Chapter 59: One Shall Not Covet A Friend’s Wife.

“Hey, hey! Don’t get the wrong idea!” Pei Hantang was quick to clarify: “I already know that you should never covet your friend’s wife! Look at your intimidating eyes, tch, tch. Stop, I already feel a chill go down my back, it’s creepy.”

Gu Heyan: “…..”

Pei Hantang took a steamed bun from the white porcelain plate on the table, took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and finally said: “Yesterday, a female corpse was found in the outskirts of the City.”

Gu Heyan frowned: “A female corpse?”

“That’s right,” Pei Hantang continued. “The wounds on her body are exactly the same as the ones your little Gongzi mentioned to me last time. It’s really strange. I, Pei Hantang, have lived for more than 20 years and never in my life have I ever seen anything like this.”

Then, Pei Hantang told Gu Heyan that Mu Zhiming wanted to help with the investigation of the case.

“Hmm?” Pei Hantang smiled. “Even after I had come all this way here just to tell you the good news, shouldn’t you treat me to a drink?”

Gu Heyan didn’t understand: “What do you mean?”

“Oh, my good brother! How can you be so clueless?!” Pei Hantang, realizing that rotten wood is difficult to carve, explained: “Join the investigation of the case! This way, you’ll be able to meet your precious little Gongzi every day! Sigh, anyway, I have already allowed outsiders to step in to solve the case, only you are missing! In any case, if you two met each other’s eyes every day, you will be inseparable from each other, now and forever! Meaning that I would have done a great service to mankind!”

Gu Heyan: “……”

After putting the last bite of the steamed bun in his mouth, Pei Hantang concluded: “In the afternoon, don’t forget to come and find me at the Capital Prefecture.”

Gu Heyan: “Mm.”

—

At the agreed hour, as soon as Mu Zhiming and Wen Heyin stepped inside the Yamen of the Capital Prefecture, they saw Gu Heyan standing there with an upright posture.

“Heyan?” Mu Zhiming was surprised to see him here. “Why are you here?”

Gu Heyan was a bit hesitant: “I….”

Overhearing the conversation, Pei Hantang approached in a few steps and explained: “Since the Capital Prefecture is handling several important cases at the moment, we’re short of personnel. So I asked Yuyi for help.”

Mu Zhiming was full of doubts: “Since there aren’t enough people in the Capital Prefecture, you asked….a first-rank Military Official of the Imperial Court, the Great General Yulin….for help?”

“Lord Mu’s remarks are mistaken.” Pei Hantang reached out and wrapped his arm around Gu Heyan’s shoulders to say: “This isn’t about official titles! This is actually what you call a ‘deep brotherly affection’!”

Mu Zhiming was a bit worried: “But, the wound on Heyan’s arm had just healed, and he returned to the Capital to recover. If he overworks himself….”

Pei Hantang waved his hand: “Precisely because his wound has healed, there is really no need to mention it again. As for his recovery, Lord Mu may not understand, but this man is unable to sit still. He likes to move, to stretch his muscles and bones. Am I right, Yuyi?”

Gu Heyan: “….Mm-hmm.”

For some reason, Mu Zhiming felt an emptiness in his heart. Mu Zhiming whispered: “Then, only I was worried….”

Right as Mu Zhiming talked, a coroner dressed in coarse linen clothes quickly approached from the back of the main hall: “Greetings to all the Lords.”

“Have you come to a conclusion?” Pei Hantang asked.

The Coroner hastily nodded his head and replied: “I ask the Lords to listen to me carefully.”

“This woman was strangled to death, and the front of her body was burned. Most likely to prevent the victim from being recognized, the culprit severely burned her face. This can be noticed because she has no significant burns on other parts of her body besides her face, only slight burns. In addition to this, noticeable strangulation marks can be seen on her neck.”

“The woman’s hands had calluses and long fingernails. But her hands don’t appear to be from the type of lady who did housework, so she must have been a singer who was good with the pipa1 or perhaps the zither2.”

“Another important thing I found is that there were drug residues in the whipping wounds on the woman’s back.” The Coroner hesitated for a moment, but then continued: “It’s some kind of….aphrodisiac drug….must, it must be that the drug was originally placed on the whip to make the drug penetrate the skin through the whipping.”

Pei Hantang pondered: “Hmm, actually, I have heard of these strange fetishes before. So, could it be that the woman died by accident while having fun with others?”

Wen Heyin was puzzled: “What’s a fetish? What kind of fun?”

Pei Hantang painstakingly replied: “Little one, this world is too complicated. Don’t ask questions about things you don’t understand.”

“Are you alright?” Gu Heyan’s voice was suddenly heard.

When Pei Hantang and Wen Heyin heard Gu Heyan’s voice, they turned around, only to see Gu Heyan frowning as he stared at Mu Zhiming.

As for Mu Zhiming, he had his eyes glued to Wen Heyin with a pale face and his shoulders shaking slightly.

Although Mu Zhiming had vaguely guessed what Wen Heyin might have undergone in his previous life, when he heard the Coroner’s description, Mu Zhiming felt as if a blunt knife was cutting into his internal organs.

“Young Master.” Concerned, Wen Heyin quickly approached Mu Zhiming to take a closer look at him. With an anxious voice, Wen Heyin asked: “What’s wrong with you? Ever since you woke up from yesterday’s lunch break nap, you have been acting strange. Are you feeling unwell?”

Mu Zhiming contained his emotions as best he could, smiled, and reached out to pinch Wen Heyin’s cheek: “It’s nothing, I’m fine. I’ll just rest early tonight.”

“Hiss.” Wen Heyin suffered the pain from the pinching, rubbed his cheek, and felt more at ease.

Pei Hantang brought back the topic of the case: “Since the victim was a girl who played the zither or the pipa, it seems that it’s necessary for us to go to Kangping House.”

Wen Heyin asked: “What’s Kangping House?”

Pei Hantang smiled meaningfully: “Little one, you’ll know if you go with me.”

Footnotes

琵琶 pí pa ; Chinese lute, with 4 strings, a large pear-shaped body and a fretted fingerboard. Looks like THIS . 筝琴 zhēng qín ; A musical instrument consisting of a flat sounding box with numerous strings placed on a horizontal surface, played with a plectrum or fingertips.