Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 192 Entering the Marquis of Lu's Residence
Zhou Zhao only picked out the lighthearted parts to say, and didn't care whether he said anything else or not.

Even if Su Changying doesn't remember her promise, she is still keeping it.

As Zhou Zhao walked along, he swept through the area, buying some fresh autumn pears, freshly harvested chestnuts and peanuts, a pot of chrysanthemum wine, and a large bunch of osmanthus branches. Finally, he pulled Su Changying toward an inconspicuous little shop.

The shop door was extremely small, with only a wooden plank removed; even a skinny monkey couldn't squeeze in.

Zhou Zhao stepped forward, took out his coin purse, and handed it in, saying, "I want the newest one."

A clean, white hand reached out from inside and handed over a bamboo slip that was tightly bound.

Zhou Zhao didn't even look at it, and directly stuffed the bamboo slip into Su Changying's arms, saying, "These are all things your mother likes."

Su Changying looked down curiously. If his hands weren't already full, he would have opened it immediately to see, "What is this?"

Zhou Zhao's eyes darted around. "General Su, I advise you not to ask."

Su Changying blushed as she recalled seeing the man reading in the Tingwei Temple prison, and the bamboo slips she was holding began to burn.

Just as Su Changying was somewhat dazed, they finally arrived at the Lu Marquis's residence. This area was filled with pavilions and towers, and as far as the eye could see, there were high gates and deep courtyards.

Most of the nobles and military generals of the Great Qi Dynasty lived here, and even the roads were wider than those elsewhere, enough for three carriages to pass through.

Upon seeing the two arrive, the guards at the gate of the Marquis of Lu's residence immediately bowed. "Young Marquis of Lu... Commandant Su, Miss Zhou... We'll go and announce their arrival..."

Just as one of them was about to call him "Little Marquis Lu," he was pulled back by the other. As if waking from a dream, he quickly changed his address and called him "Commander Su."

Su Changying's expression remained unchanged. He walked up to the man, paused for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "From now on, call him Lord Xiao Zhou."

Having said that, without waiting for the man's reply, he led Zhou Zhao straight into the Lu Marquis's residence.

The Lu Marquis's residence was about twice the size of the Zhou residence, but because the main family was small, there weren't many houses. So they dug a large lake to the west, planted lotus flowers, and raised crabs. Zhou Zhao and Su Changying had swum here before and caught wild ducks that seemed to fly in from nowhere.

They even planted a plum tree together by that lake, but it was cut down sometime ago.

As soon as Zhou Zhao entered the mansion, he heard a soft laugh. "Mother, look, Father is using a crab to scare me... Brother, quickly help me hold Father."

Zhou Zhao looked closely and saw that Lu Hou had picked up a crab with its claws outstretched and was moving closer to his youngest daughter, Su Ling. Su Ling was wearing a light yellow shirt, and the golden bell on her wrist was particularly dazzling. She was stomping her foot in a coquettish manner.

Little Lu Hou Su Changyu obediently stepped forward and hugged Lu Hou's waist, "Father, don't scare little sister."

Lady Liu, the new wife of the Marquis of Lu, covered her mouth and smiled gently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zhou Zhao and Su Changying and immediately exclaimed, "Changying, Zhou Zhao is here."

The laughter in the courtyard stopped abruptly.

Zhou Zhao reached out and gently touched Su Changying's hand. She began to understand why Su Changying preferred to live in the Northern Army camp rather than in the Lu Marquis's residence.

"It is truly impolite of us to come and pay our respects without sending a formal invitation beforehand. I hope the Marquis of Lu, his wife, and the young Marquis of Lu will not be offended?"

Upon hearing this, Marquis Lu turned around. In his youth, his appearance was unparalleled in Chang'an, and even now, in his later years, his beauty remained undiminished. In comparison, Lady Liu was not outstanding at all. She was merely pretty, with fair skin but some freckles on her cheeks, and looked quite ordinary.

Zhou Zhao's words were laced with venom and were extremely grating to hear.

Upon hearing this, Madam Liu smiled and said, "Your father has been saying that he is looking forward to Changying and Azhao returning home. This is just in time. There are crabs in the pond today, so I will tell the kitchen to make drunken crabs. If I remember correctly, Changying loves drunken crabs the most."

Hearing this, Su Ling pouted and said, "Mother, neither my brother nor I like drunken crab, so we have to eat it according to his wishes."

Madam Liu's face immediately darkened, and she angrily shouted, "Su Ling!"

Su Ling stomped her foot, looking aggrieved. "Am I wrong? Ever since he came back, Father and Mother have been thinking about him in everything, completely ignoring us siblings. And I'm not even allowed to speak up."

Zhou Zhao glanced at the mother and daughter and sneered.

"What exactly are these 'things'? Tell me! I'll count them on my fingers for you!"
"Aunt Liu, you've lost your tongue! If you want to tell Su Changying that this mansion can't tolerate him, you should just say so directly. Why did you arrange for the people at the gate to first call him 'Little Marquis Lu' and then 'Captain Su'? And you even arranged for Su Ling to say such unpleasant things..."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she glanced at Su Ling with sympathy, "Look at your mother, she can't bear to let your brother do such a petty and unseemly thing. I've seen favoritism before, but I've never seen such favoritism."

The Su family was completely dumbfounded.

She said it; she said it all outright.

"Uncle Su, if the Su family has no place for Changying to stay, that's fine. Why don't you let him marry into the family and take my surname, Zhou? Although our Zhou family is not as wealthy as the Lu Marquis's mansion, at least we can eat one crab and throw it away... Just pretend he didn't come back and was killed four years ago."

In this way, Aunt Liu won't have to consider Changying's needs in everything, Su Ling won't be angry, and Su Changyu won't have to cower in the back while watching his mother and younger sister charge into battle. My father has gained a son for free; it's a complete win for him.”

Lord Lu said with a grim face, "My niece has stabbed me in the heart."

Zhou Zhao met his gaze without backing down, "Wasn't it Uncle who stabbed first?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell coldly on Madam Liu's face. "Don't bring up things that are beneath your dignity. You may not feel ashamed, but I feel ashamed for my uncle. If word gets out, people will laugh at you. Do you intend to support the Su family with this in the future?"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he pursed his lips and said, "If I were Marquis Chen, I would be setting off firecrackers at home right now."

The Marquis of Lu and the Marquis of Chen were always at odds, and Zhou Zhao and Su Changying had often beaten up their families in the past.

Lu Hou's expression grew increasingly grim. He threw the crab in his hand into the basin, glanced at the things Su Changying was holding, paused for a moment, and sighed softly, "Go and pay your respects to your mother first."

As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the ancestral hall.

Su Changying and Zhou Zhao followed behind him without saying a word, placing the offerings they had brought on the table. Then, each of them lit three incense sticks, knelt down, and placed them in the incense burner. Zhou Zhao untied the rope from the bamboo slip and placed it in front of the memorial tablet.

There were only three living people in the ancestral hall, making it seem exceptionally empty.

Upon seeing this, the Marquis of Lu also took three incense sticks and bowed to the memorial tablet.

“Changying…” Marquis Lu sighed softly and turned to look at Su Changying.