Miss Truth
Chapter 108 - 67 Ayan, I Want to Break Free

Chapter 108: Chapter 67 Ayan, I Want to Break Free

By the second watch, there were still three more to go—speaking of which, everyone, the total lunar eclipse has started, an event so rare it happens only once every fifty years. Look quickly, look quickly!!!

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After washing up, with Xingniang’s help in lighting the Corner Lamps, Ran Yan sat down in the corridor to enjoy the breeze and read.

Lady Liu and Wan Lu were embroidering in the side room.

"Yanyan?"

Ran Yan heard Ran Yunsheng’s low voice and shifted her gaze from the Medical Books, looking toward the source of the sound.

Ran Yunsheng was perched on the yard wall, his picturesque brows and eyes carried a playful smile.

"Shilang is such a handsome young master, yet you’re acting like a scoundrel!" Ran Yan laughed. She remembered how in her childhood Ran Yunsheng loved to perch on the yard wall and chat with her.

Without denying it, Ran Yunsheng cocked his head and said, "Yanyan, come sit over here and let’s talk awhile."

As he requested, Ran Yan put down her book and sat down on the floor close to the wall, looking up at him, "Are you standing steady over there?"

"Don’t underestimate Shilang. Although it’s been many years since I’ve done this in Chang’an, I practiced a lot when I was younger," Ran Yunsheng said, tilting his head and looking down at her before speaking up, "Yanyan, there won’t be another man like Sui Yuan in this world. Don’t miss out on him. If you’re not against it, I will visit him first thing tomorrow morning and discuss marriage with him."

Previously, Ran Yan had been an older single woman. Her parents were both busy with work and had no time to take care of her marriage prospects. Her grandparents were constantly entrusting others to introduce her to potential male partners, but they were mostly filtered out at their end; in their eyes, hardly a few men in the world were deemed worthy of their granddaughter Yanyan. As for Ran Yan herself, she wasn’t particularly proactive either. The few times she encountered suitable men during matchmaking, her blunt conversations filled with gory details, combined with her deadpan expression, scared away three prospects. After that, her bad reputation spread, and no one enquired after her again.

"He won’t like me," Ran Yan stated confidently.

In the past, just by talking about post-mortem fetal extrusions and body decomposition with potential suitors, she had grossed them out as if they had swallowed a fly. Considering Sang Chen, that timid rabbit who had actually witnessed her perform an autopsy...

Suppressing his laughter, Ran Yunsheng said, "Yanyan, you truly are too dense. If he didn’t like you, why would he wait at the gate for so long to give you a Qixi Festival gift?"

"Is that so?" Ran Yan pondered. She had never considered a man of Sang Chen’s disposition, and to date, none of her impressions of him were positive.

"Exactly," Ran Yunsheng patted the wall and continued, "Xiao Song may seem much more steady, but with a reputation for being a wife-killer, no girl in Chang’an is willing to marry him. Since the consecutive deaths of his two concubines, no woman dares to approach him. Though his prospects are bright, it is truly unbearable. Do you know who the ideal husband is in the hearts of Chang’an’s Noble Ladies?"

Surprised, Ran Yan thought, even his concubines met with misfortune? If that were truly the case, Xiao Song’s fate would be harder than a diamond.

Hearing Ran Yunsheng’s question, Ran Yan teased, "I know, it’s Ran Shilang!"

Ran Yunsheng plucked some grass off the wall and tossed it onto Ran Yan’s head, "Don’t joke. There are indeed quite a few Noble Ladies in Chang’an who want me as their lover, but not a single one wants to marry me."

Ran Yan thought she had accidentally hit a sore spot, and she said gently, "I’m sorry."

Ran Yunsheng, however, laughed it off nonchalantly, "No matter, Shilang has his eyes set higher and will just marry a Lady who suits his heart. Back to the serious topic—who do the Noble Ladies consider the best husband material?"

"It can’t be Sang Chen," Ran Yan frowned, the image of him flamboyantly leaning over to smell the flowers and then his pale face asking about the ginger slices flashed through her mind...

"Of course it’s him," Ran Yunsheng said as he saw the disbelief on Ran Yan’s face. He analyzed, "He comes from the Cui clan of Boling, a family of notable fame. Even the emperor has taken note of him. Although the emperor finds him quite troublesome, he still values him highly. Moreover, he is already nineteen and yet has no concubine by his side, nor has there been any rumor of his heart being moved by a woman. Isn’t such a man hard to find in this world?"

Ran Yan nodded, "Shilang, you are also hard to come by in this world. You haven’t married even though you’re eighteen or nineteen and don’t have a concubine either. Xiao Song is also rare to find in this world."

When it came to Xiao Song, there was a hint of sarcasm in Ran Yan’s voice. It wasn’t her fault for being irreverent, but who asked him to always oppose her?

"Tsk! You girl!" Ran Yunsheng grabbed a handful of flowers and grass, continuing to toss them at her, "In any case, if it weren’t for Mr. Sui Yuan, your marriage with the second son of the Yan family would probably be settled by now. Yan Erlang is not bad either, young and talented. The Yan and Ran families are well-matched; it would be a good match."

Ran Yan dodged the falling petals with a smile.

No matter her mental age, Ran Yan was only sixteen now, truly still a girl. This hasty talk of marriage had caught her off-guard.

Seeing that Ran Yan didn’t seem too fond of Sang Chen, Ran Yunsheng sighed, "Yan Erlang may not necessarily be better than Mr. Sui Yuan. Yanyan, think about it carefully, Shilang will make the decision for you."

Ran Yunsheng watched her nod, then jumped down from the crabapple tree and landed in the yard. He turned his head and glanced at the somewhat peeling courtyard wall, sighed softly, and said, "Yanyan, get some rest early."

From next door, Ran Yan’s light and shallow voice came through, "Okay, Shilang, good night."

Ran Yunsheng paused, his lips curving into a beautiful arc, and he softly said, "Good night."

The moonlight was bright, and the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars in the night sky were closely nestled together. The noise from the estate gradually quieted down, leaving only a few barks of dogs. Ran Yan told Xing Niang to extinguish the lamp, and then she returned to her room to rest on the bed.

In the dim light, Ran Yan tossed and turned for a long time before she began to feel sleepy. Her eyelids gradually grew heavy, and she slipped into another world.

In the dark, icy water, a sliver of light slowly penetrated, and Ran Yan squinted to see, through the white cloth wrapping her face, the delicate and perky nose of the body submerged in the water.

This time, Ran Yan was determined not to be disturbed by anything. She had to uncover the covering on her face to see whether the person was Ge Lan or Yin Wanwan.

She reached out to untie the cloth behind the body’s head swiftly, layer by layer, which was semi-transparent. The cloth was very thin, like silky cocoons, wrapping her face in many layers. Ran Yan was getting a bit anxious; if only she had a pair of scissors.

The white, semi-transparent cloth in the water slowly unfolded like a delicate blossom.

"Yanyan, I long for liberation," a woman whispered into Ran Yan’s ear, her voice filled with boundless sorrow and confusion.

"Yanyan, I’ve heard that foxes are extremely spiritual creatures, capable of becoming Immortals. I will make sure to be reborn as a fox next life. Even if I can’t become an Immortal, I can still go anywhere... Or, to become a little flower in the mountains would also do, hehe, just make sure you don’t pick flowers at random. What if that turns out to be me?"

Gradually, that cheerful voice turned panicked and fearful, "Yanyan, it hurts so much!"

Ran Yan tried her best to ignore the external distractions, quickly unraveling the white cloth wrapped around the body. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)