There is a god in the sky

Chapter 40 The Murder of a Wealthy Family in Jianzhou (Part 3)

Shen Lan sat down on the edge of the bed and stretched out her hand, saying, "Put your hand out."

The little monk stared at her blankly.

"What should I call you, young master?"

"My Buddhist name is Liaochen."

Does it mean "severing ties with worldly affairs"?

"..." Liao Chen blinked, a glint of tears in his eyes.

He remembered that ten years ago, a young girl had also taken his pulse in the same way and even prepared medicine for him in a serious manner. As a result, he had diarrhea for three days after drinking the medicine.

However, he contracted the plague at that time. Although the medicine was unpalatable and had many side effects, it saved his life.

His mouth was slightly open, a name stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to say it.

It's just somewhat similar, he reminded himself.

Shen Lan did not notice anything unusual about him. She took his pulse and touched his forehead with the back of her hand.

It's very hot; it must be a high fever.

She wrote down a prescription and handed it to Fu Qingyan, saying, "Find someone to get the medicine; he urgently needs to cool down his fever."

Guan Shu snatched the prescription away, saying unhappily, "All the pharmacies are closed now, where are we going to buy medicine?"

"Then why did you bring them back?"

"We can't just stand by and watch someone die, can we?"

Shen Lan looked at him with a smile.

Guan Shu said irritably, "Fine, fine, I'm going to find Brother Sui Feng."

After saying that, he took the prescription and ran away.

Shen Lan thought to herself: This little pageboy is sharp-tongued, but his heart is as soft as his master's.

The little monk was drowsy, his eyes fixed on Shen Lan.

Shen Lan went outside to fetch water, wrung out a handkerchief, and placed it on his forehead.

"Don't underestimate a cold; a high fever can make you stupid."

“Someone has said this to me before,” the young monk said softly.

Shen Lan didn't hear clearly, so she wrung out a wet cloth and had him wipe his body.

Just as Xiao Ji returned from the yamen, Shen Lan had just fed the medicine to the little monk.

He rushed over for a quick look, assigned a servant to help, and then locked himself in his study to get busy.

Fu Qingyan was not fully recovered and, after riding a horse all day, he couldn't take it anymore.

As soon as he left, Guanshu also abandoned the patient and ran away.

Half an hour later, Liao Chen's fever still hadn't subsided.

He frowned, a pained expression on his face, and gripped the sheets tightly with both hands, as if he were experiencing a great battle in his sleep.

Shen Lan went to the kitchen and found a jar of wine. She used a cotton cloth soaked in the wine to wipe his body.

Perhaps it was because his body temperature was dropping, but Liao Chen's nightmare eased slightly. His brows relaxed, and he murmured something.

Shen Lan didn't listen, as it involved his personal privacy.

But if she leans closer and listens carefully, she will hear her own name.

Little Lan'er...

Li Ye returned to his hometown in his dream.

The Shen family lived next door to him. The Shen family had a very cute little sister who was always clean and beautiful.

Every time he used the excuse of going to see Shen Zhiyuan, it was just to tease this little sister.

That year there was a great flood, and many people in the town fell ill, including him.

At first, his parents would take him to see a doctor, but later his mother also fell ill, and his father could no longer take care of her.

Just when he thought he was going to die, the little girl next door ran up to him and asked, "Why haven't you come to my house for several days?"

He called her name, saying guiltily, "Little Lan'er, your brother is going to die..."

He saw Xiao Lan'er frown and stare at him for a while before running away.

Yes, the plague is contagious, she must be scared.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a bitter liquid was poured into his mouth. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Xiao Lan'er sitting angrily by the bed, telling him to open his mouth and drink the medicine.

The medicine tastes so bitter and smells so bad.

Even after all this time, he can still remember how awful the medicine tasted.

"I wonder if it will work," Xiao Lan'er muttered to herself.

Then Li Ye was awakened by abdominal pain and kept running to the toilet, where he had diarrhea for three whole days.

That's probably when he developed his stomach problems; now he gets so much pain from skipping meals that he can't stand it.

Fortunately, he survived.

Five people survived in the whole town, and he was one of them. How lucky he was!

He gave a bitter laugh, tears streaming down his face.

"Oh dear, Miss Shen, have you been sitting here all night?"

The servant got up early to cook breakfast and passed by the guest room, where he saw Miss Shen sitting on the edge of the bed, propping her head up with her hand.

Shen Lan and Liao Chen opened their eyes at the same time.

Their eyes met, and both of them showed expressions of astonishment.

Last night the light was dim, and people could only be seen as silhouettes.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell directly onto the bed, making their faces clearly visible.

Such a familiar feeling.

Liao Chen suspected he was still dreaming, otherwise why would the person he was thinking about in his dream appear in front of him?

He looked down and saw his bare arms, and was so frightened that he hid under the covers.

Shen Lan withdrew her gaze, stood up, stretched, and went out to ask, "Is breakfast ready?"

"Not yet...not yet."

"Let's go, let's do it together." It's a good opportunity to make a meal for the patient.

When Xiao Ji came out of the study, he looked like he had stayed up all night, with big dark circles under his eyes.

Good morning, Miss Shen.

Good morning, Lord Xiao.

"Thank you for your help last night, Miss Shen. I will have someone fetch a doctor to look after the patient today. Please go back to your room and rest, Miss Shen."

Shen Lan nodded, turned a corner, and headed towards the waterside pavilion.

She really needs to catch up on her sleep.

But as soon as I lay down, the monk's face would always appear in my mind.

She reached out and made a few strokes in the air.

Human bones change as we age, and she doesn't actually know what they look like now.

But familiarity doesn't come out of thin air. Just like every time she strolls down the street and scans those faces, she knows they aren't the people she's looking for.

She suddenly sat up, got up and ran out of the waterside pavilion.

The servant brought breakfast and almost bumped into Shen Lan.

“Miss Shen, the master instructed that you have breakfast before going out with him.”

Shen Lan stopped in her tracks, remembering that she still had work to do, and gave up her plan to see Chen.

She hesitated before asking, "What is the little monk we rescued last night doing?"

"Oh, he wanted to leave after you left, but the adults persuaded him to stay."

It turned out to be the case.

Perhaps he isn't.

Shen Lan touched her face. Her face looked a lot like her mother's. If it were her mother, she would recognize her, right?

She took two steamed buns from the tray and ate them as she walked, leaving the servant staring in disbelief.

This was the first time he had ever met such a free-spirited girl.

Xiao Ji was talking to Fu Qingyan, and because they were close by, he could hear them arguing.

"I'm going to handle a case, what are you going to do with me?" Xiao Ji asked helplessly.

Fu Qingyan grabbed him, not letting him leave.

"Cousin, please take me with you. I promise I won't cause you any trouble."

"Your injury hasn't healed yet."

“Okay, look…” Fu Qingyan took off his hat, revealing his bald back of his head to him.

Shen Lan couldn't help but laugh when she saw her masterpiece.

At the time, I was only focused on saving him, and I didn't care whether his missing patch of hair looked good or not.

Upon hearing the sound, Fu Qingyan quickly put his hat back on, turned around, and greeted Shen Lan.

Shen Lan, biting into a steamed bun, said, "We're going to perform an autopsy today. Do you dare to watch?"

"Hasn't it already been tested?"

"I only took a quick look yesterday. I want to examine it carefully to see what the killer's preferences were when he committed the murders. Maybe I can deduce his motives."