Miss Truth
Chapter 166 - 106: Master Xiao Lang, Please Conduct Yourself with Dignity_2

Chapter 166: Chapter 106: Master Xiao Lang, Please Conduct Yourself with Dignity_2

"I have rested," Jing Yuan replied almost without thinking.

"Why are you so certain?" Liu Pinrang pressed.

Jing Yuan still had a calm expression, her eyes downcast, she never looked directly at anyone, "I rest every day at the time of Xu, and I rise at the end of Yin, without fail."

Indeed, this time was the normal time for rest, which was why it was unlikely there would be any witness.

Ran Yan found something odd about these shoes. A murderer would surely want to eliminate all traces, so how could they be so careless as to leave mud from a month ago still on the shoes? Even if the last murder happened on a rainy day, it had been over six days since, and though they kept the shoes, why keep the mud?

"Has Master Jing Yuan killed anyone?" Xiao Song, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, his line of questioning sharp and direct.

Jing Yuan still had lowered eyes and no hint of panic, "How could a devout nun like myself commit murder?"

"Oh, then could you tell us whether these shoes are yours and how this mud came to be on them?" Xiao Song asked.

"The shoes are mine, but I do not know when they got muddy," Jing Yuan said.

"Observing that Master Jing Yuan likes cleanliness, I wonder how often do you wash your clothes and shoes? Judging by the state of the dry mud, it must have been there for at least five or six days. Why has it been left in your room all this time?"

"I have not been feeling well these past few days, so my disciples have been washing my clothes. As for why the shoes have been left behind, I do not know," Jing Yuan explained.

"When did your disciples start washing them for you?"

"Half a month ago."

"The specific date?"

"The seventeenth of July."

...

Xiao Song’s questions flew out sharply, as if without any thought, catching the person being questioned off guard, and both the interrogated and the onlookers were sweating profusely.

Even though Jing Yuan could answer every question without fault, she could not dispel the suspicions against her because there was no one to testify that she had been in her room sleeping and had not gone out at every victim’s time of death.

Similarly, just a shoe sole with mud on it could not prove that Jing Yuan was the murderer, so the inevitable outcome was just temporary detention.

When everyone had left the hall, Xiao Song suddenly turned his head and asked Ran Yan, "I wonder, how does Lady Seventeen view this interrogation?"

"I only know how to examine corpses, nothing else." Ran Yan’s forte was to deduce the time of death, position of the body, and places the deceased had been, tracing clues to solve the case. She was a forensic doctor, not Sherlock Holmes. Without a body, what was she to do? Could she have any thoughts based on a few interrogation questions?

Hearing her almost petulant tone, Xiao Song smiled faintly, leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "Then... I will come to see you tonight."

His voice, already charming, became even more enticing by intention, stirring emotions. Ran Yan knew he probably wanted her help with the autopsy and was just teasing her. She threw him a cold glare through the gauze mask, "Inspector Xiao, you’re in your official uniform; please conduct yourself with dignity."

Ran Yan meant to say: You’re a court official, how can you demean yourself with such improper conduct towards a young lady!

But to Xiao Song, it took on a different nuance. Still with a smile, he said, "Don’t worry, I won’t be wearing my official uniform tonight."

Despite his composed and dignified appearance, Xiao Song always acted carelessly, a true image of a playboy. Fuming, Ran Yan clenched her teeth and retorted, "Our parents give us our bodies, our skin, our appearance. Xiao Langjun, with such a dignified appearance, should act in a way that does not disgrace it; otherwise, it’s a great disrespect."

Having said that, she briskly stood up and walked towards the door.

Xiao Song’s smile grew wider as he watched Ran Yan’s graceful silhouette through the mask, and even his eyes seemed to glint with amusement. He picked up the teacup and was about to take a sip, but then paused, swirled the lid in the water, and set it back down on the table with a more profound smile in his eyes.

Liu Pinrang had been covertly observing Xiao Song’s behavior and, without hearing the conversation, deduced from Ran Yan’s apparent irritation that it must be some romantic affair. He sighed and said, "Lady Seventeen is indeed as valiant as any man, and her skills in autopsy are unmatched by ordinary people. It’s just a pity... after she gets married in a few days, it would be difficult to invite her readily."

Xiao Song stood up and straightened his robes, looking at Liu Pinrang with a calm demeanor, "You should be happy to have such essential help for once, Inspector Liu. You have always been dedicated and upright; the emperor has thus suppressed those impeachments and sent me to assist in the case. The various implications, I suppose, need not be stated by me."

In the world of officials, one should never say everything that’s on their mind, except when it comes to loyalty to the emperor. Such loyalty should not only be full but also should reach the skies, disregarding life and death, willing to sacrifice everything for the emperor’s word. Regardless of what one truly thinks or will do, at least this should be proclaimed verbally.

Both men exchanged formalities and left Yingmei Temple, each getting into their respective carriages.

As soon as Xiao Song settled in the carriage, the warmth of his smile vanished and he spoke, "Bai Yi."

At that moment, his entire demeanor exuded an oppressive presence, almost suffocating.

Bai Yi, a stalwart Han man, sat respectfully at the carriage door, "My lord."

"Did you stop the people the elderly lady sent to Ran’s residence in Suzhou to propose marriage, as I instructed?" Xiao Song’s eyebrows knitted together involuntarily. He had heard that his grandmother and Madam Shu planned to propose marriage to the Ran estate in Suzhou, and although he wasn’t opposed to the idea, how could he remarry without clearing up his so-called "jinxed" reputation? After all, Ran Yan was different from Du and Lu...(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with your recommendation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)