Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 268 It turns out to be her
Yin Fang was hanging upside down, her blood was flowing backward, and her face was flushed red.

Coupled with the blood blisters on her forehead, she looked like a monstrous demon with fangs and horns.

She had only felt pain before, but after looking in the mirror, she was shocked to realize just how terrifying she looked.

"I am an official appointed by the imperial court, and I am the most kind and upright. Let me remind you, if you don't wash off your fake face and remove the powder, your original face will be completely ruined. Don't ask why that person likes Bai Shisan Niang and not you then."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his expression was exceptionally cold.

When dealing with enemies, she usually prefers to kill them out of their spirit.

Yin Fang panicked instantly. Her hands thrashed in the air, but she hesitated to bring them close to her face.

Zhou Zhao didn't look at her again. She pushed open the window and looked into the courtyard. The once clean and tidy new courtyard was now littered with men in black lying everywhere. The rain was still pouring down, and the transparent rainwater fell from the sky and instantly turned into a blood red color.

The black cat hiding in the artificial hill trembled, curled up into a ball, revealing only its pointed ears that it couldn't hide no matter what.

Su Changying and A Huang stood on either side of the door, their weapons dripping with blood.

They were all wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats, with the brims pulled low, making it impossible to see their faces.

Seeing that Zhou Zhao's window was open, the two of them looked over at the same time.

Zhou Zhao nodded to the two of them and looked at Yin Fang.

She closed her eyes, unable to look at herself in the mirror, and bit her lip tightly.

Zhou Zhao clicked his tongue twice. "If I remember correctly, that powder was all spilled on my blanket."

As she spoke, she walked to the brocade quilt that had fallen to the ground, squatted down, and turned to look at the person hanging upside down. "Would you like to put on some more powder, Yinfang?"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he picked up the brocade quilt from the ground and walked to Yin Fang. Just as Yin Fang pretended to move her hand, she suddenly opened her eyes and cried out, "No!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly pulled a white jade bottle from her bosom, poured out some clear water, and splashed it directly onto her face.

Zhou Zhao stared wide-eyed as the face of the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl suddenly appeared.

That's right, there was a face that floated up in a terrifying way.

That thing was more transparent than a cicada's wing, so thin that it was almost invisible.

It felt like a snake shedding its skin.

Yin Fang didn't stop; she reached out and grabbed, and the face, as thin as a cicada's wing, instantly fell to the ground.

The thing was as thin as smoke; even if it fell to the ground, it would be impossible to find without careful observation.

However, at this moment, Zhou Zhao no longer cared about the mask on the ground. Looking at Yin Fang's upside-down face, she couldn't help but take a step back, her elbow hitting the vase placed by the window, which fell to the ground with a thud.

Yin Fang couldn't care less about Zhou Zhao at that moment; she was still looking at herself in the mirror.

Her forehead was covered with red blisters, which still looked quite frightening. The material was so thin that it couldn't cover anything at all.

"Should I call you Yinfang, or Aunt Liu?"

Zhou Zhao's voice was a little hoarse. In that instant, she thought of almost a thousand possible conspiracies.

She even wondered if their capture of Yin Fang tonight was a setup by her godfather, a scheme to let her catch that face. Zhou Zhao suddenly turned her head and looked at Su Changying in the courtyard. Her lips moved, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.

Hearing the sound of the vase hitting the ground, the two people in the courtyard rushed in without a second thought.

The moment Su Changying entered the room, she stood frozen in place, as if nailed to the spot.

He took a deep breath and walked to Zhou Zhao's side. Zhou Zhao reached out and gently patted the back of his hand.

"The murderer who killed Bai Shisan Niang left a footprint at the crime scene. The footprint smelled of lotus pond and had crab roe stuck to the sole of the shoe... I should have thought of that sooner. There is a large lotus pond in the Lu Hou mansion, and the Lu Hou raises many crabs in the pond."

She and Su Changying went to the Lu Marquis's residence together and happened to see a family of four catching crabs.

Su Changying's two half-siblings were particularly fond of this dish. At the time, she couldn't help but mock them for how they prepared the crabs.

"There's incense ash in your shoe print. To appear virtuous and gentle in front of Marquis Lu, you would offer incense to the mistress, Su Changying's mother, every day, which is why there's incense ash on the soles of your shoes. I should have realized it sooner..."

Lotus pond, crab roe, incense ash...

She should have thought of it earlier.

Things I couldn't understand before suddenly became clear.

"Back then, Su Changying's mother was such a wise and intelligent woman, and she and the Marquis of Lu were a perfect match. But you interfered... No wonder he almost passed the title of Marquis of Lu to your son, and trusted you completely and listened to your every word."

If the Marquis of Lu had no affection for Su Changying's mother, then no matter how cleverly she devised a plan to send him a collection of poems, it would be to no avail.

If you have this person in your heart, even a wildflower is a precious treasure.

If you don't have this person in your heart, even if you lay bare your true feelings in front of them, it will be meaningless.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he suppressed another thought in his mind.

If Aunt Liu is Yin Fang, then who is the godfather she admires? Could it be the Marquis of Lu?

If it weren't for the Marquis of Lu, then all those years of suffering for Su Changying and his son would have been...

Zhou Zhao took a deep breath.

With a flick of her wrist, a copper coin flew out, directly breaking the rope that was holding Aunt Liu.

As soon as the rope snapped, the woman fell to the ground with a thud. She frantically maneuvered in the air to avoid landing headfirst, and finally sat down unsteadily against the edge of the bed.

Aunt Liu reached out and covered the wound in her lower abdomen.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I don't even know this Yin Fang. I'm just furious. Su Changying has been missing for so many years, and my son is the only living son of the Marquis of Lu. Why can't he inherit the title of Marquis of Lu?"
He had already petitioned His Majesty, and His Majesty had granted his request; my son was now the heir of the Marquis's mansion.

After Su Changying returned to Chang'an, he joined the Northern Army. He was capable enough to look down on the paltry sums offered by the Marquis of Lu's household, which should have been a happy ending for everyone. But Zhou Zhao, you're an outsider! You haven't even entered the Marquis of Lu's household yet, and you're already interfering in their affairs!

It was you, shameless bastard, who forced the Marquis of Lu to change the heir apparent to Su Changying, making my son the laughingstock of the entire Chang'an.

I'm not convinced! So tonight I want to sneak into your house and sprinkle that poison powder on your face to vent my hatred.

As for what you called Yin Fang and Bai Shisan Niang, who knows what they're all about!

My attack on you was a moment of anger, but not only were you unharmed, you also crippled my martial arts and disfigured me. I have already been punished, what more do you want? Do you want to send me to the Court of Judicial Review and make the Lu family a laughingstock in the eyes of all of Chang'an?
"Both Marquis Lu and Changying hold military power. What will happen to a military general who arouses His Majesty's suspicion? Zhou Zhao, you are smarter than me; you understand best without me needing to say it!"