Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 110 The People on Trial
The prison of the Court of Judicial Review had a musty smell that was ingrained in the air as soon as you entered.

It's as if it's telling everyone who enters here that their final destination is to rot and decay in despair in the mud.

Zhou Zhao stroked Li Youdao's court official token with her hand and walked into the room where she had been interrogated by Chang Zuoping.

Inside the room, a bloodstained wooden frame had been erected at some point, and a copper basin sat on the edge, burning charcoal. The triangular branding iron glowed as red as the burning flames.

Upon seeing someone enter, the young man inside the room immediately stood up abruptly.

He was dressed in fine brocade, with a jade crown on his head and a jade pendant with the character "Cheng" hanging from his waist. When he saw Min Zangzhi and Su Changying following behind Zhou Zhaotong, the young man angrily opened his mouth and said, "My brothers all drowned because of the Zhaixing Tower. Why is your Court of Justice arresting me instead of the murderer?"

"Is there any justice left in this world? Lord Zhou, you and General Su saved us, so I shouldn't be saying this, but you must give me an explanation!"

He had been waiting here for a long time. Although he couldn't see the sky outside, he figured it must be dark by now.

Zhou Zhao glanced at him indifferently and tossed the token in his hand onto the table.

The metal made a crisp sound the moment it fell.

"His surname is Cheng, and he is from Guzhang Commandery in the State of Wu?"

The man was taken aback, looking at Zhou Zhao with surprise, "How did you know, sir!"

As he spoke, he remembered that Min Zangzhi had made a list of everyone present, and he felt it was only natural. He nodded somewhat displeasedly, “My name is Cheng Ying. I am indeed from Guzhang. I recently came to Chang’an to send off a bride… The Cheng family is considered a prominent family in Guzhang. My elders have a long-standing relationship with the Du family.”

"Therefore, my elder brothers Cheng Ren, Cheng Yuan, and I specially booked a private room in advance to offer our congratulations, which was also to give Master Du face."

As the boy spoke, his eyes reddened, and he took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his eyes.

"But who could have imagined that the Star-Picking Tower would suddenly collapse, and my elder brother and younger brother would both drown in the water... There were three of us when we came, but I am the only one left on the way back. How can I explain this to my people!"

Chengyuan?

Zhou Zhao felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this name.

She suddenly remembered why the corpses that the body retrievers had pulled up looked familiar. Back in Tianying City, she had seen Li Zhan fanning Cheng Yuyuan; that fellow was handsome with rosy lips and white teeth.

The handsome young man who died was none other than Li Zhan.

It seems that after Cheng Yuyuan took Li Zhan and Xie Ling to Tianying City, Li Yuan, who was already an orphan, was still adopted by the Cheng family and renamed Cheng Yuan.

As Zhou Zhao pondered this, he looked towards the doorway, where Liu Huang had already ordered the jailers to bring over the bodies of the two men surnamed Cheng.

Her gaze fell on the corpse she had discovered was suspicious. A piece of green jade hung from the corpse's waist. The jade had a raised circle on it, and instead of the character "成" (chéng), it was engraved with the character "壬" (rén).

Zhou Zhao suddenly slammed his hand on the table, causing the token on the table to bounce up and land on the table again with a crisp sound.

Cheng Ying was so frightened that her tears seemed to freeze on her face.

"The direct descendants of the Zhang Cheng clan wear jade pendants around their waists, with a circle inside the jade engraved with their name, not their surname. The subordinate and collateral branches have only the character 'Cheng' engraved on them. How is Cheng Ren your elder brother?"

Cheng Ying's face paled, clearly not expecting that Zhou Zhao, an official from the capital, would know about the affairs of an ordinary family in the Wu Kingdom.

He quickly waved his hand, "Cheng Ren is indeed a direct descendant, while Cheng Yuan and I are from collateral branches. However, since we are from the same clan, we are used to addressing each other as brothers, so we haven't made such a clear distinction..."

Zhou Zhao's expression was indifferent, but it sent a chill down Cheng Ying's spine.

