Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 317 Her Secret
Zhou Zhao pondered for a moment, and a vague answer came to her mind. She lowered her eyes to hide the mockery in them.

Have you heard of the rebellion of the Five Princes?

Zhou Zhao looked up at Su Changying and Liu Huang.

"Duke Huan of Qi united the feudal lords nine times, becoming the first of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. How could he not be considered a wise and virtuous ruler? Duke Huan had no legitimate son, and according to ancestral law, his eldest son, Wu Kui, should have been made crown prince. However, Duke Huan promised Wu Kui the throne, but then made his third son, Prince Zhao, the crown prince..."

After Duke Huan of Qi died, the Rebellion of the Five Princes ensued, with the princes taking turns on the throne, causing forty years of turmoil in Qi and ending its reign as a hegemon.

Although Su Changying had no memory of it, he had read classics and historical texts, so he was not unfamiliar with the events surrounding Duke Huan of Qi.

Zhou Zhao nodded. "The people of Qi mourned Duke Huan, weeping and wailing. Weren't they also reminiscing about the peace before the war for the throne destroyed it?"

People today, thinking of Duke Huan, feel uneasy; isn't this a way of using the past to comment on the present?

His Majesty has a legitimate son, but he dislikes him for being weak and fears that after his death, the world will fall into the hands of the empress's family. Therefore, he wants to establish the third prince as his successor.

What was once an undercurrent of tension, starting in the Lost City, has now become an open battle for the throne, growing ever more intense.

Zhou Zhao did not elaborate, but Su Changying and Liu Huang were well aware of this "using the past to illustrate the present".

“Princess Changyang enjoys His Majesty’s deep trust. That so-called secret is very likely the key to the struggle for the throne. According to my speculation, this thing must benefit the Third Prince and harm the Crown Prince. That’s why the princess is so anxious and wishes that this thing would never see the light of day again.”

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his fingertips landed on the four words "never seeing the light of day".

The crown prince's ascension to the throne was perfectly legitimate, and there was no need for any "unspeakable secret," indicating that there must have been turmoil to the contrary.

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his fingers tightened.

Ah Huang, somewhat dazed, lifted his eyes from under his bamboo hat. His voice was a little hoarse. The boy blinked slowly. "You mean Father wants to depose my elder brother and install my third brother in his place? My elder brother is a good person, he's a good man, why..."

He was adopted by the Empress at a young age, but due to his eccentric nature, he didn't spend much time with them.

But he was born a princeling.

Seeing Ah Huang's worried expression, Zhou Zhao gave him a reassuring look, "Ah Huang, there's no need to worry. Your mother will arrange everything for your brother."

Ah Huang recalled the Empress's usual decisive and efficient manner, and softly hummed in agreement.

Zhou Zhao sighed inwardly. Being born into an imperial family and serving as an official in the court inevitably meant getting caught up in bloodshed and intrigue. How easy was it to remain untainted?
If we were to expand on this topic, the struggle for the throne would be a topic that could be discussed in countless words.

Zhou Zhao composed himself and focused his attention back on the poem.

"The princess hid the things, and these few lines of poetry tell us their location. The mechanism of the bamboo slips itself is difficult to crack, so this poem is not difficult to understand; in fact, it is a clear indication."

There is a lake in the princess's residence, which is connected to the Dongshui River by flowing water. I once went to the princess's residence to hold a spring banquet and even went boating on the lake.

A lone boat, its reflection shimmering in the eastern sea, gazes afar at the white hawk heralding a new era of peace. The evening drums beat mournfully for Duke Huan of Qi, while the heavy wine of the night deepens the regret for past disputes.

Set sail in a small boat, heading east on the river. As the evening drum sounds, point the bow towards the direction where a white hawk takes flight. At that moment, pay attention to the reflection in the boat, and you will discover the secret.

After Zhou Zhao finished speaking, the room fell silent. Ah Huang looked intently at Zhou Zhao, "I see."

Su Changying, who had been resting her chin on her hand, quietly watched Zhou Zhao. The moment Zhou Zhao looked over, Su Changying praised, "Zhao Zhao is so amazing."

Zhou Zhao cleared his throat and raised his chin. "It's not that it's impressive; we'll have to go and see for ourselves to know."

As she spoke, her expression turned serious, and she looked earnestly at Su Changying and Ahuang, "But I don't plan to retrieve that thing for the time being."

I suspect someone has been watching me, waiting for me to solve the mystery so they can take advantage of the situation.

This matter concerns the position of Crown Prince; if it were taken rashly, it would likely cause a huge uproar in the court. Before clarifying who killed my brother, I don't want to hastily take sides, lest I make a choice I'll regret for the rest of my life.”

Seeing Zhou Zhao's serious expression, Su Changying and A Huang both nodded emphatically, "We'll listen to Zhao Zhao."

Zhou Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she was confident that Su Changying and A Huang would respect her choice, hearing it with her own ears still put her at ease.

"I haven't forgotten that the reason I'm investigating this secret is to find out the real culprit who killed my brother."

As we just witnessed, this bamboo slip contains two important items. One is a map of the previous dynasty's secret treasures, and the other is a secret concerning the struggle for the throne.

Why was Li Huaishan able to deceive Prince Consort Fan so easily?
I suspect Li Huaishan was after the secret treasure, because if he wanted to raise a private army to plot a rebellion, he would need a lot of money.

With her brother's help, Princess Changyang opened the bamboo scroll and obtained the treasure map. She and His Majesty had always been close, so it was clear that the location of the treasure had been presented to His Majesty, and that the tomb raider, Prince Consort Fan, had already been secretly tasked with excavating it.

Li Huaishan threatened the princess with death to hand over the treasure map, and the princess probably didn't hide it from him and told him.

The princess was probably thinking that when Li Huaishan came knocking on her door, Prince Consort Fan would only need to wait for him to come to him, and he could easily catch the spy from the previous dynasty and eliminate this major threat to His Majesty.

At that time, the Minister of Justice was my father, Zhou Buhai. Although Li Huaishan had infiltrated the court, he had not yet entered the center of power. He should not have known about the existence of the secret concerning the struggle for the throne.

I've always found it strange that Li Huaishan didn't kidnap the princess and torture her to extract information; he just killed her and then, instead of focusing on his duties, kidnapped Changying. Now that I think about it, he must have already gotten what he wanted…

For Princess Changyang, revealing the secret treasures of the previous dynasty was something she felt no burden about.

It's a stopgap measure, and also a way to lure the enemy in. Why not do it?
"If Li Huaishan came for the treasure map, then it makes sense. He was a confidant of the previous emperor and knew far more about treasure maps than anyone else. I don't know if you two noticed, but the gauze used to draw the treasure map is definitely not an ordinary item."

Although the cloth strip on which Princess Changyang wrote her poem was precious, it was not a rare item for the royal family.

Therefore, I speculate that one of the bamboo slips was a treasure map, while the other was not. The other one had already been presented to His Majesty by the princess. She discovered that the mechanism was very well hidden, so she wrote down the secret clue that had been causing her the most anxiety at the time and hid it here.

This is why, even though the items were found in the same bamboo slips, the silk used for writing on them was of vastly different quality.

Think about it, what benefits did Li Huaishan gain after killing Princess Changyang and kidnapping Changying?

Zhou Zhao paused, then said, "My father left the Court of Justice, and Li Huaishan became the new Court of Justice."