Chapter 111: Dead? Alive?

When heading to Liu Chunlan’s house, Ma Bing couldn’t help but sigh.

Xie Yu knew immediately that the girl must have felt sympathy once again.

Before he could speak, Ma Bing said, “It’s not that I’m recklessly being compassionate, I just have some thoughts. I find it tragic how in this world, a sinner can become a Buddha the moment he lays down his butcher’s knife, yet ruining a good person only takes a few words.”

The less one possesses, the more one tries to display.

Since Wang Xiuxiang had fabricated rumors about Liu Chunlan having an affair, it actually proved that Liu Chunlan was an extremely virtuous and well-behaved woman.

Xie Yu completely agreed.

It’s like when a bad person does one good deed by chance, outsiders are inevitably deeply impressed and praise him for turning his life around. But if a good person unintentionally does one wrong thing, or even not a wrong thing at all, just that the outcome fails to meet others’ expectations, people will feel extremely disappointed, thinking, “How could this person be like this? They’ve obviously given up on themselves!”

During the daytime, Bianliang city was very prosperous. The two rode their horses, temporarily silent, looking down at the bustling crowd passing by.

The expressions on everyone’s faces were vivid and varied: envy, happiness, anger…

They saw children standing in front of sugar figurine stalls, unable to take a step away; women haggling fiercely with vendors over saving just a few coins; roadside fortune tellers stroking their goatees, half-closing their eyes while calculating for clients with their fingers…

Sunlight from the south slanted through the clouds, creating countless giant beams of light that wrapped everyone in a hazy golden outline. Voices from all directions surged in like a tide, tightly enveloping them, creating a momentary illusion of being inside a flowing painting.

But as they passed through the noisy crowd, those waves of clamor seemed to roll off like water droplets after coming ashore, gradually fading away.

Liu Chunlan’s house was on the outskirts of Bianliang. It was about a ten-minute walk to leave the city, but even so, she was still considered a “city dweller” envied by those living outside the city walls.

The surrounding residents were all ordinary people like her, running small businesses or working for others, busy every day, and by year’s end, having saved just three or five taels of silver would make them very happy.

Compared with the spacious and open buildings inside the city, this area’s homes were clearly narrower and longer, and the layout was more compact.

As a result, the road between two rows of houses and the drainage ditches on both sides were very narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. No carts could pass through, and even adding one more person would require sidestepping to make room.

Xie Yu and Ma Bing stopped to take a look, then turned around and found a small restaurant, paid a small fee to leave their horses there.

Before leaving, Ma Bing specially warned the big black horse not to fight or bite other horses’ tails.

The big black horse casually shook its head.

It heard, it heard—both ears heard.

No matter how many times he saw the interaction between the girl and the horse, Xie Yu found it amusing.

After leaving the horses, the two walked deeper into the alley.

Because the drainage ditches on both sides were narrow, the water didn’t drain smoothly. Although it had been several days since the last rain, there was still some standing water on the ground.

The sun was nearly overhead. Nearly half the area beneath the south-facing wall remained in deep shadow. Moss quietly spread from the corners that never saw sunlight, green so dark it was almost black.

The air was filled with a faint strange smell from the mixture of sewage, oil stains, and leftover food scraps. Sensitive-nosed Ma Bing couldn’t help but sneeze twice.

As Xie Yu was just about to take out his handkerchief, his foot suddenly slipped. He inwardly cursed, quickly dodging sideways.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The bricks, long unrepaired, looked flat on the surface but concealed countless hidden traps. As he stepped down, the other end of the stone brick suddenly lifted up with a “pop,” splashing up dirty water.

Despite his quick reflexes, the corner of his long robe was still caught by the black water splash, leaving a noticeable stain.

Xie Yu froze in place.

Ma Bing looked at him with deep sympathy.

At that moment, a man carrying buckets of swill came from the other end of the alley. From a distance, he shouted, “Hey, move over, move over~”

Before the words ended, the two immediately retreated neatly against the wall, instinctively holding their breath, pulling their chins back, like lizards turned immortal.

The man glanced at them and muttered something as he walked away.

