Chapter 22: Can you do autopsies?

“Invite him in.” said Ran Yan.

“Miss!” Miss Xing quickly stopped her saying: “Meeting a man in private, it is extremely inappropriate!”

The culture of the early Tang Dynasty was already gradually becoming more open, even if unmarried men and women had a private tryst, it was really a very normal thing. Miss Xing was a family servant of the Xingyang Zheng clan, adding to the fact that the culture of the south was originally not as unconstrained and bold as the north, naturally her standards would be higher.

Ran Yan straightened her lapels, apathetically said: “It looks like a’ye is planning to use me to form connections (via marriage), there would naturally be no need to worry about the issue of marriage.”

Miss Xing softly sighed and did not try to dissuade her again, chastity was not the sole standard used to judge a woman now, if it really was as Miss had said and Master was planning to use her to form connections, then why not follow her heart’s desires, do what she wants to do, otherwise, in the future there might not be anymore chances for her to follow her heart’s desires.

“Rashly paying you a visit, it is rude of this lowly one…” A warm voice resembling the spring wind accompanied the night wind slowly blowing into the courtyard.

Ran Yan just took off her clogs, hearing the voice down the corridor she turned around, her gaze quietly rested on that man who was looking ill at ease, just in an instant, when she was about to drop her gaze, at the corner of her vision she saw that his face was already flushed red, his handsome face filled with shyness.

Ran Yan’s fingers moved slightly, clenching into a fist, astonished that she actually had the impulse to dissect a person again.

“Mr Sang, please come in.” said Miss Xing.

Sang Chen handed over the cloth bag he was holding to Miss Xing, “This is this a bit of this lowly one’s regards[1].”

“Mr Sang is being considerate[2].” Miss Xing with an indifferent and distant expression, received the cloth bag, turned and led him towards the inside of the living hall.

Ran Yan had already sat kneeling down at the main seat, seeing Sang Chen entering, nodded her head slightly in his direction, “Mr Sang, please take a seat.”

Sang Chen cupped his hands together nervously: “Many thanks, Miss.”

Waiting till after he sat down, Ran Yan raised her brows slightly, serenely watching his helpless expression, after a long time passed only did she open her mouth and said: “Mr Sang coming to look for me, what is the matter?”

Sang Chen felt that the favour he was requesting was a little inconsiderate, just as he did not know how to ask, he heard Ran Yan bluntly opened her mouth and enquired, he hesitated slightly and said: “This lowly one and Miss have only met four times and exchanged a few sentences, this lowly one came here to ask Miss for your assistance, it really is rude…”

“Wait.” Ran Yan interrupted his words, “You said four times?”

Aside from when she went to view the flowers and enquired about the ink stone, Ran Yan could not think of where else she had seen him.

Sang Chen said shyly: “That time when you rescued Zhou Lang, this lowly one spoke two sentences with Miss.”

Ran Yan knitted her elegant brows, the scene of that day suddenly flashed by in her mind’s eye: On the bridge, she grabbed a young man, the young man anxiously saying: “This Miss, please stop pulling this lowly one, saving a life the most urgent!”

When she buried the boy to save his life, a rather dumb[3] young man asked: “Didn’t we say that San Lang could still be saved? Why are we burying him?”

“You never went into the city.” Ran Yan voice was flat, it was not a question but a statement.

Sang Chen explained awkwardly: “On that day, it was only when I ran to the stable that I realised that I did not know how to ride a horse, so I…”[4]

“Let’s get down to business.” Ran Yan rubbed at her aching temples, this Sang Chen really was unable to stay on topic. He clearly had been talking about something when she branched off topic, but he diligently ran along with her topic instead. Ran Yan wondered, if they continued getting side-tracked, would he remember his original purpose of coming here.

Sang Chen quickly collected his train of thought and recalled what he wanted to talk about, before saying: “Someone asked me to write a plaint[5]. Coincidentally, the person who died was my schoolmate at the state school, so I couldn’t decline. Unfortunately there is no evidence, if I wrote a plaint without any proof supporting it, I’m afraid the local authorities would just ignore it, so I… don’t know if Miss… knows how to perform autopsies?”

Autopsies, Ran Yan’s fingers trembled, she could not be more familiar this task, the feeling of looking for the cause of death from a cadaver, suddenly surfaced in her heart, she felt that some part of her that had been dead, came alive again in a flash.

Even though her emotions were in turmoil, Ran Yan’s face remained serene and cold, but Sang Chen saw that she did not speak for a long time, thinking that she did not agree, quickly said: “I also know, this matter is difficult[6], after all things like autopsies and such, is a dishonour to Miss’s status, but coroners from the prefecture office will not casually help outsiders…”

“You’re a attorney[7]?” Ran Yan was rather amazed. Attorneys were equivalent to lawyers, and helped to defend the plaintiff or defendant and write plaints, these types of people had to have their own set opinions and have a clear view of rules, be articulate, think critically, and investigate from every aspect the accuracy of the standpoint they expounded. Someone like Sang Chen who liked to run along with other people’s topic, his words lacking focus, could actually become an attorney?

“What is an attorney?” Sang Chen asked blankly.

Ran Yan abruptly realised, the Tang Dynasty probably did not have this occupation, thus did not reply him, silently considered the matter.

It must be said, Sang Chen was quite good at finding people[8], Ran Yan was a veteran well-known for criticising the forensic community, but any body that landed in her hands, would be dissected, leaving no secrets behind. The key point was that she did not need to help.

