After rebirth, she became the favorite of the powerful minister.

It was already dawn when Song Wenyuan came out of Luofengxuan. His eyes were red and his temples were blue, obviously he had not slept all night. He pressed his eyebrows and asked Lin Mu who was rushing over, "Why are you so flustered?"

Lin Mu stuck his head in to take a look, but of course he couldn't see anything. It was just a subconscious action. He then looked at Song Wenyuan again and sighed helplessly, "Master, your shoulder injury has not healed, and... the doctor said you should rest well." The words after "and" were not said because the walls had ears.

The drizzle was still falling. Song Wenyuan pressed his forehead as he walked out, urging, "It's okay, let's talk about business first."

Lin Mu held an umbrella in one hand and followed closely, whispering, "The news from Changshoufang is that a minor official died in the Maritime Customs Office. Lord Yao has already gone there, and because you have been keeping an eye on the Maritime Customs Office recently, he sent someone to inform us."

The fingertips pressing on the center of his brow paused, and there was no trace of tiredness on his face. He strode out with his long legs, "Let's go take a look."

The deceased was named Hui Dasheng. He was found dead this morning in a small river in the southeast corner of Xishi. He was discovered by citizens who got up early to wash clothes. When he was fished out, his face had turned pale from being soaked, and a badge of the Maritime Customs was hanging around his waist.

After receiving the report, County Magistrate Yao Yunfeng rushed to the body recovery site and found footprints sliding into the river on the shore not far away. It rained last night and the shore was muddy and slippery. There were no other fatal injuries on the body except for some scratches. In addition, the owner of a nearby winery recalled that Hui Dasheng's steps were unsteady when he left the winery, as if he was drunk. Finally, this place was the only way for Hui Dasheng to go home. All evidence pointed to the fact that this was just a simple accidental fall into the water.

Hui Dasheng was just a small official in the Maritime Customs who was used to being alone. He had few friends but never made enemies. He was an insignificant person in both his job and life. There were countless small people like him in Shengjing City. It was not Song Wenyuan's turn to deal with his life or death. Yao Yunfeng only sent someone to inform him when he knew that he had been keeping an eye on the Maritime Customs recently.

When Song Wenyuan came over, he saw a plainly dressed woman sitting on the ground, pounding the ground and crying loudly. Next to her was a body that had been salvaged. The yamen runners were guarding it and not letting anyone touch it. Next to her was a little girl with two buns on her head. She seemed to be terrified. She sat on the ground with her knees hugged, staring straight ahead. Her wet hair stuck to her forehead, and she looked extremely embarrassed.

Yao Yunfeng glanced at Song Wenyuan, holding the umbrella above his head, and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Why do you look so bad?"

Song Wenyuan shook his head without explaining. He just nodded and asked briefly, "Cause of death?"

"Now it seems that he fell into the water after getting drunk." Yao Yunfeng repeated the conclusion of the coroner, and then looked at the other person calmly. It looked like he hadn't slept all night. Since the other person didn't say anything, he wouldn't ask more questions, and just said, "It's a pity that you made this trip in vain."

Song Wenyuan really didn't sleep all night. He had no sleep in the first half of the night, and took care of the injured with fever in the second half of the night. She usually looked very independent and strong, but she suddenly grabbed his hand and groaned and cried "pain", which made people feel distressed for no reason. Although he could break free, he let her go. Of course, he didn't say anything about this. He just pinched his eyebrows and walked around the river like a stroll, looking at the two particularly obvious footprints on the shore, and then looked back at Hui Dasheng's bare and swollen feet, and reminded, "Where are his shoes?"

The yamen runner beside him bowed and replied, "It was gone when we salvaged it. Maybe it was washed away."

"Maybe?" Song Wenyuan lowered his eyes and looked at him. Only when he saw the other party sweating profusely did he stop smiling and reminded Yao Yunfeng, "This river is flat and the current is not turbulent. Even if it is really washed away, it will not be washed far. Order people to search nearby and don't miss it on the shore."

Yao Yunfeng reacted instantly, "You think it was... murder?"

"I just feel suspicious. The two footprints are too deep and too clear, as if they were made deliberately." Song Wenyuan glanced at the wailing woman and the little girl who was curled up with staring eyes. Both of them had patches on their clothes, and the little girl was wearing cloth shoes with exposed toes, which showed that their life was really tight. It was very likely that the missing pair of shoes was also a pair of old cloth shoes, which could not leave such footprints. They looked more like thick-soled soap boots.

Although the two of them didn't interact much on weekdays, they had cooperated on several missions. Song Wenyuan was a full ten years younger than Yao Yunfeng, and his methods were much more acumen-oriented. Yao Yunfeng did not doubt Song Wenyuan's judgment and instructed his men around him, "Just do as Lord Song wishes."

The yamen runners bowed in agreement and directed everyone to get busy.

The woman was still crying until her voice was hoarse. The little girl next to her finally reacted. She used her hands and feet to crawl up and walked to her mother, calling out softly, "Mom..." She didn't cry, but had a wooden face, as if her soul had left her body.

The woman turned to look at her daughter, was stunned for a moment, then let out a cry, and continued crying while holding the child in her arms.

Song Wenyuan and Yao Yunfeng stood side by side on the shore, frowning slightly as he watched this scene. He was used to seeing people crying and crying about their deaths, and he was indifferent and even felt upset in the face of many tears. Jin Yunian had said that he was a cold-hearted person, and he agreed with this. But last night, when the patient pursed her lips, groaned with tears in the corners of her eyes, he couldn't help but pull his hand away, and sat by the bed all night, looking over the words she copied over and over again for most of the night.

It's really strange.

He sneered to himself and pressed his brows, but suddenly he was startled. He remembered... he casually flipped through the nameless medical book on the bedside last night. He didn't pay much attention to it then, but now he suddenly realized that those handwritings... compared to Wen Qianlian's handwriting, although they were a bit more sharp and arrogant, they were indeed written by the same person.

Yao Yunfeng asked him what was wrong?

His expression was calm. "I just remembered that I have some urgent matters to deal with. If there is any result here, please ask Lord Yao to let me know. Oh, by the way, send the body to the imperial prison later. If the woman disagrees, give her some money to send her away. The amount of money spent will be recorded in the book and sent to the Northern Pacification Office."

After saying that, he glanced at the mother and daughter who were hugging and crying. There was no emotion in his eyes. The look was no different from the one he gave when he looked at the blades of grass and trees on the shore, or even the corpse on the ground. It was equally distant and indifferent.

Yao Yunfeng was not surprised by Song Wenyuan's style of doing things. He waved his hand casually, and said casually, "Go and do your thing."