Miss Truth
Chapter 201 - 128: Falling into the Mortal World, Huai Yin’s Past_2

Chapter 201: Chapter 128: Falling into the Mortal World, Huai Yin’s Past_2

Ran Yan turned and instructed Wan Lu to wait elsewhere with the young novice monk, then she took off her wooden clogs in front of the corridor before heading to the door, about to raise her hand, when she heard a magnetic voice from inside say, "Come in."

Ran Yan’s hand paused in midair, and she immediately pushed open the wooden door and entered, assailed by the fragrance of sandalwood mixed with a certain familiar, subtle scent.

It was the fragrance of jade orchid flowers...

The inside of the room was clear at a glance, with a single bamboo couch, a small table, and a short bookshelf precariously piled with thick stacks of scriptures. The smell that Ran Yan had detected was wafting from the incense burner on the table.

Huai Yin sat cross-legged on a cushion in front of the table, with Liu Pinrang and Xiao Song seated to the left and right, Yu Bohao sitting below Liu Pinrang, and Liu Qingsong cross-legged behind Xiao Song to the right, clearly in the host’s seating arrangement rather than the interrogation Ran Yan had imagined. Yet the atmosphere was solemn and lacked any cheerfulness between host and guest.

"Lady Seventeen, please take a seat," Xiao Song said indifferently after glancing at her.

Huai Yin put his hands together in a traditional Buddhist greeting and silently bowed to Ran Yan, and from the bronze carved incense burner in front of him, sandalwood incense rose gently, his calm and aloof appearance amidst the swirling mist was like that of a Buddha.

After Ran Yan sat down beside Yu Bohao, Xiao Song said, "Master, please continue."

Huai Yin nodded slightly, his clear voice continuing, "Huan Kong’s mother was named Yang Yu, she was the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui. After the fall of Sui Dynasty, I escaped from Daxing City (Chang’an) with her. That year I was ten, she was nine. We traveled southeastward and led a reclusive life of mutual dependency in Jiangning City."

As he spoke, he used a piece of bamboo to gently stir the incense in the burner. The smoke grew thicker, concealing most of his face, but Ran Yan clearly saw his long eyebrows furrow slightly as if irritated by the smoke, and a hint of moisture seemed to glimmer in his phoenix eyes.

Ran Yan had by now understood that Huai Yin was recounting the events of the past, which very likely had triggered the onset of this case. Could this seemingly divine figure, Monk Huai Yin, be the murderer?

"In the fifth year of Wude, we happened to encounter Yang Yu’s cousin, Yang Ying, in Jiangning. She had fallen on hard times, making a living by selling her talents, and later redeemed herself, amassing a considerable savings. At that time, life was hard for Yang Yu and me. Her arrival was a relief for both of us. So, the three of us started living together. Yang Ying was six years older than Yang Yu; by the fifth year of Wude, she was already a twenty-year-old woman. Her ability to earn a living was something Yang Yu and I could not match, therefore she quickly became our pillar. And with her help, I started copying books in a scriptorium, earning a modest income."

The story was quite satisfactory here, with Yang Ying becoming an old maid at twenty.

But if things had continued to be satisfactory, today’s scene wouldn’t have occurred.

Huai Yin played with the small leaves of the dark brown sandalwood prayer beads in his hands, the polished beads complementing his fair and slender hands beautifully.

"By the seventh year of Wude, Yang Yu was sixteen, and I had saved enough money from copying books and being an assistant teacher at the state school. My teacher secured an opportunity for me to study at the Imperial College. Overjoyed, I thought it was the right time to propose marriage to Yang Yu. We were both orphans, but since Yang Yu had an older cousin who had taken great care of us, according to custom, I was supposed to ask for her blessing. So I first broached the subject with Yang Yu in private, and she agreed. In the heat of the moment, under the moon, we swore an oath of love, cutting our hair as a pledge and privately committing to each other for life."

Ran Yan’s heart skipped a beat, a moonlit pledge, cutting hair as a covenant...

Xiao Song followed up, "You bound the cut hair with ribbons, your hair was tied with a blue ribbon, and Yang Yu’s with red."

Huai Yin lightly passed over the surprise on his face, his thin lips pressed together slightly, which was as good as an acknowledgment of Xiao Song’s words.

Ran Yan and the others were invigorated, feeling that the ins and outs of the murder case were about to be fully revealed before them, and paid even closer attention to Huai Yin’s words.

"On the morning of the eighth day of the sixth month in the seventh year of Wude, when Ah Yu was combing my hair, she asked why my hair had lessened again; I, of course, did not know. Two days later, she pressed me about why, after promising to marry her, I had secretly pledged my affection to Yang Ying and even cut hair as an oath. At that time, I didn’t think to explain because I hadn’t done such a thing and was clueless about the matter; I only believed in my innocence and was open and aboveboard," he said.

Detail by detail, Huai Yin remembered everything crystal-clearly, and that usually indifferent face finally showed signs of earthly concerns, albeit extremely subtle ones.

"Ah, women still need to be coaxed," Liu Qingsong couldn’t help but sigh. With his extensive experience in worldly affairs, he sensed the impending start of a sorrowful and heartbreaking part and began to lament in advance.

Huai Yin’s fingers, which were twisting Buddhist prayer beads, paused slightly before continuing the motion. "Ah Yu pressed for answers several times without success and began to distance herself from me gradually. Because of this, I went to Yang Ying, asking what she had done. Yang Ying said that she harbored affection for me in her heart, so she sought Ah Yu, hoping to make a polyandrous request with her; perhaps this gave rise to Ah Yu’s misunderstanding. Of course, I knew what kind of person Ah Yu was; she would never agree to such a request," he continued.

"This stalemate persisted for a few days. Yang Ying privately told me that since she could not obtain a resolution after declaring her feelings, there was no point in staying and adding to the troubles, so she wished to go to Suzhou to join an old friend and asked me to accompany her on her journey. I thought that after she left, the relationship between Ah Yu and me might return to its previous state, so I agreed to her request. However, I was concerned that leaving Ah Yu alone in Suzhou would be unsafe, so I decided to take her along. Yang Ying said that since she was the one who wronged Ah Yu first, she wished to say goodbye to her in person. I set aside my doubts about the hair and agreed to her proposal," he explained.

Liu Qingsong slapped his thigh in anger, "Later, Ah Yu must have been out of her mind with grief when she asked you: Why did you decide to go to Suzhou with Yang Ying without telling her? Isn’t it so! This Yang Ying is truly scheming!"

Huai Yin looked at him faintly, but he himself didn’t find it inappropriate to address someone he hadn’t met as "Ah Yu."

Liu Qingsong’s words were also understandable; Yang Ying could have ambiguously said to Yang Yu: "He’s preparing to go to Suzhou and can’t rest easy about leaving you behind, so he’s planning to take you with us. Would you be willing to go?"

Yang Yu, who had always suspected them of having an affair, would certainly have misinterpreted it as them having settled their affections and deciding to settle down in Suzhou, with her being taken along merely as an afterthought—she would definitely have felt betrayed.

"Ah Yu asked me if I was going to Suzhou with Yang Ying, and I replied yes, she then stormed out," Huai Yin’s words also confirmed Liu Qingsong’s speculation; Yang Ying had schemed to stir up trouble between them.

"And then? Did you all just break up like that? Where did Huan Kong come from?" Liu Qingsong’s question was clearly one of suspicion, wondering if Huan Kong was the daughter of Huai Yin and Yang Yu. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)