Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 180 The Person of Ju Niang
As Ji Yun spoke, his heart trembled. He suddenly opened his eyes wide, and his hand pointing at Zhou Zhao trembled uncontrollably.

"Zhou Zhao... Zhou Zhao, could it be... could it be that every ball has it..."

As Ji Yun spoke, she was on the verge of tears.

"They all have human faces on them! I was overjoyed when I got them, and I hung them by my bedside every day! I slept with them!"

Everyone in the room fell silent. Even Li Youdao yawned, glanced at Ji Yun, and gave him a sympathetic look.

"It's not impossible. Just bring the other five balls you have at home, cut them open and you'll see!"

Ji Yun covered her mouth in horror.

He felt that he could never play Cuju again in his life. Not to mention Cuju, he couldn't stand anything that looked like a ball. He even dared not look at Li Youdao's head. He was worried that the old man's round head would suddenly explode and there was a face hidden inside.

Seeing that he was completely terrified, Zhou Zhao immediately interrupted his thoughts and asked, "When did you get those balls? Where did Duobao Pavilion get them from? Did you tell Wu Jiandao and Wu Qingshan that those balls were from Shenxiao back then?"

Ji Yun's mind was buzzing. Hearing Zhou Zhao's three questions, he tried hard to think and brought his wandering thoughts back to normal.

"I only started to like Cuju (ancient Chinese football) this spring. So I spent money to recruit twelve people to play for me all over Chang'an. Sometimes I would play myself and have them feed me the ball. After I joined the Shaofu (Imperial Household Department), I heard that Wu Jiandao was the son of Wu Heng, the sharpshooter from Shenxiao (the Divine Firmament) in the past, so I went to inquire about Shenxiao."

I've heard that Shenxiao possesses the Six Harmony Balls, which correspond to the six directions of heaven, earth, east, west, south, and north. They were invincible back then because they used these six balls in rotation.

Who wouldn't want to collect these six balls if they loved Cuju (ancient Chinese football)? My father, seeing my interest, immediately spent money to order these six balls from Manager She at Duobaoge.

Zhou Zhao's eyes flickered, and he understood the implication in Ji Yun's words.

She knew about Duobaoge and was very familiar with it. Duobaoge was a property of Princess Changyang's mansion, and the owner behind it was Consort Fan.

Presumably, Ji Yun's father wanted to buy the Divine Firmament Six Harmony Ball for his son, but was too lazy to search for it himself, so he simply spent a large sum of money to have the manager of the Treasure Pavilion handle it on his behalf. The people at the Treasure Pavilion knew exactly who possessed these treasures, and with them paving the way and the Ji family spending a fortune, it was naturally a piece of cake for them.

"I only received the ball at the beginning of this month. Because it was an old thing and dusty, I made inquiries and found the master craftsman Ju Niang who made the ball for Shenxiao back then, and asked her to make a cover for the ball with gold thread."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao couldn't help but interrupt, "Who are you talking about?"

Ji Yun was taken aback, then repeated, "Ju Niang. She is a famous ball-making master in Chang'an City."

Zhou Zhao and Su Changying exchanged a glance, both looking serious. She didn't tell Ji Yun that Ju Niang was Wu Qingshan's mother, but asked Ji Yun, "Does Wu Jiandao and Wu Qingshan know this?"

Ji Yun shook his head. "Jun Niang said she wanted the ball to turn golden, but not into a hard, lifeless ball. She needed to work slowly to produce fine results. It took her twenty days to finish weaving it. I took it home and hung it above my bed to admire it..."

As Ji Yun spoke, her face turned pale.

"Until today, during the battle between the Court of Justice and the Imperial Household Department, the two Wu brothers faced off. I just randomly picked a ball and went out. I was thinking of letting the brothers kick it a few times, and if they didn't want to play with it anymore, I could sell it. Wouldn't that add a bit more legend to the ball and make it more valuable in the future?"

As Ji Yun spoke, she looked at Zhou Zhao, "But after I saw you, Zhou Zhao, I completely forgot everything..."

If he had played football with Zhou Zhao earlier, why would he have needed to collect Shenxiao's Six Harmony Ball?

He might as well go and pull out Zhou Zhao's shoes, offer incense to him every day, and even if he doesn't learn everything perfectly, as long as he learns even a fraction of what Zhou Zhao has learned, he'll be a little tyrant on the football field!
"There's no way a human face could pop out of a shoe!" Ji Yun said, looking at Zhou Zhao with a sense of sympathy, "After playing football with you, I've completely forgotten about the ball!"

That's not all. Of the twenty-four players on the field, everyone who watched the game had their eyes only on Zhou Zhao.

She is like the sun; when you look up, you can only see her and not any other stars.

Ji Yun thought for a moment, then patted his chest. "I'll have someone send the remaining five balls from my house over right now. I'll give them all to the Court of Justice. I don't want any of them. The case is closed, so I don't want them anymore..."

Zhou Zhao glanced at Su Changying, who nodded and walked towards the door.

Seeing Su Changying walk out, Ji Yun added, "My house is right across from the Shao Mansion. After I entered the Shao Mansion, my father was worried that I would get tired, so he bought the place for me to live in."

Su Changying and Zhou Zhao took a deep breath at the same time.

Zhou Zhao looked at Ji Yun in front of him with a blank expression.

Considering that her Zhou family has been prominent for generations, and Zhou Buhai is considered a legal scholar, why is the gap between her and Ji Yun so great, even greater than the gap between cattle and horses?
Su Changying goes without saying; she used to steal money in Tianying City, but now she could be kicked out of the Lu Marquis's mansion at any time.

Ji Yun was startled by Zhou Zhao's gaze. He waved his hand and said, "I've confessed everything. I've told you everything I know. I didn't kill anyone."

Zhou Zhao waved his hand at him speechlessly, "You can go out now, Chen Jiyuan is waiting for you outside."

Ji Yun breathed a long sigh of relief. He nodded hurriedly and practically ran out.

Zhou Zhao looked towards the door and saw a woman standing there.

She was dressed in coarse linen clothes, and her body was very clean. She also carried a faint scent of locust blossoms. She showed no signs of awkwardness in her every move.

Seeing the people in the room looking at her, the woman smiled, revealing her neat teeth.

She clearly loves to laugh, as there are noticeable laugh lines at the corners of her eyes when she laughs.

"My name is Ju Niang, and I am Wu Qingshan's mother. This must be Lord Zhou, right? Qingshan often mentions you at home. He says that since you came to the Court of Justice, even the rats there have become more diligent. Lord Zhou sent the Northern Army to invite me here. May I ask what brings you here?"

Zhou Zhao was taken aback and looked at Han Ze next to Ju Niang.

Han Ze shrank back, not daring to meet Zhou Zhao's gaze.

It wasn't that he hadn't told Ju Niang what had happened; it was simply that he didn't know how to bring it up! He couldn't very well say, "Your husband was murdered and hidden inside the ball, then our Sister Zhao kicked it out, and now the Court of Justice suspects you were the one who killed him, and that you were the one who hid his face..."

As Han Ze was thinking, he heard Zhou Zhao's cold voice, "We have found your husband."

Ju Niang's expression suddenly froze. She was initially overjoyed, but after looking at the faces of everyone in the room, her eyes dimmed.

She lowered her eyes, and only after a long while did she raise them again. Her eyes were red and filled with tears, but she tried her best not to let them fall.

"How did he die?"