Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 330 General Su's Jealousy
As Zhou Zhao spoke, he felt as if his heart was filled with bubbling spring water, and he felt a surge of joy.

She thought that soon her long spear would be completely back home.

"So it turns out that the reason my father's pet Wuyun was shedding its feathers was because you scared it, Zhou Zhao. If you sneeze for no reason, it must be because my father is scolding you."

Zhou Zhao looked away from Su Changying's eyes and followed the sound toward the door. There, under a bare tree not far away, stood a young man in a blue robe. He stood with his back straight, and his whole being was like a green bamboo.

He was extremely handsome, with exquisite features and a gentle, warm demeanor like a spring breeze and drizzle in March.

"Zhao Yizhou, you've returned to Chang'an?"

Thinking of Zhao Yizhou's words, Zhou Zhao couldn't help but laugh out loud, "The Marquis of Huaiyang must be cursing me every now and then."

Zhao Yizhou's lips curled slightly as he stepped forward and stood before Zhou Zhao and Su Changying. His gaze swept quickly across Su Changying's face, but his eyes remained fixed on Zhou Zhao. "The Prince of Dai is about to get married, and I have come to offer my congratulations as an official of Dai. Since returning this time, I have not left but have stayed by my teacher's side."

"Zhou Zhao, you've lost a lot of weight in the months since I last saw you."

As he spoke, as if he had just seen Su Changying, he said softly, "Young Marquis Lu should be more diligent, although you have indeed been busy taking charge of the Northern Army from scratch."

Su Changying looked coldly at Zhao Yizhou. He finally understood that this kid's words were barbed, and he hadn't given up on Zhou Zhao at all. He was even trying to provoke him.

Thinking about it, Su Changying unconsciously moved a step to the side, standing closer to Zhou Zhao.

"Not as capable as Prince Zhao, who built something from nothing. In terms of sheer busyness, how can the Northern Army compare to the Thirteen Ministries?"

With the Marquis of Huaiyang as his backer and the Prime Minister as his mentor, Zhao Yizhou honed his skills and gained merit in the Dai region. Upon returning to Chang'an, he rose rapidly through the ranks. Truly, he built his fortunes from nothing, with each step supported by others…

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhao Yizhou's eyes, clearly not expecting Su Changying to return it so directly.

They had met when they were in Daidi. At that time, Su Changying was still the head of the Inner Hall of Tianying City, a man who killed without hesitation and was as cold as an iceberg that had never melted for a thousand years.

He smiled and narrowed his eyes, not getting entangled with Su Changying, but speaking gently to Zhou Zhao, "I brought some local gifts from Dai and sent them to the Zhou residence. That's when I learned that you've moved out on your own."

My uncle spoke to me at length, and upon hearing that my father was to be transferred to the Court of Judicial Review, he especially asked him to take good care of you.

"Is the new Minister of Justice the Marquis of Huaiyang?"

Zhou Zhao recalled He Tingshi's previous speculation. He was not surprised that the new Minister of Justice was indeed the Marquis of Huaiyang, but rather that the new Minister of Justice had arrived so quickly.

Zhao Yizhou nodded, "That's right. He'll be entering the Court of Justice in the next couple of days. Last night, Father said that in the entire city of Chang'an, there's no lady more capable than you, Zhou Zhao. He regrets that back then we..."

Zhao Yizhou realized he had spoken out of turn and immediately changed the subject.

“Zhou Zhao, we’ve been friends for many years. In a few days, a few friends will be hosting a welcome dinner for me. We’re all civil servant colleagues, and you’ve known us before. If we keep in touch, it will be easier to get things done in the future. I’ll send you an invitation, so please make sure you come.”

As he spoke, he turned and looked at Su Changying with some concern.

"Young Marquis Lu shouldn't mind, right? Zhou Zhao is now an official in the court, and he inevitably has to entertain guests every now and then."

Su Changying's hand was already on the hilt of the sword.

With just a slight movement of his hand, he could slice off the head of this babbling idiot in front of him!

He suppressed his anger and looked at Zhao Yizhou, "Zhou Zhao can do whatever she wants."

Zhou Zhao was taken aback, his eyes inexplicably scanning back and forth between the two.

No, she was still thinking about the Marquis of Huaiyang becoming the Minister of Justice, so how did these two start to get so tense?

