Miss Truth
Chapter 345 - 217: I Want to See You Smile

Chapter 345: Chapter 217: I Want to See You Smile

"Of course it’s true." Xiao Song said with a smile as he folded the paper and placed it on the table, "Let’s go."

Ran Yan hesitated for a moment but still got up to follow him.

Xiao Song said to Ran Yunsheng, "I have an important matter and would like to ask your sister to accompany me on a short trip. We will return in two hours. May we?"

Ran Yunsheng frowned slightly and said, "Mr. Xiao, I’m afraid this is not appropriate. Ran Yan and Mr. Sui Yuan have a verbal engagement, and although Mr. Sui Yuan has not yet formally come to propose, doing this now is ultimately not quite proper."

Nowadays, it was common for young men and women to meet privately, and social customs had become more open. Men and women mingling together for leisure was not unusual. Under normal circumstances, although Xiao Song’s request was abrupt, it would not be too outrageous, especially since it was for "important matters."

Xiao Song sincerely said, "Actually, the situation is such that the people responsible for kidnapping the seventeenth lady have been caught, and we would like her to identify them. I didn’t explain earlier because I didn’t want to cause you worry."

Xiao Song could be earnestly deceptive, his face unflushing and his heart not skipping a beat, making Ran Yunsheng feel as if he had perhaps overthought things.

"So that’s the case, it was I who worried too much." Ran Yunsheng said with an embarrassed expression.

Liu Qingsong now kept his presence as inconspicuous as possible, recalling how gloomy Ran Yan looked just a moment ago, he had no doubt that if he truly angered her later, the consequences would be very serious.

"I’ll accompany you as well." Ran Yunsheng said.

Xiao Song nodded earnestly, "That would be best."

Ran Yan was astonished in her heart, marveling at how thoroughly Xiao Song could act out a role!

Earlier, Xiao Song said they had found a corpse and the case was urgent, asking for her help with the autopsy, and assuring her that there would be no issues to worry about. Ran Yan had planned not to do any further autopsies until her foundation was solid, but with Xiao Song’s guarantee, she decided to treat it as a way to pass the time.

During this time, she had been living very uncomfortably. In her previous life, from kindergarten to university, to the Medical College, from seven continuous years of undergrad to doctoral studies, because departments that hire forensic doctors tend to favor men, it was not easy for women to find employment, and legal appraisal institutions had high demands for education and experience, so she worked hard to obtain double doctoral degrees. Not long after graduating, she encountered the incident with Qin Yunlin and after that, she immersed herself non-stop in her work.

Over the years, her life revolved around studying and working. Using her autopsy skills, she carved out a niche for herself and gradually found joy and a sense of mission in her work. Abandoning this profession left Ran Yan feeling as if she were a level nine disabled person in social interactions, completely incapable of taking care of herself.

Therefore, in Great Tang, she would rather be a low-status forensic doctor than compete with numerous women for a single man’s heart and body in the inner courtyards of a household.

At fifteen or sixteen years of age, Ran Yan believed she could strive and carve out a future for herself in a different profession. She had devoted her prime years to her career and had some successes. To give up... Could she really do it?

Ran Yan was never the sort of person to take a casual and indifferent view toward everything.

"Does the wound hurt?" Xiao Song saw her furrowing her brows and leaning against the carriage wall and couldn’t help but ask with concern.

Ran Yan came back to her senses, slightly fatigued as she opened her eyes and saw Xiao Song’s gentle gaze. Instead of replying, she asked, "Is the poetry I wrote really that bad?"

"Do you want to hear the truth?" Xiao Song raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I want the truth," Ran Yan said.

Xiao Song looked at her serious expression and laughed, "The truth is, I didn’t quite understand everything."

Under Liu Qingsong’s influence, Xiao Song also knew quite a few modern terms and medical terminology, but as his focus was not there, he did not fully understand them all.

"Even without understanding, one could guess the general message. The poem may lack profound artistic conception but speaks of practical truth." Xiao Song kindly comforted her.