The two vaguely heard, “…wearing long robes here… must be crazy!”

Xie Yu: “…”

Ma Bing: “…”

Hey bro, can’t you see that’s official attire?!

Considering that after the incident with the oil vendor, Liu Chunlan might be more cautious and unlikely to open the door for strangers.

And if they directly revealed their identities, they couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t try to escape.

So the two first went to find the neighborhood head.

For easier management, each street in these residential areas would regularly elect a neighborhood head, usually an elderly person respected and capable locally, responsible for daily policy communication and organizing various matters.

If there were disputes in a family, he would also help mediate.

Based on what Wang Xiuxiang and the neighborhood head said, Liu Chunlan’s husband would go to a grain shop in the city during the day and return only in the evening. During the day, only she, her in-laws, and child were at home.

If someone knocked on the door, Liu Chunlan usually answered.

The neighborhood head knocked on the door, and sure enough, a woman in her thirties responded, but she didn’t rush to open the door.

“Who is it?”

The neighborhood head mouthed silently to Xie Yu and Ma Bing, “Liu Chunlan.”

“It’s me, Old Han from Erxi’s family. Open the door.”

Liu Chunlan’s husband was nicknamed Erxi, so the locals called her “Erxi’s wife.”

Hearing it was the neighborhood head, Liu Chunlan had no doubt and quickly came to open the door. But when she lifted her head, she saw the neighborhood head standing behind, and in front were two unfamiliar young men and women.

Old Han looked past their shoulders at Liu Chunlan and said, “Erxi’s wife, these two officials have something to discuss with you. You talk, I’ll go first.”

He often dealt with lower-level officers and knew their authority, so he dared not ask more questions and left immediately.

But he couldn’t help thinking inwardly that this family were all honest people—could they have committed a crime?

As soon as Liu Chunlan saw Xie Yu’s official robe, her face turned pale.

So fast?

Looking past Liu Chunlan’s shoulder, Ma Bing saw a child playing alone in the courtyard and lowered her voice, saying, “You know why we’re here. Cooperate and don’t make a scene that scares the child.”

Liu Chunlan’s lips trembled a few times, suddenly her eyes reddened.

She bowed to Ma Bing and pleaded, “Sir, please, please let me go in and say something first. The lunch isn’t ready yet…”

There was no back door here, and the walls on both sides were high. As a woman, Liu Chunlan couldn’t possibly run away.

So Xie Yu nodded, “Go ahead.”

Liu Chunlan quickly wiped her eyes, turned inside, hugged and kissed the child, then went into the house to kowtow to her in-laws, said a few words, and came out quickly.

“Let’s go.”

Xie Yu looked inside and saw the two elderly people pulling aside the curtain and coming out, staring at them in confusion.

“Chunlan…”

On the way back, Liu Chunlan remained quiet, neither resisting nor struggling, and didn’t even ask how the authorities found out.

Back at the yamen, she straightforwardly confessed everything.

“…The place where this humble woman lives is not very close to the market or shops. During busy times, I don’t have much chance to go out, so peddlers would come to our house every few days with their goods.

This peddler was called Gao Kuaitui, and he came almost every month. Sometimes when he got tired, neighbors would invite him in to rest and offer him a bowl of water.

And if he saw someone struggling, he would occasionally help fetch water or chop firewood…”

Because they were familiar with him, Liu Chunlan had no suspicions at all.

“Those days were very cold, with snow still on the ground. This humble woman saw that Gao Kuaitui’s face was pale from the cold, and his pants had snow stains, as if he had fallen, so I invited him into the courtyard to rest and boiled hot water to warm him up.

At that time, my husband was working outside, and the elderly and child were inside the house. I was squatting down picking thread, when suddenly he grabbed me from behind!”

At this point, Liu Chunlan’s whole body trembled, her face filled with intense anger.

At that moment, she felt as if she had been hit with a heavy stick, her blood rushing to her head.

She never imagined that a decent man, a decent man who was even somewhat shy and timid normally, would do something so despicable to her!

