Ran Yan would always ponder upon encountering a case, but things were different now. These cases were not her concern, and she had come to terms with that, treating them as a way to pass the time.
After having dinner, Ran Yan had just taken out her flute, preparing to practice a few tunes, when she heard the urgent knocking at the door.
"Ran Yan! Ran Yan!" The soul-calling voice of Liu Qingsong came from outside.
Wan Lu frowned, pulling open the door with a whoosh, "Doctor Liu, a lady’s given name should not be so casually called!"
In the Tang Dynasty, a woman was generally addressed by her surname followed by her birth order. For example, Ran Yan would be called Ran Shiqi, and more affectionately, Seventeenth Lady or Wife. Typically, only the closest kin could call her by her given name.
Such behavior from Liu Qingsong was immediately classified as "frivolous" by Wan Lu. Being frivolous with the Wife was a form of disrespect, no different from teasing a respectable woman.
"We can talk about this matter some other time; let me speak a few important words with your Wife first!" Liu Qingsong said, trying to push past Wan Lu.
But Wan Lu was no pushover. With a forceful shove, she sent him out the door and slammed it shut, "Don’t think I’m afraid of you because you’re a doctor for the Xiao Family. What gave you such gall to dare to disrespect our Wife!"
Liu Qingsong, being pushed outside, stood dazed for a while before he could react. He hadn’t expected such strength from a mere maid, nor could he fathom how he had disrespected their Wife.
With a huff, Wan Lu still went into the inner room to inform Ran Yan, "Wife, Doctor Liu wants to see you. Will you meet with him or not?"
"With all the noise, of course I heard. Let him in the outer room," Ran Yan said as she put down her flute and stood up to walk outside.
Wan Lu pursed her lips, reluctant but still pulled the door open, rolling her eyes at Liu Qingsong, "Come in."
Liu Qingsong was not in the mood to bicker with her. Carrying a big box, he trotted into the room and excitedly said to Ran Yan, "This case is quite interesting, want to come examine the corpse?"
Ran Yan looked at him, raising her eyebrows slightly as a sign for him to continue.
"I mean, as a woman, shouldn’t you have some self-awareness? It’s one thing to be cold, but you’re so indifferent..." Liu Qingsong was dissatisfied but then met Ran Yan’s cool, dark eyes, swallowing the rest of his words and shifted the topic, "Let’s first talk about the beggar who died today."
Ran Yan nodded, and Liu Qingsong began, "This beggar’s name was Liu Wen, ranked thirteenth in his clan, a son born out of wedlock from the once reputable Liu family in Jushui County. Liu Wen was intelligent from a young age, passing the Scholar examination at thirteen and was admitted into the state school by a significant scholar. It’s said that he had a good reputation at the state school, and his teacher planned to have him take the Advanced Scholar examination at sixteen. Unfortunately, a month before his sixteenth birthday, during an outing with a few friends, for reasons unknown, someone gouged out one of his eyes. His appearance was dreadful, and he was expelled from the state school and later cast out of the Liu family..."
Liu Qingsong cheerfully accepted the tea from Wan Lu’s hand and drained it in one gulp.
"Just because of disfigurement, the state school and his family expelled him?" Ran Yan felt that this reason was insufficient. Both the state school and those families were concerned with reputation; how could they brazenly commit such an act that would leave them exposed to criticism?
"It is said that after Liu Wen’s disfigurement, his temperament became unpredictable, and his behavior violent. The state school deemed him unfit to continue his studies, ordering him to recuperate at home for half a year. Sadly, not only did Liu Wen fail to pacify his emotions, his temperament became even more twisted. Half a year later, when he returned to the state school, he had an altercation with his classmates, severely injuring two, resulting in expulsion. Upon returning home and after repeated brawls with clan brothers, he was sent to guard the ancestral tombs."
One could say that Liu Wen’s promising future came to an abrupt stop after that outing at fifteen, abandoned by society ever since.
From a proud scion to the darkness of despair, a ruined visage, few can calmly accept such a fate, especially since he was merely a teenager of fifteen or sixteen at the time.
"What about the autopsy results?" asked Ran Yan.
"Poisoning, arsenic," Liu Qingsong replied succinctly, but then curiously added, "He died no more than six hours ago. Oddly, his expression was peaceful, even with a faint smile. Are there poisons that make a person smile after death? Like... ’Die with a smile’ or something?"
Ran Yan slightly furrowed her brows, not engaging with his scattered thoughts, and instead asked, "Can’t the time of death be narrowed down further? Have you examined the death scene? Is the identity of the embroideress who discovered the body confirmed?"