The coroner and the concubine doctor pursue the murderer in the Dali Temple

Chu Yunxi picked up the handkerchief and wiped her mouth before getting out of the carriage. They were now at the entrance of Sishui Lane, which was quite narrow and the carriage couldn't get in, so they had to walk in.

Chu Yunxi held Xiao Mubei's hand and jumped off the carriage, taking out her autopsy tools. The alley had been sealed by the Dali Temple, and the people in the alley were also prohibited from entering and leaving. Chu Yunxi looked over from the alley entrance and saw that the body was lying not far from the alley entrance. At the door of a house a little further in, a plump woman was crying out, "Ma Mingxuan, you damned bastard, how could you be killed like this? How are we going to live..."

Chu Yunxi asked the constable standing guard nearby, "Is that the deceased's wife?"

The constable nodded and whispered, "The place where the woman was was the home of the deceased Ma Mingxuan. He was killed at the door of his own home."

Chu Yunxi was shocked. Was he killed at his doorstep?

Before she could think too much, Chu Yunxi had already arrived next to the deceased. She squatted down to check on the deceased, only to see him lying in a twisted position, covering his neck with his hands. Both hands were covered in blood, his eyes were wide open, looking in the direction of the door, his face full of fear. On the ground in front of his body was splattered blood. As rigor mortis had already set in, Chu Yunxi took some effort to remove his hands. After removing them, Chu Yunxi saw that the deceased's carotid artery had been cut by a sharp blade, and the wound was very thin but very deep.

"The deceased is a male. Based on the livor mortis and body temperature, combined with the current temperature, the preliminary judgment is that the time of death is between 1:00 am and 1:00 pm today. The cause of death is that the carotid artery was cut by a sharp knife. Whether there are other scars on the body needs further inspection. The murder weapon is suspected to be a blade as thin as a cicada's wing. The murderer was very quick and cut the deceased's artery in an instant. Since the blood splattered on the ground, I judge that the murderer should have been standing on the right side of the deceased. The two were walking towards each other. After cutting the throat of the deceased, the murderer left immediately, so there may not even be blood on his body. This technique is quite skillful."

Bai Yu wrote down everything Chu Yunxi said. After Chu Yunxi finished the inspection, she stood up, took out a body bag and asked the constable to put the body in it and take it back to Dali Temple. The woman cried even harder and wanted to rush out of the door, but was stopped by the constable outside. He said that the outside was the crime scene and she could not come and go at will for the time being. The woman fell to the ground crying and asked, "Where are you taking him?"

Chu Yunxi stepped forward and said softly, "Don't worry, we are just taking your husband's body back to the Dali Temple for a detailed examination, and then we will return it to you so that he can rest in peace."

The woman cried, "Girl, who killed him? And why did they kill him right in front of his house, making him unable to return home? I beg you to find the murderer and redress his injustice."

"We will do our best," Chu Yunxi comforted, "but if we want to catch the murderer quickly, we still need your help."

The woman wiped away her tears and said, "If you need any help, just tell me."

Chu Yunxi asked, "Is your husband's name Ma Mingxuan?"

"Yes, his name is Ma Mingxuan, he is 35 years old this year, my name is He Cuilian, I am 29 years old, and we have a 12-year-old son. He hasn't woken up yet, and I really don't know what to tell him." He Cuilian sobbed again.

"Does your husband have any enemies?"

He Cuilian thought for a while and shook her head. "My husband looks tall and strong, but he is actually very timid. He doesn't even dare to quarrel with others, so how can he dare to offend others?"

"Then who do you think will kill him?"

He Cuilian suddenly became embarrassed, and after a long while she said, "My dead man usually likes to go to brothels. Since I am too busy after giving birth, I have always turned a blind eye to it. I just made a rule for him that no matter how long he hangs out outside, he must come home to stay. That's why he rushed home so late this morning. I just didn't expect..."

Seeing that He Cuilian was about to start wiping tears again, Chu Yunxi hurriedly asked, "You mean, he just came back from the brothel this morning?"

"Eighty percent yes."

"Who was the first to discover his body?"

"It was me," He Cuilian was still frightened when she thought of the scene in the morning. "I accidentally fell asleep last night, and when I woke up this morning, I found that the damned guy had not returned home all night. I was furious at the time, thinking that he did not abide by our agreement and stayed overnight in the brothel. I planned to go to Fenglai Tower to look for him while my son was still asleep."

Chu Yunxi interrupted He Cuilian and asked, "Do you know he is in Fenglai Tower?"

"If he did go to a brothel last night, he must have gone to Fenglai Tower. He has recently fallen in love with Miss Caifeng from Fenglai Tower. I don't know how much silver he has given her."

"How do you know so much? If you know everything, why do you still let him go to the brothel and spend money?" Chu Yunxi was extremely puzzled.

He Cuilian sighed, "Girl, you are still young and don't know these rules of husband and wife. In fact, families like ours are not well-off, and usually we don't have concubines, but it is common for men to have three or four wives. If he doesn't bring his wife home to make you upset, why bother about him doing so much outside? As long as he doesn't starve us, he can do whatever he wants. Sometimes I even wish he would go to a brothel to relieve his sexual desire, so as to save me from being tortured."

Chu Yunxi opened her mouth wide and looked at Xiao Mubei. Xiao Mubei had been listening to Chu Yunxi's questions beside her. Seeing Chu Yunxi looking at him, he nodded, proving that He Cuilian was right. This was how this era was.

Chu Yunxi was speechless. What an evil old society. What kind of thinking is this?

"Let's continue talking about this morning."

He Cuilian wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief, and then wiped her nose, and then continued: "I got dressed and prepared to go out to Fenglai Tower, but as soon as I opened the door, I saw a person lying not far away. I was startled. It was not yet completely light, and I couldn't see clearly, so I slowly walked to the person. It would have been fine if I hadn't looked, but when I saw him, I was almost scared to death. This person... turned out to be Ma Mingxuan. I almost fainted at the time, but thinking that the murderer was most likely hiding nearby, I held on and didn't faint. I stumbled to the street and saw the patrolling constables, so I reported the case."

After telling this story, He Cuilian let out a long sigh. Chu Yunxi felt that she was not that sad about Ma Mingxuan's death.

"Okay, He Cuilian, once the Dali Temple has finished the autopsy, they will send Ma Mingxuan's body back. Remember not to leave the capital recently, and be careful when you go out, understand?"

He Cuilian nodded blankly. Chu Yunxi and Xiao Mubei ordered a few constables to guard both ends of the alley and then left Sishui Lane.