Miss Truth
Chapter 151 - 96 Jade Orchid_2

Chapter 151: Chapter 96 Jade Orchid_2

But this time, at the end of his rope, the first person he thought of was Ran Yan. Throughout the years, he had doubted everyone who approached him, whether inadvertently or intentionally. Only Ran Yan’s straightforwardness and boldness allowed him to let down his guard a bit.

However, for someone like him, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Su Fu casually covered Ran Yan with the quilt, slipped out of the curtains, picked up the bundle on the floor, climbed out the window, and disappeared into the vast rainy night after a few leaps.

In early autumn, Suzhou was shrouded in a misty night rain, while the capital of Great Tang, Chang’an, was illuminated by a bright moon in the sky.

Pingkang Square was lined with large estates, red gates, and embroidered doorways that appeared solemn under the moonlight. A pigeon fluttered onto the railing outside a loft and cooed.

The loft window opened, and a servant in grey clothes took a tiny bamboo tube from the pigeon and quickly went back inside.

Inside the room, which wasn’t lit, moonlight shone through the Korean paper on the lattice window, casting its light on a handsome face. He lay on his side, hand propping up his head, eyes slightly downcast as if asleep, surrounded by piles of books.

"My lord, there’s a message." the servant said softly, approaching him.

"Hmm." He slowly opened his eyes, the murkiness quickly passing, giving way to lucidity. He reached out for the note, said, "Light the lamp."

The servant fumbled in a small drawer for a fire steel, blew on it, and lit the lamp on the table. The room gradually brightened with the soft, orange glow of the lamp, revealing the mountain of documents before him.

"Someone is evidently in a hurry to push Liu Pinrang out of his position." He murmured to himself after reading the message, then held it to the lamp to burn it.

"My lord, it’s already the third watch of the night, please rest for a while to prepare for the early court." The servant inquired, bowing.

"Hmm." He stood up, the creases at the knees of his crimson collar official uniform betraying that he had been sitting for more than just an hour or two.

The servant lit a lantern and carefully extinguished the lights inside the loft, leading the way with the lantern to the bedroom.

In the empty courtyard, the autumn wind was bleak, adding a sense of forlorn chill. The servant sighed inwardly; such a large courtyard housed only one woman, which was the lord’s wet nurse, Nurse Shu, and she often wasn’t at the estate. Their Xiao household resembled a temple, a group of men barely short of shaving their heads.

"My lord, this evening, Nurse Shu asked me to tell you that the old lady summoned her to the ancestral home to reminisce. You were busy at the time, and I did not dare to disturb you." The servant, carrying the lantern, turned along the path and lifted his eyes to cautiously observe Xiao Song’s expression. The old lady wasn’t one for reminiscing; whenever she called for Nurse Shu, it was invariably about a matter concerning the lord’s lifelong affair.

"Is mother trying to arrange another match for me?" Xiao Song paused in his step, frowning unhappily. His magnetic voice was hoarse with a hint of anger, "As soon as dawn breaks, have Bai Yi send a message immediately, telling Nurse Shu there’s no need to return!"

The servant shrank his head and answered with a ’yes’.

When they arrived at the bedroom door, Xiao Song suddenly remembered something, "The matter I had you investigate in secret, what is the result?"

"We’ve got some clues. I’ve tracked down the bride’s maidservant from that year and pressed her to recall the events. She said that before Madame Lu boarded the sedan chair, she only sipped a bit of tea and had consumed nothing else," the Servant replied.

"This is a clue?" Xiao Song snorted coldly. He didn’t believe in fate, let alone that he was cursed to lose his wives. He was certain someone was out to get him, yet he had never managed to grasp any leads.

As the second-in-command at the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Xiao Song really didn’t have the face to voice his suspicions, having married two ladies, one found dead in the bridal chamber and the other having perished atop the bridal sedan— it was a complete disgrace! He clenched his teeth fiercely, his mood darkening as he swept into the house with his sleeves flung back in anger.

Moonlight poured down like water, leaving the Xiao residence illuminated only by the faint light of the Servant’s lantern, looking utterly desolate.

The autumn rains in Jiangnan weaved through the mountains like mist, and as the first morning bell of Yuncong Temple rang out, the poem-like serenity began to stir with life. Monks, holding umbrellas, quickly gathered in the Temple’s front hall, beginning the day with morning chants.

The nuns were already up, bustling around the courtyard with their morning duties. About a quarter of an hour later, a young nun came by and said that today’s scripture reading was cancelled. She came specially to inform them lest Ran Yan make the trip for nothing.

Therefore, the nun did not hurry to wake Ran Yan, letting her sleep. It wasn’t until breakfast was sent over from the Temple that she entered the bedroom.

"Wife, it’s time to get up," the nun said as she parted the curtains and approached the inner chamber, only to be startled by the sight of someone in a white plain dress sitting by the rear window. She gasped, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was Ran Yan, and she placed a hand over her heart, saying, "Wife, you’re awake. Why didn’t you make a sound?"

Ran Yan turned her head and said, "I got up early, just wanted to take in the scenery of the mountains. The misty rain of Jiangnan is the most beautiful sight."

The nun took a satin dress and draped it over her, then knelt down by the window. Looking outside, she exclaimed, "Wow! There’s such a large patch of jade orchid flowers behind here!"

In the misty rain, a vast expanse of pure white and slender jade orchid flowers, damp with dew, looked incredibly delicate, waves of their refreshing scent wafting through the air.

"They must have bloomed just these last couple of days," Ran Yan said.

In the past few days, she hadn’t noticed the scent of flowers; probably there weren’t many. This morning, Ran Yan had woken up from the sedatives given by Su Fu and immediately smelled a burst of fragrance. Su Fu had already left, and the room was as tidy as ever, as if last night had been nothing but a dream.

The ladies of Suzhou loved the jade orchids. When the jade orchid flowers were in full bloom, they would pick the blossoms to weave into bracelets with copper wiring or pin them in their hair, surrounding themselves with an elegant and graceful aroma.

"Wife, you should wash up and have breakfast, then you can look as long as you like. Someone from the Temple just sent a message: today’s scripture reading is cancelled, so you can watch for as long as you want," the nun said with a smile.

Ran Yan nodded, stood up, and walked to the vanity to sit down. She saw Wan Lu come in to tidy up the bedding and instructed, "Wan Lu, make sure you don’t spill that half-cup of water by the couch; I’m keeping it for a reason."

Wan Lu acknowledged, carefully placed the water on a table, and began to tidy up. Xiao Man came in with water to help Ran Yan wash up.

"Eh? Why is there one less straw mat on the floor?" Wan Lu muttered to herself in puzzlement. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote with a monthly ticket, recommendation ticket at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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