I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

The government sent someone to notify the family.

Yang Tongchuan was directing his men to escort the prostitute and her pimp back to the yamen, while the bodies were temporarily stored in the yamen's morgue.

Back at the yamen, Constable Wang summoned Yang Tongchuan.

"Tongchuan, this matter is related to the Lin family. If you're feeling uncomfortable, I'll give you a few days off so you can go back and spend some time with your husband."

"It's alright, Officer Wang, so much time has passed. Besides, I just took leave recently, if I take leave again, the brothers will have something to say."

"Sigh, Tongchuan, if you're feeling uncomfortable, be sure to tell your older brother. I'm sorry for what happened with the Lin family."

"This isn't Wang's fault. I'm doing just fine now, and my baby is due in the first month of the lunar calendar."

"Alright, you can go and get busy then. I can't really deal with that shopkeeper myself. Go tell the men not to make things difficult for him."

"Understood, I'll take care of it right away."

Yang Tongchuan first went to the prison cell to explain the things that Constable Wang had arranged.

The innkeeper would at most pay a fine and receive a few symbolic lashes before being dismissed.

If that prostitute can't pay the fine, she'll be in big trouble. Besides being flogged, she might also get her face tattooed.

After handling everything, he was supposed to be off duty when he unexpectedly ran into Lin, the head镖师 (bodyguard), who had come to identify the body—his former father-in-law—on his way out.

Since his daughter divorced Yang Tongchuan, Lin, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), moved his entire family to the next town, and even moved his镖局 (bodyguard/escort agency) there.

Both sides felt awkward after meeting.

Yang Tongchuan first took him to see Constable Wang.

Lin, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), explained the whole story.

After divorcing Yang Tongchuan, Lin Yujun married Dong Xingzhi in the Northeast.

However, Lin Yujun couldn't stand the climate outside the Great Wall, and she wasn't used to the food either.

She didn't stay long before returning to her parents' home with Dong Xingzhi's caravan.

Dong Xingzhi felt sorry for her, so he let her stay at her parents' home, while he himself traveled back and forth between the two places.

Dong Xingzhi returned this time because he had acquired a batch of furs from outside the Great Wall.

I wanted to bring them back and sell them while the road was still easy to travel.

Then, we need to import another batch of tea and silk to take to the area outside the Great Wall, making money from both ends.

"He told his family a few days ago that he was coming over to discuss business with merchants. It's normal for buying and selling to take ten days to half a month, so we didn't pay much attention. We only found out that something had happened when the government came to our house to look for him."

Lin, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), still didn't know how his son-in-law had died; he simply believed that he had been murdered for money.

Yang Tongchuan and Constable Wang exchanged a glance, realizing something was wrong: when they searched Dong Xingzhi's belongings, they didn't find any large sums of money, and the innkeeper didn't mention that he was staying at the inn with goods.

It's important to know that these large inns have dedicated warehouses to store goods for merchants.

Where did the goods go? And where did the money go?

"Chief镖林, your son-in-law is a traveling merchant, why doesn't he bring an attendant with him when he goes out?"

"His henchman fell ill and is still lying at home. This shipment is urgent, so he came out on his own."

"Tongchuan, take your men and investigate the whereabouts of Dong Xingzhi's goods immediately."

"Yes." Yang Tongchuan accepted the order and left.

He knew that the reason why Officer Wang didn't say the following words to Chief Escort Lin in front of Yang Tongchuan was to save face for his old friend.

When Yang Tongchuan went to investigate in the west of the city, he passed by the house and made a point of going in to say hello, telling her that he had a case to handle that day and would be back late.

"Don't save me any food, and don't wait for me. Go to sleep early." Yang Tongchuan said goodbye to Xiangxi. He didn't know how long he would be busy tonight.

When Yang Tongchuan returned home,

It was already the second night, and his beard had grown back.

After he finished showering and shaved his beard, Xiangxi had already brought him the dinner she had saved for him into the room.

Come and eat!

Today at home we had braised small mixed fish in soy sauce, with cornbread wrapped around it.

Xiangxi had prepared a portion for Yang Tongchuan in advance.

I was worried he wouldn't have enough, so I just cooked him a plate of scallion and egg stir-fry using a special stove.

"Okay, if I come back late again, you don't need to go to so much trouble. I'll just grab a bite."

"After a long day, you can't just eat anything." Xiangxi looked at Yang Tongchuan wolfing down his food and knew that he must have been too busy to eat properly today.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yang Tongchuan finally felt a bit warmer.

"What case? Is it that guy at the inn who overdosed on his medication?" Xiangxi put away the plates and bowls, deciding to wash them tomorrow. It was late at night, and she didn't want to make any noise and disturb everyone's sleep.

"What do you mean by taking too much medicine?" Yang Tongchuan realized as soon as he finished speaking that they were talking about Dong Xingzhi's killing of the woman.

"When my mother-in-law went grocery shopping today, several neighbors asked her if she knew the inside story. It turned out that my mother-in-law knew less than the neighbors." Xiangxi smiled as she brewed a pot of dandelion tea for Yang Tongchuan.

The rumors circulating outside are quite detailed, saying that this man really did die under the peony flower.

"It's not that simple," Yang Tongchuan told Xiangxi what he had found out.

He repeatedly told him not to tell his mother, fearing she would gossip and tell the neighbors.

Today, he led a group to visit all the fur businesses in town.

They did find a merchant who bought Dong Xingzhi's furs and settled the payment.

That batch of furs is still sitting in someone's warehouse, waiting to make a fortune before the Lunar New Year.

But the prostitutes insisted they had never seen the silver notes, even after being tortured in prison.

They visited several other banks, but none of them had seen Dong Xingzhi.

That money seemed to have vanished into thin air.

What was originally a case that could have been closed with a quick death has now turned into a murder for money.

The county magistrate inquired about this matter today.

"We arrested and interrogated all the inn's waiters today, and searched the inn and these people's homes, but we didn't find a single silver note." Yang Tongchuan was so tired today that his feet were almost blistered.

"Moreover, Chief Escort Lin already knows that his son-in-law died on horseback and went mad. He's so angry that he doesn't really want to get involved anymore. He just said that he has already written to Dong Xingzhi's parents and is waiting for them to handle the matter."

"Where is this person surnamed Dong from?"

"His hometown is local, but after he became successful outside the Great Wall, he moved his whole family to the border. It will be at least a month before his family arrives."

"How tragic," Xiangxi thought. A month later, the person would be rotten and he wouldn't even be able to see him one last time.

"Xiangxi, haven't I told you who this Dong Xingzhi is yet?"

"Who is it?" Xiangxi didn't understand. What did this person have to do with her? Why did Yang Tongchuan specifically ask about this?

Yang Tongchuan felt that it was better to say it himself than to hear it from a neighbor later.

He then clearly told Xiangxi that Dong Xingzhi was his ex-wife's current husband.

Xiangxi clearly hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

"So you saw her?" Xiangxi felt uneasy.

"Who?"

"Is she your ex-wife?" Xiangxi didn't want Yang Tongchuan to see his ex-wife.

"No, her father handled it. Wait, what did you just say?" Yang Tongchuan suddenly grasped a key point that he had been deliberately ignoring in his subconscious: Why didn't Lin Yujun come?

"I asked you, 'Have you seen your ex-wife?'" Xiangxi raised his voice.

Yang Tongchuan thought to himself: How come the woman who was willing to threaten suicide for Dong Xingzhi has stopped showing her face after her husband's tragic death?

That's not right.