Her head hurt.
That was the first thing Iris felt when she regained consciousness.
Before the pain fully settled, sharp shouting exploded in her ears.
"It was her! Su Mo pushed Cui'er into the water! A life for a life!"
Su Mo?
Iris forced her eyes open, enduring the splitting headache. Confusion flashed through her mind.
Who was Su Mo? Were they talking about her?
Before she could make sense of the chaos around her, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside her head.
[System activated. Binding complete.]
[Welcome to the Great Yan Dynasty. Current identity: Su Mo, eldest daughter of the Su household in the capital.]
[Main quest: Assist the Seventh Prince, "Prince Chen," in becoming the Crown Prince.]
[Time limit: None.]
[Failure penalty: Permanent confinement in this world. Return to the modern era will be impossible.]
Iris frowned and pressed her fingers to her aching temples.
So she had transmigrated.
And she had become this unfortunate girl named Su Mo.
Prince Chen? Who was that supposed to be? And she was meant to help him become Crown Prince?
She didn't even know if she would survive the next few minutes.
"Guards! Drag this murderer out and beat her to death!"
Seeing her remain silent, the stepmother assumed she was terrified. A flash of vicious intent crossed the woman's eyes—she wanted to silence her immediately.
"Wait."
Ignoring the pain in her knees, Iris forced herself to stand.
Since she had become Su Mo, she had no choice but to survive.
Her instincts as a forensic doctor kicked in at once. The panic drained away, replaced by cold clarity. Even her presence shifted.
"You say she drowned?" Iris asked calmly.
"Everyone saw it!"
The stepmother pressed a handkerchief to her nose, pretending to sob. "Poor Cui'er died such a miserable death!"
The corpse had already been carried ashore.
As the river water receded, mud clung to the hem of the girl's skirt and her wrists like stains that would never wash away. The onlookers instinctively stepped back, whispering words like "drowned," "ill-fated," and "bad luck."
Iris lowered her gaze to the corpse's face—then to her hands.
—Too clean.
If she had truly struggled in the river, her hands would not look like this.
An answer was already forming in Iris's mind, but she didn't speak yet.
In this era, one wrong sentence could cost her life.
She took a slow breath.
"If I'm wrong," she said evenly, "I won't walk out of here alive."
Her eyes flicked to the handkerchief in her stepmother's hand, and she looked away in disdain.
Too soft.
She needed something hard.
Iris quickly scanned her surroundings. The servants only held rough wooden sticks—not suitable.
Then her gaze stopped at the very edge of the crowd.
A young noble stood there.
He wore a moon-white brocade robe. Even amid the chaos and filth, he looked impeccably clean. Most importantly, he was lazily fanning himself with an exquisite folding fan.
Perfect.
Without hesitation, Iris strode forward. Before anyone could react, she snatched the fan straight out of his hand.
"Borrowing this."
The white-robed noble froze.
He stared at his now-empty hand, then at the disheveled woman before him. That fan was a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, worth a fortune. And he had a severe aversion to physical contact—especially from strangers.
This was the first time anyone had dared to touch his belongings in public.
His guard's hand had already moved to his sword, but a single glance from the noble stopped him.
He wanted to see what she intended to do with that fan.
The next second, his composure nearly collapsed.
The woman crouched beside the corpse and, without the slightest hesitation, shoved his priceless fan straight into the dead girl's mouth—using the handle to pry open her clenched jaws.
"You—"
The noble finally spoke, his voice laced with undisguised shock and disgust.
"Shut up. Watch," Iris snapped, not even turning her head.
The crowd erupted.
Had Su Mo gone mad? She actually dared to shout at someone who so clearly looked untouchably noble?
"The oral cavity is clean."
Iris used the fan handle to press down the corpse's tongue, clearly displaying it to everyone.
"No mud. No water plants. If she drowned, water would have rushed into her throat."
She then lifted the corpse's hand with the fan.
"Look closely. The fingernails are clean. A drowning person claws desperately at their surroundings in their final moments. There would be mud or fabric fibers under the nails."
Straightening, Iris delivered her conclusion.
"She was already dead before being thrown into the water."
She turned around and casually tossed the fan—now smeared with saliva and mud—back to its owner.
"Thanks. A bit flashy, but it worked."
The noble instinctively caught it. When he saw the unidentified grime on the fan, his face darkened instantly.
Worked?
"Woman," he said through clenched teeth, his low voice rich and dangerous, "do you have any idea how much this fan is worth?"
Iris didn't spare him a glance. She turned to face her stepmother, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"This was murder. Someone killed her and staged the scene to frame me."
"Since a life is involved, this is no longer something family punishment can resolve."
She raised her voice, each word ringing clearly.
"This is a homicide. It must be reported to the authorities immediately."
The stepmother's face drained of color. Panic flickered in her eyes.
"Nonsense! Family shame must not be aired in public! Report it? For what?"
"Family shame?"
Iris let out a cold laugh and suddenly pointed toward the white-robed noble.
"Mother, there is an outsider present."
"This young master is clearly someone of status. He has witnessed this case with his own eyes. If we handle it privately… wouldn't that make him an accomplice as well?"
She met the noble's gaze, a glint of cunning flashing in her eyes.
"Young master, wouldn't you agree? You wouldn't want to be dragged into a murder case you can't clear your name from, would you?"
The noble laughed in disbelief.
What a sharp-tongued woman.
Not only had she ruined his fan, she was now using him as leverage.
But seeing the stepmother's panic, he understood enough.
There was indeed something rotten in the Su household.
Snapping the filthy fan shut, he spoke calmly. Despite his disgust, his tone carried an invisible pressure.
"Indeed. Since a life has been lost, if the matter is not reported, it would be quite troublesome for me as a witness."
The stepmother collapsed into her chair.
Iris finally let out a breath.
She had survived.
As for who the owner of that fan was… she didn't care.
As long as he helped her stay alive, he was a perfectly useful tool.