CHAPTER 592: CHAPTER 388: FEMALE CLOTHES FLOATING CORPSE_2

Ge Lan spoke softly, "My reputation isn’t worth much, but Sir Li, please consider your father."

After speaking, she swiftly pulled back her hand while he hesitated, shifted her position, and stood beside Xiao Song and Ran Yan.

Li Dejian really felt like killing someone. He, who had always moved effortlessly through myriad admirers, had never faltered! There were plenty more beautiful than Ge Lan, readily available at his call, but somehow, the more he looked at Ge Lan, the more appealing she became.

As more and more people started paying attention to this situation, Li Dejian couldn’t find the words to speak, yet he was unwilling to let Ge Lan go. Li Dejian also realized that the couple, Xiao Song and Ran Yan, were really too unscrupulous, not just ordinarily so; they disagreed to go boating and were in no hurry to leave, which was infuriating. Worst of all, they stood by without offering a single word to smooth things over!

Liu Qingsong and Cheng Huailiang squeezed through the crowd as well, with Cheng Huailiang exclaiming, "Why are you so slow!" Upon seeing Xiao Song and Ran Yan, he immediately paid his respects properly.

Li Dejian, seeing Liu Qingsong, as if seeing reinforcements, quickly pulled him aside and whispered, "Qingsong, Jiulang isn’t staying, help a brother think of a solution."

Cheng Huailiang busied himself with pleasantries, "Lady, my beloved wife is also here today, would you like to meet her?"

Cheng Huailiang seemed very pleased with Princess Qing He, thus he particularly cherished her, and although the marriage was not yet officiated, he was eager to call her his wife. This wasn’t considered frivolous, as the imperial decree was certain, making the marriage almost set in stone.

Li Dejian silently praised him, "What a good brother!"

"Not today, I have some matters to attend to," Xiao Song ruthlessly refused again.

Xiao Song had once spoken to Ran Yan about Li Dejian. But Ran Yan remained neutral about the matter. Li Dejian already had a fiancée, and they were to be married this year. His pursuit of Ge Lan as a concubine bothered Ran Yan somewhat, but since Ge Lan was a native of Great Tang, she might not feel aggrieved. Ran Yan would not interfere in Ge Lan’s marital affairs.

Liu Qingsong told Li Dejian, "Brother, let me tell you from years of experience, this couple is tough, you might as well give up. Ever since we were kids, when did we ever outsmart Jiulang? His wife may look delicate, but she’s no easy opponent, let’s find another way."

"Go on; I must be going ahead," Xiao Song bid his farewell with a bow.

Li Dejian, seeing that Ge Lan didn’t even glance at him, felt a bitterness in his mouth and said melancholically into the spring breeze, "Once upon a time, my father immediately charmed my mother... My mother eloped with my father, creating a beautiful tale."

"But Dejian, I’m a straightforward man, let me tell you the truth, you must not be your mother’s biological child," Cheng Huailiang said.

"You’re the one who’s not your mother’s biological child!" Li Dejian retorted, hitting him on the forehead with a fan.

Although Li Dejian was also quite handsome, compared to Li Jing’s handsome and bright appearance, and compared to the stunning Lady Hongfu, he indeed hadn’t inherited his parents’ good features, otherwise, he too might have been an enchanting beauty.

"Come on, let’s go, stop looking. She’s not yours to watch," Liu Qingsong tugged at him.

"You all brought your fiancées, what am I supposed to do there!" Li Dejian shook off Liu Qingsong.

Liu Qingsong gathered his sleeves and said, "It’s not like you don’t have one. If you didn’t bring it yourself, whom can you blame?"

Li Dejian glanced at Ge Lan’s retreating figure and said, "If my fiancée were like that, I would take her everywhere with me."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard Cheng Huailiang shout loudly, "Hurry, go save someone!"

Ran Yan and Xiao Song had not yet squeezed out of the crowd when they heard Cheng Huailiang’s booming voice, causing them to stop in their tracks and look back.

Many people ran towards the riverbank with Cheng Huailiang leading the way.

Ran Yan squinted towards the blue surface of the lake, where she noticed a patch of white—a person lying face down. "That man has been dead for a while."

Xiao Song paused for a moment, instructed a few guards to protect Ran Yan, and said, "I will go take a look."

This was not within his jurisdiction but, as the Assistant Minister of Ministry of Justice, if a fatal incident occurred right under his eyes and he did not even take a look, it would inevitably give rise to criticism.

Ran Yan watched Xiao Song’s figure and instructed Wan Lu, "Go to the carriage and bring him the anti-contamination pills."

Realizing it would take a while for them to come and go, Ge Lan fetched a stool for Ran Yan to sit and rest for a moment.

"Lady, how did you know that it was a man?" Ge Lan had strained her eyes and could barely make out a person clothed in white lying face down on the water surface, unable even to determine if it was a man or a woman at first glance.

"It has to do with the structure of the human body. When a person dies, gases from decomposition form inside the body. Since men are generally broader at the top and narrower at the bottom, this causes their center of mass to lean towards the front, which is why male bodies in water often appear face down. Women, on the other hand, have a wider pelvis, which shifts their center of mass backwards, usually resulting in a supine position in water," Ran Yan explained in simple terms, whether Ge Lan understood depended on her comprehension.

"Do only people who have been dead for a while float?" Ge Lan looked up and saw Cheng Huailiang had already entered the water and dragged the person ashore, but he himself was crouching by the shore, vomiting.

"Yes." Ran Yan looked towards where the body had floated from. Nearby, there was a shallow sandbank dipping into the water, covered with reeds, through which the body could have drifted. Moreover, the drift had not been long since, moments earlier, when she was admiring the landscape, there hadn’t been anything on the lake’s surface.

Given the past few days’ temperatures, Ran Yan estimated that the person had been dead for at least four days. Perhaps if the temperature hadn’t risen rapidly today, accelerating the decomposition of the body, it might have taken even longer for the body to surface.

After a while, Xiao Song returned and stood a few steps away from Ran Yan, saying, "The body is badly decomposed, dressed in women’s clothing, but upon examination, just as Lady said, it was a man. I might have been contaminated with the smell of the corpse, so I’ll stand here for a bit."

"Was it Liu Qingsong who examined the body?" Ran Yan asked.

Xiao Song apologetically said, "Yes. Someone has already reported it to the authorities. In a while, the Government Office will send people over. I’m afraid I can’t leave just yet. Lady, please visit Qingyin Temple another day."

"That is only appropriate." Ran Yan, always prioritizing her duties, naturally understood Xiao Song. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)