Miss Truth
Chapter 379 - 240: Death News

Chapter 379: Chapter 240: Death News

The skull, cleaned by Ran Yan, looked much more appealing than the initial sight of it caked in mud and flesh, and its facial features were now fully recognizable.

Next was the correction of the skull, starting with marking positions on it. This was a tedious and intricate process, and immensely crucial, as incorrect positioning of the marks could lead to changes in the reconstructed face. Sometimes, these changes were subtle yet could influence judgments significantly.

In later eras, computers could be utilized to assist in skull reconstruction, but now everything had to be done manually. One could foresee that the results might not be ideal; however, in the absence of any other clues, it was still worth a try.

In the future, a task that could be completed in just a few to several minutes took Ran Yan over three hours just to mark half of the positions, all to ensure accuracy.

Liu Qingsong had already sprawled out and fallen asleep beside the mat.

Xiao Song had left and returned a few times, and when he came back to see that it was getting late, he interrupted Ran Yan’s work, "Let’s continue this tomorrow; I’ll escort you back home now."

If the case was urgent, it was common for Ran Yan to work all night, but the situation was different now, so she accepted Xiao Song’s kind offer. After washing her hands in the outer room, she left with Xiao Song.

Liu Qingsong was secretly thrilled, seeing an opportunity to escape. He couldn’t run out of Chang’an, as he and Ran Yan needed to occasionally treat patients in town to accumulate clinical experience. Among Emperor Taizong’s many favored princesses, no fewer than five suffered from asthma. The opportunity was right before him; given their advantageous circumstances, even someone cunning like Liu Qingsong felt that giving up halfway would be blasphemous.

Perhaps he should head to Sang Chen’s! Once Liu Qingsong made up his mind, he watched Xiao Song leave.

Ran Yan and Xiao Song, both keenly perceptive, had long sensed his restlessness. Climbing into the carriage, Ran Yan slightly pulled back the curtain and looked outside, "Where will he run off to?"

"Let him be. I’ve spent all his money on courtesans to keep him entertained; he won’t get far," Xiao Song said lightly.

To use his own money to hire courtesans, and then, after administering the Red Dust Powder, throw him into a place of nightly depravity? This move was indeed vicious, and probably now Liu Qingsong had no place even to weep.

Ran Yan paused, then said, "Next time you wish to punish him, don’t throw him into a brothel."

Ran Yan had a certain understanding of a man’s infidelity, especially in the ancient times where polygamy was legally sanctioned and normalized. However, deep down, she still minded. She was averse to sexual relations not based on emotional foundations.

In fact, if it were not for this incident entirely stemming from the Red Dust Powder, Xiao Song would not have normally resorted to dealing with someone in this manner. Initially, he only planned to spend all of Liu Qingsong’s hard-earned money in that way, not intending to put him in the brothel every night; however, Liu Qingsong was too pained by the loss of money and, showing up in front of Xiao Song, boasting about how ecstatic it felt, thereby claiming the money was well spent. Thus, that led to the current situation.

But Xiao Song did not plan to explain this trivial matter, simply following Ran Yan’s words, "Alright, from now on, wherever you say to throw, I’ll throw there."

Ran Yan was momentarily stunned, then laughed, "Liu Qingsong is a living person, how can he just be thrown around!"

"I haven’t thrown anyone else, only him. Clearly, he indeed deserves to be thrown," Xiao Song said with a helpless smile.

Liu Qingsong was too troublesome, always coming up with ideas every few days and never ceasing from his childhood. Xiao Song, having grown into a cunning and mentally tough strategist, truly owed much to Liu Qingsong.

Upon returning to the Ran residence, Xiao Song hurried back to the government office. With the Lunar New Year approaching, ministers in the court would be taking holiday leave, so this case could not be delayed. Moreover, many cases awaiting review also had to be dispatched before the year’s end, keeping him almost endlessly busy day and night.

The Ran residence was eerily quiet today.

As soon as Ran Yan returned to the He Ya Inn, she could feel the heavy atmosphere. Lady Xing and Rong Qian were talking, and Rong Qian’s eyes were somewhat red, as if she had just cried.

Ran Yan stood at the door while Wan Lu helped her take off her cloak and asked them, "What happened?"

"Alas!" Lady Xing sighed deeply, her expression also showing some regret, "It is said that the Guard Shilang sent to escort Lady Qi Sixth has returned, bringing the news of Lady Qi Sixth’s demise."

Ran Yan’s heart skipped a beat, she knelt on the mat, and perhaps due to her professional nature, her first thought was murder, she blurted out, "Was she murdered?"

"No." Rong Qian took out her handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes and sighed, "This child really was too despondent. I heard from the guard that the Qi Family had arranged a marriage for her, she did not wish to marry so she fled, and our Shilang kindly sent someone to send her back. Such an incident happened, the Qi family wanted to avoid any long, drawn-out trouble and besides, Lady Qi Sixth was not young, so they consulted with her fiancé’s family and decided to complete the marriage before the year ended. Unexpectedly, without a single complaint, she committed suicide in the bridal sedan!"

Ran Yan’s heart leapt. Choosing such a drastic way to commit suicide, she clearly never thought of leaving herself a way out.

And to die in a bridal sedan, was clearly a harsh slap in the face to the Qi family. Perhaps life in the Qi household wasn’t as glamorous as it appeared on the surface!

Even she could still recall, the lady standing elegantly under the ginkgo tree that day, her head bowed, her ink-black hair loosely tied into a bun at the back, sunlight splattering through the yellow ginkgo leaves onto her body, dazzlingly beautiful...let alone Ran Yunsheng himself!

Ran Yan felt worried, thinking that Rong Qian’s tears must be because of Ran Yunsheng, but he...

She had barely thought of him when she heard Rong Qian say, "Poor our Shilang, he has been in a dejected mood these days, hardly able to eat, and Lady had just managed to persuade him to cheer up a bit, he had just finished his meal when he heard this horrible news... How could he bear it, after all, he was the one who sent her back!"

Not only that, but Shilang might also have had an unclear affection towards Lady Qi Ning. A thought flashed through Ran Yan’s mind as she hurriedly asked, "How is Shilang now?"

Rong Qian’s eyes were moist, and she wiped the corners of her eyes again, answering, "Upon hearing the bad news, he was completely disoriented, the teacup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered, later he vomited blood and then passed out."

"I’ll go see him," Ran Yan abruptly stood up and ran outside.

Lady Xing had not seen her lady so flustered for a long time and quickly ordered Wan Lu and Ge Lan to follow her.

Ran Yan rushed all the way to Ran Yunsheng’s residence, not even greeting the guarding maids, she dashed straight in. Once inside, she saw Lady Luo crying like a tear-stained figure, looking dazed, with no one else around.

"Aunt." Ran Yan calmed down slightly, lowering her voice as she called out.

Lady Luo snapped back to reality, and after seeing Ran Yan, she finally stopped her tears and spoke slowly, "Shilang is still unconscious, there are a doctor and maids watching over him, you go back to your room first."

"Aunt, let me see Shilang. I know a bit of medical skills, maybe I could be of some help." Since Lady Luo was Ran Yunsheng’s biological mother, Ran Yan couldn’t just barge in; she had to plead softly.

By then, Lady Luo had calmed down quite a bit, her eyes suddenly brightened and she suddenly got up from beside Ran Yan, ran to the door, and without waiting for a response called a maid, "Quickly send a servant to Assistant Minister Xiao’s residence to ask him to help find an Imperial Physician to treat Shilang." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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