Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 28 Planning for the Weekend
Zhou Zhao frowned. "Your father and mother have been focused on having Zhou Cheng'an adopted lately, and haven't discussed marriage with you. You chose this one yourself? What are your plans?"

In order to arrange the adoption of Zhou Cheng'an, Zhou Buhai led Xu back to his hometown and stayed there for quite some time, only returning to the capital yesterday.

In the past two years, there have been several marriage proposals, but Zhou Wan has politely declined them all for various reasons.

Seeing that she wasn't surprised, Zhou Wan rolled her eyes in boredom. "You're using the time you spend investigating cases on me?"

"So you're allowed to carefully plot your way into the Court of Justice, but I, a beauty who has to pay a fine to the government, can't find my own way out? I don't like childhood sweethearts. If it weren't for that, my elder sister wouldn't have married that spineless brother-in-law, and you wouldn't be waiting so long for that missing dead man."

In the Great Qi Dynasty, women who did not marry by the age of fifteen were subject to a fine.

Zhou Zhao's lips twitched as she recalled her elder sister's wedding years ago.

She and Zhou held a public wedding ceremony, but privately observed the seventh day after her death.

On their wedding night, the two sisters got completely drunk and secretly berated their brother-in-law from head to toe. In the end, they both agreed that even if the Jade Emperor himself came riding on auspicious clouds, he wouldn't be worthy of even a single toe of their eldest sister, Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Wan also disliked Su Changying. She disliked him even when he was the young hero Xiao Luhou who took the enemy's head from among thousands of soldiers.

She disliked Su Changying even more after she disappeared.

“Tell me who you’re going to marry, so I can criticize them,” Zhou Zhao said irritably, recalling the past.

Zhou Wan looked towards the door. "Madam Yu likes me and intends for me to marry her son, the Prince of Dai. As you know, apart from the Crown Prince and the Prince of Chu, the other princes have to go to their respective fiefdoms after marriage. If I marry into that family, I will leave Chang'an."

Liu Huang was eccentric and could hardly interact with people normally, so those in the know guessed that even if he got married in the future, he would probably not go to the country.

"Lady Yu is not favored by the Emperor, and the Prince of Dai is not pleased with him. I am not fond of strife, and it seems that things are about to get turbulent in Chang'an. Rather than staying here and not knowing whether I will be harmed by you or Zhou Cheng'an, I would rather go to Dai and be a peaceful queen."

Zhou Zhao scoffed, "Tell the truth."

"You don't like conflict? You just want chaos. How many times did I get a severe beating from my father when I was a child? Wasn't it always you stirring things up?"

Zhou Wan immediately became displeased upon hearing this, and she suddenly became angry, "You're so boring! Did I want you to get beaten up? I wanted Su Changying to get beaten up! Tell me, who did Father beat up in the end?"

Zhou Zhao remained silent.

Most likely, she beat up Su Changying, who had come to her rescue.

“If you don’t tell the truth, my older sister will bring the wine back,” Zhou Zhao said again.

Zhou Wan reached out to pinch Zhou Zhao, but Zhou Zhao easily dodged. He reached out to pinch her back, but then saw Zhou Wan's eyelashes tremble slightly, and her eyes, which had been as dry as a well, were now brimming with tears... Zhou Zhao's hand froze instantly...

"How shameless, using this trick again."

Zhou Wan chuckled, "It doesn't matter if a trick is old, as long as it works."

She chuckled, then spotted Zhou Xuan in the distance, her expression turning serious as she lowered her voice.

"Given the current situation of my Zhou family, this is the most suitable marriage I can find. You are not the only one who can support the Zhou family and find out the truth."

"In the case of Shanming Changyang, my brother was silenced by the murderer because he witnessed Princess Changyang being killed. The person who dared to kill the princess was more skilled in martial arts than my brother and Su Changying, and was able to attack them without hesitation, which shows that there is a huge secret involved."

