Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 251 The Secret of the Snake's Belly
Clearly, the child had been hidden inside the wine jar.

Children this age simply cannot control themselves from making noise.

Although Ah Huang hasn't had a check-up yet, Zhou Zhao guessed that someone must have given the child a small amount of medicine so that he could fall into a deep sleep and avoid the calamity.

The weight is just right. When Cao Qin arrives at the agreed time today to have the clothes taken, she will find the body and report it to the authorities.

When the Court of Justice came to search the area, the child woke up crying and was rescued.

Zhou Zhao thought about it, his heart heavy.

According to what the Ou brothers said before, Bai Xiang Lou was where Bai Jiu Niang used to live. Could the murderer be related to Bai Jiu Niang?
Zhou Zhao thought to himself, then walked past the clump of hair and continued upstairs. The second floor was obviously Bai Shisan Niang's boudoir. As soon as he came up, he could smell a faint fragrance. The room was in a mess, and a portrait had fallen to the ground, leaving a complete muddy footprint.

The painting depicts two people, one of whom is a man leaning against a window, with only the back of his head and half of a dark green jade hairpin protruding from his hair bun visible.

Standing next to him was Bai Shisan Niang, who rested her head on his shoulder and wore a happy smile.

She placed one hand on the man's shoulder, while stroking her flat stomach with the other.

Zhou Zhao squatted down and measured the muddy footprints. "These are a woman's footprints. We can compare them with the deceased's shoes later."

Zhou Zhao picked up the scroll and carefully rolled it up.

"The house was ransacked, so the murderer was obviously looking for something."

As Zhou Zhao was speaking, he suddenly paused, his gaze falling on Bai Shisan Niang's hand touching her lower abdomen in the painting. Between her fingers was a small, barely visible blue gemstone, so small that it was impossible to see unless you looked closely.

That was the longevity lock hanging around the neck of the child named Niannian.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then handed the scroll to Min Zangzhi, who was standing to the side, and then took out the longevity lock.

The lock was bulging, so it must be hollow. Zhou Zhao held it in his hand and felt that it was heavier than he had expected, but it made no sound when he shook it.

Zhou Zhao's eyes flickered, and he pinched the blue gemstone in his hand. With a click, the golden lock split in two, revealing a small copper key.

"There's a snake coiled on this key... The murderer must have come for this, Zhou Zhao."

Min Cangzhi peeked at the key and said with a smirk.

"This man who's been hiding is now too afraid to show himself and take his child back, even though Bai Shisan Niang is dead. If there's a key, there must be a lock. Where could the lock be? I wonder if the murderer took it."

As Min Zangzhi spoke, she wandered around the messy room.

Zhou Zhao stared at the key in his hand for a long time, then suddenly jumped off the second floor. Min Cangzhi instinctively reached out to grab him, but couldn't even catch the hem of Zhou Zhao's clothes.

"Zhou Zhao, what are you doing? If you can't figure it out, you don't have to jump off a building, do you?"

As Min Cangzhi spoke, she saw Zhou Zhao walk up to the corpse of the giant python. She reached out and touched its belly, then found the right spot, pulled out her dagger, and slashed it open. A corner of a rectangular iron box slid out from inside.

Zhou Zhao stretched out his fingers, pinched hard, and pulled the iron box out.

The rain washed away the bloodstains on the iron box, and in no time, the box revealed its true form. It was a long box, engraved with some intricate patterns that were difficult to decipher.

Zhou Zhao took it into the house, and at that moment, Min Zangzhi and the others upstairs also ran down.

Min Cangzhi looked at it and showed a surprised expression. "Zhou Zhao, how did you guess that this thing was hidden in the snake's belly? Are you some kind of little immortal who can predict the future? Putting you in the Court of Justice is really a waste of your talents. You should be the Imperial Preceptor!"

Zhou Zhao rolled her eyes at Min Cangzhi, "How could you be wasting your talent? Someone like you should be a demon concubine!"

Min Cangzhi snorted and shook the Hundred Flowers Fan in her hand. "That won't do! My Ayou doesn't like frivolous people!"

“If you were upright, there would be no upright people in the Court of Justice.”

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he carefully examined the iron box and, sure enough, noticed a small keyhole on it.

Zhou Zhao put the key in, turned it gently, and with a click, the iron box opened.

The box was empty, containing only a thin oil paper package, which did not look like anything valuable.

Zhou Zhao carefully opened the oil paper package, and a faint fragrance wafted out. Inside, there was a light blue handkerchief.

Zhou Zhao picked up the box without ceremony and handed the handkerchief to Min Zangzhi's nose. "Perfume genius, smell this and remember the scent."

Min Cangzhi's smile faded, and she carefully fanned herself on the handkerchief before closing her eyes. "There's ambergris, spikenard, asarum, myrrh... This scent seems familiar, like I've smelled it somewhere before, hmm, and there's also the smell of ink..."

Zhou Zhao's eyes lit up. "Where have I smelled this before?"

Min Cangzhi curled her lip. "The number of people I've seen who wear incense could circle Chang'an eight times if you lined them up. I'd only be able to identify them if I encountered them again. But this fragrance is unusual; it's not a common scent. It must have been blended by someone who understands incense."

However, this incense is probably for men. The handkerchief also seems to be something only men would use.

Spices are precious and were originally only available to aristocratic and wealthy families.

As Zhou Zhao pondered, she carefully unfolded the handkerchief. One corner of the blue handkerchief was embroidered with gladiolus.

"Whose handkerchief is this? What's so special about it? Why would this thing bring Bai Shisan Niang such a deadly danger?"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she frowned. She had initially thought it would be a register or ledger, but to her utter surprise, it was just an ordinary handkerchief. What could a handkerchief possibly signify?
The handkerchief itself is nothing special; it's just that the person who owns it is special.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then looked at A Huang, "A Huang, you go with the brothers of the Northern Army to send the body back to the Court of Justice, and see if there's anything we've overlooked. Ou Jianshen, you take the child to the Court of Justice to find someone to take care of him. Ou Jianshen and I will split up and inquire around, see if anyone knows anything..."

Before Zhou Zhao could finish speaking, he saw a somewhat haggard elderly couple standing in front of the door.

Their hair was gray, and they looked at Zhou Zhao with some unease. When they peeked out and saw the corpses laid out in the courtyard corridor, they covered their mouths in fright. When they realized that Zhou Zhao had noticed them, the old man among them said, "That...is that Zhou Zhao, young Master Zhou..."

Zhou Zhao nodded. "And you two are?"

The old man coughed a few times, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Zhou Zhao, saying, "My surname is Chen, and Chen Jiyuan is my son..."