There is a god in the sky

Chapter 232 The Mummified Corpse Case 25

Shen Lan was carrying a box of pastries, which she was bringing for Xuan'er.

However, seeing Xiao Ji's travel-worn appearance, he asked him, "Sir, have you had dinner?"

"not yet."

"Would you like a snack to tide you over?"

"Alright."

Xiao Ji was indeed hungry, and he couldn't resist the aroma of the snacks for a long time. Unfortunately, he wasn't good at asking people for food.

"Is this the rose chestnut cake from Lin's Shop? It tastes good."

Seeing that he liked it, Shen Lan presented him with the whole box of pastries, thinking to herself: It's the same if I buy some for Xuan'er tomorrow.

"My lord, you must be very busy lately. I heard from the servants in the manor that you haven't been home for two days. Madam even sent someone to the front yard to ask me about your whereabouts."

"My mother is sometimes worried about me, please don't take offense."

"How could that be? Madam is tolerant, generous, and easy to get along with."

Shen Lan wasn't flattering anyone; she genuinely felt very comfortable living in the Xiao family's home.

Although Xuan'er was a maid, she was young, and Shen Lan did not let her do many things.

Madam Xiao would send a kitchen maid to deliver meals on time every day, and someone would come to collect and wash their dirty clothes. She even gave the two of them a monthly allowance.

Thinking of this, Shen Lan smiled and said, "I received a salary from you, and then the madam gave me another one. I really can't accept it. Why don't you help me return it?"

"No need. Mother probably just thinks it's not easy for you, a single woman, to live alone. Just save them all."

Shen Lan's smile faltered slightly, and she sighed, "That's true. Since I'm no longer working as a coroner in the Criminal Division, I won't be able to get your salary anymore."

Xiao Ji glanced at her and said somewhat angrily, "Don't you still have the dividends from Jifeng Study? You should be able to support yourself without any problem."

"Aren't you going to kick me out?"

Xiao Ji said irritably, "It's just that I'm not letting you be a coroner, not that I'm not letting you be a manager."

He thought to himself: Shen Lan's intolerant nature makes her unsuitable for working in officialdom.

Most importantly, her status as a female coroner brought her no benefits whatsoever.

Being a good female manager might be more beneficial to her marriage prospects and would also fulfill Master Wei's expectations.

Shen Lan looked down and kicked at the pebbles on the ground, then smiled helplessly.

Being a female shopkeeper is quite nice.

"Go back and prepare. You're coming with me to the outskirts tomorrow. We're going to exhume the body and perform an autopsy."

Shen Lan suddenly looked up, shocked, and asked, "You still want me to perform an autopsy?"

"Ahem, for the time being, I haven't found a new coroner yet, so you'll have to take over."

Shen Lan suddenly laughed, took a few light steps forward, turned around and bowed to Xiao Ji, "Thank you, sir!"

Xiao Ji didn't expect her to be happy about such a small thing.

Most of the coroners he had met were from families that had passed down their professions for generations, treating it merely as a means of making a living; very few coroners genuinely enjoyed performing autopsies.

But Shen Lan genuinely loves this profession.

"The body is from more than ten years ago, and it was a mummified corpse back then. I don't know what it would look like now. It may no longer match the records in the case file."

"Decomposition of the body is inevitable, but as long as the bones are still intact, it is not a problem to distinguish between male and female. Apart from that, the only way to tell is whether the person suffered a severe blow before death."

Shen Lan needed to go back and prepare some things, so she didn't say much on the way.

As they approached the Xiao residence, a cavalry unit suddenly appeared on the street, each soldier clad in armor and exuding an imposing aura.

"From today onwards, a curfew will be imposed in Bianjing. From 9 PM onwards, no one is allowed to be outdoors. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a rioter!"

Xiao Ji recognized the leader, the captain of the Imperial Guard.

Zhang Xinghui was the most outstanding member of the Zhang family in this generation. His father was a general who assisted the state.

The previous Assistant General was Qian Qishan, Qian Tai's grandfather.

Xiao Ji walked to the middle of the road, cupped his hands, and asked, "Captain Zhang, may I ask whose order this was? If it's important, could you make an exception?"

Zhang Xinghui's gaze shifted back and forth between him and Shen Lan, and he said with a smile, "Is Lord Xiao's real business taking young ladies for a moonlit stroll?"

"Captain Zhang is joking. That was my coroner."

"Oh, I see." Zhang Xinghui remained noncommittal and said arrogantly, "The curfew order was issued by the palace. If Lord Xiao has any objections, he can go to the palace to argue with them."

Zhang Xinghui brandished his whip and rode away from Xiao Ji.

After the Imperial Guards had gone some distance, Shen Lan asked, "Was there no curfew in Bianjing City before?"

"Normally there is no curfew, but a curfew will be imposed if there is a major case or natural disaster. In serious cases, the city gates will be closed and people will be prohibited from entering or leaving."

"Could this curfew be because of...?"

Xiao Ji reached out and flicked her forehead. "Don't overthink it. So what if it is?"

It was fortunate that Shen Lan didn't leave any evidence in either of her two cases, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to protect her.

The two had just arrived at their doorstep when they ran into Master Xiao.

He had just returned from the palace and knew more about the curfew than Zhang Xinghui.

He solemnly instructed the two: "This curfew will last for a month. Be careful when you go out and about. It's best to bring more people with you. I don't know what's going on in the city lately, but people are dying one after another."

Xiao Ji asked knowingly, "Who died?"

Master Xiao rolled his eyes at him, "You, a judge of the Provincial Judicial Commission, dare to ask me who died? Did you come to the court for nothing?"

Xiao Ji hurriedly said he dared not.

As Master Xiao and his son walked into the mansion side by side, he discovered that his son was actually taller than him, with an upright posture and a vigorous, pine-like figure.

He nodded to himself: if his own outstanding son were to be harmed, he would have to kneel in the palace for three days and three nights.

"You can keep this to yourselves. Minister Tong and Vice Minister Liu went to the palace to ask the Emperor to seal off the entire city and search for suspicious persons."

The emperor felt the move was too drastic, so he changed it to a curfew.

"The imperial decree will likely be issued tomorrow, and either the Provincial Judicial Commissioner's Office or the Ministry of Justice will be implicated. However, since you are not the head official, you should not be affected."

Moreover, Xiao's father felt that his son had just solved a case involving a mummified corpse, and even if he hadn't made any great contributions, he had certainly put in a lot of effort.

"What if we can't find the murderer?" Xiao Ji asked calmly.

"There have been precedents for this before. Cases are not so easy to solve. If it really becomes an unsolved case, those who should be demoted should be demoted, and those who should be dismissed should be dismissed. Someone has to pay the price for it."

He patted his son on the shoulder and reminded him, "You'd better not get involved in these two cases. Even your father-in-law can't do anything about the Tong family. You're in a lowly position and have little influence. Be careful not to become their scapegoat."

Xiao Ji glanced at Shen Lan secretly and saw that she looked normal and showed no panic at being called out.

"I'm afraid they won't let me escape unscathed."

"That's true. After all, the head of the Judicial Commissioner has been neglecting his duties for many years. One of your officials needs to be promoted, and this is the best opportunity."

If his son weren't so young and hadn't just been transferred back to the capital, Master Xiao would have wanted him to give it his all.

But he didn't expect that before he even had this idea, his in-laws had already started thinking about it for him.