Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 118 Do You Doubt Me?
Zhou Zhao shook his head. "He is Su Changying."

Zhou Zhao suddenly had the illusion that a boomerang had pierced his face.

Just now, she was muttering that Xu Yun was boastful and overconfident. Now it seems that their sect has always chosen this kind of person since they started accepting disciples.

Min Cangzhi looked at Zhou Zhao in silence for a moment, then said, "He has been gone for four years. I don't know how much blood he has spilled on his hands, or what he has gone through. You and I are not only colleagues, but I also consider us friends, which is why I told you all this."

“If you want to go far in officialdom, you can’t have any burdens around you. In case… I mean in case… he makes any mistake, then you, who brought him back to Chang’an, will only be able to stop here.”

"Zhou Zhao, how much did you sacrifice to become Lord Zhou? You only have this one chance."

Both were heroes who made great contributions to the victory at Tianying City, but Su Changying was promoted to captain, while Zhao Yizhou was poised for a meteoric rise after returning to Chang'an.

However, the reward that should have been given to Zhou Zhao has not yet been issued; she is merely a minor official in the Court of Justice.

What seemed like an easy path to others was, to her, a thorny ladder with no end in sight.

Min Cangzhi glanced at Su Changying. He stood there like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath. He had only been in the Northern Army for a day, yet he had already won over the hearts of the people, which showed that he was no ordinary person.

Unfathomable, ruthless...

No matter how you look at it, Su Changying seems like the outlaw that the Court of Justice is looking to arrest.

"You heard Sun Hanchang's confession before. If Sun Yiyang died in the fire, then who was the person he saw on the awning boat? It couldn't have been a ghost!"
Furthermore, Sun Hanchang said that the man in black was about the same height as Su Changying… so could it be that he was the man in black, disguised as Sun Yiyang?

As Min Zangzhi spoke, she looked at Zhou Zhao seriously, "Zhou Zhao, be careful."

Zhou Zhao looked at the seemingly unreliable guy in front of him and laughed, "Thank you, Min Zangzhi."

She had no way of saying that she possessed the magical bamboo slips that would suddenly produce a letter to her deceased wife.

No matter how cunning or ruthless Su Changying becomes, he is still the same Su Changying who would write a eulogy for her while crying.

Even if they forget themselves, they will never forget Su Changying.

Of course, she knew that Su Changying had many secrets and was hiding many things from her. The words "Zhou Zhao, don't believe me" often echoed in her ears.

She trusts him, but not blindly.

How far she can go depends not on destroying that "what if," but on how strong her own abilities are.

Min Cangzhi nodded and cleared his throat. "Ahem, now that we're friends, you should put in a good word for me with Chu You in the future!"

Zhou Zhao's smile froze on his face.

She suddenly felt she understood Chang Zuoping a little better; Min Zangzhi had truly disgraced the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Min Cangzhi saw right through her thoughts and gave Zhou Zhao a disdainful look. "You're probably laughing at me in your head, aren't you? And what makes you any better? You're just another pitiful person tossing and turning in bed because of your sweetheart..."

Zhou Zhao immediately rolled her eyes back fiercely.

She waved to Min Zangzhi and turned to leave without hesitation.

Rather than focusing on your sweetheart, it's more important to conserve your energy and wait until dawn to investigate.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then walked towards Su Changying. "Let's go. That's all for tonight."

Su Changying looked at Zhou Zhao's cheeks; her face was flushed, clearly still hot. He handed Zhou Zhao a bamboo tube and said, "This is hot soup prepared by the Northern Army camp for the night patrolmen. Drink it while it's hot..."

Seeing Zhou Zhao reach out to take it, Su Changying hesitated for a moment and then pulled the bamboo tube back.

"That man in black knows the art of disguise, or perhaps he has someone like that under his command. And given that his height is similar to mine, has Lord Zhou never suspected me?"

Zhou Zhao winked at Su Changying, took the bamboo tube, and slammed the stopper open. "I had my suspicions! So Su Changying, I order you to test the poison on me first!" Su Changying was startled, but then saw Zhou Zhao holding the hot soup to his lips.

He grabbed the bamboo tube, about to take a sip, but Zhou Zhao shook his hand, pulled the tube back, gulped down a mouthful, and exclaimed, "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

Su Changying stood there stunned. Seeing her like this, she took the bamboo tube and gently shook it in her hand.

"Young Master Zhou has grown old; I'll shake you until you're cold..."

Su Changying finished speaking the first part of his sentence, when he heard Zhou Zhao say in unison, "I'll shake it and it'll be cold..."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he chuckled, “General Su, you’re just getting old. All you’ve ever said in all these years is this one sentence. When I was young, I loved drinking Eight Treasures Soup. Every time it came out of the pot, I would rush to eat it, and I would burn my tongue every time. Later, you told me that I had to wait until it cooled down a bit before serving it on the first day of the lunar month.”

"Eight Treasures Soup can be chilled, but salty soup can't. You're just shaking it like that! Because I don't want you to blow on it, I'm afraid you'll spit your saliva in!"

Su Changying looked at her hand, which had inexplicably started shaking, and a smile appeared in her eyes.

He hesitated for a moment, then picked it up and took a sip himself before handing it to Zhou Zhao. "Why won't you let me test the poison, Lord Zhou? I'm no longer a suspect."

Zhou Zhao took it and slurped a few mouthfuls; this time it wasn't so hot.

"In my opinion, if it were you, why would you need to make contact with others and leave such a handle on the man in black? Making this place deserted would be incredibly easy."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he pretended to stroke his beard, acting like a fortune teller waving a banner, "This old Taoist temple is a place of six deadly influences, harming one's family and cutting off one's fortune..."

Sun Yiyang wanted to be a celebrity, so why would he live in such a desolate place? Which friend would dare to come to his door? He changed houses overnight.

Du Ziteng wants to open a tavern and build the tallest building in Chang'an, all for the sake of wealth... Would he really spend money to buy such a place that leads to financial ruin?

With such rumors circulating, who would still come here?

The core belief of the Daqi people is: better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't.

"A city can be captured without bloodshed. What do you think, General Su?"

Su Changying smiled and said, "Excellent. It seems that in Lord Zhou's eyes, I do have some brains. I am truly honored."

Zhou Zhao looked at the profile of the person next to him and a smile crept onto his face.

Su Changying is much easier to fool than that old scoundrel Xu Yun.

"However, although I don't believe that the man in black was you, if his disguise skills are from the same school as yours, then it might be the key to tracing back to the murderer from back then."

Zhou Zhao said earnestly.

Su Changying's fingers trembled slightly. "Yes."

Only after seeing Zhou Zhao climb over the wall and return to his own courtyard did Su Changying turn and leave.

Instead of returning to the Lu Marquis's residence, he headed towards the Northern Army's camp.

As the rooster crowed and the first rays of sunlight appeared in the east, Zhou Zhao once again saw Su Changying on the ruins of the Star-Picking Tower.

She tossed the two pancakes at Su Changying, saying, "I made these early on the first day of the lunar new year. Try them and see if you like them."

As she spoke, she patted the crumbs off her hands, looked at the two bamboo poles left over from the previous night, and used the same trick to stand them up again.

The morning breeze made Zhou Zhao's unrestrained hair ribbon flutter, instantly clearing the mind and refreshing the spirit.

Zhou Zhao looked around. Standing here, he could vaguely see the tiles on the roof of the Tingwei Temple, the city wall not far away, the shimmering Dongshui River, and the colorful autumn forests opposite.

Suddenly, Zhou Zhao's gaze stopped.