Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 269 Killing and Punishing the Heart

Zhou Zhao chuckled softly upon hearing this, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Hey, what do you think Marquis Lu is doing by sweeping away the feudal lords on behalf of His Majesty? If His Majesty has no sense of vigilance towards generals who hold great military power, then as his subject, I must submit a memorial to admonish him! Your Majesty, are you perhaps possessed by that Yin Fang? Otherwise, how could you not even understand this?"

Your Majesty is the founding emperor. Now, the princes and kings of different surnames enfeoffed by the Great Qi Dynasty, which one of them is not a meritorious minister who followed Your Majesty to conquer the world?

When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit dies, the lackeys are cooked.

Yin Fang simply couldn't understand why Marquis Lu had been able to lead troops to attack other feudal lords and continue to be favored by the Emperor in recent years. It was because Su Changying had disappeared, and his illegitimate son was utterly incompetent. Marquis Lu had no useful heirs and was now an aging and lonely minister.

Compared to those feudal lords of different surnames who established their own small courts in their fiefdoms, wielded heavy armies, and were unruly, he was the most useful pawn in the endeavor.

However, even such a useful pawn was left in Chang'an after Su Changying returned to Chang'an to take charge of the curfew, and was not returned to the army.

The imperial court has never been a place where you love me, I love you, you trust me, and I trust you.

Throughout history, how many great generals have gained His Majesty's complete trust?

Yin Fang's idea of ​​using the Lu Marquis's mansion to control her and Su Changying is simply too naive!

"Punishment should not spare high-ranking officials, and rewards should not overlook even the most virtuous. Those who plot rebellion should be executed; this is the way the Court of Justice governs. Since you are so concerned about the safety of the Marquis of Lu's household, you must also believe that putting righteousness before family is the best policy for the Marquis of Lu's household."

Doesn't this better demonstrate your loyalty to the Marquis of Lu's household?

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his eyes fell on the scarecrow doll on the bed behind Yin Fang. "Do you think that just because you say a few random words, I will follow your sophistry and exonerate you because of the Lu Marquis's mansion? That child still has the fatal wound you inflicted with your longsword."

Moreover……"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he leaned closer and grabbed Yin Fang's chin. "To be honest, the one who was blind to fall for you is Marquis Lu. If he makes a mistake, His Majesty will punish him and make him abdicate. Su Changying, this poor victim, could just drop the 'little' from 'Marquis Lu' and become Marquis Lu directly. Wouldn't that be even better?"

Yin Fang's face turned pale. She looked at Zhou Zhao in disbelief, raised her hand, and pointed at him with trembling hands, "You...you...you..."

That's Su Changying's father! I don't believe you..."

Zhou Zhao suddenly tightened his grip, pinching Yin Fang's face so hard it cracked without any mercy.

She leaned close to Yin Fang's ear and said, "I'll tell you a secret: Bai Shisan Niang's child is not that person's."

That person knew perfectly well what was going on. He could have simply sent someone to tell you, and you wouldn't have fallen into this trap. But he didn't. Why do you think that is, Yinfang?

Yin Fang froze, her lips trembling uncontrollably.

She wanted to accuse Zhou Zhao of using a psychological tactic, saying that she would never fall for it, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

She knew in her heart that what Zhou Zhao said was true.

"You've been lurking by Lu Hou's side for years, and you're already quite old. What need is there for you to pretend to be a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl? Why do you resent Bai Shisan Niang and the fact that the baby belongs to that person? It's because these are things you've experienced..."

Even if you changed your face to that of an eighteen-year-old, so what? That person still cruelly abandoned you, Yinfang.

Zhou Zhao released his hand and distanced himself from Yin Fang.

She had used a lot of force, and there were obvious finger marks on Aunt Liu's delicate face, which looked red and swollen.

"I finally understand why Bai Shisan Niang set up such a scheme. It turns out she saw through you all along and knew you were a pathetic wretch. How laughable! Look at the two good-for-nothings you and that man have fathered! They're not even worth a single hair of Chang Ying's. As long as Chang Ying is in the army, he will always be the young war god, and no one can take away his position as the Marquis of Lu!"
No matter how gentle and considerate you are, what good will it do to win over the Marquis of Lu? You still won't gain military power. Therefore, something must happen to Changying.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his eyes grew increasingly dark.

The fact that Su Changying's adoptive father kidnapped him and caused him so much misfortune must have been partly the work of the woman in front of him.

Those who harm Changying must suffer a fate worse than death.

"Guess why he didn't just kill Changying? Of course, it's because he never cared about you at all! Otherwise, in the Shanming Changyang case, he killed Changying just like he killed my brother to eliminate future troubles. Wouldn't the Luhou Mansion be yours today?"

He truly never liked you and never considered your feelings at all.

Even the children you bore for him are useless trash in his eyes.

Yin Fang's eyes widened involuntarily. She curled up into a ball, and tears streamed down her face. She looked as if she had seen a demon.

She nearly collapsed, clutching her hair tightly, "No, no, no..."

"Why not? No one would send their beloved woman to be someone else's concubine. He didn't even do something so simple to save you, so isn't the result obvious? You're just a pawn he discarded."

He abandoned you, which means he abandoned your child.

How pitiful! In the future, you and your two children will have to watch helplessly as he shares wealth and glory with others on your way to the underworld.

Even if you feel jealous and resentful then, it will be something you can't see or touch!

A tear, the size of a bean, fell from Yin Fang's eye. Suddenly, as if she had come to her senses, she stood up abruptly. The wound in her dantian was pulled, and the pain almost made her faint.

But she couldn't care less about any of that at the moment.

She hurriedly waved her hand at Zhou Zhao, "No! No! Changyu and A'ling are both children of Marquis Lu, and they are Su Changying's younger brother and sister-in-law! You can't lay a hand on them. They are not that person's children! Don't touch them."

Yin Fang felt the intense pain coming from her dantian, and the blood flowing out in a gushing stream.

An unprecedented panic swept over her, and the faces of her two children flashed into her mind at that moment.

Her eldest child was frail and sickly, and overly timid.

Her Ah Ling was spoiled by her and offended countless people in Chang'an. If their identities were exposed, countless people would take advantage of their misfortune.

Zhou Zhao clicked his tongue twice. "It seems that the suspicion against Marquis Lu has been cleared. The person in question is someone else."

Yin Fang was stunned, and her hand, which was reaching for Zhou Zhao's sleeve, froze in mid-air.

After a long while, she seemed to deflate and collapsed to the ground, her expression blank.

"You have no way of proving whose children those two children are. You're bluffing me. Your goal is to get information out of me that the person isn't the Marquis of Lu."

As Yin Fang spoke, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, and looked at Zhou Zhao with anger. "That person is of course not Marquis Lu. The person I like is gentle and refined, how could he be a brute like Marquis Lu!"
We grew up together as childhood sweethearts. If my family hadn't fallen on hard times and we hadn't been separated by some twist of fate, I wouldn't have ended up as a concubine to that ignorant and rude man!
You have no idea how disgusting it is when I read his poems, which are worse than dog shit, and have to rack my brains with a shy expression to praise them!

Zhou Zhao listened and looked towards the door.

Han Ze, holding a torch, led the Marquis of Lu to stand in the center of the courtyard.