There is a god in the sky

Chapter 385 National Mourning

Shen Lan spotted Xiao Hu Zi and his group in the crowd of onlookers.

They were carrying bundles, as if they were about to embark on a long journey.

Shen Lan weaved through the crowd, deliberately covering her face when she got close to Xiao Huzi and the others, then grabbed Xiao Huzi's arm and ran away with him.

Little Tiger shouted, "Human traffickers are kidnapping people... Help!"

Shen Lan turned around and glared at him: "Don't speak, or don't blame me for poisoning your muteness!"

"Shen...Sister Shen?"

Once he recognized Shen Lan, Xiao Huzi stopped calling out to her.

The bystanders who were about to help rescue the person stopped caring when they saw this.

The men who were with Xiaohuzi showed no concern whatsoever when they saw him being taken away by a woman.

Little Tiger retracted the poisoned weapon that had been protruding from his sleeve and asked with a smile, "Sister Shen, what are you doing here? Why did you arrest me?"

Shen Lan led him to a deserted roadside, looked him over, and asked, "Where are you going? What are you going to do?"

Little Tiger chuckled happily, without giving a direct answer.

"Why is your sister asking this? Does she want to come with us?"

"You'd better tell the truth, I don't want to lay a hand on you."

She guessed that this group of people had a close relationship with Li Ge and were probably working for him.

But now that all the people who deserved to die are dead, what will Li Ge send them to do?

Little Tiger clung to me with a grin, saying, "Sister wouldn't bear to hit me. I'll tell you. We think life in the capital is tough, so we're planning to go south to find something to do."

Opinions were not aligned; some wanted to open a security escort agency, some wanted to do manual labor, and some said they wanted to roam the martial arts world, robbing the rich to help the poor.

Hey, anyway, we're all homeless, we'll just go wherever we feel like, we don't have a fixed destination.

“What you say sounds very true, but I don’t believe it. It’s impossible for a whole family to move with only this little bit of luggage.”

They're more likely to be taking a few changes of clothes with them when they go out on business, and it probably won't last more than half a month.

Xiao Huzi's face stiffened for a moment before he explained, "We are poor and have nothing of value, only this little bit of luggage."

"Is that so? Then what's the point of having a courtesan with you all?"

Shen Lan's gaze fell on the group of people who had rushed over, among whom was Madam Xu, whom she had seen at the brothel.

She was dressed in short clothes, her hair wrapped in a cloth, and she looked no different from a wandering swordswoman.

Upon seeing Shen Lan, Madam Xu waved happily: "Oh, isn't this Miss Shen? You've become even more beautiful in just a few days."

Shen Lan admired that she could still greet her so naturally, even though the two of them had a rather unpleasant falling out last time.

Shen Lan bowed to them with the courtesy due to a martial arts practitioner, and then asked, "Where are you all headed?"

Xiao Huzi frantically gestured behind Shen Lan, but no one understood his hints.

Madam Xu said, "We plan to go south to do business."

Another burly man with a thick beard quickly interjected, "We want to go to Laoshan to become bandits."

The two exchanged a glance, and then attacked each other simultaneously.

"You stupid bear, all you know is to be a bandit. Be careful you don't get wiped out by the government troops!"

"You slut, you think you can run a business? Be careful you don't lose everything. Oh, and I forgot, nobody wants a middle-aged woman like you!"

"you wanna die!"

"Come on, who's afraid of whom?"

Seeing that the two started fighting over a mere disagreement, Shen Lan didn't need to ask any more questions.

Given this situation, even if she asked all the questions, she wouldn't get the correct answer.

Or perhaps it's that we don't know which one is correct.

She bowed to them in farewell, wishing them a safe journey.

She walked back, the hustle and bustle behind her gradually fading away. When she returned to the city gate and saw the hanging corpse, a feeling of nausea arose spontaneously.

This terrible world!

There were fast horses galloping out of the city, and more than one of them.

Shen Lan recognized them as soldiers of the Prince of Zheng; she didn't know what mission they were on when they left the capital.

The guards at the gate have also been replaced by Zheng Wang's men. It's likely that it won't be long before a large number of high-ranking officials of the Jinwu Guard are replaced.

The Zhang family was the first to be affected.

As soon as she entered the main street, Shen Lan saw soldiers and officers banging gongs and drums all over the street.

"During the national mourning period, every household must hang white lanterns, and no weddings, brightly colored clothes, gatherings for frolicking, or banquets are permitted for one month. Those who disobey will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane..."

They would destroy the festive red lanterns in front of shops and tear down the red couplets on people's doors.

If you see places like gambling dens or restaurants, go up and block the doors.

Shen Lan watched as they ripped off a little boy's red bib in the street, scaring the boy into crying loudly.

The mother quickly hugged the child to her arms, saying, "Please forgive us, sir, we'll go back and change our clothes right away."

The soldiers stared at the woman with ill intent for a while, then reached out and pulled out the hairpin from her head, because there was a ruby ​​the size of a fingernail on the hairpin.

The woman was furious but dared not speak out, and did not even dare to ask for the child back. She ran away with the child in her arms.

Shen Lan walked past them, deliberately bumping into the soldier and stealing the hairpin he had just put in his pocket.

Before the soldiers could even get angry, they saw Shen Lan's face and their eyes lit up.

"Young lady, your outfit is inappropriate, too flashy. Why don't you come with me, and I'll take you to buy a new one?"

Shen Lan wore all white today, as plain as could be, without even a piece of jewelry.

Her face darkened as she asked, "Which government department are you from?"

"From the Jingzhao Prefecture, what? Could it be that you're the daughter of an official?"

These street-smart yamen runners are experts at judging people and taking advantage of them. Judging from Shen Lan's attire, she's probably just an ordinary citizen.

"I am acquainted with your Lord Chen. Why don't we ask him to judge whether my attire is appropriate?"

Even the lowest-ranking yamen runners are no match for the head constables; any official of any rank in the capital prefecture can order them around.

High-ranking officials like Lord Chen are usually hard to even meet.

"Stop trying to make yourself look good. You think you're acquainted with Lord Chen? Who do you think you are?"

Shen Lan's expression changed. "Never mind, I forgot. Lord Chen died yesterday from a hail of arrows from the rebels."

She turned and left, leaving behind a group of bewildered officials.

They are unaware of this news yet.

After all, quite a few officials died in the palace yesterday, and many families have not yet held funerals.

Some were executed by the King of Zheng, and their bodies were never returned to their owners.

The officials looked at each other, suddenly realizing that the emperor's death might not be so simple.

"Let's go back to the yamen. If Lord Chen really is... then we need to choose a good spot quickly, lest someone else snatch it first."

"Brother, do you know who the next prefect will be?"

"Of course I don't know. We don't even know who the emperor is these days, so how can we know who the higher-ups will promote? But we can take a gamble. Even if we lose, there's nothing to lose."

In a small government office, if you choose the wrong side, your future may be over.

In the imperial court, if you choose the wrong side, your entire family's lives may be in danger.

Shen Lan caught up with the mother and son and returned the hairpin to her. The woman thanked her repeatedly and even gave her a bunch of green vegetables.

Shen Lan stood in the middle of the road with some greens in her hand, looking at the carefree people on the street, unable to reconcile the scene with yesterday's battles and bloodshed.

Inside and outside the palace walls, it seemed like two different worlds.