There is a god in the sky

Chapter 177 New Year’s Eve 1

On New Year's Eve, Shen Lan was invited to visit the Xiao residence.

Of course, she wasn't exactly a proper guest; she was only qualified to attend because she was Xiao Ji's subordinate.

"Sister, this is the best-looking one." Xuan'er took out the clothes she bought from the tailor shop last time.

Shen Lan had never worn that dress before, but it was perfect for the occasion today.

After Shen Lan finished changing, Xuan'er took the initiative to comb her hair.

"Sister's hair is so beautiful, how about we style it into a flying bun today?"

Keep it simple.

Xuan'er thought for a moment and finally changed to a topknot, with a red ribbon tied around her hair, a pink silk flower in her temple, and a butterfly hairpin on the other side.

Shen Lan took off the hairpin and replaced it with three delicate hairpins.

"The hair ornaments are beautiful, but on this occasion I am just a nobody, so there is no need to be too ostentatious."

Xuan'er thought about it and agreed. The main family had a large number of people, and it wouldn't be good if they saw that her older sister was young and unfamiliar and bullied her.

Shen Lan and Xuan'er cooked a New Year's Eve dinner together, and only went to the Xiao family after eating half full.

The Xiao family had made all the preparations well in advance, and the New Year's Eve dinner was also scheduled early.

After the banquet begins, Master Xiao will take his wife and daughters to the palace for the palace banquet. This year, only Xiao Ji will stay at home to oversee the overall situation.

The gatekeeper, seeing a young and beautiful girl enter, stopped her with some surprise: "And who is this young lady...?"

Shen Lan handed him the invitation written in Xiao Ji's own handwriting, saying, "My surname is Shen, and I came here at your invitation."

The post said it was for Manager Shen, so the doorman didn't dare to neglect her and personally led her in.

Just as they passed the screen wall, they saw Sui Feng personally seeing an old woman off.

Upon seeing Shen Lan, Sui Feng greeted her, "Miss Shen has arrived. Master has been talking about her for a while now."

Sui Feng turned to the old woman and said, "Please take care, I'll see you off here."

The old woman stared at Shen Lan for a long while, seemingly trying to figure out her identity.

Shen Lan nodded to her, then followed Sui Feng inside.

The gatekeeper coughed and said, "Granny Liao, please come with me this way."

Granny Liao, wringing out her handkerchief, asked, "Who is that girl from the Xiao family? Judging from her clothes, could she be a relative?"

The gatekeeper shook his head and said, "No, it's the one in charge outside."

"A manager is so young?"

The gatekeeper didn't know much about it, so he couldn't say much.

Sui Feng led Shen Lan directly into the desolate courtyard.

"Young Master lives in the East Garden. He's meeting with some old managers right now, so you might as well go and meet them too."

Shen Lan had only been in charge of the shop for a short time and had never met the other managers of the Xiao family.

But the other shopkeepers had all heard of her great reputation.

At first, many people thought that the young master had promoted the people around him and changed the manager of the bookstore to a female manager. But after observing for a while, they saw that the woman managed the bookstore very well, so they had nothing to say.

"Does Your Excellency not need to go to the palace today?"

"He's still recovering from his illness, so he won't go to join in the fun."

Xiao Ji's injuries have healed, and he can walk and move around normally without any problems. However, having an excuse not to go to the palace is a good thing in his opinion.

As Shen Lan stepped into the study, the first thing she saw was not the handsome young nobleman in new clothes sitting at the head of the table, but rows of boxes filled with gold, silver and jade artifacts.

It's so dazzling that you can't take your eyes off it.

"This must be Manager Shen of Jifeng Study. My apologies for not recognizing him earlier."

Shen Lan suddenly realized that this so-called New Year's Eve banquet might also be an opportunity for the shop owners to present gifts to their employers.

She arrived carrying only two boxes of pastries.

Shen Lan said modestly, "I'm sorry I'm late."

In front of Xiao Ji was a stack of account books. After introducing Shen Lan to everyone, he said, "All of you managers have worked hard all year. Go and rest now."

Everyone left in an orderly fashion, leaving only Shen Lan and Xiao Ji in the study.

Shen Lan asked in confusion, "Did I interrupt your important business, sir?"

Xiao Ji tossed her an account book. "These are all account books that look very good on the surface. There's nothing to see here. Instead of listening to their flattery, I'd rather talk to you about business."

Shen Lan was both amused and exasperated. She opened the ledger, which contained a detailed record of income and expenditure.

This was a teahouse account book, and the only thing that interested her was that the storyteller's appearance fee was eight hundred coins per show.

If you can go on stage and tell stories every day, that's a pretty good income.

"So adults also have to take care of household chores at home?"

"When I was sent to serve as an official in another region, Qingfeng and Mingyue helped me manage things. Now that I'm back, I must meet with the managers under my command."

Shen Lan thought these were Xiao family properties, but in reality, they were all Xiao Ji's own properties.

Of course, a portion of it was given to him by Xiao's parents.

“Last night, my men found Qiaoyu’s body in the mass grave. Her death was gruesome. We can confirm that the last person who came into contact with her was Tong Juntao.”

Shen Lan's heart skipped a beat.

At the time, Magistrate Xu released the person, but she also considered Qiaoyu's safety.

After all, one of her doubles had died in prison.

"Will they file a case?" Shen Lan asked.

Xiao Ji shook his head, "No one will report the bodies in the mass grave, so the government won't open a case to investigate."

"So, he was the one who killed someone in prison."

Xiao Ji pushed the ledger aside and showed her a file.

"What I'm sure of now is that he's looking for something."

The case file belongs to Qingman, and the closing statement says it was suicide, which means there's no need to investigate further.

"Judge Xu knows how to protect himself wisely," Shen Lan sighed.

This result should satisfy many people.

"Qiaoyu is just a maid. What could she possibly have that would concern Young Master Tong? Or is it related to Qingman?"

Xiao Ji boldly guessed, "According to your deduction, Qingman committed suicide, but her body was hung up after her death. It must be that someone deliberately guided the government to investigate the cause of her death."

The only people who could have a relationship with her are the Crown Prince and Tong Juntao. Discovering the fetus in her womb might expose a scandal.

"That person was targeting the princelings."

With this analysis, it becomes understandable.

"The fact that Qiaoyu was retaliated against by Tong Juntao shows that she had something that the other party wanted, and that someone used her to steal some things that were detrimental to the Crown Prince's faction."

"Knock knock knock..." Someone knocked on the door.

The study door was not closed. The two turned around and saw Suiying standing outside the door.

He held a cloth bag in his hand and bowed his head, saying, "Sir, someone just delivered this to your residence, specifically requesting that it be handed to you personally."

"Bring it in."

Xiao Ji took the cloth bag, opened it, and found that it was also an account book.

He thought it was an account book that some shopkeeper had forgotten to give him, but when he opened the first page, he saw a list.

“This is…” His eyes showed surprise and doubt.

As you flip through the pages, each record is absolutely breathtaking.

He closed the ledger, glanced at Shen Lan beside him, and said with a wry smile, "I know what the Tong family lost."

Shen Lan looked at his hand, and the latter nodded and said, "That's right, this is it."

She wanted to see it, but Xiao Ji wouldn't let her.

"I have no idea what the person behind this is thinking of handing me this hot potato. They are overestimating me."

Xiao Ji's official position was insignificant in Bianjing. He had just returned to the capital and had limited connections.

He wouldn't dare reveal this to anyone.

"Go and find out who sent it," Xiao Ji instructed Suiying.

"Following the wind, perhaps there will be results soon."