Miss Truth Chapter 246

Still haven’t really passed my addiction to the drama Miss Truth so started to read the book which is quite different from the drama. The cases that are shown the drama are linked somewhat or another to the ultimate goal at the beginning to find the Marquis of Sui’s Pearl whereas the book has the time to really delve into the characters and develop them properly as well as some rather interesting mysterious cases, political and family intrigue dotted around which isn’t linked to that. Plus it’s a time travel book so it explains the stuff that Ran Yan does which would have been so alien during the Tang Dynasty. (And personally I find the forensic science in the book more convincing than the stuff in the drama)

I decided to translate a portion of the book since it’s been translated on other sites starting from chapter 246 but I might just translate the entire second volume (depends on how much time I have. I have Bloody Romance still to finish; I haven’t forgotten about it it’s just I’m getting to the mentally straining part where it’s getting all depressing which is why I keep putting it off and it also depends on how quickly the other sites are doing it).

Anyway enough of the babbling here goes…

Chapter 246: Overcoming the peach blossom (love) hurdle

The room was filled with the fragrance of chinese medicine, Ran Yun Sheng lay on the couch by his side reading a book. Despite the fact his health had much recovered he still felt lethargic and disinterested. But at the very least he will not pass out if he was provoked.

“10th brother (cousin of the paternal side)” Ran Yan called as she came in  and knelt before the couch.

“Ah Yan is here?” Ran Yun Sheng answered after a moment of delay as he put down his book.

It had taken him a long time before he finally sorted out his thoughts. That day at the Zheng Manor, Ran Yan did everything she could in order to help him escape from that trap so how could he refuse to see her because he felt ashamed? Why should he hurt her like this?

“Um.” Ran Yan replied as she rubbed the side of the Xiao in her hand[1]. “10th brother let me play a melody for you.”

This would be the final time she would play this Xiao. She only wanted to play it for someone to listen to.

Jerking his mouth into a small smile, Ran Yun Sheng gently replied, “Sure. I have not heard you play this for a long time. Are you going to play that song About Mountains and the moon for me again?”

Xiao Song was the one who taught her to play About Mountains and the moon but today she only wanted to play another song and so told him, “I will play you a song you have never heard of before.” before lifting the Xiao to her lips.

Silently Ran Yun Sheng observed her; her posture had improved much from the past where she would sit rigidly and awkwardly under his gaze.

The sound of the Xiao was profound and reverberating. It was slow and even carrying a little sadness in its tone. Just like a lamp that was lit throughout the night, and the drizzle that never stops. After a few notes, it’s pitch started to lower and the noise of the night market began to fade into the background, leaving only the pitiful sound of the water crashing against the shore and the rustling of the light rain that was drawn by the Xiao. That scene of sadness will one day leave with this drizzle of rain that fades in and out and sometimes drowns out all other sound.

It was as if he could see that scene painted by the sound of Xiao and he felt a wetness dampen his eyes as a result. After the song ended he let out a long sigh. “After walking 10 miles, finally we overcome this peach blossom [2] hurdle!”

Startled Ran Yan exclaimed, “The name of this song is called overcoming the peach blossom hurdle.”

“Ah Yan you managed to express that feeling through your music, is something troubling you?” Ran Yun Sheng’s gaze was always gentle and unobtrusive, his tone warm and consoling.

Ran Yan nodded in reply as she rubbed the side of her Xiao and after some hesitancy finally confessed. “10th brother, if there is a man that I felt was a good man, but I am unsure about my feelings towards him and a future with him would be virtually impossible, should I tell him my feelings?”

Ever since coming to the Tang Dynasty, Ran Yan had become the 17th miss of the Ran family and was constrained by the responsibilities that came with this identity. She was the Di daughter of the Ran family and he the Shu son of the Su family. Their situation was so similar to that of the situation between Ran Yun Sheng and the 6th Miss of the Qi family. But what was different was that they had not reached the point where they reciprocated each others’ feelings.

She was now at the crossroads in her lovelife; there was another choice in her life.

“Ah-Yan you have fallen in love too,” Ran Yun Sheng commented as he stared at her, his eyes a little damp. “In regards to the 6th Miss of the Qi family and I, no matter how many times we can experience this again, it is destiny that the two of us will go our separate ways. What will differ is that next time I will stop her from committing suicide.”

As Ran Yan thought about the problems he brought up Ran Yuan Sheng continued. “Because of the difference between our status, the only way we could be together was if we eloped. But then even if we ran to a place where no one knew us, my Father, Mother, Ah-Yun  and you will all have to bear the consequences of that. Perhaps the business Father threw himself into building would be destroyed in an instant…Even if Heaven gave us ten more times to repeat this I cannot see any happiness that elopement will bring.”

If Ran Yun Sheng truly did try to elope with Qi Ning Jun, with Ran Wen’s shortsightedness it would be hard to know if he would try to protect Ran Ping Yu his moneybag or if he would sacrifice him to appease those in power. It was a wager Ran Yun Sheng could not take as it was a happiness built on the catastrophe of others. A happiness that could not put Ran Yun Sheng at ease.

It was the same for Ran Yan. When she first arrived there was nothing holding her back; she still felt as if she was drifting around in a dream so she did not have to conceal her true nature. But now that she had people she cared about, now that she realized how real this world was, even if she had went too far in the past and it was difficult for her to fix it now but she still had to carry on living.

Smiling she lifted the Xiao and waved it, “I intend to return this but I do not know where to.”

