Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 114 Li Youdao's Reminder

Zhou Zhao's expression instantly turned serious.

She had previously reviewed the case files of the Linjiang Tower arson case. The person who investigated the case was Xu Yun, who was Zhou Cheng'an's mentor. The clerk at the time was none other than Min Zangzhi, who was standing before her.

The case file appeared to be in order, and the arsonist had already been brought to justice.

What is Sun Hanchang saying now?
He witnessed with his own eyes that Sun Yiyang, who should have died in the fire, was not dead at all, and was now living a carefree life in Chang'an!
If he wasn't lying, then he was implying that Xu Yun made mistakes in the case back then.

She has to reopen the old case.

Noticing Zhou Zhao's expression, Wang Hanchang repeated earnestly, "I'm sure that's Sun Yiyang. He's really still alive! I jumped into the water to try and grab him, but he got away."

“I searched the city everywhere, but I couldn’t find it. The man in black wanted me and my grandfather to damage the main beam of the Star-Picking Tower, so that the tower would collapse when welcoming guests. If I could do it, he would not only send Sun Yiyang to the Court of Justice, but also present the irrefutable evidence that Sun Yiyang killed my mother back then.”

"Years have passed, Linjiang Tower has become Zhaixing Tower, the Sun family has become the Du family, and the evidence has long been destroyed. Only the man in black has it..."

Wang Hanchang suddenly became excited. He stood up abruptly, the shackles on his hands and feet clanging as he pulled them.

"I was suddenly faced with so many upheavals, and I immediately agreed to the man in black's request. My grandfather stopped me, saying that it would kill many innocent people. Just as I was hesitating, the man in black pulled out a shoe..."

“Those were my grandmother’s shoes… He kidnapped my grandmother. I’m a bad person; I killed so many people for my own selfish reasons.”

"But Grandpa wasn't like that. He was forced into it. He did it to save Grandma!"

……

When I came out of the Tingwei Temple prison, it was already pitch black in Chang'an.

Just then, the night watchman passed by the door, his voice trailing off weakly, "The weather is dry, be careful with fire."

As Zhou Zhao and Su Changying walked side by side, they suddenly heard a noise when they passed a banyan tree. Almost simultaneously, both Zhou Zhao and Su Changying moved, their green fish dagger and longsword slashing into the air at the same time, before abruptly stopping.

Li Youdao, hanging upside down from a tree and reeking of alcohol, glanced at the dagger on the left side of his neck, then at the gleaming longsword on the right, and instantly sobered up.

"Are you two trying to murder an official of the imperial court? Although you each have a pair of eyes, they are like grapes from the Western Regions—good-looking but useless."

Zhou Zhao silently put the dagger away. "Li Tingshi, you're not a cat, you don't have nine lives. Hanging here in the middle of the night, I'd think it was a ghost. I was thinking of cutting off that ghost's head and kicking it around like a ball, that would be fun."

Li Youdao rolled his eyes at Zhou Zhao and jumped down from the banyan tree.

He let out a burp, his steps unsteady. "Xu Yun is rigid, hot-tempered, petty, and stubborn. He will absolutely not let you reopen the old case, and he will absolutely not admit that he was wrong. I advise you to give up on that idea as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he looked into Zhou Zhao's eyes, "Hasn't the truth come out now?"

"Cheng Ying conspired with Cheng Yuan to poison Cheng Ren. Cheng Yuan was defeated in the ensuing dogfight, was knocked unconscious, and drowned. Sun Hanchang killed Wang Liu to save Wang Xun. Sun and Wang were the culprits behind the collapse of Zhaixing Tower. Furthermore, Sun Yiyang killed his wife, Jin Shi..."

The more Li Youdao spoke, the more alarmed he became.

This is a case that's so complicated and tangled, like a mess of hemp that's just been cut off.

Despite the chaotic nature of the case, Zhou Zhao managed to unravel it all in just half a day.

Just this afternoon, they were soaked to the bone together in the East River!

Zhou Zhao shook her head, her gaze fixed intently on Li Youdao, and earnestly corrected him, "Not Jin Shi, she has a name, Jin Shulan, and she was a very powerful female ruler." "I am stubborn, ruthless, rebellious, and have no taboos. Xu Tingshi and I are clearly the perfect match to create sparks. I am determined to reopen the old case and make those who are unwilling to admit their mistakes admit them. Lord Tingshi advised me to persuade Xu Tingshi to give up on this idea instead."

Li Youdao was speechless. He raised his finger and pointed at Zhou Zhao.

After a long pause, he put his arms down and crossed them. "I knew you were a troublemaker! And I already said I wouldn't get involved in the mess you make."

Zhou Zhao smiled at Li Youdao, "Don't worry about me. I've been getting into trouble since I was a child, I'm used to it."

Upon hearing this, Li Youdao jumped back uncomfortably and patted his face in alarm.

"Am I drunk or are you drunk? What nonsense are you spouting? I'm worried about you? Do we even know each other? I'm more worried about not having enough money for drinks than about you."

As he spoke, he snorted and staggered towards the Left Court of Imperial Sacrifices, presumably to fall asleep at his desk again.

Zhou Zhao looked at his slightly hunched back, but her eyes were full of warmth.

"Li Tingshi is a stubborn but soft-hearted person. However, in this arson case, it's not necessarily true that Xu Tingshi was wrong."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he suddenly reached out and pinched Su Changying's face hard.

Su Changying was surprised to find that now when Zhou Zhao attacked him, his body no longer instinctively dodged. The little girl in front of him had slender fingers, but her strength was so great that it was as if she wanted to peel his face off.

“I didn’t disguise myself,” Su Changying said.

Zhou Zhao smiled and let go of his hand.

She put her hands behind her back, looking at Su Changying's face, which was red and swollen from being pulled, and said, "Do you think there are any other people in this world who have your abilities?"

Su Changying instantly understood her thoughts, "You think that Sun Hanchang might have been deceived by the man in black, and the person he met wasn't Sun Yiyang?"

Zhou Zhao nodded somewhat heavily, "It's not impossible."

She didn't mention it in prison because it would be too cruel to tell the child this possibility at this point.

“Sun Hanchang said he saw Sun Yiyang, but the man was sitting in a covered boat. Even if he jumped off the shore and swam, he couldn’t catch up with him, which shows that the distance between them was not short.”

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he added, "The men in black threatened Wang Xun's wife, but Sun Hanchang only ever saw one shoe."

Su Changying nodded thoughtfully, "Because according to the man in black, he found Jin Shulan's body in the pillar, so he has developed a trust in the man in black that he himself did not realize."

Sun Hanchang was young and used to be a young master protected by his powerful mother. Although he followed Wang Xun around the country, it was obvious that Wang Xun treated him with great care.

It's only natural that an inexperienced young man like him would be easily deceived.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment and looked at Su Changying, "There's something I don't understand. Why did the man in black want the Star-Picking Tower to collapse? He couldn't possibly be some kind of benevolent saint who suddenly became a Buddha, and he came to clear Sun Hanchang's mother's name."

"Linjiang Tower was burned down, Zhaixing Tower collapsed, and afterwards, no one dared to build a third small building in that area!"

Hearing Su Changying's exclamation, Zhou Zhao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked, "What did you say?"

Su Changying was taken aback, and repeated, "There will never be a third small building."