Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 255 Zhou Zhao's Speculation

"Following Chen's father's testimony, it must have been that he dropped the silk in front of the Court of Justice, allowing Li Youdao or someone in the carriage parked by the roadside to see his adoptive father's portrait."

Following the clues, they found Bai Shisan Niang, suspected that the handkerchief was in her possession, interrogated the madam, and killed Bai Shisan Niang.

But then the problem arises. They were willing to kill for a handkerchief, so why didn't they target the Chen family and take the silk scroll with their godfather's portrait? Even though it was just a silhouette, wouldn't it have been an easy thing for them to do?

Why wasn't that done?
A person who kills without hesitation will not feel any pity.

Chen Jiyuan was merely a pawn; the murderer couldn't possibly be indifferent to the lives of his wife and children, yet care about the lives of his fake parents.

This is inconsistent with the killer's usual modus operandi.

"This is contradictory. Therefore, I suspect that Li Youdao was not the mole. Although he saw the silk, he didn't understand its meaning at all, so he didn't pay attention to it. Whether there was someone in that carriage or not is unknown."

Even if a second person saw it, they shouldn't be the mole.

In other words, Bai Shisan Niang's exposure was probably not due to the Chen family.

As Zhou Zhao shared his deductions, he unexpectedly felt a sense of relief.

She thought she could remain calm and treat everyone equally. After all, when Chen Jiyuan tried to assassinate her, she could have retaliated immediately.

But only now has she realized how much she secretly didn't want the people around her to be the mole.

The last one was Chen Jiyuan, and she didn't want the next one to be Li Youdao.

If Li Youdao had any problems, the Chen family should have been silenced that very night, the silk should have been taken away, and they should have immediately taken action against Bai Shisan Niang. They wouldn't have had to wait until today.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he seemed much more relaxed. "So let's go back to the case of Bai Shisan Niang's murder. Before the incident, Bai Shisan Niang arranged for someone to find Chen's parents to entrust their child to her. She even made preparations in advance, letting the giant snake swallow the iron box and hiding the child in a vat."

She knew what was going to happen to her, and she knew she couldn't escape it.

This is what I said at the beginning: the killer was someone they knew, and they knew that facing that behemoth was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Su Changying listened attentively and pushed the charcoal brazier towards Zhou Zhao.

"Are you saying that Bai Shisan Niang, or even everyone in the building, is actually the godfather's person?"

Zhou Zhao nodded. "That's right."

She liked to discuss cases with Su Changying; intelligent people didn't need much explanation to understand her thinking.

"Although your godfather likes to keep spies, he is not a careless person. It would be fine if he killed Bai Shisan Niang and didn't dispose of the body, but why did he leave so many people alive as witnesses? I guess, in their eyes, Bai Laobao and the others are not witnesses, but people who went to dispose of Bai Shisan Niang's body for them."

The brothel madam and her thugs dealing with a prostitute—this had happened countless times in that alley.

The White Flower Pavilion remains unchanged, but the White Snake Lady comes and goes.

They hadn't expected that the people in the small building would not only fail to bury Bai Shisan Niang, but would even hang themselves alongside her in front of the corridor, escalating the matter far beyond what was to come.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he picked up the fire tongs leaning against the wall and poked at the charcoal brazier.

The charcoal fire, now hollow, suddenly blazed brightly, casting a reddish hue on her and Su Changying's dark robes. Although she had never seen Bai Shisan Niang alive, she imagined her to be an intelligent and charming woman; otherwise, how could she have won the hearts of everyone in the building under such circumstances?

"Chen Jiyuan used a dagger to kill me the first time, but used the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles the second time. Since he had such a divine weapon, why didn't he use it the first time? If he had used it the first time, at the distance between us and when I was completely unprepared, I would have been dead without a doubt."

After he stabbed me, I immediately retaliated and severely injured him with coffin nails. However, he not only did not die, but also relentlessly launched a second ambush, determined to kill me.

This is completely inconsistent with Chen Jiyuan, who went to the Lost City with a death wish, yet still left me a pair of belongings.

Su Changying's eyes flickered, and he suddenly realized something. He exchanged a glance with Zhou Zhao, "There's someone on the island watching him, just like how my godfather had Yin Yan open a mutton soup shop in Tianying City to keep an eye on me. Bai Jiuniang."

Zhou Zhao nodded. "That's exactly right."

If Wei Ruo was able to survive in the Lost City, how could Bai Jiu Niang, who was originally a courtesan, have died on that island?
Su Changying took a deep breath. "Bai Jiuniang treated Chen Jiyuan's wounds and gave him the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles. He had to act a second time because of Bai Shisan Niang." Bai Jiuniang is still in the Northern Army's prison. Apart from Wei Ruo, the others have not been released.

She had no way of committing the crime.

There are too many people involved in the Lost City incident. Although Bai Jiuniang and others are victims, they also know many secrets.

The Northern Army is not like the Court of Justice; it follows the Great Enlightenment Code in all matters.

In the military, the commander-in-chief is Lü.

Zhou Zhao pulled his wandering thoughts back to Bai Shisan Niang.

"If our speculation is correct, and Bai Shisan Niang is my adoptive father's person, then her role as a pawn is definitely not just to be Chen Jiyuan's weakness. The Ou brothers said before that Bai Shisan Niang is someone else's mistress. If the one who kept her is Chen Jiyuan, then there is no need to go to such great lengths to set up the Baihua Tower."

Wouldn't it be easier to just be placed under house arrest by your adoptive father, like Gongzi Yu?
Developing a useful chess piece is no easy task.

Zhou Zhao spoke, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"Chen Jiyuan did not betray his adoptive father. Under Bai Jiuniang's supervision, he tried to kill me twice in a row, which shows that he had given his all. No one expected that he had developed feelings for the Chen family, and no one expected that he would leave behind his father's belongings."

Under these circumstances, a petty thief visited the Chen family's home, ransacking the place, but did not harm anyone or steal anything.

What's this? I think it's just routine. Didn't you say that your godfather is a very suspicious person? Even the loyal Chen Jiyuan, he still has to check him.

Because it was just a routine matter, the Chen family members didn't have to die.

Mr. Chen simply carried the evidence with him and handed it to me.

Who would have thought that in just a few months, a killer's cold heart would melt away in a home that didn't belong to him?

Zhou Zhao thought that perhaps the Chen family was too good, and Chen Jiyuan longed for a home, or perhaps it was because he had just become a father at that time, so he was much softer than before.

What Chen Jiyuan was really thinking is now impossible to verify, and no one will ever know.

“If Chen Jiyuan’s belongings haven’t been exposed,” Su Changying frowned, “then there’s a problem with Bai Shisan Niang. If Bai Shisan Niang and Chen Jiyuan have a child, regardless of whose child is officially the father, the godfather will inevitably find out about their close relationship.”

Then, Bai Shisan Niang's place will also have the same routine procedures as the Chen family.

This time, Zhou Zhao didn't respond to Su Changying's words. A sudden thought flashed through her mind, and she said, "Child."