There is a god in the sky

Chapter 428 Muyun Village

After leaving the village, Shen Lan took out a cloth bag containing a pair of shoes.

"This is……?"

Everyone gathered around curiously.

These are men's shoes, very ordinary straw sandals, but the soles are thickly stitched, so they should be very comfortable to wear.

"You stole someone's shoes?" Sui Feng couldn't see anything wrong with the shoes.

Shen Lan turned the shoes over, and some dirt was hidden in the gaps of the soles.

She scraped it off bit by bit with a knife, then handed it to Xiao Ji, saying, "It's the same kind of sand as the dead man's fingernails."

"By the way, I don't know where the clothes and shoes of those corpses were put away. Maybe there were these grains of sand on the soles of their shoes."

Sure enough, there was something wrong with Muyun Village.

"Let's go back first, and we'll go into the mountains with them first thing tomorrow morning."

They wandered around the village for so long, but apart from a few elderly farmers, they didn't see any young or middle-aged people working in the fields.

Since their family said they had gone up the mountain to hunt, they decided to go in and take a look.

As soon as he returned to the city, Prefect Liu sent someone to invite him.

"The Lord is hosting a banquet at Yueyun Tower to welcome Lord Xiao, and has invited many local dignitaries to accompany him. We hope that Lord Xiao will do us the honor of attending."

Xiao Ji had no reason to refuse.

He was already used to these kinds of social engagements.

"Alright, I'll go after I change my clothes."

The man specifically asked Li Ye and Shen Lan to go as well, saying that Prefect Liu had always sincerely wanted to thank Lord Shen for helping with the autopsy.

"They don't need to. They come from humble backgrounds and don't know the rules. They might ruin Lord Liu's occasion."

Xiao Ji went to the banquet alone.

Shen Lan wasn't worried about him.

Some people probably already know why he came here, but no one dares to kill him so openly.

He was sent by the Emperor, and the Emperor himself was standing behind him. If he died here, the first person to suffer would be Prefect Liu.

Shen Lan went back to the room to take Li Ge's pulse.

"Your Qi and blood have mostly recovered, and you can move around normally now, but you still can't do strenuous exercise. You need to continue to nourish yourself and rest, and you shouldn't get too emotionally agitated."

Li Ge obediently agreed, then asked her, "Did you have any success today?"

"Hmm, the target we've chosen this time should be the right one."

"So fast! It seems Xiao Ji will be able to complete his mission and return to the capital to report soon."

Seeing that Shen Lan didn't smile, Li Ge teased, "What? Reluctant to part with her?"

"A little. This meeting was an unexpected surprise."

But such surprises can't last forever.

Li Ge felt guilty.

If it weren't for saving him, Shen Lan could have stayed in the capital, or even married into a wealthy family.

With their backgrounds, marrying into a prestigious family like the Xiao family is nothing short of a stroke of good fortune.

Of course, Shen Lan deserves it; she is worthy of any man.

“You and he should go back to the capital. It’s the same if Li Ye takes me back. The two of you can both fake your deaths, which will leave many loopholes.”

Shen Lan said softly, "I always want to go back to my hometown for a visit."

"It's the same when you come back; we'll be waiting for you at home."

In the middle of the night, Xiao Ji was helped back.

Prefect Liu personally saw them off, followed by a carriage.

The carriage contained not only gold and jewels, but also a great beauty.

"Zhuo Ying, the most famous courtesan in Jiangling, fell in love with Lord Xiao at first sight and is willing to serve him."

Prefect Liu gave an ambiguous smile. "Miss Zhuo is a proud woman and a famous talented woman in Jiangling. If it weren't for Lord Xiao being a top scholar in the imperial examination, she might not be willing to serve you."

When Shen Lan came out, she happened to see a woman wearing a veil getting off the carriage. She had a slender waist and a graceful figure, and she certainly had the charm of Jiangnan.

She reached out and took Xiao Ji from her, who immediately hugged her.

"I'm not drinking anymore. I have family waiting for me at home, and I need to go home..."

Shen Lan patted him on the back, ignoring the talented woman, and said to Prefect Liu, "We have no shortage of servants at home. Prefect Liu, please take the person back."

A knowing look flashed in Prefect Liu's eyes. Although there had been such rumors before, he believed that no one could resist a beautiful woman in front of them.

"Miss Zhuo was not arranged by me; she genuinely likes Lord Xiao. I wonder if Lord Xiao..."

"Get out!" Xiao Ji said in a hoarse voice.

He held onto Shen Lan tightly and wouldn't let go, even whining, "I'm drunk, I want to drink the hangover soup you made yourself."

"There's no hangover soup, but there's plenty of cold water. Go inside and rest."

Shen Lan helped Xiao Ji through the door, then turned to them and said, "Please go back, everyone."

After watching the two figures disappear, Prefect Liu finally spoke: "It seems Miss Zhuo will be disappointed."

"It's alright. It's just the moon in the sky, so it's normal that I can't touch it."

"Ha, is this how Miss Zhuo becomes the top courtesan?"

"Master Liu, what do you think?"

"Of course you should try your best to win over the person you like. Don't look down on Shen Lan just because she is an official now. She used to be just a lowly coroner."

You're no less capable than her; perhaps Lord Xiao simply doesn't understand you yet.

"I understand, I will do my best."

Prefect Liu squinted, examining the house before him.

This place used to be where a wealthy merchant stayed in Jiangling. It was empty for most of the year. I never expected it to be the Xiao family's territory.

He wanted to know Xiao Ji's purpose in coming to Jiangling.

If the person is after him, then he can't let him leave easily.

Back home, several staff members had been waiting in the study for quite some time.

Prefect Liu had also drunk a lot of wine that night. He downed a bowl of hangover soup and listened to them talk while holding his forehead.

"Xiao Ji and the others have been wandering around outside the city for the past few days. Today they went to Muyun Village."

"What secrets does Muyun Village hold? Have you found out anything? Xiao Ji is really amazing that he was able to find out about Muyun Village in such a short time."

Prefect Liu looked up, his eyes sharp and clear, showing no trace of drunkenness.

“We can only find that there is a lot of gold circulating on the black market, and the source is in Jiangling. Didn’t you suspect the Ma family before?”

"The Ma family has the capability, but the patriarch is old and the next generation are all useless, so it's unlikely they can do something this big."

"Then let Xiao Ji investigate, since it has nothing to do with you, sir."

Prefect Liu waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

He opened a secret room, which contained many things, including a wooden box filled with gold ingots.

On the first and fifteenth of each month, his household would receive five hundred taels of gold, without interruption for three years. How could this be unrelated to him?

At the same time, Xiao Ji was also sitting in his study, looking very energetic, talking to everyone.

Many people have come to the banquet tonight; almost all the local prominent families and wealthy merchants are present.

It took him a long time just to recognize people, and he also had to carefully observe who was close to Prefect Liu.

"There must be progress by tomorrow, or the person behind it will make their move."

"Would they kill you?"

"It's hard to say, it depends on how significant this matter is."

Li Ge crossed his arms, his expression solemn. "It's quite a coincidence that we've unwittingly walked right into a den of thieves."

Of all the cities from north to south, they just happened to be stranded in Jiangling.