Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 247 Meeting Subordinates
Holding the newly acquired court official token, Zhou Zhao looked at the irritable Xu Yun and even found him to be quite handsome.

She reached into her sleeve pocket, returned the token to Li Youdao, and bowed to him, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, sir."

If Li Youdao hadn't given her the opportunity to investigate the case openly, she would probably still be struggling to find a chance while reviewing the case files.

Li Youdao snorted, caught his token, subtly rubbed it between his fingers, then hung it on his waist, returned to his desk, and picked up the dossier to read it carefully.

Zhou Zhao glanced at Tao Shangshan's desk, which had been cleaned up and was now spotless.

She returned to her original desk and began tidying up her things.

There were few things on her desk, only a set of her usual writing brush and ink, so Zhou Zhao immediately noticed a brocade box placed in the corner of the desk.

When Zhou Zhao opened the brocade box, he found a pair of brand-new shoes inside.

The soles of the shoes were exceptionally well-made, with fine and dense stitches. On one of the shoes was a small sachet, embroidered with the words "May you rise higher and higher step by step."

Zhou Zhao was momentarily dazed. Although there wasn't a single word left inside, she knew it was left for her by Chen Jiyuan. For some time before, he had often been sewing shoe soles; when he bent his head, his chubby face looked like a cute squirrel.

Humans are indeed the most complex beings.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment and then closed the brocade box again.

She carried the brocade box, along with the writing brush and ink, to Tao Shangshan's desk.

The large room in the left courtyard was divided into three parts, with Li Youdao occupying one side all by himself. On the other side, Xu Yun sat near the door, while Tao Shangshan sat at his desk in a secluded corner against the back wall.

As soon as Zhou Zhao sat down, she heard birds chirping. She turned her head and looked out the window, where she saw a whole bamboo forest.

There was a somewhat dilapidated small stove by the window, which should have been left behind by Tao Shangshan. The earthenware pot used for brewing tea had been removed.

The fire in the small stove hadn't completely died down yet, and Zhou Zhao reached out and warmed his hands on it; it felt cozy and cozy.

Her desk had been wiped clean and was free of dust. Zhou Zhao didn't stand on ceremony; she arranged the writing brush and ink, and then placed the brocade box that Chen Jiyuan had left for her in a corner of the desk.

Now, she is a court historian.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then looked at Chen Yuzhao and said, "Gentlemen, please follow me."

As she spoke, she stood up and walked towards the side room next to the main house.

There were about seven people who followed her in.

Chen Yuzhao was the last to enter. His expression towards Zhou Zhao was particularly complicated. Not long ago, he was competing with Zhou Zhao in a grand contest, all for the sake of entering the Court of Justice. How long has it been? Zhou Zhao has already become his superior.

"I am Zhou Zhao, and I believe that none of you do not know me. If you did not know me before, you will know me from today onwards."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his gaze swept across the faces of the crowd.

Her gaze immediately fell on one of the men. He was slightly short, about the same height as Zhou Zhao, and his expression was exceptionally serious, with eyes as sharp as a hawk hunting its prey.

Seeing Zhou Zhao looking at him, the man said with a blank face.

"My name is Cui Li, and I used to be in charge of distributing the files. If you must say so, you can think of me as Xu Jin. There is something I don't understand, and I would like to ask you how you recognized me... If you want to replace me, I have nothing to say." Of the seven people, Zhou Zhao only recognized Chen Yuzhao and had no idea who was Tao Shangshan's right-hand man.

He wasn't the oldest here, so how did Zhou Zhao figure out that he was in charge of this group?
Zhou Zhao smiled and shook his head at Cui Li, "There are no plans for that at the moment. The files that were brought over today are still piled up on your desk. Because of the arrival of a new court official, you did not take it upon yourself to distribute them, so you are the one in charge, which is perfectly clear."

What Zhou Zhao didn't say was that Tao Shangshan was always half-dead.

Similarly, Tao Shangshan's group, though not particularly involved in affairs, was eerily quiet, almost as if they were dead. This indicated that he must have a very capable person under him keeping everyone in check. Looking around, she realized only Cui Li possessed that kind of imposing presence.

Cui Li listened and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“Ou Jianlu and Ou Jianshen are brothers. They are well-informed in Chang'an, and they know the ins and outs of all walks of life, including the red-light districts.”

The Ou brothers were fair-skinned and handsome, but they had an uncontrollable roguish air about them. They didn't look like officials of the Court of Justice, but rather like street thugs. They would take off their official robes and go out to harass women in the street. They didn't look like good people at all.

“Wang Yuan has been here for seven years, Li Yu for six; Shi Le used to work under Yan Tingshi in the Right Court, and then transferred to the Left Court for two years. All three of them are well-versed in the law, and can be said to know it by heart…”

Upon hearing Cui Li's words, the three of them became somewhat uneasy.

Wang Yuan looked incredibly slick, with a fawning smile on his face, and he seemed to be hunched over. He was clearly a seasoned sly old fox. Otherwise, the court officials wouldn't have come and gone, but Wang Yuan would remain a constant. Even her father, Zhou Buhai, hadn't managed to stay in the Court of Justice until now.

Li Yu was a very composed man in his thirties. His expression was normal, and it was impossible to tell what was going on with him.

However, Zhou Zhao noticed the fabric of his clothes. Although they were both official robes from the Court of Judicial Review, his was clearly of much higher quality, obviously made separately at home. And at his waist hung a jade pendant, suggesting he came from a powerful and wealthy family.

Shi Le was the youngest, looking no more than twenty years old. His face was flushed red with embarrassment, and he didn't dare to lift his head.

A short sword was tucked into his belt.

The scabbard of the short sword was not ornate, and the hilt was worn. Shi Le had many calluses on his hands, indicating that he was a civil official skilled in martial arts.

Shi Le felt Zhou Zhao watching him, and almost couldn't hold back anymore.

Good heavens! Who in the entire Court of Justice would dare to claim to be an expert in the law and able to recite it from memory in front of Zhou Zhao?
Why have they been working so hard these days, practically living in the Court of Justice? It's because they were terrified by the speed at which Zhou Zhao reviewed the case files.

"The last one is Chen Yuzhao, whom Zhou Tingshi knows, so I won't say more."

Upon hearing his name called, Chen Yuzhao nodded with a complicated expression. "I'm good at..."

Chen Yuzhao originally wanted to say that he was good at investigating cases, but when he thought of Zhou Zhao, he was too embarrassed to show off his limited skills.

“I enjoy investigating cases and I’m fairly knowledgeable about the law. I used to work in the local government.”

Zhou Zhao nodded slightly. "Very good."

"The case file will remain as it was before. After you have reviewed it, place it on my desk, and I will review it again."

If there are any cases, anyone who is interested is welcome to investigate them with me. I only handle two things here: investigating and judging cases.

"Don't let people laugh at us for being a small temple with a big ego, a shallow pond with many turtles. I'll beat him senseless and make him lose all face."