Miss Truth
Chapter 372 - 235: The Explosive News Shaking Chang’an

Chapter 372: Chapter 235: The Explosive News Shaking Chang’an

Mrs. Luo paused momentarily before saying, "Let them in."

Shortly after, Ran Meiyu’s three maids, led by Mrs. Luo’s personal maid, walked into the courtyard.

"What happened?" Mrs. Luo asked sternly, clearly displeased with their noisy clamor.

The maid named Yu’er was the first to speak, "Last night, Servant Seventeen knocked me unconscious and ran into the bedroom to stab our wife. Our wife was frightened and is still trembling nonstop."

"Oh?" Mrs. Luo glanced at the calm and composed Ran Yan and asked the other two maids, "Did you also see Servant Seventeen enter the room and hurt someone?"

The two shook their heads. The maid in the light apricot dress said, "Last night, I heard a noise and got up to check. I found Yu’er unconscious in the room. I called her several times but couldn’t wake her up. I tried to carry her to the bed, but then I inexplicably passed out myself."

"And you?" Mrs. Luo asked the remaining maid dressed in a deep turquoise robe.

"I was smothered unconscious with a handkerchief on the bed. It seems there were sedatives involved," she said succinctly.

Mrs. Luo knew Ran Yan possessed some Medical Skills, so her having sedatives wasn’t surprising. She somewhat believed them instantly and, after pondering for a moment, asked Ran Yan, "Servant Seventeen, do you have anything to say?"

Ran Yan set down her cup, looked at Yu’er, and asked, "You claim I knocked you out and then ran into the room to stab Servant Eighteen?"

Yu’er met her dark gaze, feeling slightly intimidated but still pursed her lips and nodded, "Yes."

"If you were unconscious, how could you know I entered Servant Eighteen’s room? With such contradictions, may I assume you fabricated the story to frame me?" Ran Yan’s voice was stern, showing no emotion, leaving Yu’er at a loss for words.

The maid in the deep turquoise robe quickly interjected, "Forgive us, Servant Seventeen. Since Yu’er saw you knocked her unconscious, and given our lady’s current state, it’s hard for Yu’er not to think it was you."

Ran Yan hadn’t forgotten the event of last night when she pretended to faint in an attempt to pass unnoticed, "What is your name?"

"I am Slave Bi’er," she answered with a bowed head.

Ran Yan inquired, "How is your strength compared to mine? Do you think I could cover your mouth and knock you out effortlessly?"

Bi’er slightly pursed her lips; she had no evidence. If sedatives like smoke were used, Ran Yan wouldn’t have needed to smother her with a handkerchief, and she hadn’t found any trace of such substances nearby. She hadn’t wanted to come here, but hearing from Yu’er that it was Servant Seventeen, she decided to see for herself how such a timid young woman could develop such audacity.

Upon meeting her today, indeed, she was different from before.

"The Government requires evidence to arrest someone. I don’t know why you are accusing me, but... Wan Lu, tell them where I was last night," Ran Yan said calmly.

Wan Lu stepped forward, chest puffed out, glaring resentfully at the group, "Our lady was unconscious all along; she woke up briefly last night but then fainted again. Ge Lan and I were attending to her the whole time, so how could we possibly have bothered your lady!"

Wan Lu wasn’t adept at lying, but her hatred for Ran Meiyu was profound. Sometimes, hatred can be a pillar, making a lie seem justifiable.

"How can her words count?" Yu’er exclaimed. Her implication was that since Wan Lu was Ran Yan’s maid, her testimony could not be trusted.

Before Ran Yan could even speak, Wan Lu furrowed her brows in anger, retorting, "So you’re allowed to falsely accuse our mistress, but you won’t allow me to testify? What kind of reasoning is that! Don’t you know very well what your own mistress is like? Right and wrong have yet to be ascertained!"

What Wan Lu meant was that perhaps Ran Meiyu had inflicted some minor injuries on herself to falsely blame Ran Yan. However, she didn’t specify this outright and was merely shouting at a few maids, which wasn’t considered disrespectful to her master.

The maids no longer spoke. Although they enjoyed good food and drinks by Ran Meiyu’s side, Ran Meiyu was not kind to them, often losing her temper, sometimes even throwing things, causing them to often be caught in the crossfire. Therefore, the maids weren’t exactly intent on pinning everything on Ran Yan; their primary concern was their mistress’s mishap, for which as slaves they naturally had to find a reason, lest the charge of negligence be enough to sentence them to death. In essence, they were trying to deflect responsibility as much as possible.

"How severe are the eighteenth lady’s injuries?" Madam Luo, although inwardly seething with hatred, still had to keep up appearances.

Bi’er responded, "Slave and Tao’er have inspected them, there’s a one-inch long cut on her right arm which has been bandaged, and the skin on her chest was broken but has already scabbed over."

Such minor injuries are not severe! Ran Meiyu had done such a despicable act, and even if it was out of spite that Ran Yan made the cut, it didn’t matter. When Ran Wen asked about it, they could just tell the truth. Madam Luo breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing the depth of the wound or the indelible mark it left on Ran Meiyu’s heart.

Though reluctant, Madam Luo still said, "I’ll go have a look."

She turned around, instructed Ran Yan to rest well, and then led a few maids to the Chushui Residence.

Ran Yan didn’t take the incident to heart; superficially, the injury on Ran Meiyu seemed minor. However, the truly life-threatening wound was nothing more than a small pinhole, and aside from the maids’ testimonies, no other evidence proved that it was done by Ran Yan.

If Ran Meiyu still dared to say anything, Ran Yan wouldn’t mind adding another needle. Even if she died, she guaranteed that no one, including Liu Qingsong, could detect it.

Shortly after breakfast, Rong Qian came to see Ran Yan.

Upon seeing her, Rong Qian excitedly disregarded asking about the previous day’s events, declaring, "Come on, let me tell you, there was big news in Chang’an City yesterday, and it was something rarely seen in decades!"

"What happened?" Seeing Rong Qian’s excited demeanor, Ran Yan became interested as well.

"Ha!" Rong Qian laughed before speaking, her face gleeful, "You wouldn’t know, Pei Jing and his group of wastrels went crazy last night in a brothel, and this morning it was a mess, drawing crowds to watch. But that’s not even the funny part..."

Rong Qian, barely containing her glee, continued, "The funny thing is, they all went to the brothel together yesterday. The madam, thinking it was big business, warmly welcomed them. After a few rounds of drinks and everyone was tipsy, they actually ordered the servant to send all the courtesans away, saying they wanted to play on their own, without disturbances... When the sun was high in the sky, and the madam still had not seen them, she knocked on the door, and upon knocking, the door opened..."

Rong Qian paused, seeing Ran Yan’s intrigued expression, she continued, "The madam has been running the brothel for over twenty years! Yet, she was shocked by the scene; six young masters... all bare-assed... the place was filthy and covered in blood!"

Fearing Ran Yan might misunderstand, Rong Qian pointed at her buttocks while mentioning "that place." After finishing, she might have felt it was a bit too explicit to discuss such crude matters with an unmarried lady, so she coughed twice, still reluctant to veer away from such an exciting topic, and waited silently to see Ran Yan’s reaction.

"Were they played with?" Ran Yan asked.

Rong Qian, surprised at her lack of shyness, paused, then became even more enthusiastic, "Not at all, I heard from someone, judging by the looks of it, that they were locked in the room, playing with each other..." (To be continued. If you liked this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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