Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 133 The Reason for the Murder

Zhou Zhao thought to herself, "Just as I thought." She didn't say anything more, but waited for Li Zhengde to speak.

“Bao Chun’an and I are from the same hometown. Before I was fourteen, my family was considered a moderately wealthy merchant family. Bao Chun’an and I lived in the same alley. Later, my family suffered a misfortune. Before my parents passed away, they told me to take my gold, silver and valuables to Chang’an to seek refuge with my uncle.”

As Li Zhengde spoke, a venomous look appeared on his face.

"There are so many people in this world, but I'm just unlucky. Although my uncle took me in, my aunt disliked me very much."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhou Zhao, his gaze conveying a clear message.

It seems that his aunt was the same aggressive and clever woman he was talking about.

"She was extremely controlling and disdainful of me. I never had a good day while living under her roof. All I did was fight cocks with others, and she would whip my back and make me kneel and recite my lessons. When I wanted to go drinking with my classmates to strengthen our friendship, she would scold me for making bad friends and make me lose face."

"If it weren't for her, how could I have fallen into that woman's trap?"

Zhou Zhao listened and snorted coldly.

Upon hearing this voice, Li Zhengde was startled and about to explode in anger, but when he looked up and saw Zhou Zhao's sharp, piercing gaze, he shrank back in fear.

"That woman's name is Guan Yun, and she is the younger sister of my classmate Guan Yan. I met her when I went to Guan Yan's house for drinks... I have always admired Bao Chun'an. If my family hadn't fallen on hard times, I might have actually asked her for her hand in marriage. When I first saw Guan Yun, I thought I had met Bao Chun'an."

"They are all equally gentle and considerate, like fairies who could take flight at any moment."

As Zhou Zhao listened, Qin Lang's image involuntarily surfaced in her mind. Where did Li Zhengde get the idea that Qin Lang was a fluttering moth? She might as well be a female eagle that could flap its wings and send everyone else flying!
"We were about to get married, and just when I was about to give Guan Yun a betrothal gift, my aunt came out and stopped me again. She said that I was all alone and needed to find a capable woman who could support the family. She also said that Guan Yun was not a good match for me since she had no parents' consent to marry me!"

She withheld my money and even instigated my uncle to beat me! I couldn't bear the humiliation, so I broke off all ties with that wicked woman and moved out on my own.

Unexpectedly, on our wedding night, as I greeted the guests in the hall and entered the bridal chamber, I found it like a snow cave. Guan Yun had run off with all my valuables! I went to look for Guan Yan, but he was nowhere to be found either! They're all liars, all liars…”

As Li Zhengde spoke, he angrily grabbed his hair and started pulling it hard.

"What gentle and considerate celestial being, what delicate and pitiful soulmate, it's all a lie! There's nothing left in the room except a bronze mirror! In front of that mirror stands a bamboo scroll with the words: 'Look at yourself, are you worthy?'"

Li Zhengde suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with blood. He looked at Zhou Zhao angrily and reached out to grab her neck!

"That bitch lied to me and humiliated me, she deserves to die!"

Zhou Zhao sneered and slapped Li Zhengde on the right cheek. However, the expected result of knocking him to the ground did not occur because Su Changying had arrived at the scene and slapped Li Zhengde on the left cheek as well.

Li Zhengde was jolted awake by the slap. Remembering his actions, he was so frightened that he fell to the ground, leaving red handprints on both cheeks, making him look extremely disheveled.

"Guan Yun cheated you out of your money, so why did you kill Bao Chun'an? When did you meet her again?"

Li Zhengde shrank back, looking as timid as a quail. "It must have been around the end of May. I had no money and couldn't find anyone surnamed Guan, so I went back to my uncle for help, but my aunt beat me out with a broom. With no other option, I became a peddler, going from street to street." As he spoke, Li Zhengde quietly moved back a bit, distancing himself from Zhou Zhao.

