Geschichte über einen Ehemanndiebstahl

Kapitel 116

Duan Chen gently shook his head and said slowly, "I can't quite put my finger on it. I just feel like something's not quite right."

Zhao Ting and Chu Hui studied the matter for a while after hearing this, but still couldn't find anything. Zhao Ting frowned and looked up at Duan Chen: "These women are all quite good-looking." If they had to find something in common among the deceased, this would be it.

Zhan Yun was also a little confused: "But she can't be called pretty." She could only be described as average-looking, with two of them barely qualifying as pretty. The prettiest one would have to be Yang Xiaoru.

Duan Chen nodded. What he said was true. He stared at the two women's faces for a while, but still couldn't grasp the thought that had flashed through his mind earlier.

After leaving the coroner's office, the four of them washed their hands with some well water in the courtyard. Duan Chen took the handkerchief handed to him by Zhan Yun, then looked at Chu Hui and smiled, praising, "It seems you've made a lot of progress in the past year. In a few more days, you'll be ready to graduate."

Chu Hui pursed her lips, her hand hidden in her sleeve clenching quietly. After a long while, she asked in a low voice, "Brother Duan, do you still stand by what you said back then?"

Duan Chen was slightly taken aback, then smiled faintly again: "What I said goes. But are you sure that's the life you want?"

Duan Chen's phoenix eyes were exceptionally bright, and when he focused on someone, they shone with a clear, radiant light. He had lost some of his former aloofness, but gained a calm and composed demeanor that had matured over the years. Chu Hui was startled by his focused gaze. After a long pause, she nodded blankly, unsure of what she had said: "I... I want to follow Brother Duan and adventure together in the martial world..."

Zhao Tingjian frowned, his expression darkening. He glanced at Zhan Yun, as if to say, "You're not going to get involved in this?"

Zhan Yun's gesture of waving his folding fan remained unchanged, and he shook his head calmly. He believed that Duan Chen knew his limits in such matters.

After examining the body, the four returned to the room that Li Qinglan had ordered to be cleared out to review the case files and organize clues. Zhan Yun sat to the side, her hand resting on the back of Duan Chen's chair, gently fanning her with a folding fan, and asked in a low voice, "Don't you feel stuffy changing back into men's clothes?"

Men's clothing differs from women's in summer, and Duan Chen, in order to avoid revealing her female identity, had wrapped several layers of fabric from her chest to her back, making it even more difficult to feel a stuffy feeling in her chest. Although the fabrics Qin Qin had found for her before she left were soft and breathable, they couldn't be too thin, otherwise they wouldn't be effective.

This was something Duan Chen couldn't possibly tell Zhan Yun, so he always assumed Zhan Yun was unaware of it. Hearing Zhan Yun's question now, he didn't think much of it, simply shaking his head and smiling slightly, "It's alright."

Unexpectedly, when the other two weren't paying attention, Zhan Yun quickly whispered in Duan Chen's ear, "It's even hotter here than in Suzhou. We'll go stay at an inn later. Take off those layers of cloth. It'll be dark, no one will notice, it's okay." Besides, with him by her side, nothing would go wrong.

Duan Chen felt her cheeks flush instantly, and she turned to glare at him with wide eyes. Zhan Yun, however, remained calm and composed, looking at her with a smile in his eyes, and said softly, "Why don't you change back into women's clothes?" He was mainly worried that she would get too hot, especially since investigating cases during the day was so tiring; what if she got heatstroke?

Duan Chen's cheeks burned, and he frowned as he looked to the other side. He knew in his heart that he couldn't have found out from Qin Qin; the only remaining possibility was... he figured it out himself. Duan Chen couldn't help but purse his lips in annoyance. Why did he have to look so closely at something like this!

Because Chu Hui didn't know martial arts, she couldn't hear the conversation between the two. Diagonally across from Zhao Ting, she was looking down at the files, pretending not to notice the commotion, but her fingers were trembling slightly as she turned the pages, though she tried her best to appear natural.

