Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 103 General Su
Hearing this, everyone felt a pang of sorrow, especially when they saw the young A-Chang shedding tears like scattered beans, they couldn't help but feel a sense of shared grief.

“Achang is young, but he’s hardworking and diligent. Although he’s a bit shy, he’s kind-hearted and filial. Wang Liu is a gambler. When he loses, he goes home and beats his wife. He’s no good. He even tried to kill my grandfather. He deserved to die!”

The burly man who had been making a lot of noise and saying it was bad luck started sobbing and crying.

He said it, but after he finished speaking, he glanced at Wang Liu's corpse lying to the side, realized he had spoken out of turn, and bowed in that direction.

The burly man spoke with great emotion, and many people echoed his sentiments.

Seeing this, Wang Xun stared at Zhou Zhao with wide eyes, and like a fool, slammed his head heavily against the ground.

Wang Xun tried his best, but couldn't knock down. Somewhat bewildered, he used all his strength, but this time he not only failed to knock down, but was instead lifted up by the collar.

He wasn't very tall, and when he realized he was dangling in the air, his feet started flailing around.

Only after his feet touched the ground did he look blankly at the girl who had walked up to him.

Zhou Zhao released his hand and dusted off his collar. "The Court of Justice will make its own judgment on the matter. The evidence against Wang Chang for murdering Wang Liu is conclusive. I urge you two, grandfather and grandson, to go to the government office. Murder is a serious crime. Although there may be some human compassion, one cannot overstep the bounds of the law."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he looked at Su Changying.

Su Changying nodded slightly, floated to Zhou Zhao's side, handed the murder weapon, the iron hammer, to Min Zangzhi for safekeeping, and then raised her hand, signaling Zhu Li to lead people to escort Wang Xun and his grandson to the Court of Justice.

Although he only joined the Northern Army today, he surprisingly possesses extremely high prestige.

It was as if Su Changying had never left Chang'an and was still the powerful and influential Marquis of Lu in the army.

Zhou Zhao glanced around casually and unexpectedly spotted Han Ze, who was cowering like a quail among the Northern Army. Sensing Zhou Zhao's gaze, Han Ze shuddered and slipped, falling uncontrollably into the East Water.

He couldn't care less about silently chanting "Sister Zhao can't see me, Sister Zhao can't see me" anymore, and he shouted loudly, "Sister Zhao, save me!"

Zhou Zhao's lips twitched. Su Changying, who was closer to Han Ze, reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back.

Han Ze patted his chest in fear. He trembled a couple of times and didn't dare to look at Su Changying. He ran to Wang Liu's body, picked it up, and almost fled to catch up with the main group.

Seeing that Zhou Zhao didn't call him, Han Ze looked up at the sky with tears in his eyes. As soon as he looked up, he saw the Vermilion Bird carved on the pillar of the Star-Picking Tower, and his feathers stood on end.

“Old Zhu, how did I end up in such a miserable state? In that Nuo opera case, I was almost tricked into being a fool. My father, disgusted by my shame, sent me to the Northern Army for training. But before I could even enjoy a few good days with my brothers, my superiors changed to Su Changying!”

Han Ze thought to himself, his voice trembling with tears.

Who is Su Changying? That scoundrel is the shameless bastard who forced Zhou Zhao to peck him with a bird...

Zhu Li glanced at him indifferently and said, "Stop howling, you're disgracing the Northern Army."

Han Ze was taken aback and quietly glanced around. He saw that the group of animals who had been lazing around with him earlier, who had been eager to slack off and chat during night patrols, were now all serious, with their chests puffed out and faces solemn. They actually looked quite imposing.

He lowered his voice, somewhat bewildered, "What's going on? Wasn't it said that our Northern Army is just a dumping ground for spoiled brats?"

No one responded to him, and Han Ze became even more bewildered. He wondered if he was hallucinating when he saw their faces today.

