There is a god in the sky

Chapter 426 Help

"Recently, people in Jiangling are in a state of panic, rumors are spreading, and many families are having a bad New Year."

"If the case isn't solved soon, the people won't dare to go out."

Shen Lan was taken to the morgue, where a row of corpses were neatly arranged, numbering seven or eight.

"The coroner has already examined the body once before, but it wasn't very helpful. I heard that Lord Shen's autopsies can provide clues that ordinary people can't see, so I took the liberty of requesting this."

Shen Lan began to put on her smock and gloves, and said modestly, "I can only do my best. Whether I can find any clues depends on the specific circumstances."

"Thank you, Lord Shen is my last hope."

"By the way, I'll have Zhang, the coroner from our prefectural office, assist you."

Prefect Liu quickly gave Coroner Zhang a meaningful look; it would be foolish for him not to seize such a good opportunity to learn from Zhang.

Zhang, the coroner, was thin and hunchbacked, and his eyesight seemed poor. He walked reluctantly to Shen Lan's side.

Shen Lan didn't look at him, but said to Prefect Liu, "Just send a minor official to record the corpse's remains."

She walked to the nearest corpse, where traces of Zhang the coroner's examination could be seen.

The body was covered in lividity and emitted a putrid stench, indicating that it had been dead for at least half a month.

"The deceased was a man in his early thirties... He had been dead for about sixteen or seventeen days. His body was swollen. He was of medium height and build. He had a black mole at the corner of his eye and was missing three teeth. Combined with the lividity on his face, it was clear that his face had been beaten before he died."

There was a slight fracture in the back of the skull, the wound caused by a sharp object, probably an iron awl or something similar.

The deceased had large, bony knuckles on all ten fingers, indicating he was a manual laborer. Half of his left little finger was missing, a result of an old injury.

Shen Lan picked the stuff out of his fingernails.

"The stuff under his fingernails didn't look like soil, it looked more like... mineral sand?"

The clerk recording the event exclaimed in surprise, "Ore? There's a gold mine fifty miles outside Jinling City!"

"Cough!" Prefect Liu coughed loudly, and the clerk hurriedly lowered his head to write.

Shen Lan didn't care; she didn't want to get involved in solving the case, she only wanted to provide the autopsy results.

"He had three broken bones in his chest, and multiple whip marks on his chest and back. Whether there was bleeding in his internal organs can only be confirmed by autopsy. His legs had a mix of old and new wounds, the most recent of which was caused by a blunt force injury."

My guess is that this person is a farmhand who has been enslaved and subjected to long-term beatings and harsh conditions. Has his identity been confirmed?

"Not yet. We've searched the whole city but no one has lost a man with a mole near their eye."

Shen Lan frowned slightly and continued reading.

After examining all the corpses, her back was so sore she could barely straighten up, and it was getting dark outside.

The autopsy notes were a thick stack of pages, but Zhang, the coroner, failed to notice many crucial details.

Prefect Liu had a guess in his mind, and left with his men halfway through the visit.

When Shen Lan came out of the morgue, she saw Zhang the coroner standing outside the door with a solemn expression.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

She was not only exhausted, but also anxious, eager to meet up with Li Ye and the others.

Zhang, the coroner, bowed to her, saying, "I was arrogant before. Lord Shen truly deserves to be called a coroner appointed by the emperor. I cannot flatter him enough."

"There are always people better than you, and mountains beyond mountains. Coroner Zhang, you'll know once you go out and see more of the world."

Coroner Zhang said regretfully, "It's a pity I'm already this old. If I were twenty, I would definitely have become Lord Shen's apprentice and served you."

Shen Lan shook her head, "I don't plan to take on any apprentices for the time being."

She might consider this in the future, since she would be happy if her modern knowledge could contribute to the profession of coroner.

An official came over and said, "Lord Shen, we'll escort you back."

Shen Lan nodded, got into a sedan chair, and swayed back home.

The swaying of the sedan chair made her drowsy.

Shen Lan was startled awake by the noise around her, and a scene flashed through her mind.

She saw a serrated wound during the autopsy and initially thought it was caused by wild animals biting the body after it was thrown out.

But what if that place is home to wild animals?

According to the minor official, there are mines in the suburbs, so it's not surprising that a few wild animals are kept in the mines.

Could these dead people have been miners from the mountain?

Some are somewhat similar, but not entirely.

Some of their hands and feet were clean, not like someone who did manual labor.

Never mind, this case has nothing to do with her. She should just focus on her own business.

The sedan chair shook violently and fell to the ground, and Shen Lan also fell down.

She climbed out of the sedan chair and saw an out-of-control carriage rushing towards her.

The sedan bearers who had been carrying the sedan chair instinctively dropped it and ran away.

"Lord Shen, run away quickly!" Only then did they remember that there was an important person in the sedan chair.

But rushing to save someone at this point means risking your life.

No one is more important than one's own life.

Shen Lan saw the horse's hooves coming towards her, rolled over to avoid them, but was about to be run over by the wheels.

Just then, a fist slammed heavily onto the carriage, causing it to overturn and the horses to fall to the ground.

Shen Lan looked up and saw that Li Ye had pulled her up.

Exclamations and screams came from inside the carriage.

Shen Lan had just stood up when she saw several horses rushing towards her from behind.

The people on horseback jumped down and hurriedly helped the people out of the carriage.

Shen Lan and Li Ye wanted to leave first, but were stopped by a guard.

"Stop right there! You've injured my young master and you think you can just run away? Quickly kowtow and apologize to my young master!"

Li Ye was about to make a move when Shen Lan pulled him back.

She was curious. She was riding in a government sedan chair, and the sedan chair bearers were all government officials in uniform. What kind of person was the other party who dared to be so arrogant?

An official moved over and whispered, "Sirs, this is the Ma family from the East City. They're in the jewelry business."

"merchant?"

"This... is a royal merchant."

Shen Lan had heard of the Ma family; there was a jewelry shop owned by the Ma family in the capital, which was the most expensive and sought-after.

Pure businessmen can't do this kind of business; it seems the key lies with the people behind the Ma family.

Not wanting to cause any more trouble, Shen Lan said in a gentle tone, "It was your carriage that went out of control and crashed into us. We were just protecting ourselves."

The young master was helped up.

Shen Lan took a look and realized that he was not "young" at all; he was a young man in his twenties.

He was dressed in brightly colored clothes, his face was covered in makeup, and he had a dashing appearance.

"Ouch, my face... is it bruised?"

He rushed towards Shen Lan, raising his hand to strike, but Shen Lan dodged it.

The officials rushed over to stop him, saying, "Young Master Ma, you can't hit him!"

"Why can't I hit her? This bitch disfigured me. I'm being kind by not slashing her face."

Shen Lan laughed in anger. Such rudeness—she wondered who gave him the audacity.

Just as she was about to retort, she heard a cold voice behind her, "Whose face are you trying to slash?"

Shen Lan was startled and quickly turned around, looking at the man standing behind her in disbelief.

"How did you come?"

She thought... she thought they would never see each other again in this lifetime.