Zhan Yun, mindful of the other two people in the room, didn't say anything more, only his smile deepened. He thought to himself that this girl was indeed a bit naive in this regard. They sat so close every day, occasionally holding hands and stealing a kiss when no one was looking; how could he not notice something extra on her? Besides, he'd seen her in women's clothing more than once; the difference in that area was quite significant…

Author's Note: There will be an update tomorrow at 9 AM!

Wednesday night, the snow made my throat itchy; Thursday morning, my throat hurt.

By Friday morning, I could no longer speak and had a terrible headache.

So many people have caught colds and coughs lately, everyone please take care. Being sick is so hard to bear, sob sob~

Ahem, also, did you guys find these two chapters boring? I noticed there were very few comments on the previous chapter.

The plot of the previous and current chapters was a bit bland, but it still laid the groundwork for clues and explained the development and changes between the characters.

I've tried my best to make it more appealing. The next few chapters will feature a steady stream of veteran characters, making it quite lively.

Those who wanted to see Zhou Yufei suffer and get trapped can now get their wish!

Also, has anyone guessed what Duan Chen found awkward about the deceased's face in this chapter?

102

Chapter Six: Eyebrow Painter • Plum Blossom...

The sun was setting. A light drizzle began to fall, washing the bluestone path until it shone brightly, reflecting a long, pale orange shadow.

Duan Chen lifted the curtain and jumped down from the carriage. A paper umbrella quickly opened above his head. Zhao Ting handed the umbrella handle to Duan Chen, his deep voice revealing a hint of gentleness: "The rain is heavy, you should use the umbrella."

Duan Chen thanked them and didn't refuse further. The group followed the constable waiting at the alley entrance, quickly walking deeper into the alley. The whole day had been uneventful until about a quarter of an hour ago when someone reported to the government office that a woman's corpse had been found in a small alley in the east of the city, said to have been strangled. Duan Chen, the other two, along with Jiang Cheng and Chu Hui, then got into a carriage and rushed over.

Upon arriving at the location, they discovered that "Drunken Beauty" was right across the alley. Since they were already quite familiar with each other, the constable led the way while shaking his head and smiling wryly: "The person who found the body was the owner of 'Drunken Beauty.' It's quite a coincidence, really. This Ms. Zhu was involved in both cases early last year, and now she's caught up in this unlucky case again..."

Duan Chen recalled what Jiang Cheng had told him during the New Year: Zhu Qiaolian had become engaged to a scholar from the same city and taken over the rouge shop business from her aunt. She and Zhu Fanghua worked together seamlessly, one managing the internal affairs and the other the external affairs, making "Drunken Beauty" a resounding success. Hearing the constable mention "boss," Duan Chen couldn't help but ask, "Boss Zhu is married?"

The constable chuckled and nodded, "Yes, it happened at the beginning of this month, and it was a great success! The banquet alone had thirty-five tables! Everyone in the neighborhood was invited, and even our Lord Li received an invitation." He then winked at the others, "You all know Lord Li's temper; in the end, not only did he not go himself, but he also forbade his men to go..."

The group of men simultaneously recalled the scene of Li Qinglan stroking his beard and sternly reprimanding the officials, and they couldn't help but chuckle. As they spoke, the group reached the corner of the alley and saw three constables standing in a circle, each holding an umbrella to prevent the body from being soaked by rain and thus damaging the evidence.

The alley corner was already narrow, and with everyone huddled together, it felt even more cramped. The three constables with umbrellas managed to clear a small space for Jiang Cheng to squat down and examine the body, but the rest couldn't squeeze in.

Duan Chen frowned: "Leave this to Mr. Jiang and Chu Hui. We can just transport the body back to the government office later." Then he looked at Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun: "Let's go to Zui Zhu Yan."

Everyone nodded. Originally, they had planned to see Jiang Cheng's preliminary test results before going to Zhu Qiaolian to inquire about the situation. However, the current circumstances didn't allow for this, so this was the only way.