He clenched his fist, straightened his back, and looked at Zhou Zhao. "Young Master Zhou, I don't know what I did wrong. Why am I sitting here being interrogated like a criminal? Shouldn't the Court of Justice be interrogating Chu You now? The Star-Picking Tower collapsed; no matter how you look at it, she cannot be absolved of responsibility." "It's not that you're being interrogated like a criminal; it's that you are the criminal."

Cheng Ying's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

Zhou Zhao looked at Liu Huang standing in front of the door. Liu Huang's bamboo hat moved slightly. "The deceased, Cheng Ren, had black bloodstains in his mouth, nose, and ears. When a silver needle was used to probe his stomach, the needle tip turned black, which is a sign of poisoning. The poison must be arsenic."

"Dissecting Cheng Yuan and Cheng Ren's abdomens and comparing their stomachs, Cheng Ren's abdomen contained a large number of black beans, but Cheng Yuan's abdomen contained none. When the beans were pricked with a silver needle, they were found to be highly poisonous."

"Therefore, Cheng Ren did not die from drowning when the Zhaixing Tower collapsed, but was poisoned before that."

Cheng Ying's expression changed drastically, and his lips trembled uncontrollably. "Impossible... How could this be..."

Zhou Zhao looked at him quietly. "The corpse doesn't lie. Cheng Ren was already dead before the Zhaixing Tower collapsed, so he couldn't inhale water after he fell into the water. Aren't you clear about all this? After all, you made an agreement with Cheng Yuan to poison Cheng Ren at the Zhaixing Tower this noon."

"I didn't! Lord Zhou, am I insane? To poison my cousin in public, if the Star-Picking Tower were still standing today, with his body lying in the elegant room, wouldn't Cheng Yuan and I be courting death?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Su Changying, then on Min Cangzhi, and finally on Liu Huang at the door.

Cheng Ying only perked up when she saw Chang Zuoping standing behind Liu Huang with his arms crossed.

"My lord, you must do justice for me! This Lord Zhou has no evidence whatsoever, yet he has falsely accused me of murder! I am not the murderer; I am merely a relative seeking justice for my brother. I have already suffered enough; must I endure such slander as well?"

Chang Zuoping looked over coldly and said, "Zhou Zhao, if you have evidence, then present it. Don't try to be like Min Zangzhi with your fancy tricks."

Min Zangzhi looked resentful. What was so flashy about him?

He was criticized for playing the flute at noon; now he's being told his saw-mouth gourds are too fancy.
Chu You is truly innocent and pure; Chang Zuoping is really blind!

Chang Zuoping didn't sense Min Zangzhi's inner thoughts, but nodded at Zhou Zhao instead.

Zhou Zhao cupped his hands in greeting, "Yes, Chang Zuoping."

As she spoke, she looked at Cheng Ying in front of her and shouted towards the door, "Bring me the swill. Beans are hard to digest and are still in young Master Cheng's belly. Now there are two options. First, we can cut open your belly and see if you, like Cheng Ren, used black beans."

"The second time I'll give you a bucket of swill, you'll vomit it up. That will also show whether you're like Cheng Yuan, who didn't eat a single bean."

"The wine master who served the dishes has already confirmed that one of the dishes you ordered today is black beans with cane sugar... Don't say that you and Cheng Yuan are filial sons and grandsons, giving all of this dish to Cheng Ren and not touching a single grain yourself."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he clapped his hands loudly.

The jailer, who had been waiting outside, walked in with a grin, carrying a bucket of swill.

The overwhelming stench was so strong that Cheng Ying couldn't stand it any longer and covered her mouth and nose, running to the corner to dry heave.

He vomited several times, looked in terror at the approaching jailer, and shouted, "Don't force-feed me! I didn't eat!"

The jailer glanced at Zhou Zhao, and seeing Zhou Zhao nod, he regretfully carried the swill out.

Cheng Ying took a deep breath, her voice trembling with tears, "Does Lord Zhou intend to force a confession? Cheng Yuan and I don't like sweets, so we didn't use beans. What's wrong with that? This doesn't prove that we conspired to poison Cheng Ren."

"I'll say it again: why would we kill someone in broad daylight?"

Zhou Zhao clicked his tongue twice; Cheng Ying was truly a good actress.

"Of course, you two knew from the beginning that the Star-Picking Tower would collapse today."