Sang Chen looking at Ran Yan’s appearance with furrowed brows while lost in thought, his heart could not stop holding a thread of hope, he really did not have any other solutions, he remembered that Ran Yan could revive the dead, her medical skills should be excellent, investigating a person’s cause of death should not be a problem for her right? But, if she could revive the person it would be even better…

Even if Ran Yan reincarnated ten times, she still would never have guessed the naive thoughts Sang Chen had at this moment.

However, she would not be interested in knowing anyway, “You know how to make ceramic?”

Sang Chen did not know how this related to examining cadavers, but still honestly replied: “Making ceramic is a craft handed down from my ancestors, naturally I would also know how to do it.”

Ran Yan nodded her head in understanding, looking at Sang Chen, she unhurriedly said: “I can help you examine the cadaver, but you need to promise me three things. One, no one is allowed to see me. Two, my identity cannot be revealed. Three, you have to craft something for me.

Seeing the craftsmanship of the Dengni ink stone, and the degree of meticulousness involved, Ran Yan guessed that Sang Chen’s craftsmanship in making ceramic should be outstanding.

“Of course!” Sang Chen face filled with joy, “My schoolmate’s family is quite wealthy, they would not want to advertise this matter as well, and have already bribed all the guards at the mortuary, we can go there anytime. Regarding crafting something, its even less of a problem.”

Ran Yan nodded, “You mentioned that he was a schoolmate from the state school, could it be that case from Cai Xiu House?”

“Miss has also heard about it?” Sang Chen was quite astonished, he though that the Seventeenth Miss Ran was a noble lady that never left the house, they were also not in the city, who would imagine that a case that just happened yesterday, she would already know about it today.

Ran Yan directly ignored his question, indifferently said: “Tomorrow I will follow you into the city to examine the body, the ceramic I want you to make is also urgently needed, I hope that you can finish it within the day.”

“I will do my best…” Sang Chen’s face contained a little hesitation, making an ordinary ceramic, the production, drying, adding glaze, firing (in a kiln), cooling, and you need to consider what type of ceramic to make, even if he worked without pause, he would still need two days to half a month, if it was a more complicated/refined piece, it would be difficult to complete even within a month.

“Don’t try, you must do it. I’ll help you examine the body, you’ll help me make the ceramic, it’s a business transection. I guarantee that there will not be any problems, shouldn’t you also guarantee the speed and quality?” Ran Yan did not know how many days was needed to make ceramics, and she also did not want to force people to do something out of their ability, but the lives of Miss Yan and the others were in imminent peril, especially Zi Xu, further delays would mean death, “The ceramic I want, only the shape is unusual, about the thickness of a thumb, hollow, and there needs to be an inner container that fits perfectly in the middle, no need for decorations, it just needs to be able to contain liquid to deliver medicine… making this thing, what is the minimum amount of days needed?”

Sang Chen thought for a while and said: “If the weather is good, and I use my family’s secret technique to dry it, it is possible to complete it with a day.”

“Good, I will give you a detailed drawing later.” Ran Yan sighed a little in relief, the stone in her heart was let down by half, next there is only the needle left, such a fine hollow needle, where does she have to go in order to find it?

This half-month would definitely be extremely busy, but to the workaholic Ran Yan, this does not count as anything, the thing that made her head ache the most was the marriage talks between the Ran and Qin families.

Remembering the expression Ran Wen had when looking at her, as if he was extremely satisfied with her appearance, if placed on a normal person, they definitely would want to marry their daughter to a family with higher status, she’s afraid that Ran Wen was not an exception, but according to the way Ran Wen treated mother, Ran Yan towards this short-sighted father did not dare to harbour any hope, what if the Qin family gave some big benefit, adding to that his second wife’s pillow talk, he would sell her.

Fourth Master Qin’s dissoluteness became second nature, his temper was fickle and violent, Ran Yan was really afraid that one day she would commit murder to silence him.

T/N: haha Ran Yan you’re too impatient, Sang Chen was only replying your questions, it’s not really his fault that you went off topic…

My exams are coming up soon, but I have a few chapters backed up so I will continue to release them, but I probably won’t be able to proofread them like I usually do before posting. So there might be more mistakes >.<

[1] 心意: regard / kindly feelings / intention. The phrase “this is a little of my regards” is commonly used when giving gifts.

[2] 有心: literally meaning he has a heart.

[3] 二: Two. But it’s also slang for “stupid” in Beijing.

[4] Sang Chen refers to himself as “this lowly one” the entire time, I’m just lazy to keep using it and it sounds awkward in English anyway.

[5] 讼状: probably means plaint (a statement in writing of grounds of complaint made to a court of law and asking for redress of the grievance)? I’m not too good with these jargon/terminology and it’s hard to judge what is an accurate English equivalent when you don’t know anything about law.

[6] 强人所难: it’s more like he’s saying that he’s forcing her to do something she is unable or unwilling to do

[7] 讼师: Baidu says that it means “a person who helped people with their lawsuits. [Archiac] refers to people who helped people who were fighting lawsuits and wrote plaints for a living.” some translation websites say that it means shyster/legal pettifogger, but it doesn’t sound right to me. I think it more likely to mean solicitor or attorney (lawyers who manage the day-to-day administration of the lawsuit and support barristers in court).

[8] meaning he is good at finding the right person for the job