After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 490: A Discovery

The thing wrapped inside fell to the ground.

When the magistrate saw the human skin clearly, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise again.

Perhaps fearing that people would come looking for him, he forcefully covered his mouth with his hand until his entire face turned blue and purple before carefully letting go.

"Is no one coming?"

"Don't worry, this is a secluded place we deliberately chose; no one knows about it."

Upon hearing Lin Rusi's words, the magistrate breathed a sigh of relief and struggled to grab the piece of skin before quickly throwing it into the abandoned well.

He still felt it wasn't safe enough, so he used a lot of effort to smash the bucket into the water before walking back to Lin Rusi with a smile.

"What's wrong with the magistrate? Why is he so nervous?"

"I don't know what I did to provoke a group of assassins. A few days ago, I almost had my neck slashed by someone with the same mark."

To make it believable, he even touched his neck and forcibly scratched a faint mark with his fingernail.

Lin Rusi noticed the subtle movement, but pretended not to know anything and continued to ask what she wanted to know.

“I just returned from that mountain today, intending to find you, when I saw you unconscious in the room, with a strange-looking person standing next to you.”

"Strange appearance? What kind of strangeness?"

Lin Rusi paused as if she was thinking about something, and after a while shook her head to indicate that it wasn't strange, but rather that her attire was too secretive.

"The man was wrapped up very tightly and was holding a pill in his hand. Before I could even see him clearly, I realized we were trying to escape."

"Are you alright? Those thieves really went too far. It's one thing to attack me, but they even dared to harm the Crown Princess."

No, not at all.

Lin Rusi waved her hand to indicate that she was not injured, then sighed and looked towards the mountain once more.

"I did not see the Crown Prince on this trip, and I do not know where he has hidden."

"Still haven't found the Crown Prince? I thought you came back to find him."

Noticing that the magistrate's expression had finally changed, Lin Rusi was not too excited, but instead revealed a hint of distress that was not easily detected.

After pausing for a while, he then recounted his discoveries in the mountains.

"I didn't find him, but I did find some traces of him. Knowing that he is still alive makes me content."

"Madam is truly open-minded. If it were me, I'm afraid I would never have come out now."

Upon hearing this, Lin Rusi lowered her head in silence, as if she were troubled by something.

But she didn't say it in the end, and instead turned her gaze back to the well that was not yet completely dry.

"Actually, I made some other discoveries on the mountain, but I can't say more about them now."

"Madam, can't you even trust me? Could it be an extremely dangerous being?"

Lin Rusi pretended to be scared and shrank her shoulders, trying her best to control her breathing, but even so it still took her a long time to adjust her facial expression.

"Knowing too much will only put you in a more dangerous situation. Magistrate, you just need to protect yourself for now."

"Where is Madam going now? Is she going to hide here and recuperate?"

Ignoring the magistrate's question, Lin Rusi pushed open the door and got into the carriage that was already waiting at the door.

The magistrate stood at the door watching their figures disappear. His expression changed rapidly. He glanced around and then rushed towards the county government office alone.

He was so focused on running that he didn't even notice the figure following behind him.

By the time people realized something was wrong, they were already standing at the entrance of the government office.

The magistrate suddenly turned his head to look at the still empty street, then slowly raised his hand and knocked on the door in a special rhythm.

After knocking several times, the door was finally opened from the inside.

The bailiff poked his head out and, seeing his master standing panting at the door, dared not delay and immediately escorted him into the room.

The next instant, another figure followed them in, moving slowly and unhurriedly in a position unnoticed by the two.

Even so, the magistrate stayed in the room for a long time, changed his clothes, and then came out.

Without pausing for a moment, he left directly from the back of the government office, slipped into a small alley, and quickly pushed aside the clutter to reveal a deep, dark opening.

The guards standing at a distance saw a solid wall and immediately realized that it was a secret passage that had been deliberately hollowed out, so they did not impulsively follow them in.

However, in order to prevent the other party from escaping, they still found a tricky angle to look at the sparks inside.

Once they were sure there was another path ahead, the guards quickly followed.

I don't know how long I ran, but I finally heard two voices.

"You broke your promise to me. Why was I in such danger? Others have already broken into my house."

"The magistrate can't speak recklessly, after all, our agreement didn't include protecting your house."

"That's sophistry!"

The other man ignored him and stared directly at the magistrate.

Perhaps his gaze was too intimidating, for the magistrate said nothing more, only muttered a few words in a sullen tone, before turning his head to look in the other direction.

"Forget it, if I'm ever in danger again, you won't be able to protect yourselves either."

"Do whatever you want, but we can take care of you."

Unexpectedly, the magistrate hesitated for a long time before finally turning around and leaving.

The mysterious person also disappeared not long after the other party left, which gave the guards the opportunity to quickly retrieve a ledger that was hidden deep inside.

"This thing should be useful."

To avoid being discovered, he casually picked up a blank notebook from his hand and put it aside. With a slight movement, he put some things back in their original positions.

He discreetly walked back to the side courtyard and placed the book on the table.

"This is one of them."

"One of them?!"

Lin Rusi casually flipped through a couple of pages, her face growing increasingly gloomy, and she slammed the ledger in her hand onto the table.

Before the guards could ask any questions, they heard another cold laugh.

"I really didn't expect this person to have so many things. I'm afraid there will be more trouble later."

"Then what should you do now? After all, with so many things, I'm afraid..."

"Only the Crown Prince can handle this. It would be easy for a woman like me to gossip if I were to interfere in such matters."

Unexpectedly, Lin Rusi thought of these things, and the guard wanted to say something else. As if he had heard something, he frowned again.

But she didn't say anything more. Instead, she went straight into the room and gently wiped the sweat from her face with a towel.

"He should wake up soon in this state."

“But we can’t wait long here, so you…”

Lin Rusi looked at Li Jingyang, who seemed to be fast asleep, and raised her hand to pat his firm chest.

"Cough cough!"

With a cough, her face, which had finally regained its rosy hue, turned deathly pale.