Ran Yan was momentarily stunned. The person who arrived was clad in black, with hair tied up by a black band, their attire neat and sharp, perfectly accentuating every one of their merits. Ran Yan had never seen Xiao Song before, with the night concealing his dazzling radiance, making him now appear mysterious and enchanting.
"It’s not me, it’s Shilang who’s hurt," Ran Yan said.
Xiao Song’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly, his gaze sweeping around the room, pausing on his own portrait for a moment before he was about to inquire about Ran Yunsheng’s condition, when Liu Qingsong sidled up to him and butted in, "Jiulang, the Princess of Baling has really put a lot of effort into you, huh? Just look at this, tsk tsk, you won’t find another wife in this world who would do all this for you."
A chill flashed through Ran Yan’s eyes as she coldly dropped a sentence, "Liu Qingsong, you wait for me!"
Watching Ran Yan’s reaction, the corners of Xiao Song’s lips slightly curled up, then he immediately turned to ask about Ran Yunsheng’s injury.
Ran Yunsheng, already dressed in Liu Qingsong’s clothes, was also in black, which could not conceal his elegance, "For Assistant Minister Xiao to come to the rescue, Yunsheng is immensely grateful."
Yunsheng is the courtesy name for Ran Yunsheng, but he is not a scholar. People usually call him Ran Shilang and do not often use his courtesy name.
"Brother, such courteousness, could it be that you don’t acknowledge me as your brother-in-law?" Xiao Song said with a faint smile.
Ran Yunsheng was somewhat embarrassed. The Ran Family was indeed marrying above their station into the Xiao family, and always causing trouble for Xiao Song. He was afraid that it would create tension between Xiao Song and Ran Yan, which is why he was so polite, but seeing Xiao Song’s manner, he was much reassured.
"Brother-in-law, let me carry you!" Knowing he had just offended Ran Yan, Liu Qingsong hurriedly tried to be attentive to Ran Yunsheng, "You’re injured all over, you won’t be able to run fast later on."
Ran Yunsheng thought so too. If he paid too much attention to his pride, he would surely hold others back later, so he did not refuse.
"Someone come." Xiao Song called out in a clear voice.
"Master." Two men in black flashed into the room from outside.
"Is the oil ready?" Xiao Song asked.
"We found two barrels on the estate, and we brought several wine bladders ourselves," one of them responded.
"Pour it." Xiao Song turned, took Ran Yan’s hand, and left the Moon Pavilion without pause, heading out of the pine forest.
Outside, around forty or fifty people were waiting by the road, all bowing in greeting as they saw Xiao Song. Xiao Song took out a pair of cloud hairpins from his sleeve and handed them to Ran Yan.
Ran Yan recognized them as the hairpins Xiao Song had once asked Ran Yun to replace as a gift for Ran Yunsheng.
Upon seeing Xiao Song hand the cloud hairpins to Ran Yan, the onlookers immediately saluted, "We have seen the mistress!"
"No need for formalities," Ran Yan knew the purpose of these cloud hairpins and responded calmly.
"These forty-five people are your guards. From now on, whenever you go out, you will bring a few of them along," Xiao Song said with a feeling of helplessness in his heart. There was no stopping whatever Ran Yan wanted to do. Moreover, she wasn’t the kind of person without a mind of her own; she always had a clear purpose in her actions and wouldn’t engage in pointless endeavors.
Just then, flames erupted towards the sky from Cangyue Pavilion, and Xiao Song spoke in a deep voice, "Retreat immediately."
The crowd split into two groups, one covering the rear and the other leading the way, still leaving from the back door.
At the back door, Ran Yan and the others couldn’t help but be stunned. If not for the impact of the blood pool earlier, which was too intense, she might have thought herself delusional because there was no sign of blood at the back door entrance. The ground was still steaming, some patches of grass had been pulled up and replaced with camellia, giving the impression of freshly turned soil and newly transplanted flowers.
As the group exited the back door, they then heard the commotion in the courtyard. It seemed all the guards had been drawn to the Moon Pavilion by the fire.
"Master, we found one, please have a look," two black-clothed men dragged a finely dressed young man out from the estate.
Ran Yan glanced down, seeing the finely dressed young man being pushed to kneel on the ground in a fluster.
At one glance, she could tell this man was a regular user of opium, gaunt and sallow, with constricted pupils and a vacant look, yet his features were indeed exquisite, not inferior to Ran Yunsheng’s. However, he looked much too effeminate and, with the long-term opium abuse, had lost his vitality, thus was not attractive to others.
Xiao Song extended his hand and lifted the man’s pointed chin. Seeing such a handsome man, the young man, Tan Lang’s face lit up with a bit of radiance as he gazed back at him pitifully.
"No better-looking ones?" Xiao Song frowned, obviously unsatisfied with the man’s appearance.
Ran Yan looked at Xiao Song suspiciously, unable to fathom what he intended to do.
"This is the best-looking one," the guard said.
Xiao Song nodded in approval, and pulled out a pill from his bosom, pinched open the man’s jaw, and tossed it into his mouth, "Throw him behind Cangyue Pavilion, make sure it’s done before you throw him inside."