Chapter 80 Pursuit
It was not yet dark when Yue Ke felt that Gumei had been out for too long. Could it be that the Crown Prince had returned? Had Gumei stayed in the study?
Although Yue Ke felt it was not appropriate to act rashly at this moment, why they had come to the Crown Prince’s Mansion was crystal clear to both Yue Ke and Gumei.
Anxiety and unease made Yue Ke very anxious. She went out several times but did not see any trace of Gumei.
Moreover, Yue Ke noticed that the inner courtyard of the Crown Prince’s Mansion was oddly tense. All the attendants were extremely cautious, and it was impossible to get any information from them; even those who were not so cautious knew nothing at all.
After several turns around the inner courtyard, with the sky gradually darkening, there was still no news of Gumei. Yue Ke gritted her teeth and headed towards the door leading from the inner courtyard to the outer courtyard. But who would have thought that she would be stopped in her tracks, as the guard at the door refused to even give her a chance to explain.
Yue Ke began to feel restlessness inside, yet no matter how much she thought about it, she believed that Gumei shouldn’t have met with trouble, or maybe...
"Help—someone has fallen into the river—" Just then, a female servant’s shrill scream came unexpectedly. Before Yue Ke had time to react, guards were already running towards the road in front of Yue Ke, which she vaguely remembered led to a small lake that seemed to be an extension of Siyan Lake from the front courtyard. It was not very large, covered by lotus flowers over much of the pond.
More and more people headed towards the lake in front of her. Yue Ke did not want to get involved, but she couldn’t shake off a feeling of nagging unease, and involuntarily followed the crowd forward.
Three or four guards had already jumped into the lake and were wading towards the center of the chest-deep water. Yue Ke suddenly spotted a familiar color in the middle of the lake, and stumbled, quickly grabbing the chain of the floating bridge to stabilize herself.
"It’s a female servant—" People exclaimed in horror, as the guards were getting closer to the figure in the greenish-blue clothing.
"It truly is a female servant—" The crowd murmured among themselves, and as the guards neared, they scooped up the person from the lake and hoisted her onto their shoulders. Yue Ke’s heart gave a violent leap, and she felt as though she forgot to breathe, fixating on the clothing that matched her own. Before the thought could even fully form in her mind, the crowd erupted in an outcry.