Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 126 Can You Transform into a Woman?
"Young Master Zhou, this case was first taken over by our Right Court. We've heard that the mastermind behind the collapse of the Star-Picking Tower hasn't been found yet. Why don't we hand this case over to Li Tingshi? That way you can focus on the cases at hand."

Qin Lang stared at the corpse in the carriage, his pointed chin like a cone, and thrust it directly at Zhou Zhao.

Looking at him, Zhou Zhao couldn't help but sigh. Han Ze must be very afraid of this person. After all, he was a perfectly normal person, but his chin had turned into a bird's beak.

"Furthermore, Lord Zhou's elder sister has a grudge against the deceased, so it's best to avoid suspicion..."

Zhou Zhaosheng's mouth wasn't just for insults; she was about to speak when someone beat her to it.

"Let me see, who is this! Isn't this Qin Benfang, who can't recite the laws and cries three times a day?"

Min Zangzhi, who had been silently taking notes, suddenly spoke up. Today, he didn't bring the peacock feather fan, but instead brought a green sandalwood openwork carved fan. Zhou Zhao saw through his little scheme at a glance.

This guy is most likely trying to use this thing to get closer to Chu You.

But Chu You is a master of building skyscrapers and contraptions; this thing is so small it can't even provide enough wind...

Min Cangzhi noticed Zhou Zhao's gaze, rolled her eyes at her, and then turned to Qin Lang and said, "Why did you go from the left courtyard to the right courtyard? Have you learned to beg for favors with your chin? Zhou Zhao, do you have any walnuts on you? Such a good awl for cracking shells, how can you be without walnuts?"

Qin Lang's face instantly turned bright red. He glared angrily at Min Cangzhi, "Min Wenshu, don't think you can act like a mad dog just because you have a protective charm!"

Min Cangzhi clicked his tongue twice and shook the fan in his hand. "I'm just a bit of a smart aleck. Unlike some people, who take advantage of being newcomers who don't know about the feud between the Left and Right Courts, or the competition between the two courts, and the fact that the Court of Justice officials have their own list of names for evaluation, they're just here trying to cheat people out of cases!"

“Li Tingshi, after all, it was I, Min, who brought you into the Court of Justice. I can’t bear to let you get a bad reputation. If the two courts have the same case, they should each solve the case according to their own abilities. Whoever catches the murderer first will be the one in charge. This is the established rule.”

Li Mu listened and nodded.

He was honest-looking and seemed to have a very good temper. "It's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Young Qin is just a young man with no bad intentions. If he has offended anyone in any way, I hope you will forgive him."

As Li Mu spoke, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhou Zhao, saying, "We are all officials of the Court of Justice. Victory or defeat is not important; solving the case is the most important thing."

Seeing this, Zhou Zhao quickly helped Li Mu up, saying, "Li Tingshi, you mustn't do that."

She felt that the attitude of "give me fifty gold pieces" was too arrogant and wanted to suppress it, but she did not expect that there was a struggle between the left and right courts in the Court of Justice!
Zhou Zhao thought to himself, feeling as if he had broadened his horizons.

She had heard that there would be factions in the imperial court, and she thought she could stay out of trouble. But the moment she stepped into the Court of Justice, she was divided into factions based on whether to lift her left foot or her right foot first.

Seeing Li Mu's reaction, Qin Lang's face turned ashen, and he remained silent.

Zhou Zhao walked towards Su Changying, "General Su, let's first transport the body back to the Court of Justice and lift the closure of this alley."

Su Changying nodded, and the group headed straight for the small courtyard in the Court of Justice where the coroner performed autopsies.

Two desks, two female corpses, two people standing at each end of the left and right courtyards, staring at the bodies.

"Both of the deceased were unmarried young women, and both were slender, fair-skinned, and appeared delicate and frail."

Previously, in front of the Northern Army, Zhou Zhao did not directly mention Bao Chun'an's ordeal. "Both victims were injured before they died. On the neck of the first victim, there were obvious fingerprints. The murderer should be a man, and he was very strong and liked weak little girls."

