Miss Truth
Chapter 283 - 179: Heart-to-Heart Talk

Chapter 283: Chapter 179: Heart-to-Heart Talk

Ran Yan glanced at the calm and collected Xiao Song and said, "You suspect there is something unusual about the case?"

"It’s not suspicion, it’s certainty," Xiao Song replied.

Seeing Ran Yan’s attentive demeanor, Xiao Song’s eyes softened, and he didn’t hide any details about the case, "The night Luo Ling killed Ze Pingzhi, I had already arranged for my men to be nearby the inn. Yet when Ze Pingzhi was chopped to death, they didn’t hear a thing."

"What were the results of the autopsy?" Ran Yan was still more interested in the body.

"The forensic doctor who came over from Luoyang and Liu Qingsong examined the body, but the internal organs were too badly mutilated to determine whether he had been drugged with sedatives. There’s just..." Xiao Song recalled the scene in the inn’s main hall, "There were blood trail marks on the ground from the hall to the courtyard, and judging by the handprints beside them, we suspect that the deceased crawled from the hall to the courtyard. Let’s leave this matter aside for the moment. I had previously ordered Bai Yi to follow Luo Ling, but he was attacked."

Ran Yan was surprised. She didn’t know the level of Bai Yi’s martial arts, but as Xiao Song’s guard, he should have been quite skilled, right? It wouldn’t be so easy to be ambushed, unless the assailant’s martial arts were quite formidable.

And as for Luo Ling, it was still unknown whether her martial arts skills were considerable.

Xiao Song continued, "Zhuang Yin revealed an old incident from ten years ago. Just as we suspected, he had colluded with some prison guards to stage a deception in jail, but what’s incomprehensible is that the scapegoat turned out to be a son-in-law who had married into the Su Family."

"Such things happen?" Ran Yan’s usually calm face couldn’t help showing surprise; these people really could do anything for money!

"Lady Su..." Ran Yan slowly closed her eyes. She truly did not want Su Luan to be the murderer, but...

"There are many things in the world that don’t go as one wishes. If it doesn’t concern oneself, it’s best not to invest too much emotion," Xiao Song’s voice was steady, resonant like a cello.

Ran Yan slightly opened her eyes and looked at Xiao Song, "What if it concerns oneself? Is there something you remember but also wish to forget?"

Xiao Song’s dark eyes held a faint smile, "No, because anything I remember, I never forget."

"Does that include your previous two wives?" Ran Yan had been feeling uneasy for some time, and she desperately wanted to confide in someone. The question seemed abrupt, but it was also a probe to see if Xiao Song was interested in a deeper conversation. After all, she wanted to speak, but that didn’t mean he was willing to listen!

Xiao Song’s gaze turned to Ran Yan, and after a silence of two beats, he slowly said, "Lady Du passed away before our wedding ceremony, and the first time I saw her, she was already a corpse. Lady Lu was from the main Lu family in Lanling. At that time, I was busy with a case and only saw her in passing. By the time I had just arrived in Chang’an, news of Lady Lu’s death reached me. I have felt guilt and even grief before, but to me, they were ultimately strangers with whom I shared no emotional bond. To this day, all that’s left is a sense of anger."

"You suspect someone murdered them?" Ran Yan shifted uncomfortably.

Xiao Song reached out to adjust the backrest for her, "I’m almost certain of the murderer, but... I just haven’t been able to find enough evidence."

It was nothing more than a struggle for power and profit. Xiao Song wasn’t indifferent to power; he sought it with his own efforts and never took his family’s influence too seriously. Even though he had no feelings for Lady Lu and Lady Du, since they were his wives in name, he couldn’t let their deaths remain unresolved.

"If even you can’t find evidence, the opponent must be quite formidable," Ran Yan didn’t want to delve too deeply into such personal matters. A person like Xiao Song wouldn’t be so rigid as to wait for complete evidence before dealing with an opponent; there might be hidden issues or other plans at play.