Coming to her senses, Liu Chunlan pushed Gao Kuaitui away, but he was a man after all. With one arm, he lunged again, flipping her over and pinning her to the ground.

Gao Kuaitui’s mouth kept burrowing into her neck, his hot, smelly breath hitting her face, making Liu Chunlan both ashamed and furious, almost vomiting.

“You’re a good person. I know you’re affectionate, not as rough as my wife. Such delicate skin… With your husband always away, you must be lonely…”

Liu Chunlan was furious, and somehow found the strength to kick Gao Kuaitui in the abdomen.

Gao Kuaitui cried out in pain as he fell backward, and with a “thud,” his head hit the wall hard, sliding down like a pile of noodles, motionless.

Liu Chunlan frantically adjusted her clothes and backed away.

Inside the house, her mother-in-law heard the noise and asked through the window, “Chunlan, what was that sound?”

Liu Chunlan quickly replied, “Nothing, I just accidentally knocked something over. It’s cold, don’t come out.”

The elderly woman didn’t suspect anything and even said, “We’re out of red thread at home. Ask Gao the peddler to give you a couple more spools when you see him. We’ll need them for the festival.”

Liu Chunlan responded with an “Okay,” still shaken, she looked over and was shocked to see Gao Kuaitui lying sideways on the ground, not moving at all!

He looked… like he was dead.

She was terrified, her mind went blank, until her husband Erxi returned and she finally came to her senses.

She threw herself into Erxi’s arms, tears streaming down, trembling as she told him everything. Erxi was both angry and scared.

Angry that Gao Kuaitui could have such disgusting thoughts; scared that if this man died here and they reported it, would the authorities and neighbors believe them?

The two didn’t know what to do when they saw the “corpse” move. Then with a loud gasp, the peddler, who they thought was dead, suddenly came back to life!

It turned out that Gao Kuaitui had taken advantage of the man’s absence and momentarily had evil intentions. But now, opening his eyes and seeing Erxi glaring at him with a shovel, he immediately became cowardly, hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly, begged for mercy, and then fled in panic.

Liu Chunlan continued, “Originally, I thought the matter was over, but a few days later, a man came with Gao Kuaitui’s satchel, saying he had died in an inn. We were afraid of going to jail, so we gave him some silver, and he promised to cover for us.”

Xie Yu asked, “When Gao Kuaitui left originally, were you sure he was moving normally? Later, the innkeeper said he died, did you personally see the body?”

Liu Chunlan nodded and carefully recalled, “At the time, Gao Kuaitui seemed a bit dizzy. Oh, right, he ran out a few steps and seemed to vomit a few times, but he looked like he was fine.”

After confirming there was nothing missing, Liu Chunlan continued, “As for the body, this humble woman didn’t see it. My husband went to the inn with the innkeeper, and when he came back, he told me there was indeed a man’s corpse.”

Ma Bing carefully asked about Gao Kuaitui’s condition and said to Xie Yu, “It might be internal bleeding in the brain, which can indeed be fatal in severe cases. However, it’s best to have Master Zhang, the coroner, go with us to examine the body and check for any other fatal injuries.”

After all, Gao Kuaitui didn’t die on the spot at Liu Chunlan’s house. He went to other places afterward and several days had passed.

If the bump at that time wasn’t fatal, there might be other causes of death. Or maybe the innkeeper heard some complaints from Gao Kuaitui, saw that he had those valuables, and out of greed, killed him and framed them…

Xie Yu nodded and immediately ordered someone, “First, go bring Erxi back for questioning to confirm the location of the inn.”

The officers obeyed and left.

Xie Yu then asked Liu Chunlan, “Are you certain that your husband identified the corpse as Gao Kuaitui? Did he carefully check the face and confirm that he was indeed dead?”

Liu Chunlan was taken aback, “This…”

She really hadn’t asked carefully.

At the time, she was already so frightened that she couldn’t think clearly. When her husband told her there was indeed a dead body, she instinctively believed it must be correct, so how could she have the presence of mind to think of anything else?

Moreover, since then, Gao Kuaitui indeed never came again, which only confirmed that he must have died, right?