Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 219 Key Choice

Zhou Zhao looked at Chang Zuoping with a pained expression.

She raised her hand and pointed to the skull with five finger holes. "In the end, it's because there's only one. If there were two, you could give me one as part of my dowry. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he winked at Chang Zuoping.

Chang Zuoping was taken aback and pondered the meaning of Zhou Zhao's words!
This means one vacancy isn't enough, so why doesn't she create another one?

He was so angry that his beard bristled. He picked up the ruler next to him and threw it at Zhou Zhao. "You scoundrel, you actually dare to threaten me! Is it not enough that you embarrassed the Court of Justice once, do you want to embarrass us a second time?"

"You, even as a lowly soldier, have turned Chang'an upside down. If you were a court official, we old folks would be driven to our graves with rage!"

Zhou Zhao didn't move her feet. She tilted her head slightly, and the ruler flew over, hitting the wall behind her and smashing the plaque with the words "Strict Discipline" on it to the ground with a loud bang.

The room fell silent immediately.

"Zhou Zhao believes that he has never disgraced the Court of Justice by investigating and solving cases. I have kept in mind what Lord Chang said to me when we were in Tianying City. He was worried that because I am a woman, it would be difficult for me to make any progress in the future. But now that I have the opportunity to take a step forward, it is you who are standing in my way."

I don't think sending Li Mu to prison is anything shameful. If a case is wrong, it should be corrected!
The one who smeared the Court of Judicial Review was Li Mu, not me.

Chang Zuoping gave Zhou Zhao a deep look. "If you have nothing better to do, you can go and persuade the feudal lords. If you think the journey is too far, you can go to a teahouse and tell stories. It's no use me voting for you; you only have three votes anyway. The reason I pushed Jing Yi out was precisely to stop you, wasn't it?"

You don't need to look for Xu Yun anymore; he already submitted his recommendation letter, recommending Jingyi.

After Chang Zuoping finished speaking, he looked out the window and shouted, "Beheading, dismemberment, branding with hot irons, send the guests out!"

Upon receiving the command, the three dogs outside the door began barking in unison!
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhou Zhao's eyes as her gaze fell on the skull on the shelf. "If you don't choose me, then take this skull..."

Chang Zuoping gritted his teeth, his voice several decibels louder than the dog at the door, "I'll choose you! Forget about this one!"

Zhou Zhao glanced at the skull with regret. "Judging from the size of the hole, the murderer should be a woman with long, slender fingers!"

Chang Zuoping, his face dark, took the skull down from the display shelf, opened the box behind him, and carefully locked the skull inside.

Zhou Zhao found it amusing; her ears twitched, and someone was approaching the door.

"Lord Zuo Ping, Li Tingwei requests your presence. Lord Xiao Zhou will also accompany you. The meeting will take place in the council hall."

Chang Zuoping frowned, looked at Zhou Zhao, and sighed almost inaudibly, "Take your letter of recommendation with you and come along."

This was Zhou Zhao's second time in the council hall. Because it was midday, the windows were half-open, and sunlight streamed in, making the freckles on the faces of the old men in the room exceptionally clear.

Everyone else has already arrived.

Looking around, Zhou Zhao saw that Jing Yi was still sitting in the same spot where she had been holding the document. In the opposite direction, there was another table. Zhou Zhao guessed that the spot was reserved for her.

In the center of the two tables, behind Li Huaishan, there was another table. From the doorway, Zhou Zhao could only see the familiar tip of the bamboo hat.

Clearly, Liu Huang was sitting there.

He clearly disliked crowded occasions, yet he still came to support her.

The clerk in charge of recording the events was a new face, around sixty or seventy years old, looking sickly and frail, as if he might spit out a mouthful of blood at any moment, drowning passing ants. Zhou Zhao had never seen him before at the Court of Justice.

Li Huaishan still wore a gentle smile. After Chang Zuoping and Zhou Zhao sat down, he said slowly, "At today's court assembly, His Majesty was furious and ordered us to reinvestigate the old cases of the Court of Justice to see if there are any other Shao Qingqings."

Shao Qingqing suffered an injustice and nearly lost her life; she deserves some recognition. I have already asked Jingyi to help her with her mother's funeral arrangements and have found a group of people to escort her coffin back to her hometown so that she can reunite with her parents.

Li Huaishan paused as he spoke, "Because we are going to re-examine the old cases, the position of court historian cannot be vacant. This time there are two candidates: the two court historians, He and Li, recommended Zhou Zhao; the three court historians, Yan, Xu, and Tao, recommended Jing Yi."

"Since there are only two people this time, the five court historians can no longer vote, so the rest depends on the three of us. Do you have any changes you want to make?"

All five court officials shook their heads in unison.

Zhou Zhao glanced at Xu Yun and Tao Shangshan in the left courtyard. Tao Shangshan still looked half-dead, no different from usual. Xu Yun, on the other hand, kept his head down, not daring to look up at anyone.

As Zhou Zhao pondered, he looked at Jing Yi, who was sitting to A Huang's left. Jing Yi sensed Zhou Zhao's gaze, looked over calmly, and nodded to Zhou Zhao.

"Since there's nothing to change, let's start selecting directly."

Zhou Zhao stared at the empty table, momentarily realizing that these straightforward immortals weren't planning to just openly choose people in front of her and Jing Yi. It was so simple and crude that it made one wonder if this was the Court of Justice or the Northern Army camp.

“I choose Jingyi,” Guan Youping said bluntly. “Zhou Zhao has only been in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for a few days. His seniority is too low.”

Chang Zuoping listened and snorted coldly, "Are you trying to say that you've eaten more salt than she's eaten rice?"

A capable person should naturally be given important responsibilities. Not to mention her unparalleled achievement in breaking through Tianying City, how many strange cases has Zhou Zhao solved since joining the Court of Justice? The number of cases she has reviewed in such a short period of time is more than some people do in a year.

I recommend Zhou Zhao to be a court clerk. She comes from a clean family, has a strong scholarly tradition, is fair and just, well-versed in law, and skilled at solving cases. How could she not be a court clerk?

As Li Youdao listened, he felt a pain in his stomach.

He really wanted to say, "That girl doesn't just want to be a court historian, she wants to be a court judge!" That would terrify everyone present.

A hint of warmth flashed in Zhou Zhao's eyes as he listened to Chang Zuoping's words.

Chang Zuoping was honest and told her the truth without missing a single word.

“Four against three, Your Excellency, it’s all up to you,” Guan Youping said directly, ignoring Chang Zuoping’s words.

All eyes in the room turned to Li Huaishan.

Li Huaishan chuckled. "No wonder you two rushed to speak first; you wanted to leave the most difficult task to me! You two!"

Li Huaishan paused for a moment, then said, "Jing Yi is one of my men. He is bold and meticulous, and a man of real ability. Zhou Zhao is the same. The two are equally matched, and both are rare talents in our Court of Justice."

To prevent the Court of Judicial Review from becoming a place where I, an old man, hold absolute power, or from any acts of favoritism, I will cast this vote…

Li Huaishan paused again as he spoke.

As Zhou Zhao listened, he couldn't help but admire this person's skill in punctuation.

“I choose Zhou Zhao. This is a draw. According to the custom of the Court of Justice, the two of you will have another match.”