There is a god in the sky

Chapter 143 The Mystery of the Dock 10

Chen Shi returned with his officers, shouting from afar, "Sir, I've found a suspicious place."

He ran up to Xiao Ji and said directly, "We found a clump of grass on the riverbank with bloodstains. It might be where the murderer committed the crime."

Shen Lan retorted, "Jiang Zheng couldn't have died in the grass. His clothes weren't covered in grass clippings; they were even dry."

Zhang Yanqiao disagreed with her hasty conclusion.

"Young lady, please don't mislead the officers in handling the case. Many things cannot be determined by mere speculation. Whether the place of the murder is true or not can only be known after an on-site investigation."

He instructed Chen Shi, "Please send someone to lead the way so I can go and take a look."

Seeing that Lord Xiao did not object, Chen Shi sent one of his men to take him there.

After they left, he asked, "Who was that person?"

"Lord Zhang, the County Commandant of Tong'an County."

"Oh."

Chen Shike was a member of the prefectural government, and even the county magistrate was not a high-ranking official in his eyes, let alone a county lieutenant.

"Has Lord Zhang examined the body?" Xiao Ji asked Steward Wang.

"I went to the back hall for a look, but I didn't see any coroners from the county government accompanying me."

Xiao Ji instructed Fu: "Go and summon Young Master Su. We need his help."

Manager Wang immediately replied, "I'll go and call him right away."

Xiao Ji asked Su Qiyu to help him copy a copy of the autopsy report and send it to Zhang Yanqiao.

Su Qiyu agreed without hesitation.

Xiao Ji sat to the side watching him copy, and casually asked, "Mr. Su is already a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), don't you plan to continue taking the imperial examinations?"

He paused, then replied dejectedly, "The student's talent is limited, and his family is poor. He may need to accumulate knowledge and skills for a few more years."

"Are you married?"

He is single and has never married.

"Oh? Do you have parents or siblings?"

"My parents died early, and my family's wealth has been depleted by years of studying, so I have no choice but to find a way to make a living."

Su Qiyu had thought that the coroner's examination of the body was just a superficial inspection, but he did not expect it to be so detailed.

When he saw in Miao Niang's statement that there was a hickey on the back of her neck, about the size of a little fingernail, and that the murderer was suspected of having a romantic relationship with the victim, he almost dropped his pen.

He calmly switched to another pen and praised, "Your coroner's skills in examining corpses are truly excellent. I have never seen such rhetoric in my life."

"Yes, he is indeed better than most coroners."

"A small boat returned this morning, saying that the river a hundred miles north is frozen over. Should Lord Xiao change his route and return to the capital by land?"

Xiao Ji said with distress, "If it continues to snow, we'll have no choice but to change our route."

"The snow came earlier than usual this year."

"Has Mr. Su been at this dock for many years?"

"Three years."

Xiao Ji silently calculated that after three years as an accountant, his wages should be quite substantial, enough to cover his travel expenses to the capital for the imperial examination.

Moreover, this year is the autumn imperial examination season; if you miss it this year, you'll have to wait another three years.

"Alright, sir, would you like to check this?" Su Qiyu handed the transcribed notes to Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji took it, flipped through it casually, and said, "Very good, thank you."

Just as Su Qiyu was about to take his leave, he heard Xiao Ji ask, "Mr. Su, would you like to travel with us?"

“This…” He looked at Xiao Ji in surprise.

"Making a living is the same no matter where you are. Why not go to Bianjing to live first, earn money and study at the same time, so as not to miss the next autumn examination? What do you think?"

Su Qiyu was somewhat moved.

"Please allow me to consider this."

"it is good."

Su Qiyu turned and left, her thoughts in turmoil.

Traveling with government officials ensures his safety on the road, and he doesn't have to worry about anything else. But... his business here is not yet over.

Shen Lan came in from outside and took away the white cloth spread on the floor.

When Su Qiyu came in, he noticed the white cloth on the floor, but he thought it was because Lord Xiao was clean and afraid that his shoes would dirty the floor.

There were many shoe prints on the white cloth, some his and some Xiao Ji's.

"He was very cautious; he even stepped in your footprints when he came in."

Fortunately, the white cloth under the desk was specially prepared for him.

The cloth itself isn't the key point; the key point is that beneath the white cloth lies a layer of clay, from which Su Qiyu's complete shoe prints were collected.

Xiao Ji joked, "No matter how smart he is, he wouldn't have guessed that you hid the mechanism under this cloth."

The shoes came in from outside, and by the time they reached the desk, the soles were dry, so no complete shoe print could be left.

But the clay underneath was soft, and when he stepped on it, he left a mark.

Shen Lan took out the shoe print from Steward Jiang's coat for comparison.

“The patterns are the same, but the shoe sizes are incomplete, making it difficult to compare, so it cannot be completely certain that it is him.”

"This is enough."

Xiao Ji picked up his teacup and blew on the steam. "I made him a condition that no normal person could refuse. If he refuses, it only proves that there is something wrong with him."

What was his motive for murder?

"I don't know. I've already sent people to investigate his background, where he's from, and what he's been through. We'll have the answers soon."

County Magistrate Zhang returned empty-handed.

The blood in the grass wasn't human blood, and the bloodstains were quite old, not from the last few days.

When Zhang Yanqiao returned, he saw Xiao Ji sitting in the room drinking tea, with a beautiful woman sitting to his left. He assumed that Shen Lan was one of Xiao Ji's concubines.

He didn't go inside, but continued to investigate the case in the vicinity with his men.

When he arrived at the warehouse, he went inside and took a look around, and even went up to the second floor for a look.

It's certainly comfortable here, but he has to make them move out tomorrow.

"Sir, we have twenty men. It will take us almost half a day to move these boxes," his confidant whispered to him.

Zhang Yanqiao didn't care much. "It's just normal buying and selling and transporting goods. Even if we move them right under their noses, it's no big deal."

"Yes, I misunderstood."

“But you can’t come and move it. Go and gather Manager Jiang’s people and have them come and do the work tomorrow.”

"Alright, I'll make the contact right away."

Before leaving, he asked, "Sir, Steward Jiang's death was suspicious. Could it be related to this shipment?"

"No more than one person knows about this shipment. Who would go to the trouble of killing him? He must have offended someone."

Zhang Yanqiao instructed him: "The case needs to be investigated further. Also, keep an eye on that side and make sure they don't mess things up."

The confidant suggested, "Why don't we lead them to the county town?"

“He holds a high official position, how can he listen to me? Find them some work to do tomorrow.”

"clear."

That evening, Zhang Yanqiao hosted a dinner for Xiao Ji.

Of course, we ate at the inn again, and the ingredients were the same, but we did serve a few jars of fine wine.

County Magistrate Zhang kept toasting Xiao Ji, making it seem like he wouldn't leave until he was completely drunk.

Shen Lan had witnessed Xiao Ji's drinking capacity before. Seeing that he pretended to be drunk and fell asleep halfway through, she took the initiative to step forward and say, "My master is drunk. Thank you for your hospitality, County Magistrate."

If Sui Feng tries to help the person now, County Magistrate Zhang will definitely not let them go.

But upon seeing that it was her, County Magistrate Zhang smiled meaningfully, "Since you have a beauty by your side, then I will not disturb Lord Xiao's sweet dreams."

Shen Lan helped Xiao Ji up, letting him lean on her shoulder, and smiled as she nodded to Zhang Yanqiao: "I also wish you sweet dreams, County Magistrate."