After a long while, everyone had already lined up in the market and set off for the Court of Justice. Only then did they hear Zhu Li's usually taciturn voice excitedly exclaim, "Our superior is Marquis Lu, Su Changying!"

That was once a legend in their hearts.

The spoiled brat, who was carrying the corpse with Han Ze, rubbed his shoulder and couldn't help but interject, "Following Little Marquis Lu, who would want to be a pile of mud?"

Han Ze was taken aback and fell silent. Was he going to become a complete failure?
Zhou Zhao was unaware of Han Ze's thoughts. She turned her head and glanced again at the awning boat where the dead man was, until Chu You called her back before she turned around.

Seeing this, Chu Hang cupped his hands in greeting, "Lord Zhou, General Su, can we continue working? Otherwise, I'm worried we won't make it in time."

Zhou Zhao nodded.

Chu Hang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly shooed the crowd who were still standing there watching the commotion back to their seats.

Those people also realized that if they couldn't greet the guests on time, they wouldn't get paid, so they quickly got back to their duties and got busy again.

It was already curfew time, and the onlookers had long since left. The boardwalk was quiet, with only a few familiar faces remaining.

Zhou Zhao's eyes flickered.

Death is not now, but the day after tomorrow when we will officially welcome you.

Thinking about it, she looked at Chu You and said, "Sister, have Uncle carefully inspect this building to see if there is any possibility of fire or hidden dangers. Wang Liu is a gambler, and Wang Xun and his grandson are willing to play tricks for money. There might be something else they haven't told us."

Chu You nodded solemnly, "I understand. My uncle and I will thoroughly examine it tonight."

"Wang Xun is a very skilled master craftsman. I will have to take his place now. I won't say more to you for now. We can talk about it in detail in a private room another day."

Zhou Zhao smiled and nodded at Chu You. Chu You was no fool; she turned around and climbed onto the scaffolding. She had no martial arts skills, but relied entirely on her honed courage. When the old craftsmen saw her coming, they immediately made way for her and followed her instructions to get to work.

"Zhou Zhao, shall we take a look around the Star-Picking Tower?"

Zhou Zhao looked at Su Changying with some surprise, "It seems that General Su learned the art of mind reading during his trip. Otherwise, how could he know what I was thinking?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Liu Huang, who had somehow boarded the awning boat to view the scene of the death, and walked to Su Changying's side.

Looking at Zhou Zhao's smooth, fair face, Su Changying recalled the scene when she went up the plank road, and her heart warmed, but she did not speak.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I went straight to the Star-Picking Tower after discovering the body? Or why I felt there might still be something wrong with the Star-Picking Tower?"

Su Changying shook her head. "You have your reasons for doing this."

Zhou Zhao's lips curled up slightly. "It seems you're adapting well to the Northern Army. In just one day, you've already won over those old-fashioned soldiers and spoiled brats."

The Northern Army and the Court of Justice are the same: hard-working oxen who rely on their own abilities to get by, and spoiled brats who are handed over to their families for a gilded education. One is difficult to manage, and the other is unruly.

"Well, it's good if they're obedient, but if they're disobedient troublemakers, a good beating will calm them down."

As Zhou Zhao listened to Su Changying impart her experience, he laughed heartily, "What a pity, I'm just a nobody now. Not only do I not need General Su's methods of managing people, but I'm also the troublemaker that my superiors want to beat up!"

As she spoke, she and Su Changying toured around the Star-Picking Tower, paying special attention to the easily overlooked nooks and crannies.

After walking around for a while, they found nothing unusual or suspicious. The place was peaceful and beautiful; even raising one's voice seemed to disturb the tranquility.

"Ah Huang, Min Wenshu, we should go back."

Seeing that there were no clues, Zhou Zhao had no intention of lingering here. There's always a way out; if something really happened, we'd find out when the time came.

Her eyes flickered, and she made a plan in her mind. She then called out to Liu Huang and Min Zangzhi.