Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 30 Three Tasks
Tianying City!
Zhou Zhao put her hands behind her back to hide her trembling fingertips.

"Tianying City is located at the intersection of Dai, Zhao, and Yan. It's a damned den of villains that no one cares about. The city lord is named Qin Tianying. Twenty years ago, he massacred his entire family of forty-seven and fled to this place. From a small mountain stronghold, it has become a city today."

Zhang Ran did not notice Zhou Zhao's unusual behavior, nor did he ask Zhou Zhao whether he wanted to be a feudal lord or a court official.

He was not as shrewd as the prime minister, but he was not stupid either.

"This city is divided into seven inner halls and twelve outer strongholds, and they have done a lot of robbery and plundering. Originally, as long as they didn't provoke the imperial court, His Majesty could tolerate them like grasshoppers in autumn. But recently, something happened."

As Zhang Ran spoke, he gave Zhou Zhao a deep look, "When you were in the Tingwei Temple prison, you saw that person who was beaten to a bloody pulp, right?"

Zhou Zhao's mind raced as he recalled the events of the previous night. He nodded. "Right across from my prison, he's from Tianying City?"

Zhang Ran gave Zhou Zhao an approving look, but did not answer the question directly.

"You and Fan Lishen, the son of Princess Changyang, are both among the Six Princes of Chang'an. You should know what the Prince Consort of Changyang and General Fan do all year round, right? Since the previous dynasty, the Prince Consort of Changyang has been searching for various secret treasures and the art of immortality for the emperor."

"Not long ago, Prince Consort Fan sent people to escort treasures to the capital, but they were unexpectedly intercepted by the city of Tianying."

"With the help of my spies planted in Tianying City, we captured their seventh leader, who was known in the martial arts world as Chen Qifu."

As Zhang Ran finished speaking, a look of disgust appeared on his face. "That Chen Qifu used to be a mountain bandit. He liked to rob and plunder. He used a broad axe. He would always chop someone up with seven blows. He also liked to mutilate corpses. He was a disgusting person."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao couldn't help but interrupt, "Your spies?"

Zhang Ran instantly became angry. He widened his eyes, pointed to his nose, and said speechlessly, "You don't actually think I live off His Majesty, do you?"

Zhou Zhao looked back without feeling guilty. Wasn't that right?
Zhang Ran was heartbroken: "My dear nephew has hurt me deeply!"

"To plant a spy, one doesn't need much skill, just two things: acting ability and loyalty. Now that we're in the same boat, I'll be frank with you."

Zhou Zhao coughed lightly; he was definitely not an actor.

Zhang Ran knew perfectly well that Zhang Ruoqing was not his biological daughter, yet he still acted as if he loved her dearly.

It's unclear how much of it is genuine, how much is feigned, or if there are other underlying reasons.

Thinking it over, she shifted Zhang Ran's anger, "Was the raid on the Tingwei Temple prison the night before last aimed at Chen Qifu?"

Zhang Ran nodded emphatically, but his anger did not subside; instead, it was tinged with resentment. "Yesterday morning you came to tell me that the Tingwei Temple prison had been broken into, and I immediately felt that something was wrong. After I left the palace, I went to find Li Huaishan, and sure enough, Chen Qifu had been rescued."

"It was precisely because this matter was delayed that I sent my good-for-nothing son, Zhang Xun, to follow you."

Zhou Zhao instantly understood.

She had wondered before why Zhang Ran, who was so eager to find the murderer, didn't show up for the competition. He must have been held up by something.

"That man was all alone and was very familiar with the structure of the Tingwei Temple prison. He used sleeping incense to knock out the prison guards, and then opened all the cell doors. Not only did Chen Qifu disappear, but many others also escaped. Li Huaishan suppressed these matters."

“This happened right after you left the Court of Justice.”

As Zhang Ran spoke, his gaze toward Zhou Zhao carried a hint of secret smugness mixed with a touch of guilt.

"You'd never guess who broke into the prison! Just last night, he took Chen Qifu out of the city and disappeared without a trace."

Zhou Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and a name was about to slip out of his mouth.

Before she could speak, Zhang Ran couldn't help but reveal the answer herself, "It's Zhu Li!"

Zhu Li!

