Miss Truth
Chapter 310 - 195: Ran Yan’s Dark Side_2

Chapter 310: Chapter 195: Ran Yan’s Dark Side_2

Having returned to the residence, Ran Yunsheng asked whether Ran Pingyu was not home and then retired to his room to rest.

Ran Yan and Ran Yun also each returned to their rooms.

"Wife, you’re back." Xing’s mother and Huan Kong came forward to greet her together.

Ran Yan hummed a response, and upon seeing Huan Kong, she remembered that she needed to pick a day to send her to Qingyin Temple, but she currently didn’t have much inclination to plan this, so she let Wan Lu take her to play or even go to the East Market.

"Is Chang’an fun?" Huan Kong rushed to Wan Lu’s side and whispered.

"It’s just a bit bigger and busier than Luoyang," Wan Lu said, slightly disappointed at not having seen Hu Ji.

"Where did my master go?" Ran Yan remembered that she hadn’t seen him the whole time.

Xing’s mother took her hand and led her into the house, "According to the third lady, as soon as he arrived in Chang’an, he hadn’t even settled down when he went to Ci’en Temple, saying he was visiting an old friend."

Visiting an old friend was secondary; most likely, it was still about scrounging for food, drink, and a place to stay.

"Qingyin Temple is only a few miles from Ci’en Temple. When the day comes to send Huan Kong back, the wife may take a detour to see him," Xing’s mother suggested.

Ran Yan nodded. Speaking of which, Wu Xiuhe had been a dutiful master to her, and he had helped her conceal some matters. Ran Yan was genuinely grateful to him and had come to regard him as her true master, even though Wu Xiuhe’s sect seemed to change every now and then.

It was still a while before nightfall, so Ran Yan sought out Rong Qian and asked if her servants could help catch mice during their free time, and also instructed them to keep the captured mice in cages and bring them to her. Rong Qian readily agreed.

Thus, the Ran residence embarked on a vigorous mouse-catching operation that afternoon.

Perhaps due to the good hygiene of the Ran residence, only three mice were caught by evening. For Ran Yan, however, that was already sufficient.

After dinner, Ran Yan locked herself in a small side room, which was originally perhaps used for storage but was now vacant. Being about ten feet in length and width, it served perfectly as Ran Yan’s temporary laboratory.

The only table in the room was filled with bottles and jars.

Ran Yan put on a mask and gloves, took a plump mouse from the cage, drew some of her newly developed potent poison into a syringe, and forcibly fed it to the mouse before placing it in a box and crouching under the lamp to watch its dying process.

When the mouse kicked its last, Ran Yan picked it up, placed it on a wooden board, and quickly began to dissect it to observe the extent of internal organ damage.

For Ran Yan, administering poison to mice was now more tolerable than before; at least this mouse was dull-gray and not at all cute. During her forensic medicine toxicology class, she had started by pouring sulfuric acid into the mouths of little white mice to observe their death process and afterward the damage to their organs following dissection.

Initially, Ran Yan had felt that it was rather twisted for forensic science to be so cruel compared to medical students who conducted physiological and pharmacological experiments on little white mice and then euthanized them humanely, in conflict with world peace. Might the mice harbor resentment? After a while, though, she didn’t feel much about it.

After finishing the dissection, Ran Yan grabbed another mouse. Perhaps having witnessed its companion’s demise, this mouse struggled even more fiercely, but it was no match for Ran Yan’s hands, which had ended the lives of countless mice. It too was ultimately force-fed the poison.

This time, she waited until the mouse’s body began to stiffen before starting the dissection.

People outside didn’t know what was happening within; they had only heard the distressing shrieks and cries of the mice, sounding as if dozens were inside, even though they’d only seen three sent in. But since Ran Yan had ordered that no one was allowed in, everyone could only exchange confused looks.

"It’s not working..." Ran Yan muttered to herself while looking at the eviscerated mouse. The poison she was developing left no trace before the onset of rigor mortis, but afterwards, the organs showed rapid decay.

Improvements were necessary.

But how could she find a way to poison the Princess of Baling who lived within the palace?

After hearing about the matter today, Ran Yan immediately felt that an arm could not twist a thigh. If she openly snatched someone back, the Ran residence, with evidence in hand, would not worry about taking down the Princess of Baling in this current Court advocating integrity. But could she afford to wait if the princess kept her composure and sent someone to secretly kidnap Ran Yunsheng? She might fend them off temporarily, but not indefinitely. The best solution was to ensure the princess rested in peace sooner rather than later so everyone could feel at ease.

The poison Ran Yan was developing could be seeped into any material and would evaporate completely after twenty hours, leaving no residue detectable with current technology.

Thinking over it, Ran Yan caught the last mouse, tied its paws up, wrapped it in silk previously soaked with poison, placed it on the dissection board, and watched intently.

The mouse gradually withered, struggling less and less until it stopped altogether. This process took longer than if ingested, about half an hour, until the mouse died completely.

"But what would the effect be on a human body?" Ran Yan tilted her head, pondering for a while, and considered the symptoms of a poisoned victim before death.

This was important. With Imperial Physicians in the palace, if the Princess of Baling felt unwell, she might summon one for diagnosis. If the progression of the poison was interrupted, unpredictable flaws could arise...

In Ran Yan’s mind, the Princess of Baling, whom she had never met, was akin to a lab rat, subject to repeated experiments with indifference towards the notion of killing a princess. This was because the moment Ran Yan learned she was targeting Ran Yunsheng, the princess became mere lab fodder to her.

Ran Yan’s anger flared quietly, spreading like an unseen darkness. The affair with Qin Yunlin had become her untouchable sore point. To protect her loved ones and friends, she was willing to do anything and dare to do everything. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your monthly and recommendation tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)