As he spoke, he extended two fingers to gently smooth the frown lines between her eyebrows, saying softly, "Do what you want to do, as long as it brings you comfort, that’s good. As long as you don’t give up, I will always help you."

"I want to see you laugh, like when you play in the snow,"

Ran Yan was stunned, both by his actions and his words.

After a moment of daze, feeling the warmth of his fingertip between her brows scorching, Ran Yan swatted his hand away and huffed, "If you want to laugh at me, just go ahead and laugh; if you hurt yourself holding it in, you’ll only have yourself to blame!"

Xiao Song withdrew his hand, knowing that his words had made her uncomfortable, and chuckled, "Do you want to hear something even truer, coming straight from the heart?"

"What?" Ran Yan looked at him defensively, doubtful she would hear anything pleasant from him.

Xiao Song earnestly advised, "Doctor Ran, please never attempt poetry again in the future. The old lady at home treats Liu Qingsong as her own granddaughter; if you inadvertently laugh her to death, and they come after me for compensation, I’ll have no choice but to offer you as settlement."

"Granddaughter?" Ran Yan knew there wouldn’t be any kind words, but the content of the latter half was probably funnier than her own poetry.

"This matter is a long story, I’ll explain it to you slowly another time," Xiao Song mentioned the incident with schadenfreude.

Seeing him teasing her, Ran Yan snorted lightly, turned her head away, and stopped paying attention to him. But deep down, she was very grateful for his comfort, encouragement, and promises; they were like timely help in the snow, warming her "journey."

"Ah Yan," Xiao Song tugged at her sleeve and, knowing she wasn’t really angry, still coaxed her, "Don’t be annoyed, I have something for you."

Ran Yan wasn’t one to sulk on purpose. Hearing him say so, she turned her face back to wait for his response.

"You’ll find out after the autopsy," Xiao Song laughed heartily.

Ran Yan gave him a glare, feeling somewhat peculiar.

Xiao Song was still meticulously attentive to her, not appearing to have given up. Most men are very concerned about the chastity of the women they fancy. Even in later times, this notion is not entirely abandoned, and for a man of ancient times, it should be even more pressing, right? Even though she hadn’t lost her virtue, given her situation in the Great Tang, could it be seen as unchaste?

Even someone as direct as Ran Yan didn’t know how to broach the subject. To say, "Assistant Minister Xiao, let’s have a rational discussion about the fact that you kissed me forcefully. Does it make me seem too promiscuous?" Or say, "I am no longer pure now, why haven’t you discarded me yet?"

Every way of asking seemed inappropriate.

Upon arriving at the destination, Ran Yan set aside this concern and got out of the carriage.

When boarding the carriage, Ran Yan was lost in thought and didn’t pay attention to how Xiao Song persuaded Ran Yunsheng to share a carriage with Liu Qingsong, but thinking about participating in the case again, she stopped considering other matters, and her whole demeanor regained that confidence and brilliance.

Xiao Song looked at her profile and smiled, "Let’s go."

"Hmm," Ran Yan responded and surveyed the surroundings. They had stopped in a courtyard. Following a winding corridor to the back, it took about half a tea-hour to reach a cloistered courtyard.

Surprisingly, they hadn’t encountered a single person on the way.

"This is the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Today, I sent most of the staff out on business," Xiao Song lifted his jaw slightly, gesturing towards the angle of a roof visible through the trees of the neighboring grove, "That’s where the civil officers of the Ministry work. The garden we passed is a place for rest."

The treatment of officials in the Tang Dynasty was indeed good; every government office had a beautifully constructed, elegant garden landscape, where they could enjoy the scenery, drink tea, chat, and play chess when they were not busy.

"You take Shilang to the side hall to rest for a while," Xiao Song said to Liu Qingsong.

Ran Yunsheng was puzzled. Shouldn’t arresting criminals mean locking them in the great prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice? Why come to the Government Office? (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.)

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