Situ Linâs eyes widened when he heard that. âWhat?! Su Xi-er?!â His heart felt stifled. If itâs Su Xi-er, then itâs all over for me! The Imperial Household Department will investigate the death of a court lady, and my Imperial Uncle will find out that I left the imperial palace to play. Commandery Prince Xieâs protection wonât mean anything if someone has died!
The civilians reported to the authorities that someone had fallen into the water, and that their body had yet to be found. Shortly after, the bailiff runner arrived and ordered the crowd to disperse before diving into the water to search for the body.
Situ Lin was still stunned, and didnât even realise when a bailiff runner walked up to instruct him to leave the area.
The bailiff runner thought that he was just a young master who liked to have fun, so he spoke louder, âYoung Gentleman, please leave and stop obstructing our investigation.â
âNo, I have to see if it was Su Xi-er!â Situ Lin raised his voice with determination in his eyes.
When the bailiff runner heard his pleas, he immediately understood that the woman who fell into the water was linked to the young master in front of him. âAlright then, you stay here and donât hinder us from fishing out the corpse.â
Situ Linâs legs trembled when he heard the word âcorpse,â praying that it wouldnât be Su Xi-er.
Situ Lin, Tan Ge and the imperial guard waited by the lake and watched as the bailiff runners fished for the corpse. They continued until the County Magistrate had arrived, but still didnât find anything.
He had been waiting in the County Magistrate Office for a report, but when nobody had come back even after an hour, he had decided to come over himself. When he saw Situ Lin, his body trembled. Isnât that His Majesty?
As the County Magistrate of the capital, he had been invited as a guest to last yearâs New Yearâs banquet. There, he had been fortunate enough to catch sight of the Emperor.
The County Magistrate immediately walked towards Situ Lin and bowed. âThis humble official pays his respects to Your Majesty.â
Situ Linâs expression changed. Someone recognised me! Will they tell my Imperial Uncle? He shuddered when he thought of this, but his expression didnât change. He raised his hand slightly to signal for the County Magistrate to get up. âThose subordinates under you are so slow at fishing out the body.â
The County Magistrate didnât dare to be careless and hastily replied, âThis humble official will go and urge them to hurry.â After that, he immediately got up and began to personally instruct the bailiff runners by the lake.
All of the bailiff runners became more meticulous in searching; some even started using fishing nets.
âWhen this humble official heard that it was a woman who fell into the water, I thought that it may have been a woman troubled by love who decided to commit suicide.â
Situ Linâs expression became solemn. âIt wouldnât be such a big deal if it was just a regular civilian!â
When the County Magistrate heard this, he felt as if there was a rock weighing on his heart. Could it be a woman from the imperial palace?
âQuickly find the body; this Emperor is waiting for an answer. If it is Su Xi-er, this Emperor will be in trouble.â
I canât believe there is a woman who would be able to get His Majesty into trouble. The County Magistrateâs brows tightly furrowed together. He turned around and watched as his subordinates continued to look for the body.
At this moment, the commoners who stood further away from the lake started shouting, âThe soldiers are here!â
Situ Lin heard them clearly. The civilians didnât yell âimperial guardsâ or âbailiff runnersâ; they said âsoldiersâ! The only ones who can be called soldiers are people from the army! Has Imperial Uncle left the army barracks? Is he passing by this place?
Tan Ge also became anxious. I hope that nothing happened to Su Xi-er, but that woman just said that the woman who fell into the water wore a similar dress as me. Suddenly, she felt anxiety gnawing at her heart.