Chapter 492 - Chapter 492: Chapter 499: Discovery Made (1/2)
Chapter 492: Chapter 499: Discovery Made
Qi Yun felt a shock run through him as he heard his subordinate’s report and immediately stepped forward to take the embroidered shoe from the secret guard. Under normal circumstances, Qi Yun wouldn’t have paid much attention to such details, since focusing on the Mistress’s personal items would be a disrespectful act. However, the scene from yesterday was imprinted deeply in his memory, vividly recalling every detail, even though he had been somewhat far away and hadn’t seen it clearly. But he remembered that the colors of the Madam’s shoes were exactly like this one.
“This is indeed the Madam’s shoe,” Qi Yun affirmed the moment he took the embroidered shoe, for the needlework on it was done by embroiderers trained by Su Wenyue. Though he, a man, didn’t know much about needle and thread, their usual attire came from the Han Family’s embroidery room, where similar stitching was common. For secret guards like them, keen eyesight was essential. Moreover, finding such a shoe in this deserted place at the bottom of the cliff, Qi Yun almost immediately concluded its owner.
Having confirmed that the embroidered shoe belonged to Su Wenyue, it was evident that she had indeed fallen into the lake. Qi Yun promptly sent a few brothers who were proficient swimmers to search the lake’s depths, while the others began a thorough search around the area where the shoe had been found.
Regrettably, despite searching for half a day, they found nothing aside from that initial shoe. The secret guards skilled in water searched the lake several times over to no avail.
“Captain, your subordinates have thoroughly searched the bottom of the lake several times and are certain there’s no trace of the Madam,” they reported.
Qi Yun was unsure whether to take this news as good or bad. It might be good news, since she hadn’t sunk to the bottom of the lake. Perhaps the Madam really could swim and had made her way to shore and left, or perhaps…
“Captain, could the Madam still be alive? She’s so kind and such a chaste and virtuous woman — maybe Heaven couldn’t bear to take her and gave her a way to survive.” No one wanted to entertain dark thoughts. As long as there was no body, there was hope.
“Perhaps,” Qi Yun voiced, sharing the same hope. After surveying the nearby terrain, he traced the lake’s outlet to a river. If the Madam did not know how to swim and had lost consciousness, could she have drifted away with the river?
This was the most plausible guess, and having thought of it, Qi Yun immediately led his subordinates to follow the river, searching not just along the riverbank but considering the possibility that Su Wenyue might know how to swim. They searched nearby villages and forests, taking care not to overlook anything.
“We must search meticulously, not overlooking any trace or clue!” Qi Yun admonished again. The team he led consisted of ten people, himself included, making eleven in total. Given the vast range surrounding the river, finding one person was indeed no simple task, which was why Qi Yun was so concerned.
“Master, someone is coming?”