Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 402 I lied to you
The two men looked grim, their eyes filled with anger and worry, but not with shock.

Zhou Zhao understood after just one glance.

This Chu Heng is utterly useless; how could he possibly have the ability to get on board with the Third Prince and Grand Commandant Huo?

It's obvious that these two old guys from the Chu family are both insiders.

They were all fully aware of the Third Prince's despicable deeds, and they all knew the torment and suffering that girl named Jiang Yan had endured.

No wonder Chu Heng said those things.

In the hearts of this family, dancers and maids were not even considered human beings; they were like livestock, to be humiliated and killed at will. In the unseen corners of the government, countless lives were silently lost in this world.

Even after they die, they will only be wrapped in a straw mat and thrown into a mass grave to be fed to wild wolves.

Even if we get caught, so what?

They could feign tears and sobs, hypocritically confess and plead guilty, acting as if they had nothing to lose, just like the Chu family members before them, practically wearing the word "bad luck" on their faces. So what if they killed someone? It was just a demotion and a fine.

It's a pity, but it's not fatal.

Afterwards, they continued their carefree and extravagant lifestyle.

What does "a life for a life" even mean? The difference between people in this world is greater than the difference between heaven and earth.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then looked away and kicked Chu Heng.

Her kick seemed light, but she used a clever technique to strike Chu Heng's nerve endings.

He let out a wail, pressing one hand to his head and the other to his leg, tears instantly streaming down his face from the pain.

"Heng'er!" Madam Chu cried out in distress. She wanted to take a step forward, but seeing the long sword blocking her way and Su Changying's ruthless face, she dared not move an inch.

Zhou Zhao listened without turning his head and said to Chu Heng, "Tell me everything, and I'll give you the antidote. You can't lie a single word. Why did you kill Jiang Yan? Did you want to kill her, or was someone ordering you to?"

Chu Heng was in excruciating pain and couldn't listen to anything else. He spoke with snot and tears streaming down his face.

"It was Commander Huo. Commander Huo sent men to kidnap Jiang Yan. She couldn't convincingly impersonate Fan Lishen, and she even aborted her own child. The Court of Justice already knows about her. Her face is a problem. I was going to deal with her, but just as I was about to make my move, she was captured by Commander Huo's men."

Those twelve golden men were incredibly powerful, and I couldn't defeat them. How could I possibly catch them?
I messed up this matter and had no way to explain it to my superiors. I didn't dare tell my parents either, so I had no choice but to secretly go with my bodyguard, Ashu.

It wasn't until you surrounded the Huo family and Huo Taiwei launched a rebellion to besiege the West Palace that I received news that Huo Taiwei had hidden Jiang Yan in the Huo family's ancestral tomb.

I wanted to go and discuss this with my father, but yesterday the capital was in chaos. The streets were teeming with Northern troops, and all the government offices were sealed off. I had no choice but to take Ashu out of the city.

As Zhou Zhao listened, she thought to herself that, just as she had expected, all of this was arranged by Grand Commandant Huo.

He knew that Chu Heng was not capable of great things, but was a very useful pawn.

These pigs in the enemy camp are just as effective as spies planted by ourselves.

He probably had his men leak the news to Chu Heng when things got bad. The Northern Army put all government offices and palace gates on martial law. Unable to get advice from his father, Chu Heng had no choice but to act rashly on his own.

Jiang Yan was a weakness of the Third Prince. The reason he had her appear in public before was to plot against the Duobao Pavilion.

Duobaoge is incredibly wealthy. If the Third Prince were to receive this assistance, and with Grand Commandant Huo's military power in hand, their success would be much easier.

But Fan Lishen was a woman, which made Jiang Yan a complete joke.

She offered no benefit and was a fatal weakness, so why would the Third Prince keep her alive? Naturally, he arranged for Chu Heng to eliminate her immediately. However, Grand Commandant Huo was a cunning fox, and Zhou Zhao was a master of decisive action. They wanted to seize the initiative, and Chu Heng was no match for them. This led to Chu Heng's risky descent into the tomb to kill Jiang Yan.

Zhou Zhao listened, then kicked Chu Heng again, "Continue."

Chu Heng let out another wail, "I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything. I wanted to bring more men, but the streets are full of Northern Army soldiers, and I'm afraid they won't let me leave the city if there are too many of us. Besides, I don't dare to go back and call more men."

After all, that old bastard Huo Taiwei was too useless. He plotted rebellion, but he couldn't even win.

Back then, he was a piece of shit; anyone who got involved with him would stink. I was afraid that if we delayed going, he would lose completely, and Su Changying would lead the Northern Army to destroy the Huo family's ancestral graves.

When I got to the grave, I couldn't open it, I just couldn't open it.

However, not long after I arrived, I heard the sounds of fighting. Ashu and I hid there and saw Su Changying chasing after Commander Huo. After they went inside and I could no longer hear any noise, I watched them press the mechanism and followed Ashu inside.

As soon as I went in, I saw Jiang Yan dancing in the cage. I wanted to kill her, but before I could do it, you showed up again.

When you arrived, I was standing near the birdcage. If you had taken a few more steps, you would have spotted me. I had no choice but to have Ashu distract you and stall you for a while. But I didn't expect Ashu to be so useless; you killed him in a single encounter.

Chu Heng spoke with a hint of grievance in his voice.

God knows he has never suffered so much in his entire life.

After returning, he stepped over the fire pit and burned mugwort.

"After you go deeper inside, I'll be all alone. I'll open the gilded cage and, as Ashu and I had agreed before, strangle Jiang Yan first, then hang her on the birdcage to make it look like she hanged herself."

After I finished, I saw blood flowing out from the cracks in the stone wall. I was terrified and ran away as fast as I could.

As he spoke, he wailed and reached out his hand to Zhou Zhao, "I already told you, give me the antidote! He's just a worthless bastard, killing him is no big deal. Give me the antidote now."

Zhou Zhao's hand slipped, and he spun the porcelain bottle around. "After you came back safely, did you tell your father about this?"

Chu Heng was in excruciating pain, but he nodded hastily. "I told him, Father asked me to invite Zhao Yizhou over for drinks and to ask him about the autopsy on Jiang Yan. He blamed me for not slashing Jiang Yan's face or carrying the body out. A-Shu originally said he was going to slash her face, but I was in too much pain from being pricked by thorns at the time."

Worried that the people inside would come out after their fight, and also worried that the Northern Army might come, he hurriedly finished doing all this and ran away.

With Ashu gone, I had no way to carry Jiang Yan away and escape.

"I already told you, give me the antidote quickly, I'm in so much pain!"

Chu Heng completely ignored the old man's angry roar at the door and blurted out everything he could think of, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

Admitting to murder only results in a demotion, but without the antidote, he'll suffer excruciating pain, like worms crawling out of his skull.

He was incredibly wealthy and surrounded by beautiful women; how could he bear to die?

He was horrible; he didn't want to die at all.

Zhou Zhao listened and laughed mockingly, "There's no antidote because there's no Gu worm in your brain at all. I was just lying to you! Fool! Look at your head, which is swollen like a pig's head, and you'll know why it hurts!"

As she spoke, she reached out her hand to Chu Heng, and a tiny red Gu worm wriggled at her fingertips.

"As for this, it's my little cutie who accidentally wandered off and landed on your head. What to do? It's fallen into the trash and is all dirty!"

(End of this chapter)