There is a god in the sky

Chapter 261 Beauty Bones 21

"Manager Shen's cooking skills are really good. No matter how we make this sweet and sour lychee pork, it just doesn't taste right. It's either too sweet or too sour, and Madam doesn't like it. Yours is the best."

Shen Lan was called in by the cook to help out today.

One of the dishes on the menu she gave to Madam Xiao was lychee pork. Since Madam Xiao couldn't eat lychees at this time of year, she ordered this dish.

However, the cook couldn't make the dishes taste good even when following the recipes, so she asked Shen Lan to help.

She hadn't had high expectations, thinking that a young girl like her couldn't be very good at cooking, but to her surprise, the dishes she made were delicious and visually appealing.

Madam Xiao indeed liked this sweet and sour dish very much. When she learned that it was made by Shen Lan, she even gave her a bracelet as a thank-you gift.

"The lychee flesh shouldn't be fried too long. You can add some side dishes. The sweet and sour balance can be adjusted according to personal taste. My wife likes sour flavors at this stage, so we can't add too much sugar."

The cook happily packed her a box of pastries as a token of her gratitude.

Shen Lan carried the snacks back and met Xiao Ji, who had just returned home, outside the second gate.

"Why are you back so late, sir? Weren't you supposed to be taking Prince Fu to the academy?"

"Yes, I deliberately took the night road to see what's different about Vulture Peak Mountain."

"Can you see any difference?"

"I remember Qian Lao Er saying that the mummified corpse case fifteen years ago all happened in the mountains west of Jiufeng Mountain. Now that area is deserted and separated from the academy by cliffs."

"You want to go to the mountains to the west? Isn't that too dangerous?"

Shen Lan and Xiao Ji shared the same thought: if Headmaster Tong had problems, then there must be a secret base of his near Yishan Academy.

If the assassins who attacked them that night were indeed trained by the Tong family, then they were most likely hiding in the Vulture Peak Mountains.

Tong Shanzhang rarely comes down the mountain. Does he not like to go down the mountain?

He didn't even go home when his own grandson died; either he was emotionally distant or he had a reason he couldn't leave.

But Shen Lan couldn't figure out the reason behind it either.

"This matter needs to be carefully considered. If the government rashly searches the mountain, it is very likely that, like last time, they will not be able to come out."

"We should be careful. After all, you personally delivered the hostage to the academy today. For the safety of the young master, Lord Xiao must come up with a foolproof plan."

Shen Lan's joke reminded Xiao Ji.

He asked, "Is there any way to squeeze a few more people into the academy?"

At crucial moments, cooperation from both inside and outside is the key to success.

Shen Lan casually remarked, "Then it would be better to just bribe the students of the academy. Among them, there are bound to be people who still retain a childlike heart."

Shen Lan herself did not expect that her casual remark would lead to Xiao Ji taking action the very next day.

Early in the morning, dressed in a refined everyday outfit and wearing a scholar's turban, he went to the academy with his guards.

He was young and the top scholar of his time. He was handsome and talented. Once he entered the academy, he was like a magnet thrown into iron, quickly attracting a group of students to flock around him.

He said he was there to accompany his cousin while he studied.

With Master Tong absent, the other teachers couldn't very well send him down the mountain.

Moreover, with him as a living example, the students' enthusiasm for reading soared to unprecedented heights.

Xiao Ji attracted a group of people with his own charm, and then brought these people together with Fu Qingyan, asking him to maintain the relationship between them.

Despite his lack of fame, Fu Qingyan is more adept at social interaction than Xiao Ji.

Shen Lan watched Xiao Ji leave home like a peacock spreading its tail feathers every day, and return at night full of fighting spirit.

If she hadn't known he had a fiancée and that he was attending a private academy, she would have assumed he was having an affair.

Early that morning, Shen Lan sat at the doorway basking in the sun, taking the opportunity to see what color clothes Xiao Ji would wear when he went out that day.

