Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 253 Leaked news
There wasn't a single word written on the silk, not even his name.

Zhou Zhao understood, what difference would it make if he stayed?
That wasn't originally his name; it was just a bloodstained code.

She wondered if Su Changying hadn't remembered her, and if she hadn't written a letter to his deceased wife to confirm Su Changying's identity, would he have ended up like "Chen Jiyuan," lost and without hope of ever returning?

Bai Shisan Niang and her child are Chen Jiyuan's Achilles' heel.

Gongzi Yu was arranged by his adoptive father to be Su Changying's Achilles' heel.

Chen Jiyuan died in the Lost City, and Bai Shisan Niang also did not escape this calamity.

Zhou Zhao pulled himself out of his reverie. "Have you shown this silk scroll to anyone else?"

"Yes, Lord Li Youdao of the Court of Justice has seen it."

Zhou Zhao's hand tightened around the silk. "Li Youdao, Lord Li, are you sure?"

Mr. Chen was taken aback, then nodded. "Yes, what that child said when he left Chang'an has really bothered us. Sometimes I think, maybe we should just let it go. Heaven made us lose one Ji Yuan, but then sent us back another. Isn't that fate?"

I was filled with anxiety, and there was still no news from the Lost City. I could only inquire at the Court of Justice from time to time.

Lord Li Youdao returned first; he is Ji Yuan's superior. Ji Yuan often plays Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with him, so I went up and asked him a few questions.

Ji Yuan instructed that this item was only for Lord Zhou. I hadn't originally intended to show it to Lord Li, but I accidentally dropped it on the ground right at the entrance of the Court of Judicial Review. Lord Li picked it up and returned it to me.

The silk wasn't fully unfolded, so I don't know exactly how much he saw.

He was quite drunk at the time, and looked very disheveled. I didn't want to ask about Ji Yuan, so I went back. Later, Chang Zuoping told us about Ji Yuan... He said... He said that Ji Yuan committed suicide after assassinating Lord Zhou..."

As Chen's father spoke, his gaze toward Zhou Zhao was filled with apprehension.

His lips moved, and after a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "That child must be..."

He said half of it, but then stopped.

He wanted to say that Chen Jiyuan had his reasons, but he had also heard that Lord Zhou almost didn't make it back.

What right does he have to demand that the young girl in front of him understand the unavoidable circumstances of the person who assassinated him?

"Besides that, only my wife and I, and my eldest son Chen Bo'an have seen it."

Zhou Zhao frowned. When they were in the Lost City, Li Youdao hadn't traveled with them; he had ridden back to Chang'an alone. Next to them was the Northern Army led by Su Changying. They were anxious to come to Chang'an to eliminate the rebels, so they marched at breakneck speed and quickly returned to Chang'an as well.

Then came the wounded soldiers from the Court of Justice. Because of their injuries and the advanced age of He Tingshi, they didn't travel very fast and were the last to return.

Has your house been burgled recently? Or have you noticed anything unusual?

Mr. Chen's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know? A thief came and ransacked the house, but nothing was stolen. It was the night after I ran into Lord Li Youdao at the Court of Justice."

Zhou Zhao's heart skipped a beat. "When you bumped into Li Youdao in front of the gate and dropped this silk on the ground, were there any other people around? In other words, were there any carriages or anything like that parked in front of the Court of Justice at that time?"

"There was no one else. As for the carriage, let me think... there was a carriage. At that time, Lord Li tumbled off his horse, covered in dust. His horse neighed a few times. The horse was disobedient and even frightened the horses in front of the carriage parked by the roadside."

But I can't remember exactly what kind of carriage it was. At the time, I picked up the silk, afraid it would ruin Ji Yuan's plans and someone would take it, so without asking Lord Li anything, I quickly pocketed the silk and went home.”

Zhou Zhao seemed to be deep in thought. Although Chen Jiyuan was conflicted, he ultimately obeyed his adoptive father's arrangement and attempted to assassinate her, almost succeeding in doing so.

Under these circumstances, why did Bai Shisan Niang have to die?

Clearly, they've come looking for the handkerchief.

The portrait left by Chen Jiyuan points to the handkerchief; and in that painting, when Bai Shisan Niang was holding the golden lock, the child had not yet been born, which shows that the handkerchief had been in the hands of the couple for a long time.

The handkerchief was clearly very important; those people hadn't come to collect it before, but only after Chen Jiyuan's death did they take action.

It's clearly impossible to say that they were wary of Chen Jiyuan.

To them, Chen Jiyuan was just a pawn.

There is only one possibility: they only found out in the last two days that the handkerchief, which was in Chen Jiyuan's hands, had fallen into Bai Shisan Niang's possession.

Bai Shisan Niang sensed something was amiss, so she hastily entrusted her son to someone else, giving him a chance at life.

When did Bai Shisan Niang come looking for you?

Mr. Chen was much calmer now, although he was still somewhat listless, as if he were terminally ill.

“Last night, she didn’t come. Instead, a little girl came in the dark. As soon as she arrived, she knelt down and said that Ji Yuan had a child and asked us to come today to take the child away. The child would be an orphan in the future, and if we were willing to raise him, we could let him take the surname Chen.”

If you're not willing to raise him, then find him a good home.

As Mr. Chen spoke, he looked at the child being held by the Ou brothers. The child was hungry and was nibbling on their neck, which was covered in saliva.

Although he knew that the person was not Chen Jiyuan, they still came.

“We wanted to ask her more questions, but she wouldn't say anything and just ran off in the rain. We couldn't even catch up with her. This morning, we arrived right on time and saw all the soldiers in front of the gate, so we figured something must have happened…”

As Chen's father spoke, he looked at Zhou Zhao and said, "Young Master Zhou, can we raise that child? I will register him under Ji Yuan's name."

Zhou Zhao shook his head. "Take this child back to the Court of Justice first. You can only take him back after the case is closed. During this time, I will arrange for the Northern Army to protect you secretly. You'd better not run around, lest you bring disaster upon yourselves."

"Don't tell anyone else about the silk. Just pretend it never happened. If any of you are kidnapped, don't try to hide it. Put all the blame on me. Tell them I've given them the silk and they should come looking for me. Saving your lives is the most important thing, understand?"

Mr. and Mrs. Chen exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.

The sight of the seven corpses lined up in front of them had already filled them with fear.

Seeing their expressions, Zhou Zhao added, "If you don't want to take this child in, that's fine. I'll find him a good family to settle him down."

After hesitating for a moment, Mr. Chen shook his head. "We still want to support him."

"Alright, you don't need to worry too much. I'll spread the word that I've found it."

That way, they'll be safe.

Zhou Zhao, however, is not afraid of the next assassination attempt.