Taken as dead

Mother Qui felt  really bad when Li Li came looking for her, she has been keeping a low profile these days after her son ran away from the village. A few weeks ago when the village head Gu came looking for her and asked her if a mer from her family was missing or not, she has simply refused saying that nothing of the sort has happened because she wanted to keep the matter of her son running away hushed up. 

If the villagers found out that she couldn't even keep a mer in control then how shameful it would be for her? This was why she kept her mouth shut and asked her family to do the same.

No one has said anything to anyone in the village and she too has told everyone that her son went to live with one of her relatives. Everything has been taken care of carefully by her and her family, so how come, the village head Gu was calling for her now?