Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 116 True or False Death Escape
Zhou Zhao smiled proudly, but felt a chill on his forehead.

Su Changying reached out and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead without her noticing. "I knew it, Lord Zhou, you couldn't be delirious. You have a fever, probably because you've been in the water for too long today and are wearing wet clothes."

Zhou Zhao was somewhat dazed. She shook her head and belatedly realized that her head was a little dizzy.

"No wonder I always felt that I wasn't very smart in investigating the Zhaixinglou case."

She thought for a moment, then reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small medicine bottle. She took out a pill and popped it into her mouth. "It's nothing, some medicine will do. Since we have to wait until dawn, we can go back to the Court of Justice to investigate another clue."

"Was Sun Yiyang really dead or did he fake it? Was there something else hidden in Xu Yun's investigation of the arson case at Linjiang Tower back then?"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he couldn't help but quicken his pace and head towards the Court of Justice.

On the way, they encountered the Northern Army on night patrol again, but this time the squad leader didn't say anything and walked away as if he hadn't seen the two of them.

The left courtyard of the Imperial Censorate was brightly lit, and a group of people, all with dark circles under their eyes, looked exactly like wild ghosts whose oil had run out.

Their hair, which was neatly combed and shiny when they arrived in the morning, is now a mess.

Hearing Zhou Zhao's footsteps, the group of people reluctantly looked up from the thick pile of books...

Zhou Zhao shuddered, and then heard deafening snoring. Li Youdao was lying on his back among the bamboo slips, fast asleep, with suspicious water stains on the corners of his mouth.

"Aren't you all going home tonight? You're truly diligent, I admire you greatly."

The gazes of those opposite him grew even more resentful. Chen Yuzhao scratched his hair, which had become a bird's nest, and looked at Zhou Zhao with particularly complicated eyes.

Does this guy really not know?
She graded the files so quickly that they all seemed like useless by comparison. At the recent morning meetings of the court historians, apart from Li Youdao who was praised and beaming with joy, everyone else came out with sweat dripping down their backs.

The old folks in the left courtyard are one thing; they can just shamelessly pretend they don't know anything.

But Li Mu, the newcomer to the Right Court, couldn't hold back any longer. As a newcomer from out of town, he thought everyone in the Court of Justice was a great man. In order to catch up, he led all his subordinates to work late into the night, and his eyes turned red from staying up all night.

And so, everyone from both houses sat here…

Zhou Zhao was confused. Because of the medication, her head was a little dizzy, and she looked much more dazed than usual.

"Lord Xu, I have an important matter to discuss with you. Please excuse me."

Xu Yun frowned, glanced at Zhou Zhao suspiciously, and rubbed his wrist unhappily. "You have something to ask Li Youdao, why are you asking me?"

However, after uttering a complaint, he stepped out of the pile of books and walked out of the left courtyard with Zhou Zhao, standing under a large tree outside the courtyard.

Xu Yun's sleeves were rolled up high, and his eyebrows were thick and bushy, with a few particularly long hairs that looked like they were about to explode. He had a pair of tiger-like eyes, and when he glared, his eyeballs seemed about to pop out.

“Speak your mind. I am an old friend of Zhou Ligong. If we’re really talking about it, you should call me Uncle-Master. I even held you when you were still a baby, but you peed all over me.”

Zhou Zhao twitched his lips; there was really no need for that.

She thought about it and couldn't help but feel curious, as she had never met this senior uncle before at the Court of Justice.

“I’ve never been in the capital before. Speak your mind, don’t be like your adopted brother, who can’t utter a word even after three blows.” Xu Yun said, letting out a somewhat irritated snort.

Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow and said directly, "I want to ask you about the arson case at Linjiang Tower back then. Are you sure that the people who died at that time were Sun Yiyang and Yu Niang? I looked at the case file, and the people were burned beyond recognition. After the fire was extinguished, the bodies were found, and they were like charcoal."

Xu Yun raised his voice instantly, and glared angrily at Zhou Zhao.

"Are you questioning my ability to adjudicate wrongful convictions? You, Zhou Zhao, are certainly capable, but don't be so arrogant! You've only been at the Court of Justice for a few days, and you're already itching to overthrow your superiors?"

"You're not the only one in this world who wants to find out the truth, nor are you the only one pursuing it..."

As Zhou Zhao listened to Xu Yun's long-winded speech, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Although Li Youdao was drunk every day, he was still a wise old fox, and his judgment of people was quite accurate.

“I, Xu Yun, dare not claim that I have solved every case without any loopholes, but for you to question whether I have misidentified the deceased is an utter disgrace!”

Zhou Zhao listened attentively and winked at Xu Yun.

"You're right. So how did the sir determine back then that the charred corpse was Sun Yiyang?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yun felt a lump in his throat. Was this even human language?
Seeing that he was about to get angry, Zhou Zhao immediately tried to appease him, saying, "Uncle Xu, if I suspected that there was a mistake in the case, I would just go to the coroner in charge of the autopsy and the clerk in charge of the record-keeping, Min Zangzhi. Why bother to come here to ask you for advice first? I even specially invited you out of the Left Courtyard to avoid any misunderstandings."

“My father often told me that Uncle Xu’s investigative skills were three points better than his own. If I could stay by Uncle Xu’s side…”

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he sighed, "It's a pity that my brother Cheng'an was so lucky to have such a good teacher as Uncle Xu."

Xu Yun's temper instantly subsided. Not only did his voice become softer, but even his bulging eyebrows seemed to soften, and his bulging eyes returned to normal. He transformed from a fierce executioner into a scholar.

"You flatter me, Lord Li. My abilities are mediocre, not even seven-tenths as good as yours."

As he spoke, he cleared his throat again.

Zhou Zhao couldn't help but find it amusing. Although Xu Yun was pretending to be calm, she could tell that he was happy down to the last hair on his head.

Who doesn't like to hear kind words and praise?

"Don't be so reckless in the future. If you have any doubts about a case, tell Li Youdao and have him take you to ask the chief investigator. That's the rule in officialdom. How can you question your superiors so casually?"

Xu Yun said, then thought for a moment and said, "I am certain that the charred corpse is Sun Yiyang, because I already know Sun Yiyang. I once bathed in a hot spring with Sun Yiyang, and he had a red birthmark on the inside of his thigh. Although the corpse was charred, not all the features have disappeared."

"Because they were acquaintances, I still remember them very clearly even after three years."

"Many people in the capital know that Sun Yiyang once broke his right leg while playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football). It was only after Yu Niang found the skilled doctor Liu who was good at setting bones that he was able to set it. The old coroner examined it and found that the right leg bone of the corpse had a matching injury."

When Xu Yun talked about the case, he spoke very quickly and with a very serious and determined tone.

How could someone who has reached the position of court historian be a good-for-nothing?
"This case is simple and clear, and I am absolutely certain I am not wrong. The charred corpse is definitely Sun Yiyang, because the Sun brothers identified him, and the corpse was embracing Yu Niang. At the time, no one questioned the identity of the deceased..."

"So these details were not recorded in the case file, but I have confirmed them privately without a doubt."

"If Sun Yiyang hadn't died, why would he abandon his vast fortune and not show his face for so many years? I don't know where you heard this nonsense, but I can say with my own hands that the case I investigated was flawless."