As Zhou Zhao watched, she spoke, while Li Mu opposite her remained silent, looking at her thoughtfully.

"The murderer's carriage was stolen, and the wedding dresses were very likely stolen as well. We can investigate which embroidery shop was robbed and lost several wedding dresses." "In addition, there is a curfew in Chang'an. At the appointed time, the gates of the wards will be locked, and no one except the Northern Army patrolling the city can pass through. Both of the victims were dumped in Zhaoxing Ward. Bao Chun'an died at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM). The fact that the murderer used a carriage to transport the body indicates that the murder must have taken place in Zhaoxing Ward."

Su Changying, who was standing nearby, chimed in, "The murderer observed the routes of our Northern Army's patrols. If they didn't leave the ward, they could indeed avoid the Northern Army from dumping the body."

As he spoke, he turned to Zhu Li beside him and said, "Before the curfew these next few days, find a few brothers to lie in ambush at the entrance of the ward and keep an eye on people who drive their carriages into the ward at the appointed time. It will be easier to make a move after dark. The place where the murderer kidnapped people should also be in the southwest corner of Chang'an City."

Zhou Zhao nodded slightly upon hearing this, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Su Changying.

"The murderer was able to steal the carriage and wedding dress so easily; he is definitely not an ordinary person. Nine times out of ten, he is a repeat offender..."

As Zhou Zhao was speaking, Qin Lang couldn't hold back any longer. He looked at Zhou Zhao with a complicated expression and interrupted, "These are all your speculations. What you see before you are the dead, two corpses, not the murderer. Look at them..."

Qin Lang was at a loss for words. How could Zhou Zhao, just by looking at the deceased, say so many things related to the murderer?
It's practically pure fabrication.

"And you said that in front of the people in our right courtyard. Aren't you afraid that we'll overhear and catch the murderer before you do?"

Zhou Zhao looked at the man's chin, which was so sharp it could kill, and was speechless. How come this guy wasn't scared by Min Cangzhi's scathing remarks?
She winked at Qin Lang, "Young Master Qin, if you can catch the murderer by investigating as I said, that would be wonderful."

Qin Lang's heart skipped a beat.

Looking at his expression, Zhou Zhao was speechless. She knew that when dealing with someone as petty as Qin Lang, the more generous you were, the more suspicious he would become.

However, she did not lie; she was never worried that Li Mu and Qin Lang would solve the case before her.

After Zhou Zhao finished speaking, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Li Tingshi and said, "Li Tingshi, I'll take my leave now."

Li Mu smiled. His skin was dark, and when he smiled, he revealed a set of neat white teeth. "If I discover anything, I hope to exchange information with Lord Zhou."

Zhou Zhao smiled and replied, "That's right."

Min Zangzhi stayed behind to watch Liu Huang dissect the corpse. Of those who came out of the mortuary, only Zhou Zhaotong and Su Changying remained.

Su Changying looked at Zhou Zhao's profile and spoke first, "Young Master Zhou..."

Zhou Zhao interrupted him with a smile, "Just call me Zhou Zhao. In the past, everyone called me A Zhao, but only you called me Zhao Zhao."

Su Changying opened her mouth, but still called out, "Zhou Zhao."

Zhou Zhao nodded, looking at Su Changying with anticipation: "Changying, you can disguise yourself as a woman?"

Su Changying was taken aback. "You want to split your forces into two groups: one to defend, with people lying in wait at the entrance of the neighborhood; and the other to attack, by pretending to be the murderer who likes young girls to lure the culprit out?"

Su Changying felt it was a pity that Zhou Zhao rarely made demands of him, but unfortunately he couldn't meet them.

"Disguise isn't as powerful as you think! You can change your face, but your build needs to be similar to mine. I can disguise myself as Zhu Li very well, but I can't transform into a slender, petite woman."

Zhou Zhao sighed in disappointment, "Then I'll have to do it myself!"

Zhou Zhaosheng was born with a strong and resilient body. Even when she was drinking milk, she was strong and powerful. How could the murderer really see that she was as weak and frail as a willow in the wind?