Miss Truth-Chapter 503 - 332: Who is Real and Who is Fake_2

Xiao Xuanzhi hesitated for a moment. He had struggled internally for a long time before he chose this moment to express his feelings to her. The lives of Chun Lai’s entire family depended on her, and now adding him to the equation, wasn’t this weight enough to counter the person she wanted to protect?

Xiao Xuanzhi had never imagined that he would be rejected. It wasn’t because he thought his status was superior, but because of their years of deep affection, he firmly believed that Chun Lai would never betray him!

After a moment of stunned silence, Xiao Xuanzhi slowly let her go, telling himself that she was just a maid, just a maid after all. The Xiao Family was never short of maids!

In the early summer night, the sounds of insects were everywhere, and the moonlight was like water, bright as daylight. Xiao Xuanzhi walked aimlessly uphill, still holding the bedding and the items he had just brought over.

Behind a wall of the ancestral hall, a figure stepped out, hands behind his back, watching Xiao Xuanzhi’s desolate back, his brows tightly furrowed. It was none other than Xiao Song.

"Do you think he knew we were there just now?" Ran Yan soon followed out.

Ran Yan meant to ask whether Xiao Xuanzhi knew that they were being watched, hence he deliberately put on a show to absolve himself of suspicion. Ran Yan was reluctant to doubt others’ emotions, but given the situation, she had to be rational about everything.

After all, from the surface, his temperament was too similar to Lady Dongyang’s. Since Lady Dongyang could be a conspirator, he might also be concealing his true colors.

"I spent a long time in the clan as a child, I should understand his temperament. Xiao Di has always been somewhat aloof and reticent since childhood, but genuine in nature. I am more inclined to believe that he was simply letting his true feelings show just now," Xiao Song’s mellifluous voice was especially reassuring in the quiet of the night. He turned, extending his hand, and Ran Yan placed hers into his palm.

The two walked hand in hand back to their residence.

Xiao Song, having been involved in politics for a long time, habitually left room in his words, never speaking absolutely. His earlier remarks only expressed a preference to believe, and a childhood temperament could not represent the present. Strictly speaking, he hadn’t really answered Ran Yan’s question.

Ran Yan did not pursue it further either; she was capable of thinking for herself and didn’t need everything explained in detail to understand.

It all began in Chang’an.

The Lady had passed away, and then someone had hastily taken action; clearly, this person had been rather wary of the Lady before. But she killed Ling Xiang and framed the Dugu Clan, what was it for? Merely to tarnish the Dugu Clan to make Xiao Song unfit as a Clan Leader due to having an immoral mother?

She didn’t think so; the plan seemed very rushed, full of loopholes. It was highly possible that in the process of stealing, Ling Xiang had accidentally witnessed the act, or perhaps the killer had sought Ling Xiang for some matter, and Ling Xiang had discovered their intent and consequently was silenced. Believing their actions had been exposed, the killer decided to amputate themselves to remove suspicion, yet unwilling to completely waste a pawn, hastily formulated a plan for framing, since they were discarding the pawn anyway, might as well use it in a last-ditch attempt of luck.

It could also be that the mastermind had sent someone who realized too late the inevitability of their demise, thus making a final violent struggle.

Yet, that person chose to frame the Dugu Clan using a golden silk nanmu box, perhaps unaware of the Lady’s will, or not knowing the details, or perhaps fully aware but unable to find any other means to proceed. However, it was certain that the target was not the golden silk nanmu box itself.

What could it be?

Later, upon arriving at the clan estate, Xiao Song constantly protected Ran Yan from any attempts on her life, yet the major suspect was himself attacked! Was this related to Ling Xiang’s death? If Lady Dongyang was the mastermind behind killing Ling Xiang, then who had poisoned Lady Dongyang? Was it herself trying to clear her name? Or was it a case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, someone intending to eliminate Lady Dongyang?

Who was the person Chun Lai would rather die protecting? Could it be the killer trying to eliminate Lady Dongyang?

Ran Yan suspected that Xiao Xuanzhi’s earlier performance was an act, and this wasn’t a baseless guess; it might very well be Xiao Xuanzhi who had colluded with outsiders, with Lady Dongyang as merely an accomplice!

Back in her bedroom, Ran Yan lay on her couch, contemplating boundlessly. She considered every logically explainable aspect, then eliminated the possibilities based on what she knew.

Based on the violence marks on Ling Xiang’s corpse, the signs of struggle in the room, and the testimonies of the surrounding maids, Ran Yan was almost certain that the perpetrator was a male, and either someone Ling Xiang was relatively familiar with or a professional assassin...

A thought struck Ran Yan, everyone had focused on the Xiao family, but it was also possible that a high-ranking mastermind had sent someone to search for something, who was then seen by Ling Xiang, leading to a decisive murder to silence him, and then coordinating with an insider to cover up the affair.

The more Ran Yan thought, the more plausible it seemed. In Great Tang, she knew only one assassin, Su Fu, who now served Li Tai, and Li Tai was precisely among the key suspects!

Mulling over this, Ran Yan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. As she was fretting, a strong arm pulled her into an embrace.

Xiao Song, without opening his eyes, rested his chin on her shoulder and asked in a husky, muffled voice, "What’s wrong?"

After a moment of silence, Ran Yan whispered, "Do you think the person colluding with Lady Dongyang could be Li Tai?"

"Hmm," Xiao Song responded vaguely, then adjusted her into a comfortable position, still sleepy and husky, said, "You suspect Su Fu... I suspected him first, but even if it is him, so what? If you want him to live, I can make him live... It’s not treason... Sleep, babe."

Ran Yan definitely did not know how much gritting Xiao Song was doing behind those words. With his temperament, he really might secretly eliminate Su Fu, but such "public obedience and private defiance" was something he always did flawlessly. freёnovelkiss-com

But he also had concerns; Ran Yan was not easily fooled. If she found out what he was doing, would she break with him...

In a drowsy state, Xiao Song gently kissed Ran Yan’s forehead, thinking to himself, the best attack is to conquer the heart.

As a man, if he couldn’t even manage his own wife, merely thinking about eliminating other men was ineffective; he needed to secure his wife’s heart first. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this novel, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my biggest motivation.)

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