She felt as if she could already hear the sound of Su Changying's sword!

Zhao Yizhou was taken aback, then chuckled, "That's good! I've seen my old friend, so I'll head back now."

As he spoke, he politely cupped his hands to Su Changying and Zhou Zhao, then turned and walked towards the door.

As he reached the door, he turned back, smiled at Zhou Zhao with a gentle smile, his eyes brimming with tenderness, before finally turning and leaving. The servant beside him grumbled, "Young Master, you heard about Lord Zhou's accident, that you ran three horses to their deaths, and only just returned to Chang'an last night, your eyes barely open. Why didn't you tell her…?"

The servant's voice wasn't particularly loud, but it wasn't particularly quiet either.

The sound drifted on the wind and into Zhou Zhaotong and Su Changying's ears.

Although Zhao Yizhou had left, the warm fragrance of his body still lingered in the air.

"Young Master Zhou, I don't mean to be nosy, but if the Marquis of Huaiyang were to become the Minister of Justice, the Zhao family and the Zhou family would truly be a perfect match."

Just then, Min Zangzhi passed by, fanning himself. He had returned to his usual flamboyant self, and today he even wore a plum blossom hairpin in his hair. He looked as if he had been marinated in incense, without a trace of the night fragrance from last night.

As he spoke, he clicked his tongue with a hint of schadenfreude, then shook his head and entered the left courtyard.

Zhou Zhao cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, turned to look at Su Changying, and met his eyes, which were as deep as a cold pool.

The man, who was usually so cold he seemed ready to draw his sword at any moment and exuded a murderous aura, looked rather aggrieved at this moment.

"Cough cough..." Zhou Zhao was momentarily speechless.

"Zhao Zhao..." Su Changying had barely uttered two words when Zhou Zhao felt a tremor in his heart, echoing the trembling sound of Su Changying's voice.

She reached out and covered Su Changying's eyes, gritting her teeth as she said, "Stay away from Han Xincheng, don't go astray with him!"

The world has truly changed.

Why are men also embracing the fox spirit act now!
This is truly unbearable!

Su Changying's eyelashes fluttered, and Zhou Zhao felt as if his palm had been burned. He immediately withdrew his hand and put it behind his back.

Her face flushed red, and she turned away irritably. "I didn't know he would do this. I rejected him a long time ago..."

As she was speaking, she heard Su Changying's deep voice from above her head, "I know, that's why I didn't hit him immediately."

Even knowing this, I still felt a pang of sadness. I felt sad that Zhao Yizhou had proposed to Zhou Zhao when he left, and that he and Zhou Zhao were both civil officials while he was a military general... These were all trivial details, but I just felt inexplicably bitter.

Zhou Zhao remained silent.

"Don't be jealous for no reason. There were many girls in Chang'an who liked you before..."

Su Changying thought for a moment, "Is there?"

Zhou Zhao snorted coldly, "What do you mean there isn't?"

"I don't remember, but I should have given them a good scolding and driven them away."

Zhou Zhao's tense face twisted slightly. She was a few years younger than Su Changying. When Su Changying was a handsome young boy, she was still a mischievous child. Therefore, although they had been engaged for a long time, many people felt that there was still a long way to go and they might not get married in the future.

At that time, Princess Qingyang was in love with Su Changying and tried every means to trip them up.

Not only did Su Changying publicly berate the princess until she cried, but afterwards, she and Ah Huang also put the princess's brother in a sack and beat him up.

The answer is that you can't hit a little girl; you can only ask her brother to take the blame for her.

He rose to fame overnight, only to fall from grace on the list of ideal sons-in-law.

Back then, they were young and impetuous, doing whatever they pleased. The reason Zhou Zhao remembered this so clearly was that after Su Changying's accident, she met Princess Qingyang once. At that time, Princess Qingyang was already married and had a sweet little girl.

What did she say back then? She said she was blind back then, and that marrying Su Changying was worse than marrying Zhou Zhao...

The princess's gaze was so intense that Lord Zhou was terrified and still remembers it to this day.

Zhou Zhao pondered, then looked towards the door and whispered, "Was it a coincidence that the Marquis of Huaiyang entered the Court of Justice and Zhao Yizhou suddenly returned to Chang'an?"