The Ministry of Imperial Physicians was not a place she could visit. As for Su Fu’s lodgings, although she knew it was around the An Shan district but there were thousands of houses there so where could she find him?

“You’ve made your choice?” Ran Yun Sheng inquired.

Ran Yan nodded. “Yes perhaps I had made that choice in my heart long ago. And I have acted on that thought before but I only realized now.”

Sometimes unconscious thoughts affect the actions one would take but it was not so easy to recognize it. This was the first time Ran Yan acted before her mind catches on but then again the feelings of the heart were not something rationality could control.

Still Ran Yun Sheng was surprised at how quickly Ran Yan was able to adjust to her feelings. Love was not something one could forget easily. Was it because she did not love him enough or if she truly let go of those feelings? Curious he asked, “Can you tell me about it?”

A smile broke across Ran Yan’s usual poker face, “The husband I am looking for does not have to do much for me, he simply has to be around.”

Just like at night, there would always be a lighthouse near the shore of the sea and in the endless grassland there would always be Polaris who could guide her as she made her way through the confusion. As long as she could always see him when she raised her head, she will never lose her way.

Whether it was simply a moment of interest for Xiao Song or if he had other motives, if they were unhappy together they could simply separate. She was not someone who could not forget the past.

The reason why Ran Yan made such a decision was intimately linked to her previous life.  Since she was little her parents were always working in a faraway city she could only split her time between the homes of her grandfathers. After she started to work, she would often travel to different cities. In the morning she would examine a body in one city and in the evening she would be in another city for another examination. That was something she could accept but after the death of her paternal grandfather whenever she returned to her hometown that never felt like home again.

At times like that she would yearn for a husband to be in that city so that no matter how busy he was she had someone to say “I am back” to.

Unfortunately her partners from previous blind dates would either be completely put off as soon as she informed them she was a forensic pathologist and those who were more tolerant towards the profession would be put off by her poker face and the fact she had no femininity to speak of.

Perhaps that was why when Xiao Song appeared in front of her she was unconsciously drawn to him. So Ran Yan wanted to give him a chance and herself a chance too.

“You will definitely encounter many problems if you marry into the Xiao family. First your identity….”after hearing her explanation Ran Yun Sheng felt a little more at ease but there were still things he had to remind her as her cousin.

“Shouldn’t one encounter some difficulty in life, otherwise it may become too boring?”

That made Ran Yun Sheng started a little before realizing although Ran Yan was telling him about her issues but her true aim was for him to try and forgive himself.

Seeing that he realized her intention she told him directly, “10th brother  no one is at fault for a love where there is little destiny together. Everyone must bear the consequences of their actions, but they all have the opportunity to choose.”

“Ah-Yan… You see things more clearly than I do,” he said, lowering his eyes.

Did she really? Ran Yan disagreed. She only knew a little pyschology and of course it was not her who was going through this so it was easier said than done. It was one thing to understand but another thing to control one’s feelings. No matter how much he understood the truth, the wound in his heart would not recover so soon.

After a little while longer talking with Ran Yun Sheng, he started to feel weary and so Ran Yan watched him take his medicine before leaving.

The entire manor was lit up by that time. A few maids passed her through the corridors and when they saw her they would let her pass and greet her with lowered heads as she passed.

The black clouds that had held in their contents for a long time finally released some snow.

After everyone had gone to sleep, Ran Yan left to sit by the corridor in a thick cloak and a lantern to keep her company.

“You are here right?”she whispered to the night after a while.

The only reply she got was the howling of the wind in the alleyway and the snow silently falling around her.

“Thank you for the medicine you delivered to me,” Ran Yan continued. After she assisted Su Fu in examining that body it drew Li Luo’s attention to them. So Li Luo captured her in order for Su Fu to fall into the trap he lay for him. Su Fu must have been worried that it would occur once more so he would guard the Ran Manor every night otherwise he would not have been alerted to the fact that Ran Yun Sheng was spitting up blood so soon.

No one replied and after a while Ran Yan slipped her feet back into her shoes, pulled out the Xiao from her sleeve and went to place the Xiao within the middle of the courtyard.

“Li Luo took your parasol, only this is left.” After placing it, she turned around and started to head back.

The night was as silent as before. But when she reached the corridor and turned back and saw a figure in black had appeared without her knowing and was bending down to pick up his instrument.

The big snowflakes settled clearly onto his black robe. And a smile was clearly on his face. It was still difficult not to be drawn in by Su Fu’s handsome looks; his usual cold eyes softened as they met hers. “Congratulations for finding the man who suits you,” he let out after a while.

His warmless voice fitted the freezing weather to the point. It was impossible to detect any joy or sorrow from it, as if he was saying the most normal of things.

“It’s dark and cold here. You do not have to guard this place,” Ran Yan told him. “But thank you.”

The corners of Su Fu’s curved slightly before he turned around and disappeared into the night.

The frigid wind made her eyes water a little. After watching Su Fu fade back into the night, Ran Yan hurried back inside.

Notes:

[1] Xiao a wind instrument quite similar to a clarinet

[2]peach blossom: used to represent love

There are some character here that never appears in the drama and Ran Yan is a time traveller. Also Xiao Song and Su Fu are quite different here than in the drama. Xiao Song’s character in the book is definitely more nicer than in the drama and Su Fu was never really an option in the book despite her feelings due to their status. Her fiance was also someone else.