Chapter 398: Chapter 254: The Mysterious Mother and Daughter
Just as Ran Yan had scheduled, the facial reconstruction was completed the following afternoon. Without the ans to apply pigntation, Ran Yan was forced to forgo it, instead sketching the likeness of the deceased based on the reconstruction.
Outside, a rustling snowstorm was underway. Ran Yan leaned over the desk, her brush giving life to the image of a woman in her early twenties on the paper before her, her features gentle and round with the delicate beauty of a young lady, yet her hair was styled in an extravagant half-flipped bun, creating a sowhat dissonant appearance.
Xiao Song stood by her side and saw her set down the brush before shifting his attentive gaze to the paper. At a glance, he was slightly surprised, “This lady…”
“Is there sothing amiss?” Ran Yan rarely saw such a natural expression on his face and couldn’t help but ask with curiosity, “Have you t her?”
After a mont’s pause, Xiao Song replied, “No, when I was capturing Dou Chengfeng, I found out he was staying in a lady’s house, and that woman looks quite similar to the one in your drawing, at least sixty percent, except there’s an age difference.”
“Could they be sisters?” Ran Yan suggested.
Xiao Song shook his head, “I’m guessing they are mother and daughter. The lady is thirty-eight, still quite charming, with a red mole near the corner of her eye. She also admitted to having an affair with Dou Chengfeng.”
“Then her daughter…” Ran Yan frowned. The mother had relations with Dou Chengfeng, and yet the daughter went on a countryside outing with him. What did this imply? Did Dou Chengfeng have that kind of relationship with both mother and daughter?
It seed Xiao Song was thinking along the sa lines, “This young lady is around twenty, the age when one would normally be married with children. If she had a husband, her lengthy disappearance should have led soone to report it to the officials, yet not a word ca from her mother about her missing, which is quite peculiar.”
The whereabouts of the other two remained as elusive as ever, their fate unknown without a single clue. Xiao Song had already ordered thorough searches of all possible leads and had scrutinized every place they might have gone, all to no avail. Fortunately, Dou Chengfeng had finally regained consciousness, and under Xiao Song’s relentless interrogation, had revealed the identity of one other person.
“According to Dou Chengfeng, he knew that another young lord was called Yu Lang, reportedly very handso, with a sowhat debauched deanor, and a friend of He Yan. However, when I had people inquire, those familiar with He Yan claid they knew no one by the na of Yu Lang,” Xiao Song paused before continuing, “I suspect he’s the son of a high-end brothel, and I’ve sent people to investigate.”
The identities of the remaining individuals were clear: the humble scholar He Yan, nineteen years old, without any titles, and the natural son of Dou family, Dou Chengfeng, styled Yu Rong, as well as the enigmatic Yu Lang known only by na.
Xiao Song’s suspicion was not without reason. Despite Chang’an City’s vastness, the records of households, including those of the brothels and pleasure quarters, were all accounted for. It was only a matter of ti before Yu Lang’s identity would be uncovered.
“If He Yan and Yu Lang were friends, is it possible that they worked together to commit murder and then fled out of fear of the cri?” Ran Yan asked while making final adjustnts to the portrait.
Xiao Song, observing her graceful, fair neck against the contrast of her black hair, which shone like warm jade, felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. He was indeed moved at the mont, but he did not wish to disturb the tranquil and beautiful atmosphere, simply watching her in silence.
Ran Yan put down her brush and, seeing that he had not replied for quite so ti, couldn’t help but turn to look at him, “What’s with the silly smile?”
Xiao Song was always composed and efficient, and this was the first ti she had caught him with such an expression. Caught red-handed, he could only clear his throat and in a matter-of-fact manner continued in response to her question, “There is a very strong possibility in what you suggest, because Dou Chengfeng said he had drunk a lot of wine and used opium, which left his mind unclear. When he awoke, he found himself unconscious in the woods, thinking his companions had played a trick on him, so he walked back to the city. But after hearing about the case, he feared becoming implicated and hid in the house of his paramour.”
His statent was full of doubts. If it was so simple, why did he need to hide? Could he hide for a lifeti if he could hide for a mont? He took his lover’s daughter out for a trip outside the city and lost her on the way back, yet the woman did not inquire about her own daughter’s wellbeing and even helped him cover up?
The truth was certainly more than this…
Both Xiao Song and Ran Yan thought so. There were many possibilities in their minds, but no evidence to prove any of them. They could only verify and exclude them one by one.
“How is the County Princess Wenxi’s situation?” Ran Yan was concerned about this woman who bore a fifty to sixty percent resemblance to her own appearance and had endured a tragic experience, especially since she might have a personality disorder, which further piqued Ran Yan’s curiosity.
“County Princess Wenxi disguised herself to go out that day and visited a very small temple to the east of the city, where she did nothing more than draw fortune sticks,” Xiao Song picked up the portrait from the desk and looked at it over and over, lavishly praising, “Your artistry is truly ingenious, perhaps the best in the Great Tang!”
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