The shop was supposed to close in the evening, but because of the murder, and Zhu Qiaolian happened to be the first to discover the body, she couldn't go home directly. She could only stay at the shop and wait for the government officials to come and question her.

When Duan Chen and the others put away their umbrellas and came in, Zhu Qiaolian was holding a bowl of hot tea and sipping it slowly. She was still trying to remain calm, but her bluish fingertips were trembling slightly. When she looked up and saw who it was, Zhu Qiaolian was first stunned. At first, she opened her eyes wide in disbelief, but then she showed a happy smile: "Young Master Zhan."

Zhu Qiaolian hurriedly put down her teacup, stood up and greeted the group, giving a graceful curtsy: "Greetings, esteemed gentlemen."

Zhao Ting raised an eyebrow, seemingly having grasped the situation, and his gaze towards Zhan Yun held a hint of teasing. Duan Chen, however, seemed oblivious, returning the greeting calmly, "Boss Zhu."

A maidservant brought over several chairs from the back, and the group sat down. Zhao Ting asked in a deep voice, expressionless, "Boss Zhu must have been quite frightened. Why haven't any of your family members come over?" According to the constable, they were clearly newlyweds! The case has already reached the government office; their family should have received the news by now. Why haven't they shown up for so long?

Zhu Qiaolian smiled gently and said, "My aunt hasn't been feeling well lately. I told my staff not to tell them what happened. Anyway, it's nothing serious. After telling you what I saw, Bi'er and I will go back to the manor."

Duan Chen had been silently observing the other person's expression, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but frown: "Does Boss Zhu mean that you've discovered some clues?"

Zhu Qiaolian smiled slightly, ignoring Duan Chen, and looked at Zhan Yun with some shyness: "I'm just a woman, I don't know anything about clues. But that lady is a regular customer of our shop, she even bought a box of lip rouge from me yesterday."

The maid standing to the side nodded in agreement. Zhu Qiaolian frowned slightly, her expression somewhat puzzled: "This is rather strange... I remember that this Madam Ye once said that her face was slightly wide, and that she needed to draw her eyebrows with a defined arch to look good. Although she really liked willow-leaf eyebrows and had tried them more than once, they just didn't suit her, so she had to give them up with a heavy heart... But today, when I saw Madam Ye's face, her eyebrows were drawn in the shape of willow-leaf eyebrows..."

Duan Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly realized what was wrong when he examined the bodies yesterday! The eyebrows—every victim's eyebrows were the same! Regardless of face shape or hairstyle, whether it suited them or not, every woman had the exact same willow-leaf eyebrows. After strangling them with cloth strips, the killer didn't just comb their hair and straighten their clothes; most importantly, this person had drawn eyebrows for each victim!

Thinking of this, Duan Chen couldn't help but scrutinize Zhu Qiaolian and Bi'er's eyebrows. Zhu Qiaolian was already beautiful, with an oval face, a small pointed chin, and light peach-pink cheeks. Her beautiful eyes were extremely charming, and her arched eyebrows were delicate and slightly raised, exuding a hint of sharpness amidst her gentleness. Bi'er, standing beside her, was also very pretty, with arched eyebrows, though not exactly willow-leaf eyebrows.

Seeing that Duan Chen seemed to be staring at her features, Zhu Qiaolian turned her face slightly away, her expression becoming somewhat indifferent. Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting had both noticed the change in Duan Chen's expression earlier and knew that she must have discovered some clues, but since there were still outsiders present, they didn't say anything.

Zhan Yun then asked several more questions related to the case, which Zhu Qiaolian answered carefully. As they were talking, they heard hurried footsteps outside, followed by a panting young man rushing in. He wore a square scarf around his head and a light jacket, dressed like a scholar. His robe was splattered with mud, and his shoulders and back were half-soaked by the rain. A few strands of hair clung to his cheeks, making him look extremely disheveled, yet his features were remarkably handsome.