Chapter 450: Chapter 293: Plotting Change
Ran Meiyu looked at Ge Lan’s expression and truly did not believe that she could hear any good news from her.
“I suppose you already know you’ve been promised to Cui Ershiyi,” Ge Lan said with a faint smile on her face, her voice light as a feather, “Is it sorrow? Is it joy?”
When Ran Meiyu was asked this, her foggy brain suddenly cleared up on one thing: although Cui Ershiyi came from a distinguished background, he fell far short of Xiao Song. Xiao Song was not only of noble birth, but his family’s power and influence were also prominent. In terms of scheming, Cui Ershiyi couldn’t compete with him. Under such circumstances, to let Ran Meiyu, who was deathly afraid of Ran Yan, marry and live a life full of fear in Chang’an, how could she dare…
Seeing that she had understood, Ge Lan couldn’t help but smile faintly, “Lady Eighteen is indeed a clever person. The good news I wanted to tell you today is exactly this.” Pausing for a moment, Ge Lan’s androgynous voice became extremely gentle, “You will be liberated very soon.”
Ge Lan reached out and gently covered Ran Meiyu’s nose and mouth, and before Ran Meiyu had any chance to react, she fell deeply asleep.
Thinking it over, Ge Lan did not harbor a significant grudge against Ran Meiyu, so she wouldn’t choose to simply give Ran Meiyu a scare like Ran Yan had. What she wanted was in fact much simpler: it was Ran Meiyu’s life, the tears of the Gao family, and their retaliation.
If you are to blame, it’s only because you were born into the wrong body!
Ge Lan took a syringe out of her sleeve, turned Ran Meiyu over, pulled back her thin undergarment, and stabbed the needle into her spine with surprising proficiency.
For this day, she had often consulted Ran Yan for knowledge of human anatomy and had practiced countless times on herself, feeling for her own spine daily, trying to find the exact spot. Compared to reaching behind her back, her current posture was much more effective. She had a background in traditional Chinese medicine, which, though lacking anatomical knowledge, was quite adept at dealing with the meridians and bones.
In doing this series of actions, Ge Lan did not hesitate. Whenever she thought of her mother’s tragic death, or her once honest and kind-hearted father reduced to a wretch after being led astray, or his dreadful state after being maimed, or the apologetic and remorseful look in his eyes as he sold her into servitude… and when she thought of her once joy-filled home turning into ruins… she wouldn’t feel an ounce of hesitation, not a bit of guilt!
If it weren’t for the help provided by Ran Yan, for not wanting to add to her troubles, Ge Lan would have very much liked to stab Ran Meiyu with that needle in front of Lady Gao.
“Lady Gao, I hope you will like my gift,” Ge Lan said as she pulled out the needle, took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood seeping from Ran Meiyu’s waist, until it stopped. Then she pulled out an ointment for reducing bruises, applied it around the needle site, and gently massaged it with her palm to help it absorb.
Ge Lan had tried many times and naturally knew that if she wasn’t careful, she could cause a small bruise near the needle site. She did not want to give away any clues because of this.
Once the ointment was mostly absorbed, Ge Lan meticulously wiped away the residue with the handkerchief, helped Ran Meiyu put on her clothes, turned her over, and then took out another handkerchief, wet it with water from the copper basin in the corner, and wiped off the remaining sedatives on her face. After tidying everything up and covering her with the quilt, she made sure there was nothing amiss in the room before she extinguished the light, returned it to its place, and quietly left, heading straight for the deck where a basin of ash had been prepared by her.
Over the past half month, Ge Lan had become familiar with the routines of everyone on the ship and knew that no one would be on deck at this time, so she walked over leisurely. Sitting down beside a basin of newly extinguished charcoal, she immediately took out a flint and a stack of paper money from her bosom. She set them alight in the basin.
The time had just passed midnight, and the boatmen began changing shifts.
During this time, Ge Lan had taken good care of these boatmen, who had rarely experienced such comfortable ferrying, and so they felt pity for this meticulous and considerate mute girl.
In less than half a cup of tea’s time, several boatmen passed by the deck, glanced at Ge Lan curiously, sighed softly, and continued on their way back to their rooms to rest.
Soon after, Wu, the steward who was familiar with Ge Lan, came up to the deck. Seeing Ge Lan, he paused for a moment and then walked over.
“Miss Ge Lan,” said Steward Wu.
Ge Lan stood up and bowed to him.
Steward Wu looked at the ashes in the basin and said softly, “The night is cold and windy. If Miss has finished offering her prayers, you should return to your room and rest early.”