Miss Truth
Chapter 245 - 154 Hibiscus Color

Chapter 245: Chapter 154 Hibiscus Color

Ran Yan’s last sentence was asked slowly and somberly, to which Liu Qingsong replied with a dry laugh, "Exactly, exactly."

Arrest Officer Qin pondered for a moment before asking, "Was the injury on the back of his head caused after death by someone smashing it?"

"Covered by hair, it can’t be judged at the moment. However, postmortem lividity has already appeared on his body, indicating that the blood has settled and decomposed. In other words, even if it could still bleed, it definitely couldn’t be so bright red in color and so much in quantity!" Ran Yan replied truthfully.

Someone doubted, "But the weather isn’t cold enough to freeze someone to death, right?"

To let Ran Yan vent her anger, Liu Qingsong quickly interjected, "Don’t rich families have ice cellars? Some inns and restaurants have them too, right? Who says a person must be frozen to death only by cold weather!"

"Come here!" Arrest Officer Qin shouted loudly.

A constable hurried over and saluted, "Present!"

"Take note of what they have said about this, uh, autopsy... get paper and pen to write it down!" Arrest Officer Qin ordered.

The Government Official hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and whispered in a low voice, "Boss, we can barely read a few characters!"

"Allow me to do it!" A young gentleman with the air of a scholar stepped forward a few paces and said.

Arrest Officer Qin looked him over and saluted, "Much appreciated!"

The shopkeeper immediately ordered someone to prepare paper and pen, and the young gentleman knelt at the table, writing down everything he had heard without missing a single detail.

"Lady, the deceased’s complexion is slightly red. Could it be from drunkenness?" Arrest Officer Qin still had some doubts; normally, aren’t the faces of the dead ghastly pale and white? How could there be a blush?

The crowd, too, had been so engrossed in Ran Yan’s description of the autopsy that they momentarily forgot she was but a young woman and echoed the question.

"How could it be drunkenness? Firstly, there is no smell of alcohol on his body, and secondly, this is not a flush but postmortem lividity on a body that has frozen to death," Ran Yan stated, uncaring of the surprise on everyone’s faces, continuing, "This kind of lividity is referred to as ’hibiscus color.’"

The young gentleman recording the autopsy momentarily stopped writing, puzzled, "Hibiscus color? Such a dreadful state, why does it have such an elegant and refined name?"

Ran Yan explained calmly, "The color of the drunken hibiscus changes throughout the day, three times a day, starting white in the morning when it blooms, gradually turning pink, and becoming bright red by late afternoon when it withers, hence the name ’thriving hibiscus.’ When a frozen corpse is first examined, the facial color is wilted yellow, but upon receiving some warmth, the cheeks turn red, resembling the color of a hibiscus, isn’t that the same as the ’thriving hibiscus’?"

The crowd came to a realization, so it turned out this had a significant name after all.

Liu Qingsong listened very attentively. He was originally a traditional Chinese physician, with only a passing knowledge of forensic medicine, and he only learned autopsy in the Great Tang later. Because he understood human anatomy, his autopsy skills were considered among the best in Great Tang, but he was nowhere near as experienced as Ran Yan, a forensic doctor with the experience of dissecting a thousand bodies.

He was compelled by Xiao Song to learn autopsy, and Liu Qingsong was not very interested in autopsies or similar work, even feeling some revulsion towards it, but now, hearing what Ran Yan described, he suddenly felt a bit of enthusiasm.

The hall fell silent for a long while until some began to whisper among themselves. After all, ancient people feared ghosts and kept a respectful distance from the dead, and while they might admire those who understood the body, they didn’t particularly like them.

Arrest Officer Qin also started to react, "Lady is..."

"I am also a doctor; it’s just that I have seen many patients, both living and dead, and naturally come to understand them better." Ran Yan found Liu Qingsong’s tactic very useful, so she copied it and added an insult to injury to pay back Liu Qingsong for his unkindness, "Did Doctor Liu fail to see it, or was he deliberately putting on airs?"

Regardless of which it was, it was enough for everyone to hold in contempt.

Liu Qingsong immediately clung to her thigh, smiling and saying, "Of course I didn’t see it! Otherwise, how could I trouble Master to take action?"

Ran Yan felt that her estimation of Liu Qingsong’s thick skin was far too conservative; that wasn’t merely thick skin—it was comparable to the Great Wall itself.

With Liu Qingsong’s interference, most of the people were just amazed by Ran Yan’s youth, her superior medical skills, and her extensive knowledge.

Ran Pingyu was somewhat stunned as he looked at Ran Yan. The memory of the sister-in-law from the Zheng family of Xingyang, who bore this extraordinary demeanor, stuck with him. No matter the grandeur of the event, she was always elegant and dignified. Although the current Ran Yan lacked a bit of the spirit in her brows, her poise was very much like hers.

"Truly worthy of the Zheng family’s lineage!" Ran Pingyu muttered.

Ran Pingyu and Ran Wen were brothers by the same father, and his status was more than just a little lower than Ran Wen’s, but to be honest, Ran Pingyu had never really taken this elder brother seriously. Not to mention his methods and virtues, just his tolerance and ability to judge character were hardly commendable.

Ran Yun also forgot her initial fear, and her view of Ran Yan started to change slightly. She never expected that Ran Shiqi, whom she used to look down upon and thought weak, would save her from danger today. Thinking back to how generously Ran Yan had given her those jade stones a few days ago, Ran Yun began to genuinely like this Sister Seventeen from the bottom of her heart.

Constable Qin decided to release the guests who had entered the inn within the past two hours, while the rest were to stay in their rooms. He ordered someone to deliver Ran Yan’s autopsy results to the Government Office so that the County Magistrate could review them before making a decision, while he himself led the constables to collect testimonies and evidence from each room.

"Ayan truly makes me see her with new eyes!" Ran Pingyu exclaimed with a sigh.

Ran Yan saw that although he sighed, his eyes held satisfaction and joy, so she did not respond.

Stroking his beard, Ran Pingyu said, "With such talent and beauty, Ayan is a match for the sixth household of the Cui family!"

"Uncle is joking," Ran Yan replied. She had never underestimated herself, but neither had she overestimated her worth. When it came to marriage, it was about suitability, not matching.

After chatting for a while, Liu Qingsong unabashedly requested to become a disciple and learn. Eventually, Ran Yan, left with no choice, suggested they learn from each other; she would teach him autopsy, and he would teach her traditional Chinese medicine. Satisfied, Liu Qingsong returned to his room.

After lunch, Ran Yan began to practice the flute.

In the evening, as the goods on the ship had almost all been transferred to the carts, Ran Yunsheng came back to rest. After washing up, the first thing he did was come to Ran Yan’s place.

Ran Yunsheng paused at the door to listen for a while, and only after the flute music stopped did he knock and enter the room.

"Ayan is playing the flute very well," Ran Yunsheng said.

Putting down the flute, Ran Yan replied with a faint smile, "At least I can play a tune."

However, her stance was still not natural enough; Ran Yan felt that she needed to find something to do to help her constantly tense nerves relax.

"This is..." Ran Yunsheng noticed a small booklet on the table with musical scores written in it, where each trill and fluctuation was clearly marked. The handwriting was strong and vigorous, with the force of tracing paper, obviously a man’s.

"It was given to me by Mr. Xiao," Ran Yan stated without any concealment.

Ran Yunsheng paused for a moment, the musical score was clearly written with care, and the ink was still fresh, "Do you have private dealings with Mr. Xiao?"

Ran Yan’s gesture of pouring water paused slightly, "Our conduct is above board; what private dealings could there be?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)