It really is Zhu Li!
Zhou Zhao's eyes were filled with undisguised surprise. Seeing her like this, Zhang Ran felt as if he had won the round and couldn't help but twitch his mustache.

"You didn't expect that, did you? Zhu Li didn't go on patrol last night. His superior, Lu Da Hu Zi, who has a bad temper, went directly to his house to look for him. The Northern Army found Zhu Li unconscious in the cellar. He's been locked up for several days!" Zhou Zhao's mind went blank, and he almost lost his composure.

So her intuition was right; there was a lot of incongruity and strangeness about Zhu Li.

Last night, she almost caught him in front of her own house!

"So the Zhu Li who was supervising the examinations with Min Zangzhi was not the real Zhu Li at all, but someone disguised as him."

By the end, Zhang Ran's voice was barely audible, and he sighed several times, "I've really been having a run of bad luck lately."

Zhou Zhao took a deep breath, his eyes flashed, and his mind raced. "Do you think that Zhu Li is your spy planted in Tianying City?"

Zhang Ran's resentment deepened; he had committed such a terrible sin!

The fake daughter is a trap, Zhou Zhao is a trap, and even the spies under his command are trapped.

Thinking of this, Zhang Ran said listlessly, "That's right, I haven't reported this matter yet, and I don't have any concrete evidence. I just have some guesses in my mind. My spy is skilled in disguise, and his code name is Thousand Faces."

“I did not receive any news about his coming to the capital, nor did he inform me that he was going to kidnap Chen Qifu.”

"So if the fake Zhu Li really is a thousand-faced man, then I suspect him..."

“I’ve said everything I needed to say. So when you go to Tianying City, you have three things to do: First, destroy Tianying City and bring all the hidden criminals to justice! This will be more than all the cases handled by the entire Court of Justice in a year. Who would dare to question you then?”

"Secondly, we didn't get any useful clues from Chen Qifu. So the second thing is to retrieve the lost treasure from Tianying City."

Zhou Zhao frowned as she listened. Zhang Ran had said so many earth-shattering things in one breath that she almost got confused.

"What is the secret treasure? I don't know what it is, how do I find it?"

Zhang Ran shook his head at Zhou Zhao somewhat guiltily, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I don't know the specifics. I only know that it's a black box with gold lacquer. The box is decorated with the Six Paths of Reincarnation."

"If you get your hands on the box, do not open it without permission."

Zhou Zhao looked at Zhang Ran with a hint of disdain. "The third thing is to see if the spies you planted have betrayed us? You didn't even report it, so why would His Majesty ask me to do this!"

Zhang Ran chuckled, spun around like a top, and rushed over to pour tea for Zhou Zhao.

“Nephew! Didn’t we agree before that you owe me something? Now I want you to pay me back! If he betrays us, just kill him and be done with it; if not, his early departure by a year will be a huge help to you.”

Seeing his expression, Zhou Zhao immediately calmed down. She raised an eyebrow, took the tea Zhang Ran handed her, and leaned against the pillar to take a small sip.

"Lord Zhang, you overestimate me. Why should I choose? His Majesty's promise is as good as gold. If I win the competition, I will definitely enter the Court of Justice. What does it matter if I am questioned? You saw it yourself, my lord. Weren't all those who questioned me yesterday proven wrong?"

"I only need to proceed gradually, why risk going to Tianying City?"

"Me, take on an entire city by myself? My lord, you're calling me 'nephew' while secretly plotting to kill me!"

"If I'm not mistaken, Tianying City was originally something His Majesty asked you to handle, sir?"

She was determined to go to Tianying City.

She had previously thought about how to get Li Huaishan to agree to let her, a newly arrived minor official, leave Chang'an for a few months without doing anything if she wanted to enter the Court of Justice. Now, it's all come to her without any effort.

However, she thought she could pretend she didn't want to.

Zhang Ran was instantly dumbfounded. He raised his finger and pointed it at Zhou Zhao's nose, wishing he could snatch the teacup back from her hand. "You! You! You're not choosing?!"

Zhang Ran wanted to cry but had no tears.

When you hear confidential information, you call him "Uncle," but after you finish listening, you call him "Sir." Who really wants whom to die?