Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 22 Favorable Timing and Location
Linglan's eyes widened in panic, "Miss Zhou, it wasn't me, it wasn't me!"

Zhou Zhao ignored her sophistry. In fact, few criminals would confess easily unless the evidence was irrefutable.

"The others present could tell Wu Qing the truth and provoke him to kill Cao Ben to avenge himself; but they had no way to control Zhang Ruoqing's whereabouts or arrange for her to go to Wujin Lane. And the most crucial point of this scheme is Wujin Lane."

"After Cao Ben was killed, Zhang Ruoqing lost her most important source of income."

"But she still owes Han Ze a huge debt. Where will the money come from? You've been by Zhang Ruoqing's side, so you know better than anyone else that she had someone kidnap Cao's youngest son to extort a ransom to fill the hole."

"The timing was perfect, bringing together the right time, place, and people. The Cao family needed to perform a ritual because of their child's accident, and you also had a reason to persuade Zhang Ruoqing to meet with Han Ze at night."

Zhou Zhao paused for a moment as he spoke, "If they can't go to Fuxiao Garden, Zhang Ruoqing can still go to Haitang Tower, so she might not necessarily choose Wujin Lane."

"And the only one who could lure Zhang Ruoqing to Wujin Lane is you. You did this because you calculated that yesterday was June 15th, and that I would definitely go to Wujin Lane on that day, and that Han Ze would definitely not go to Wujin Lane to keep the appointment."

“Wu Qing killing Zhang Ruoqing is your first step; and me coming to expose the evil deeds Zhang Ruoqing committed to the world is your second step.”

Zhou Zhao's face held a hint of mockery. Last night, she had just happened to be arrested and thrown into the Tingwei Temple prison!

“You stood in front of the door looking around, talking to the coachman and hesitating whether to knock, not because you were really afraid of the ghost stories in Wujin Lane, but because you were waiting for me. When I came out of Shanming Villa and happened to pass by Zhang Ruoqing’s courtyard, you pushed open the door at the right moment.”

"Others may not see the shadow of that ghost eating people, but I must see it. Isn't that right?"

The ghostly figure could only be seen for a moment. After all, if someone forcefully broke open the door, the lamp would be blown out, and the stone slab with the ghostly figure would fall and shatter. Even if the lamp was lit again, the spectacle of "Xiongbo eating the ghost" could not be reproduced.

Looking back now, Zhou Zhao realized that she wasn't some chosen one who happened to stumble upon the scene of death; rather, someone had deliberately arranged for her to witness it.

If she had been a step earlier, all she would have seen was Zhang Ruoqing's hanging corpse; if she had been a step later, she would have already left Wujin Lane and returned home.

She was chosen as a player in this game.

Linglan shook her head. "Miss Zhou, I didn't. I had no idea."

"Of course you know. You screamed and looked completely terrified, but you beat me to it and used all your strength to break down the door because you wanted to make sure the huge jolt would cause the stone slab with Xiong Bo's name on it to fall to the ground and shatter."

Having witnessed many murders, Zhou Zhao was somewhat taken aback when he saw the "ghost eating people," but he wasn't panicked at all.

If she were to step forward, she would simply push the door open calmly, which might prevent the bluestone slab from falling to the ground.

"I have a question," Zhou Zhao was interrupted. He looked into the crowd and saw an old man with white hair, his hands behind his back, looking at him seriously. His eyebrows were exceptionally thick, with some even growing out of place, looking like they had exploded and making him look very intimidating.

"According to you, this maid wanted to expose Zhang Ruoqing's crimes to the public, so why did she destroy the bluestone slab engraved with Xiong Bo's name, so that you could see it directly and immediately think of the Nuo ritual and find Wu Qing? Wouldn't that have been better?"

Zhou Zhao's lips curled up slightly.

There are two reasons.

Zhou Zhao was not displeased by the questioning; on the contrary, she enjoyed the challenge.

She held up two fingers. "Firstly, the fact that Zhang Ruoqing was murdered can be covered up, but the fact that the most beautiful woman was eaten by a ghost cannot be covered up. Don't you see that even the girls at Chunfeng Tower are talking about this strange and unusual story?"

"Secondly, and this is the most crucial point, Wu Qing has just returned to the Cao family. In order to establish an alibi, he needs to quietly blend in with the Nuo dance. In such a short time, he has no way to completely erase any traces of his presence." "If I find the complete bluestone slab engraved with Xiong Bo on the spot, then my Northern Army and I will follow the sound and find the evidence on Wu Qing."

Upon hearing this, the old man fell into deep thought and fell silent.

Seeing that he didn't ask any more questions, Zhou Zhao continued, "In order to make the case more sensational and delay my investigation with the Court of Justice, so that Wu Qing would have time to dispose of the murder weapon, Linglan, you did something else."

"The wooden plaque with my name engraved in Zhang Ruoqing's hand, you put it there, didn't you?"

Linglan's pupils contracted sharply, and she shook her head. "Miss Zhou, I already told you before that I left Wujin Lane with the coachman Zhang Tan to listen to a storyteller at the tavern at the alley entrance. He can vouch for me!"

"We went in and out together, I simply didn't have time to stuff it in..."

"Furthermore, according to what you said, Miss Zhou Zhao, I am an accomplice of Wu Qing. So why should I ask Wu Qing not to put the wooden plaque in my hand, and instead go to all the trouble of doing it myself?"

Linglan's words caused an uproar among those present.

Many people looked at Zhou Zhao with schadenfreude and whispered among themselves.

They are not like Han Ze, and they are not afraid of Zhou Zhao.

Linglan's words make perfect sense. She also has an alibi, and what she said makes perfect sense. When Wu Qing was moving the body, couldn't he have just stuffed the wooden plaque inside? Why did Linglan have to go herself? And when did she go?

Zhou Zhao looked at them one by one with great interest.

The reason why a grand drama always unfolds scene by scene is, of course, to give certain people time to process what's happening.

Seeing that Zhou Zhao remained silent, the crowd seemed to have found some leverage and immediately erupted in a commotion.

Chang Zuoping snorted and rolled his eyes at Zhou Zhao, "So you can't answer that?"

Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow, concealing his regret. Rather than investigating the truth, some people were more interested in eliminating dissidents.

Eliminate this heretic who has inadvertently entered the world of men.

"Lord Chang, what Zhou Zhao said is all just speculation; there's no evidence whatsoever. That's just how the young lady is; she's always overthinking things!"

Someone in the crowd couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“Exactly! And even if it’s proven that Linglan was the one who betrayed and orchestrated the plot, so what? According to Zhou Zhao himself, the person wasn’t killed by Wu Qing.”

"Shouldn't we be finding the real culprit now? Focusing on a maid who showed compassion is putting the cart before the horse."

Zhou Zhao's gaze swept across the faces of those who were speaking, and seeing that she did not refute them, they became even more arrogant.

On the contrary, Han Ze, who had been standing aside watching the commotion for a long time, couldn't help but shrink back, secretly gloating in his heart. These people had never witnessed Zhou Zhao's strength and terror.

"Well, spending time to find out the truth is putting the cart before the horse for you, after all, headless flies only like to run around without any order."

(End of this chapter)