I must say, Lord Xiao looks really handsome when he's dressed up. A handsome man is pleasing to the eye, so why not take a look?

But when it was almost dawn, no one came out. Upon asking, they learned that the eldest young master had been summoned to the palace early that morning.

Shen Lan had a bad feeling.

Xiao Ji's official position was neither high nor low, far from the privilege of being personally summoned to the palace by the emperor.

Unless something major has happened in the palace.

She changed her clothes and took her toolbox to the yamen in case she needed it for work.

"Coroner Shen is here. Could you come and lend a hand?" Officer Xing immediately pulled her away upon seeing her.

"what happened?"

"Hey, the Jingzhao Prefecture has lost a very important prisoner. I heard he's the leader of some beggar gang."

So, when someone escapes, you have to issue an arrest warrant, right? But instead, they just drew up this portrait...

He opened the portrait and showed it to Shen Lan.

In fact, this is what wanted posters usually look like. The portraits are simple outlines of the person's appearance. They do look like the person, but they are somewhat abstract.

But ever since he saw the portrait painted by Shen Lan, Constable Xing felt that such portraits were terrible.

No wonder the arrest warrants issued by the government always seem to disappear without a trace.

Even if the criminal is standing right in front of you, without any special markings, it's extremely difficult to identify them.

"But I've never seen that person before."

Officer Xing lowered his voice and said, "Just draw whatever you see in this portrait. I've seen that person before. He has a big mole next to his nose, and his eyebrows and eyes are even fiercer than in this portrait."

"Let me try."

Shen Lan had a general idea in mind, and with the image drawn by the painter from the Jingzhao Prefecture, she only needed to make the facial features more three-dimensional, and the figure would immediately leap off the paper.

A crowd gradually gathered around.

Officer Xing guided her through the revisions, making the nose smaller if it was too big, and loosening the eyelids if they were too tight. In less than an hour, the portrait was finished.

"Let me see... God, isn't this a real person?"

"What kind of painting technique is this? I've never seen it before."

"I feel like I've seen this person somewhere before; I have a very strong impression of those eyes."

"I never expected that Counselor Shen would not only be good at examining corpses, but also have such amazing drawing skills."

"If a portrait like this could hang in my funeral hall after I die, I could die in peace."

Several veteran officials stared intently at Shen Lan, pondering what reward they should offer her for painting their portraits.

Officer Xing was in a hurry to arrest people with the portrait, so he quickly grabbed the portrait and ran away.

"Thank you, Miss Shen. I'll buy you something delicious later."

An elderly clerk with white hair asked, "Young lady, I have a good-for-nothing grandson at home. He's seventeen and still unmarried. Would you like to take a look?"

"Old Zhang, your methods are too vicious. Why don't you tell Miss Shen why your grandson is seventeen and still not married?"

Old Zhang covered his face and laughed awkwardly.

"Coroner Shen, don't mind Old Zhang. His grandson's mother was born weak, and the doctor said she wouldn't live past eighteen. If she marries him, she'll be a widow."

This matter was no secret. When Lord Zhang heard others say this, he simply bowed apologetically to Shen Lan.

“The Zhang family’s grandson is no good. Miss Shen, would you like to take a look at my family’s? My eldest grandson is a scholar, and he’ll definitely suit your taste.”

"Come on, your eldest grandson is already in his mid-twenties and hasn't even passed the county-level imperial examination, yet he has higher standards than the top-ranking scholar. How could he possibly look down on our coroner Shen?"

"Pah! That was before!"

Ji, the coroner, pulled his grandson through the crowd and pushed him in front of Shen Lan.

“Shen girl, what do you think of my grandson? He’s sixteen this year, and he’s already learned seventy percent of the coroner’s skills. He’ll be the one to take over my mantle in the future. He’s honest and reliable, and he doesn’t have any ulterior motives.”

He has three older brothers, and the Ji family doesn't need him to carry on the family line. If you're interested, you can marry into the Shen family, and your children will take your surname!

Everyone was stunned by these words, including Shen Lan.