Miss Truth
Chapter 211 - 134: Patron, You’re Overthinking It

Chapter 211: Chapter 134: Patron, You’re Overthinking It

"Shilang," Ran Yan said.

Ran Yunsheng looked up from the bottom of the stairs to Ran Yan’s calm and waveless expression. For some reason, he sensed a hint of dejection. Thus, he reined in his smile and began walking up, while asking, "What’s the matter?"

"Master Huai Yin has passed away," Ran Yan stepped down the stairs and took Ran Yunsheng by the hand to descend. Watching a cremation wasn’t a beautiful sight, especially when it was someone like Master Huai Yin who had just recently died.

"Passed away? Master Huai Yin was in the prime of his life, how could he have passed away?" Ran Yunsheng was full of confusion, but seeing that Ran Yan didn’t seem willing to explain, he didn’t probe further.

Ran Yunsheng turned to look back and saw a man in a purple round-necked robe standing at the door. He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and greeted him with a bow, "I greet you, Assistant Minister Xiao."

"Shilang, there’s no need for such courtesy," Xiao Song said with a faint smile, his gaze complex as he glanced at Ran Yan. He merely nodded slightly to her before turning to return to the temple.

Ran Yunsheng looked at Ran Yan’s somewhat gloomy expression and said with a smile, "I heard that Layman Ran’s lay Buddhist name is Jing Yu. Why do I see that the frown between your brows has not only not dispersed but seems to have deepened?"

Jing Yu was the lay Buddhist name the Temple Master had given to Ran Yan, saying that there was a color of melancholy between her brows and hoping she would purify her mind and disperse the entanglements in her heart through practice.

"Don’t frown, Shilang. I have good news for you. Our uncle has agreed that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can go to Chang’an with me. I’ve come here specifically to take you back to the main residence to stay for a couple of days," Ran Yunsheng said joyfully. He felt great tenderness for his sister and had made a lot of effort to get the consensus of both Ran Wen and Mrs. Gao.

Ran Yan could guess some of it, and while she was touched, she was indeed also very happy. To go to Chang’an and experience the splendor of the Great Tang was worth the journey across time. She then said with a smile, "I heard a story, and after listening to it, I felt quite stifled. How about I tell it to Shilang? They say that sorrow can be shared by those who listen."

"Good!" Ran Yunsheng patted her shoulder, his smile blooming brightly, "Shilang is strong and healthy, capable of bearing Ayan’s sorrow."

Wan Lu and the others were still in shock from earlier, but hearing Ran Yunsheng say this, they couldn’t help but laugh. Wan Lu said, "Shilang, whether your shoulders are broad or not has little to do with your sentiments."

Ran Yan glanced at Huan Kong, who was standing close to Wan Lu, and began to narrate the story of Master Huai Yin and Yang Yu.

From Master Huai Yin’s accounts, Ran Yan could sense that Yang Yu was forthright. Whenever she had doubts, she would go straight to Master Huai Yin to question him. And Master Huai Yin himself was a straightforward man, who would give honest answers to any question.

In reality, the truth lay in front of both of them. Neither of them was foolish and both faintly guessed at the real situation. Yet suspicion is like a seed that, once planted in suitable soil, can take root and sprout. Even with efforts to ignore it, it inevitably influences people’s choices unconsciously.

Like Master Huai Yin — despite what he said about being a coward, he wasn’t one. He took Yang Yu and escaped from the chaos of war. Being only a year older than her, he was already a mountain she could rely on. His desertion in the face of battle was simply because he believed Yang Yu’s heart had changed, and he couldn’t bear such an outcome.

Like Yang Yu — she wasn’t as unwavering as Jing Hui had said. The root of the tragedy lay in her doubts and hesitation. When Master Huai Yin told her, "I don’t know why another lock of hair is missing, but I have never pledged myself to anyone else," she subconsciously didn’t believe him. Hence, all subsequent explanations were futile.

Their love was too pure, and therefore it couldn’t withstand the slightest doubt.

Couples that eventually become life partners in this world often account for a mere fraction of those who love purely. The one who grows old with you is not necessarily the one you love the most but the one who is the most suitable for you.

"Actually, Yang Yu must have been afraid," Ran Yunsheng mused after hearing the whole story, "Yang Yu was the daughter of the Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, a princess of a fallen country. Although Emperor Yang was decadent, he was said to be very fond of each of his daughters. From being high and mighty, the focus of everyone’s attention, Yang Yu became a commoner overnight, having lost all her relatives in that status, and that kind of panic is not something everyone can understand. Perhaps... her feelings for and reliance on Xuan Yi Lang were beyond the ordinary."

In layman’s terms, Yang Yu was extremely insecure, which made her sensitive and distrustful.

Ran Yan asked, "Xuan Yi Lang?"

"It’s an official title, among the positions of literary officials. Both of the second sons of Yu Shiji, the Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs during the Sui Dynasty, held this title. During the chaos in Daxing City, Yu Ji persuaded Yu Shiji’s second sons, Yu Rou and Yu Hui, to flee together. The two brothers sternly refused, saying: ’To abandon our father and betray our sovereign, where could we seek life? If we feel our ancestors’ spirits, then this is our farewell.’ After that statement, both brothers fought to be the first to die, and the incident was regarded as a tale of utmost loyalty for a while. Unexpectedly, Yu Hui did not die," Ran Yunsheng turned his head to look at the smoke rising from Yuncong Temple, and then said, "Having taken Yang Yu and escaped from Daxing City, he had already cast life and death aside. Living for the sake of Yang Yu, now that Yang Yu’s daughter has grown up, he has no more attachments."