"Did Father really fail to find out who the real culprit was? Or did he find out but was unable to bring the murderer to justice, so he could only leave in despair?"

Why didn't Li Huaishan conduct a proper investigation after taking office? Why is the case being closed after only four years? Was someone instructing him to act this way?

Zhou Zhao's heart skipped a beat. Forgetting her discord with Zhou Wan, she grabbed Zhou Wan's hand and said seriously, "Sister, there's no need for this. I know you want to use the Prince of Dai's influence, but it's a futile effort. Let's see what Ah Huang does."

King Liu Huang of Chu was far more favored than King Zhou of Dai. He was the Empress's adopted son and regarded Zhou Yan as an elder brother, yet neither could change the situation. Zhou Wan interrupted Zhou Zhao, "What if King Zhou of Dai could become Emperor?"

Zhou Zhao could now understand how Zhou Buhai had felt earlier...

Zhou Wan lowered her eyes. "Judging from his appearance, it is indeed possible."

She shook her head as she spoke, "I am not a reckless person. I have been planning this for two years. Otherwise, why do you think someone as cautious as Madam Yu would dare to go against His Majesty and choose me as the acting princess?"

"If I were to advance, I could become the Empress, turning the world upside down. I would be the great tree, and the murderer the ant. If I were to retreat, I would still be the Princess Consort of Dai. The Prince of Dai is a man of noble character. Even if we are not lovers, he will still treat me with the respect I deserve for the rest of my life because I was chosen by his mother as his first wife."

Zhou Zhao looked at Zhou Wan and saw that her expression was firm, so he knew that she had made up her mind.

Madam Yu is very kind, and Prince Dai is exceptionally handsome and of impeccable character. If Zhou Wan doesn't have someone she likes, this marriage would be a good match.

She thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

Zhou Wan nodded. "Mm."

Actually, she hadn't given Madam Yu a reply yet, but upon learning that Zhou Zhao had entered the Court of Justice, she immediately made a decision.

Zhou Zhao is about to embark on a bloody and turbulent path, and as her older sister, how could she not protect her younger sister? Even though this younger sister always makes her angry.

Even if the Prince of Zhou doesn't become the Emperor in the future, at least he'll have a brother-in-law who's a prince, which will make him someone to be wary of.

However, there's no need to tell Zhou Zhao about these things.

"I will visit you in Daidi in the future."

Hearing Zhou Zhao's reply, Zhou Wan smiled with pleasure, "Young Master Zhou, remember to pay your respects to the Queen of Dai."

"It's rare to see you all chatting and laughing without arguing. The wine is here, and everyone has to drink today. No spoiling the fun!" Zhou Xuan's voice broke in before he even entered the room.

Zhou Zhao and Zhou Wan exchanged a glance, then both stood up and took the wine...

The drinking session lasted a long time, only ending when the Gu family came to pick up Zhou Xuan in the evening. Zhou Zhao stood in front of the door and watched the carriage drive away. The night wind blew away some of the smell of alcohol on her. She steadied herself and looked towards the corner of the alley.

There stood a familiar figure.

Zhou Zhao sobered up instantly, and she stepped forward and walked straight over.

Tonight is June 16th, and the moon in the sky is as round as a millstone.

Zhou Zhao walked under the moonlight to the person standing against the wall. "Lord Zhu, why aren't you on night patrol? What are you doing here?"

She followed Zhu Li's gaze and saw him staring blankly at the wall in front of the Zhou residence. On the left side of the gate, there was a row of pits of varying depths.

Why are there three holes in front of your house?

Zhou Zhao looked at Zhu Li with a deep gaze. "That was when I was a child, during a match with my brother and fiancé Su Changying. The three of us fought with our fists. Why does Lord Zhu ask such a question?"

Zhu Li looked away and shook her head. "I was just curious."

"Lord Zhu looks familiar. Have we met before?"

Zhu Li shook her head again, "We're both in Chang'an, so we might just brush past each other sometime in the future."