Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 364 New Victims

The maid named Chunling took a step back in fear and knelt down with a thud.

She raised two fingers and swore to the heavens, "This servant is absolutely telling the truth. Miss and Song Yu have been on good terms for more than half a month. Young Master Song Yu comes from a wealthy family and has a large collection of books. He and Miss are a good match."

He wasn't some shady character; the girl had met him when she listened to storytelling at the Hundred Tea House.

I inquired around and was told that he was of upright character and a true gentleman.

As Chunling spoke, her eyes reddened, "Although I believe that Young Master Song Yu is a good person, now that Miss is in trouble, I dare not hide anything from him."

In fact, the Great Qi Dynasty did not strictly regulate matters between men and women. It was common for young ladies to open teahouses and do business in public. It was even more common for young men and women from wealthy families to go out together to play polo and drink.

Women's chastity was not valued as much, and there were many women in the palace who had been married twice.

For example, Lady Yuegui, a famous woman in Chang'an, was married eight times, each time as the principal wife and the most favored husband. On her birthday, eight husbands lined up to give her gifts. Many people in Chang'an gossiped while secretly weeping with envy.

Zhou Zhao looked at Madam Xie and Chunling.

It seems that the deceased had always been strictly controlled by her mother and had a quiet and obedient personality, and the relationship between mother and daughter was not as close as one might imagine.

As Zhou Zhao pondered, his gaze fell upon the person standing behind Xie's mother. The person was wearing a brocade robe, with a belly so large it looked as if it would burst through the robe. His face was white and chubby, like a steamed bun brushed with lard.

He didn't seem to be very sad; he was dozing off with his eyes downcast.

Zhou Zhao's gaze fell on his belt, which was made of densely packed turquoise and topaz fragments, forming a pattern that looked quite gorgeous. On his thumb, he also wore a thumb ring with a silver setting and a large turquoise inlaid on it.

"Your daughter is in an accident, but you, as her father, don't seem very sad?"

Mr. Xie was dozing off and didn't react until Mrs. Xie nudged his arm. He nodded sharply, somewhat dazed, and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. He looked up blankly.

Xie's mother tugged at his sleeve, her eyes full of pleading, then shook her head.

Father Xie irritably shook off her hand and looked at Lord Zhou, “Sir, you don’t suspect me, do you? I am not sad, because Xie Yunniang is not my daughter. Jiang Qin is a widow, and she brought her with her when she came into the family.”

He was a merchant from out of town who wanted to settle down in Chang'an and find a nobleman to rely on, so he married Jiang Qin.

However, times have changed, and the nobles of the previous dynasty have become impoverished and can no longer be relied upon.

“I’m usually busy making money and don’t spend much time with my children. Yunniang is timid and doesn’t like to talk, so she’s not close to me.”

I was drinking with some people at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion tonight, and I've had a terrible headache... Sir, please don't wrong me, I didn't kill her."

Zhou Zhao glanced at the fat man in front of him with disgust. He didn't say anything, but his ugly expression was written all over his face.

It's nothing more than the past practice of seeking protection from others and being praised to the skies;
Now that his wife's family has no one to rely on, he has become quite arrogant and behaves in an unseemly manner.

"How could that be? If you were lying under the bed, you would never be able to nimbly crawl out and cover the deceased's mouth to knock her unconscious, because her belly is too big and she would get stuck."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, ignoring the stunned expressions of the people outside, he turned and went back into the house.

Ah Huang was still carefully examining the body by the bedside, while Min Zangzhi stood in front of the desk, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand.

"What did you find?"

Min Cangzhi raised an eyebrow. "This young master Song Yu is truly skilled at writing stories. Lord Zhou and General Su can take it back and study it carefully. After reading ten or eight volumes, they might be able to grow from the age of three to twenty."

"So magical?" Zhou Zhao became interested, took the bamboo slip from Min Cangzhi's hand, glanced at it, and instantly blushed.

Seeing Su Changying curiously approaching, she immediately rolled up the bamboo slip and hid it behind her back, then viciously stabbed at Min Cangzhi.

"Min Wenshu, be careful not to poison yourself with your own saliva. You can't even see clearly, you're probably not even three years old, you're only three days old, right? My sister Chu You..."

Min Zangzhi clasped his hands together and immediately bowed, begging for mercy.

Young Master Zhou's ultimate move!

Min Zangzhi lowered his eyes, speechless. These little lovers who were still pretending not to know each other were either three or several years old.

Su Changying looked at Zhou Zhao's flushed face and cleared her throat. "Zhao Zhao, what's wrong?"

Zhou Zhao glanced around haphazardly. "It's nothing, just a storybook about ghosts and monsters, about something in the mirror..."

As Zhou Zhao was speaking, he suddenly paused, no longer caring about blushing, and took the bamboo slip in front of him, unfolded it, and examined it carefully.

"The story of the ghostly gentleman in the mirror..." Zhou Zhao said, looking at the signature on the bamboo slip, which clearly bore the name of Song Yu.

Zhou Zhao's expression changed. He looked at the bronze mirror on Xie Yunniang's desk and walked towards the door. "Let's go see Song Yu..."

As soon as she finished speaking, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door again. Han Ze stood in front of the door with a bad expression and said nervously, "Sister Zhao, Brother Changying, there has been a second victim. The brothers just came to report it, and now we have sent people to guard the door."

"Lead the way..."

Zhou Zhao immediately went outside and saw Fan Lishen standing in the shadows with a curious look on his face. "Zhao, can I come with you?"

Zhou Zhao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "You come along, but you can't go into the scene either."

Fan Lishen nodded obediently. He didn't move until Ah Huang came out, then he silently followed beside him.

The second victim's home was not far from here, in the same neighborhood, only three alleys away.

As soon as Zhou Zhao and his companions arrived at the door, they saw a man of about thirty years old with red eyes come forward to greet them. "Young Master Zhou, General Su, my name is Tu Li, and the person who was in trouble is my younger sister, Tu Ying."

Just now, my mother suddenly fell ill with a heart condition. I was worried that something might happen, so I sent my wife, Yu Huan, to fetch her to see my mother.

As soon as the servants opened the door, they saw Ah Mei..."

Seeing that his grief seemed genuine, Zhou Zhao sighed softly, "Is your mother alright now? Ah Huang is a doctor; he can examine your mother's pulse."

Na Tuli cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you, Lord Zhou, and Your Highness the Prince of Chu. My mother has been bedridden for many years, but with a doctor at home taking care of her, she is now out of danger. She has only needed a calming soup to fall asleep."

But I dare not tell her about my younger sister's matter; if she knew, I'm afraid...

Zhou Zhao glanced at Tu Li with some surprise. Ah Huang always relied on his own abilities when he was out and about, and had never mentioned his identity as the King of Chu.

Upon hearing the name "Ah Huang," Tu Li immediately knew it referred to the King of Chu.

"Do you recognize the King of Chu?"

Upon hearing this, Ah Huang immediately took a step back and hid in the shadows. Seeing this, Fan Lishen stepped forward and blocked his way.