There is a god in the sky

Chapter 97 On the Road 2

The official ship has three decks, and Shen Lan and her group usually spend their time on the upper two decks.

The bottom floor was the living quarters for the boatmen and servants, and half of it was warehouse space.

Conditions on the boat were limited; the kitchen was small, and a basket of freshly caught fish and shrimp was still lively and jumping around.

The cook patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, esteemed guests, the food you are served will be fresh. Old Du can cook dozens of kinds of fish."

Shen Lan was unsure whether to praise him or not. Although he had many ways of cooking fish, the taste was not particularly innovative.

That's normal, though, because to preserve the freshness of the fish, it's usually steamed.

In the kitchen, an old woman was squatting on the ground, cleaning fish.

Shen Lan felt she looked familiar at first glance, and then she saw how skilled and efficient she was at killing fish, which made her wary.

The cook followed her gaze and explained with a smile, "This is Granny Liu, my aunt. She has no children and her husband has passed away, so I brought her on the boat to work as a helper."

"Don't let her fierce appearance fool you, she's actually very hardworking; she's even better at cleaning fish than I am."

“Grandma Liu? Raise your head,” Shen Lan commanded.

The old woman paused in her fish-killing motion, slowly raised her head, revealing a face full of deep wrinkles and an eye without a pupil.

The cook was worried that she might frighten the distinguished guest, so he quickly said, "Auntie, why don't you go down first?"

The old woman stood up, still holding the fish-killing knife in her hand, and walked towards Shen Lan step by step.

Shen Lan tensed up, gripping a small knife in her hand, and pushed the cook aside.

The knife, reeking of fish, slashed towards Shen Lan's face. She bent down to dodge, and then kicked Shen Lan in the waist.

Unexpectedly, the old woman used the momentum to roll outwards, then crashed through the window and jumped into the water.

Shen Lan chased after her and looked out, but apart from the ripples in the water, there was no sign of anyone.

The next second, someone upstairs jumped into the water, and Shen Lan recognized it as Sui Feng.

After swimming around underwater for a while, he surfaced, shook his head at Shen Lan, and said, "He's gone."

"What a great swimmer!"

This is right in the middle of the river, with no village or shop in sight. To dare to jump off a boat like this shows that you are an excellent swimmer.

She never expected that this blind old woman would be on the same boat as them.

She escaped from Xikou Station last time, so she must be heading north. I wonder where she's going.

The cook was terrified.

Shen Lan turned to him and asked, "Where did you meet her? And how did you bring her onto the ship? Tell the truth!"

The cook knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying intermittently, "Please spare my life, sir... I... I don't know her... I only saw her all alone and helpless at the dock, and that's why... that's why I felt pity..."

He slapped himself hard, "It's all my fault for misjudging people; I almost harmed these important people."

She climbed out of the water with the wind and dragged him upstairs.

This matter could be a big deal or a small deal. If that blind old woman deliberately followed them here, she might be waiting for the right moment to commit a crime.

The boatman never expected that an elderly woman would be a wanted criminal, and immediately beat the cook up.

"Please forgive me, sir, but we did find this old woman at the dock. She said she was homeless and was standing on the bank as if she was about to jump into the river to commit suicide, so we kindly took her in."

We really didn't know she was a bad person!

The identities of the boatman and the cook have been verified by Prefect Song, so there won't be any problems.

Xiao Ji waved for them to leave and said to Shen Lan and the others, "The ship is moving forward, so we definitely won't be able to catch that old woman. But since she's on this ship, either her target is us, or she's going to Bianjing. Which do you think it is?"

Fu Qingyan shouted, "She's definitely here for revenge! We killed so many of her companions!"

Shen Lan analyzed, "She must have been hiding near the post station that day. We stayed in Jiangzhou for many days. If she was just passing through, she wouldn't have waited so long. She must have known our whereabouts and came on the ship specifically."

Xiao Ji gave Sui Feng a wink, and the latter immediately led his men to search the cabin where the old woman had stayed.

After a while, he came in carrying a tattered bundle.

The bundle was opened, revealing a set of patched clothes and several small bottles.

Shen Lan poured out a little of the contents of each bottle to test them. In addition to the highly poisonous arsenic, there was also a sleeping potion and a laxative.

Fu Qingyan touched his stomach and asked worriedly, "Could she have poisoned our food?"

Shen Lan rolled her eyes at him. "The fact that we're still standing here safely means she hasn't made a move yet."

She's probably still waiting for an opportunity.

In the first few days, Sui Feng was very vigilant and tested every meal for poison.

But they've been on the boat the whole time. Once the first few days are over, Sui Feng can't be on guard every day. When they let their guard down, that will be the perfect opportunity for the old woman to strike.

She's quite composed; I haven't even seen her face once in the past few days.

That makes sense, since Shen Lan and the others are all on the upper two levels. If she stays on the lower level, they might not even cross paths when the ship docks.

"We are so grateful to Miss Shen today. If she hadn't gone to the kitchen, we might have really been in trouble with this old woman."

Xiao Ji looked at Shen Lan and said, "Since she has appeared in Jiangzhou Prefecture, please have Miss Shen draw a few portraits of her. Once the ship docks, I will send someone to the nearby government office so that the authorities can do their utmost to apprehend her."

“Okay,” Shen Lan readily agreed.

Next, Sui Feng led his soldiers to search the ship and its surroundings, re-examining all the food, including the tribute items stored in the warehouse.

By the time all the investigations were completed, it was already dark, and Shen Lan had finished drawing three portraits.

This was the first time Xiao Ji and the others had seen Shen Lan paint portraits; it was as if they were seeing real people standing right in front of them.

"Miss Shen's painting skills are so good, no wonder even the Hermit of Rongshan wanted to become your apprentice," Xiao Ji praised.

Fu Qingyan had been engrossed in his studies these past few days, oblivious to everything else, and this was the first time he had heard about the hermit of Rongshan.

He yelled in frustration, "Why didn't you mention something this big to me?"

If he knew that the Hermit of Rongshan was in Jiangzhou, he would definitely have shamelessly asked for a painting.

Xiao Ji bluntly retorted, "It's no use telling you; you'll never even see him."

If Fu Qingyan knew that Shen Lan had casually acquired several paintings by Rongshan Jushi, he would probably be even more furious.

Fu Qingyan shamelessly asked, "How about I become Miss Shen's apprentice?"

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Shen Lan had been supervising and guiding his studies. Although her teaching methods were dull and tedious, which was frustrating, it had to be said that he was making rapid progress.

If he can learn Shen Lan's painting skills, will he still have to worry about being ostracized when he returns to Bianjing?

A figure like the Hermit of Rongshan was extremely rare and sought-after even in Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Shen Lan bluntly refused: "Young Master Fu should focus on his studies. Painting is easy to get distracted by."

“I’ve been thinking about this carefully these past few days, and the imperial examination is still too difficult for me. How about I change careers and become a painter?” Fu Qingyan said with great interest.

Shen Lan held up three fingers. "I can guarantee that Young Master Fu will pass the imperial examination in three years. But if you start learning to paint now, it will take ten years to achieve anything. By the time you spend another thirty years making a name for yourself, you'll only be able to take your masterpieces with you to your grave."

Most artists become more valuable as they age, and many masterpieces only become famous many years after the artist's death.

Fu Qingyan was not someone who needed to make a living by selling paintings; the imperial examination was the path with the highest return on investment for him.