Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 347 Four Suspects

Han Shaofu?
A burst of thoughts exploded in Zhou Zhao's mind as she recalled Han Ze's carefree remarks.

He said his father didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket.

If he stays by Su Changying's side, at least the entire army won't be wiped out in the future.

Could it be that the person who killed my brother was really Han Shaofu...?

As Zhou Zhao thought about it, even his breathing became rapid.

But soon, she forced herself to calm down.

"Han Shaofu is His Majesty's confidant, and it is indeed possible that he has discovered the secrets of that year and may be the murderer. But if he produces the ninth statue, it will be no different from handing over the broken-tailed lion. His Majesty will still focus on him, just as we are focusing on him now."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he took a deep breath. "Han Shaofu was indeed in charge of the internal construction, but he wasn't the one who actually did the work. Who knows if there might be any mistakes?"

We need more rigorous evidence to avoid preconceived notions.

As she spoke, she pursed her lips, "But for now, Han Shaofu is the most suspicious person."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Buhai frowned deeply. "Speaking of which, I met Han Shaofu when we were young. There was an anecdote about him in Chang'an back then. It was during the previous dynasty. There was a top martial arts master in the palace named Nangong Huo. When he was wandering around the academy, he took a liking to Han Jiushang at first glance."

“Nine Entropy is the name of Han Shaofu,” Zhou Buhai explained to Zhou Zhao, worried that she might not know.

"Nangong Huo was convinced that Han Jiushang had extraordinary talent and was determined to take him as his last disciple. Han Jiushang was a dissolute young master and could not endure such hardship, so he refused. In the middle of the night, Nangong Huo secretly broke into Han Jiushang's private treasury and grabbed one of his treasured items in each hand."

If Han Jiushang does not become his disciple, he will crush all of Han Jiushang's collections, steal all of Han Jiushang's money, and then send all the beauties in Han Jiushang's backyard out of Chang'an.

He also had to steal a young woman's undergarment every day in Han Jiushang's name...

At this point, Zhou Buhai realized his words were inappropriate and cleared his throat.

Zhou Zhao's imposing presence made him momentarily believe he was having a private conversation with a colleague, forgetting that the person in front of him was his unmarried youngest daughter.

"In short, Han Jiushang was forced to become Nangong Huo's disciple. Although he served as the Shaofu (a high-ranking official) afterward, he never used his martial arts in public."

Zhou Zhao listened attentively to Zhou Buhai's words, "So what Father wants to say is that Han Shaofu may look like a playboy, but he is actually comparable to a master of the Imperial Guard. That Nangong Huoxing is only good at stealing, so he must be very skilled in light-footed martial arts."

The man in black who managed to escape from Changying and me tonight was also highly skilled in light-footed martial arts.

“That’s right,” Zhou Buhai said. “The imperial court is full of hidden talents. Which noble young master doesn’t possess martial arts skills and keep them hidden? Li Huaishan used to be a smiling bodhisattva who tried to smooth things over, but in reality, he was a peerless master.”

"Why isn't Father a master of martial arts?"

Zhou Buhai was speechless. He looked at Zhou Zhao's clear eyes and then looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

“Nangong Huo also examined my bones and said that I was like rotten wood that could not be carved. It seems that the martial arts talent of our Zhou family has all grown in you alone.”

Zhou Zhao listened, and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing...

She never imagined that one day Zhou Buhai would use such a tone to mock himself in front of her.

"Rotten wood cannot be carved," he used this phrase to scold her quite often in the past.

“If that’s the case, then Han Shaofu is even more suspicious,” Zhou Zhao said, picking up the pen he had used to draw the lion’s tail and writing Han Shaofu’s name next to it.

"Of the eight people, we can eliminate four: Father, Marquis Lu, the Crown Prince, and the Third Prince," Zhou Zhao said, writing down the names of Grand Commandant Huo, Prime Minister Chen, and Marquis Huaiyang.

The lamp flame popped open with a bang, and Zhou Buhai burned his hand. He belatedly released the lamp and tapped his fingers on the table.

"I certainly could not kill A-Yan;"

"It's impossible for Marquis Lu to do that. If he were there, why didn't he rescue Changying and let him be kidnapped by Li Huaishan?"

Zhou Zhao listened to Zhou Buhai's analysis and shook his head. "Father, these are all subjective assumptions. Not all fathers value their children's lives."

Zhou Buhai suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it were being cut by a knife.

He knew Zhou Zhao was analyzing things calmly, but he felt guilty and always felt that every word she said seemed to have a hidden meaning.

Zhou Zhao must have been utterly disappointed in his father long ago.

"There are two reasons for excluding you. First, if you want to know that secret, you don't need to sneak into Shanming Villa to interrogate the princess; that would be too dangerous. You can ask Zhou Yan at home. He is your son, so you can ask him however you want."

Secondly, your martial arts skills are indeed lacking, far inferior to Changying and Li Huaishan. If you had been waiting for an opportunity to strike, they would have noticed your heavy breathing and thunderous footsteps much earlier.

The murderer must be skilled in martial arts, and quite skilled at it, especially in light-footedness.

"The reason for excluding Marquis Lu is that he is a military general. His martial arts skills are well-known; I have witnessed them firsthand on the battlefield. He is more adept at troop deployment and, although he is handsome, his martial arts style is characterized by its fierce and powerful nature."

Furthermore, the Marquis of Lu holds military power and spends most of his time stationed outside the capital, rarely remaining in Chang'an. The possibility of him discovering His Majesty's secrets is extremely small.

“The Crown Prince is kind-hearted but not skilled in martial arts. If you were to face him, my brother could easily counter him. He also doesn’t hide his abilities. If he were a peerless martial artist, and the kind of person who could kill a subject with a single blow, there would be no question of the Third Prince vying for the throne.”

His Majesty just thinks he's too weak, doesn't he?

If he were comparable to a fierce dragon, why would he need to fight for the throne? His Majesty would have already embraced him, kissed him, and called him "Father's good son!"
"The Third Prince is indeed ruthless. Although he is known for his bravery and claims to want to be a war god like His Majesty, Changying once told me that if he kills a sparrow, he will exaggerate it as slaughtering the entire phoenix clan, and if he spits out a mouthful of water, he will claim that he has drowned the queen ant in Chang'an."

Zhou Buhai's lips twitched slightly.

Could this not be a subjective conjecture?

Zhou Zhao did not stop.

"Furthermore, four years ago, the Third Prince was quite young. Whether it was him or the Crown Prince, even if they overheard the secret, they wouldn't have taken action themselves. To seize the throne, one must first have the right to do so."

Although His Majesty is an exceptional man, neither of his two sons dared to leave the palace alone to visit Princess Changyang at Shanming Villa.

They feared that instead of obtaining the secret, they would be assassinated as soon as they were alone. This would be a completely counterproductive endeavor.

“Of course,” Zhou Zhao said, glancing at Zhou Buhai with a mocking look in his eyes.

"Most importantly, the man in black I observed tonight was not a young boy; he looked older than the Crown Prince and the Third Prince."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his eyes flickered, and he asked the question he had been wanting to ask.

As a junior, she wasn't very clear about the relationships and conflicts between people in the court in her early years. For example, she didn't know that Han Shaofu had a master who was a top-notch imperial guard.

“It was Zhang Ran who arranged for the princess to meet him alone at Shanming Villa. When I later investigated him, he had just passed away from a serious illness. I have reason to suspect that he was actually an intermediary back then, creating an opportunity for the murderer to interrogate the princess about secrets.”

So, of these four people, who do you think could make Zhang Ran do this?