Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 295 Zhou Wan's Good Intentions

As Zhou Buhai spoke, he looked somewhat uncomfortable.

Zhou Zhao's room was very cramped; they were all crammed around the table, unable to even turn around.

“Ah Xuan, come with me to see your mother. She is very weak and was frightened last night. If she wakes up and doesn’t see us, she will cry again.”

Zhou Xuan nodded. "Little sister, please rest and recuperate. I'll go see Mother now."

As Zhou Xuan spoke, he reached out and patted Zhou Zhao's head before leaving the courtyard with Zhou Buhai.

Once they were out of sight, Zhou Wan immediately let go of Zhou Zhao's arm.

She rolled her eyes at Zhou Zhao. "What kind of idiot are you? You actually faked your death! Everyone in the Great Qi Dynasty is dead. Why would you, someone with one foot in the grave, risk your life? I should have told you Su Changying was wrong. Not only could she not save you, she almost killed you."

In my opinion, you'd be better off marrying the King of Chu than him. He may not be interested in love, but... well, you're not exactly interested in love either.

"Then you two, one investigating the case and the other working as a coroner, wouldn't you be a match made in heaven?"

Zhou Zhao didn't take Zhou Wan's words to heart at all; she understood her feelings perfectly.

If the man she was betrothed to became Ah Huang, she would definitely say something like, "I don't think the King of Chu is any good. I'd rather marry the Marquis of Lu..."

Others are a perfect match, but she and Zhou Wan are destined to be enemies.

As she was thinking, she heard Zhou Wan make sarcastic remarks again. Zhou Wan held her chin high and looked down at her with a condescending gaze.

"I heard you had blood all over your mouth last night and were tearing your heart and liver out in front of Father... Have you been using your brain all this time to solve cases? After all these years, haven't you figured out what kind of person our Father is?"

Let alone the three of us, even Zhou Yan, in his heart, cannot compare to the glory of the Zhou family and the continuation of their lineage.

He was close to you before only because Zhou Yan had brought him glory, and you had a prominent husband's family. He was just teasing you casually to show his fatherly affection. When things were good, everything was perfect; when things were bad, you had to stand on the scale and see how much you were worth.

Seeing Zhou Zhao standing there dumbfounded, Zhou Wan snorted and gently pinched her ear.

"It's clear that Li Huaishan is wicked. This poison didn't kill you, but it damaged your brain. Just watch, your father will send your grandmother back to her hometown."

Zhou Zhao didn't engage in his usual verbal sparring with Zhou Wan, and Zhou Wan also found it boring.

She looked Zhou Zhao up and down and saw that although she had been cured of the poison, she was still pale and looked very weak.

She thought about it, stamped her foot in annoyance, and then her voice softened, "Just listen to me. From now on, treat your father as a colleague in the court, and you'll understand everything. Life is full of hustle and bustle, and everyone is after their own interests."

If he cares about you, you don't need to tell him how wronged you are; he'll see it. If he doesn't care, no matter how much you say, it won't affect him much—he's unreliable. You can lie to others, but don't lie to yourself.

As Zhou Wan spoke, seeing that Zhou Zhao was like a block of wood, her anger flared up again.

"Seeing the power struggle in the court intensifying, I will marry the Prince of Dai and go to my fiefdom no matter what, leaving Chang'an, this place of trouble, for good. Although I hope you can find out who killed my brother, Ah Zhao, nothing is more important than your life."

I would advise my eldest sister to marry Han Xincheng. Although that vixen is detestable, my sister is truly happy with him. Rather than having her return to the Zhou family to be a slave and revert to being the eldest sister... I would rather she live a happy life with someone to rely on.

She cares most about your thoughts; your dislike for Han Xincheng is written all over her face.

"You know, my eldest sister likes to shoulder responsibilities that aren't hers..." Zhou Wan said, pausing for a moment, "and you're the same. The rise and fall of the Zhou family has nothing to do with you. In their eyes, aren't the three of us sisters people who aren't even allowed to enter the Zhou family's ancestral graves?"

Taking care of the whole family and being the head housekeeper; being a three-generation court official... is not your responsibility.

They considered this kind of task a hot commodity, something to be reserved for Zhou Cheng'an, who had an extra two ounces of flesh between his legs and could carry on the Zhou family line; oh, and for his unfortunate future wife, who was nowhere to be found...

The elder sister likes to be in charge of the household, and since the entire Han family is now dead, she can manage it however she wants.

"If you want to be the Minister of Justice, then go ahead and do it. Zhou Zhao is the Minister of Justice, not the Zhou family. Do you understand?"

Zhou Zhao listened and winked at Zhou Wan, "Zhou Wan, you're being a bit rude today, not like a fairy!"

Zhou Wan spat at Zhou Zhao, "If you hadn't almost made yourself die from stupidity time and time again, would I have said these heartfelt words?"
I know Su Changying bought a house outside the Court of Judicial Review. You should go back there to live as soon as possible. You're already so busy you barely have time to sleep, why come back here and add to your worries? I'm not worried about you, I'm worried that if you stay at home, your sister won't be willing to marry Han Xincheng.”

Seeing Zhou Zhao smiling at her, Zhou Wan turned her face away, feeling somewhat embarrassed and angry.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm doing this all for my older sister, do you understand?"

Zhou Zhao nodded. "I understand. I've already told Changying, and he'll come to pick me up from the manor soon."

Zhou Wan listened and snorted irritably, "It's good that you have your own plans. Don't let me become empress and you die early without benefiting from it. Otherwise, I'll step on your grave and laugh at you loudly."

Zhou Zhao felt a warm feeling in her heart. She reached out and hugged Zhou Wan's waist, nuzzling her.

"Zhou Wan, your waist is so slim! It smells so good and is so soft!"

Zhou Wan's face flushed pink. She struggled desperately for a few moments, but even in her illness, Zhou Zhao was a martial artist with immense strength, and her efforts were futile. After a few more struggles, she gave up, a slight smile playing on her lips, and gently flicked Zhou Zhao's forehead a few times.

"For the sake of looking good, I haven't eaten a full meal in over ten years. Don't call me Zhou Wan, call me Second Sister."

Zhou Zhao gave a soft "Mmm," and said, "Second Sister, I won't die. I'm even thinking of letting you benefit from my influence in the future. When your younger sister becomes the Minister of Justice, one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, a close advisor to the Emperor, with me backing you up, which vixen in the palace would dare to harm you?"

Zhou Wan chuckled upon hearing this, "Then I'll be waiting."

"Wait!"

Zhou Wan gently stroked Zhou Zhao's hair, feeling the warmth beneath her hand, and only then did she truly feel that Zhou Zhao was still alive.

Heaven knows what kind of earth-shattering feeling she had when she saw that pitch-black coffin and looked at Zhou Zhao lying silently inside.

She also planned to be Zhou Zhao's protector, to watch her rise to prominence and become the Minister of Justice, and to bicker with her until they grew old together after Zhou Zhao returned to Chang'an. The three sisters planned to drink together, and after getting drunk and Zhou Xuan fell asleep, she and Zhou Zhao would curse Han Xincheng, saying he was unworthy of their best sister.

In that instant, she never imagined that such a thought would come to her.

She felt that nothing else mattered. She didn't need to know who killed Zhou Yan, and she didn't need to marry the Prince of Dai. She could simply be an ordinary noblewoman, nameless and faceless in this world. All she wanted was for Zhou Zhao to live.

How could her annoying and irritating younger sister just die like that?

Fortunately, Zhou Zhao is still alive.

She can mock her for being stupid, she can dislike her, and she can also love her.