Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 143 Spy, Spy
"But why? If the princess is killed, the prince consort will no longer be a prince consort, but just an ordinary cow or horse."

Su Changying found Zhou Zhao's answer somewhat amusing. "Young Master Zhou is being too arbitrary. There are all sorts of strange things in this world. Perhaps some people just want to be slaves to others. There are reasons for this that we don't know."

Zhou Zhao shook his head.

"But you could take on eight Prince Consort Fans with one hand... Do you know how we met Fan Lishen? Back then, Fan Lishen came to our door to provoke us, and you beat him up. He went back crying to find his father for help, and then you beat up his father, Prince Consort Fan, too..."

From then on, Fan Lishen became acquainted with them through a fight, and together they wreaked havoc in Chang'an.

However, when Prince Consort Fan saw them, he would take a detour, for fear of triggering the memory that had haunted him.

"Back then, His Majesty was just a minor village head, and Princess Changyang was just the village head's little sister. She married Fan, a tomb raider of equal social standing. Fan was not good at martial arts, but he had extremely strong luck. Every coffin he laid contained wealth, and he never encountered ghosts. Because of this, he was quite famous."

It wasn't until Changyang became a princess and he became her consort that his status rose, and he was given the title of general.

If his martial arts skills surpassed Su Changying's, he wouldn't be an unknown soldier, nor would he be merely a prince consort; he would have become General Fan long ago.

Su Changying was speechless.

"Young Master Zhou, Young Marquis Lu, please try my pickled vegetable steamed meatloaf... When you two used to come here, my old man often made it for you. Unfortunately, he passed away last year and didn't have time to teach me the secret recipe. I can make it about 70% similar to his. Our old customers are nostalgic and gave me some face, saying they liked it."

As the landlady spoke, she brought over a plate of steamed meat patties.

Zhou Zhao sniffed, and the aroma of pickled vegetables wafted towards him, the minced meat having just the right balance of lean and fat.

Looking at the expectant look in the landlady's eyes, Zhou Zhao picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and tasted it. After a moment of contemplation, she said to the landlady, "There's not enough wine."

The landlady was taken aback. "What did you say?"

Zhou Zhao laughed and said, "It's missing the wine flavor. The pickled vegetables and steamed meat we used to make had your wine added to enhance the flavor. Try making it next time, and you might get a 90% similar taste."

The wife was overjoyed. "I'll go and try it right away. When the old man was still alive, I was always cursing at him. Now that he's gone, I miss him a little."

Zhou Zhao watched the departing figure of the landlady and became thoughtful. She frowned, stood up, and said to Su Changying, "We won't go to Shanming Academy today. I have important business to attend to and will be heading straight back to Tingwei Temple in a bit."

Su Changying nodded, took out some silver and placed it on the table, then stood up. "In that case, I'll return to the Northern Army first."

The two walked out the door side by side, each heading in a different direction. Su Changying watched Zhou Zhao's departing figure until she disappeared from sight before walking towards the opposite side of the street. It was a newly opened roasted mutton shop, with a wine flag hanging in front of the door.

Compared to the small tavern Zhou Zhao went to, this place was much more lively, and many people had come to eat at this hour.

Su Changying went straight up to the second floor and entered one of the elegant rooms.

A woman stood by the window in the room. If Zhou Zhao were there, she would definitely recognize her as the owner of the roasted mutton shop she had met in Tianying City.

Hearing footsteps, the landlady turned around and smiled meaningfully.

"Qianmian, don't take this too seriously. It's no use if you like Zhou Zhao. When she finds out you're not Su Changying but a traitor, she'll hate you terribly. I could tell from Tianying City that you treated her differently, but I never expected you to fall so deeply in love."

The landlady spoke, her eyes darting around, unlike her previous polite treatment of Su Changying in Tianying City. "Some things are not yours. If you harbor greed for them, you will be doomed."

Su Changying scoffed, leaning against the window with her sword in her arms, and coldly looked at the person standing next to her. "Yinyan, mind your own business. You're like a rat in a ditch, spying on others every day. You're really annoying."

You know, the one who harbored greed wasn't me, it was you. It's just a pity that your godfather never even glanced at you; you don't even know who he is.

The woman codenamed Silver Goose glared angrily at Su Changying, "What did Zhou Zhao discover across from Linjiang Tower?"

Su Changying raised an eyebrow, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes. "Weren't you keeping an eye on us? Don't you know what she found out? You're so useless, you'll be next to die. Don't worry, as a former colleague, I'll throw you into a mass grave."

Yin Yan pursed her lips.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go; she was assigned to keep an eye on Su Changying. When Su Changying entered Tianying City, she opened a mutton soup shop there. Su Changying knew about her and didn't object to her coming. The place was a mixed bag, full of lowlifes, so it was easy for her.

But now that they've returned to Chang'an, they're in a dilemma.

Zhou Zhao was too perceptive, and her martial arts skills were extremely high, especially her lightness skills. Under these circumstances, she dared not get too close.

“She discovered the Heavenly Horse,” Su Changying said.

Yin Yan didn't say anything more. She looked at Su Changying and said, "I won't tell my godfather about your feelings for Zhou Zhao. You have to keep this a secret for me too, or don't blame me for fighting to the death. As for that little blind boy, take good care of him. He often talks about you. I will take good care of him for you."

Upon hearing the words "little blind man," Su Changying's expression softened somewhat.

Seeing this, Yin Yan relaxed a little.

Looking at Su Changying, she suddenly felt a sense of lingering fear.

The person in front of them was the number one ruthless person in their group.

She pursed her lips, feeling restless and uneasy. "I'm sorry, I was recently reprimanded by my godfather, and I'm feeling very annoyed. I've offended you a lot, so consider it a debt I owe you. My godfather told me to tell you that things are tense lately, so there's no need to take any action for now."

Su Changying's gaze towards Yin Yan was filled with endless desolation. "I don't remember the villa opposite Linjiang Tower, and I certainly didn't tell them that Zhou Zhao was going to search the mountain. Who is the colleague beside me, or beside Zhou Zhao?"

Yin Yan hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"I don't know either. You know the rules, we don't even know who our godfather's men are, we only know their code names at most."

Su Changying withdrew her gaze and headed downstairs. After taking three steps, she whispered, "My godfather doesn't like green, he likes red."

Yin Yan's eyes lit up, and she instantly became delighted.

Su Changying didn't say anything more, picked up her long sword and strode downstairs.

He stood in the middle of the street, looked in the direction Zhou Zhao had left, then turned around, mounted his horse, and headed towards the Northern Army's camp.

The moment he entered the camp, a large machete came crashing down on his head.