhaps it's just a coincidence."

Xiao Ji disagreed, saying, "If there are too many coincidences, it must be man-made!"

One by one, those connected to him from back then have met with misfortune, and the murderer targeted entire families, which shows that his hatred was boundless!

Shen Lan closed her eyes.

She didn't want the murderer to be anyone from Guli Town.

"This case must be difficult to investigate, right? Will the imperial court send an official to Yangzhou to preside over the trial?"

"Yes, but I don't know whether the Ministry of Justice or the Capital Judicial Bureau will send people."