These thoughts rapidly passed through her mind as she changed the subject, understanding that now was the time to relieve some stress, "I have a friend... No, a girl I often dream about in my dreams."

Xiao Song remained silent, just listening intently.

"She possesses the heroic spirit of a knight, as if she always has endless strength..." Ran Yan said, her dark eyes gradually softening, her lips wearing an almost imperceptible smile.

Ran Yan was four years older than Qin Yunlin. She remembered her first year at work, when, due to her duties, she followed the lead forensic doctor to a certain secret military unit. Passing by the shooting range, she saw a tall girl with short hair; from outside the glass, the way she held her gun was utterly cool.

Qin Yunlin was a special forces soldier; her record was not outstanding. She had only been on two special missions, and during the second one, her right hand was injured, causing it to tremble slightly even when she just held a cup. But with her tenacious willpower, she staunchly trained herself to become left-handed.

But the undeniable fact was that his right hand could not be used normally in battle, and since he was not one of the top members of the team, he had been abandoned by the army long ago.

Even so, Qin Yunlin had never given up on himself, persisting in his training every day, his disposition remained cheerful, and he was full of hope for life.

Ran Yan liked such people, so she took the initiative to talk to her, and later they gradually became best friends.

Ran Yan was someone accustomed to life and death. It wasn’t that she couldn’t bear the loss of loved ones. If Qin Yunlin had died honorably while carrying out a mission, Ran Yan would not have been so troubled. Such a girl should not have died in such a humiliating way.

Every time she thought of it, Ran Yan’s heart would ache as if it were being cut by a knife; even crushing the villains to ashes could hardly quell the hatred in her heart.

...

Ran Yan’s emotions were unstable, and with them, her breathing became somewhat rapid. She reached out to press on her chest, and after a moment, she returned to normal.

"Is it strange that it was just a dream, yet I take it so seriously?" Ran Yan forced a smile and asked Xiao Song.

The hatred and grief in her eyes were unmistakable. Xiao Song, of course, did not think it was just a dream, but his expression remained as usual, "You must never have tried weeping bitterly. If you had cried, perhaps you would see things differently afterward."

Indeed, it seemed that Ran Yan was naturally less prone to crying. No matter how grief-stricken, it was hard for her to cry her heart out. Her rigid smile softened, and she raised an eyebrow, asking, "Oh? Is Assistant Minister Xiao so experienced? Have you tried weeping bitterly when things didn’t go your way?"

Xiao Song laughed loudly, "No, but I have seen plenty of ladies who cry, make a fuss, and even threaten to hang themselves. My second sister-in-law is particularly good at it. One moment she would be crying her eyes out with my second brother, and the next, she would go shopping cheerfully with my big sister-in-law. I often wonder if, after being sad, one forgets everything once they’ve cried. Being a man, it would be rather embarrassing for me to try it myself. Why don’t you tell me after you’ve cried?"

"Why don’t you go ask your second sister-in-law? She has more experience," Ran Yan countered.

As they were talking, Wan Lu reported, "Lady, someone from the Government Office has come. They say they’ve caught two suspicious people who claim to be Doctor Liu and Mr. Sang. They are now being held in the prison. Those who have seen Doctor Liu are too busy with official duties to be in the Government Office, so they want someone to go and identify them."

It was normal for people in the Government Office not to recognize Sang Chen, and ever since Liu Qingsong’s explosives had injured Ran Yan, he had shut himself in, afraid to encounter Xiao Song. Therefore, few at the Government Office recognized him.

Ran Yan said, "Are they not in their rooms?"

"The slave has checked, they aren’t there," Wan Lu replied.

Ran Yan sighed, "You go and escort them back."

In this small town, no one would impersonate the two of them, and besides, Ran Yan wouldn’t be surprised by whatever trouble the two could stir up together.

****

Recommended book.

Title: The Abandoned Wife’s Remarriage

Author: Midnight Princess

Introduction: Gathering herbs, farming—living a leisurely life day by day. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)