This young lady Zhou in front of him is truly capable of violence if she disagrees with someone, and she is even more vicious than his aunt!
“I ran into Bao Chun’an near the Shen residence. We were childhood friends, and I was very happy to meet an old friend in a foreign land. We met twice more afterward. She was very caring towards me. When she saw that my clothes were torn, she sewed them for me herself. She said that she came to Chang’an because she wanted to get married, to marry someone she had loved since she was a child.”

As Li Zhengde spoke, he began to sob, "I thought she was talking about me, so I even used the money I had painstakingly saved to buy her a hairpin. Who knew she would rather be her cousin's concubine than marry me!"

Looking at Li Zhengde in front of him, Zhou Zhao felt a deep sense of emotion. He really should look in the mirror and see his own powerless rage.

"Bao Chun'an asked you to attack her from behind in order to deceive the Shen family?"

Li Zhengde nodded heavily. "Is it true that the more beautiful a person is, the more ruthless they become? She looks down on me! Guan Yun looks down on me too. They all look down on me! Her scheming and manipulative ways are disgusting. Guan Yun was just as disgusting when she schemed against me back then!"
I didn't kill her the first time. I attacked her from behind as she instructed, knocked her unconscious, carried her to the carriage, and then deliberately left a noticeable mark on her neck. She lay motionless in my house..."

As Li Zhengde spoke, he raised his head again, held up his hands, and flipped them in the air.

"I never knew my hands could be so powerful. Those women were like chicks; I could kill them so easily. It was so easy, so much easier than selling junk on the streets!"

Haha, that feeling was amazing! Making her obey, letting her live or die as she pleased! But I held back!

Li Zhengde shook his head. "After I let Bao Chun'an go, I couldn't forget that captivating feeling... I struggled to hold back... until four days ago, when I finally couldn't take it anymore and saw Guan Yun on the street."

Zhou Zhao glanced thoughtfully at Li Zhengde. If that's the case, then the first unidentified female corpse was very likely Guan Yun.

"Haha, that bitch actually got married, and to her so-called brother Guan Yan! What right do they have to wear silk and satin, all rich and noble? Guan Yun took my betrothal gifts and we went through the wedding ceremony. That bitch is now my wife."

I stole the wedding dress and carriage, then followed Guan Yun, and following the elaborate plan Bao Chun'an had laid out for us, we consummated our marriage, and then I strangled her to death. This time, it was even more satisfying than last time! Haha, that kind of bitch deserves to die…”

Li Zhengde laughed wildly, but when he saw Zhou Zhao's displeased look, his laughter stopped abruptly, and he shrank back, his voice becoming even softer.

"I couldn't stop, I just couldn't stop! The next day, I used the peddler's rattle drum to summon Bao Chun'an again, and then, in the same way, I murdered her and disposed of her body. What's wrong with killing such vile women? They were the ones who wronged me first!"

Weren't you laughing at me for not being able to find a wife? Weren't you laughing at me for being a toad indulging in wishful thinking? I'll be a groom every night, and I'll even make them obediently wear mourning clothes and wait to go to the underworld to take care of my parents..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao scoffed.

"Your parents died at the same time, and you were still in mourning period when you were fighting cocks and dogs, drinking and having fun with others! Such a filial son, why don't you go to the underworld to take care of your parents yourself? You said that Guan Yun and Guan Yan cheated you out of money, why didn't you kill Guan Yan, but only dared to kill Guan Yun?"

In the end, he's nothing more than a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong, only daring to bully vulnerable women.

Furthermore, you didn't even know the person you kidnapped today, so how could they have wronged you? You don't deserve any mirror. In my opinion, you should take a piss and look at yourself. You're just scum who only dares to wield a knife against the weak!

Li Zhengde's eyes were bloodshot. He wanted to hit Zhou Zhao, but he didn't dare to make a move. He could only roar angrily, "Women like that deserve to die!"

Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow and replied casually, "Oh, but that was a man."