Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 91 Returning to Chang'an
When I left Chang'an, it was the height of summer; when I returned to the city, it was already autumn.

The osmanthus tree outside Zhang Ran's study ripened early, and now it has already sprouted a few yellow stamens, carrying a faint fragrance.

Zhou Zhao leaned against the window, munching on the fruit in his hand, "Lord Zhang, you've already circled Su Changying thirty-nine times."

Zhang Ran ignored him and spun around for the fortieth time, his eyes wide as copper bells. He suddenly yanked out three of his own whiskers, jumping up and down in pain.

"It really is Nephew Su! My life is over! Tomorrow, Marquis Lu will surely beat this old man to death with a stick!"

“That day, I was reviewing the troops according to the booklet and saw that Qianmian was skilled in disguise and had superb martial arts, so I directly selected him to go to Tianying City. When he came, he was wearing a mask, and I did not lift it to look. The daily training of the spy camp was handled by a third party.”

Zhang Ran thought to himself, then regretfully dropped the beard from his hand.

Zhou Zhao tossed the fruit pit aside and looked coldly at Zhang Ran. "Your Excellency is truly remarkable. You trained spies to find substitutes, and even tricked juniors into risking their lives to break through Tianying City. Everyone in the Ministry of Personnel who meets Your Excellency praises you for your ability to recognize and utilize talent."

Zhang Ran wore a bitter expression. "Nephew Zhou, I'm your mentor, and I even gave you the opportunity to make great contributions. Why are you making fun of me?"

"Besides, who in the entire city of Chang'an doesn't know that I only have this sinecure position today because of His Majesty?"

Zhou Zhao was speechless. Indeed, once a person loses all shame, they become invincible.

Thinking this, she took out the three blood-red tortoise shells from her bosom and threw them directly at Zhang Ran, saying, "Here's the Six Paths Heavenly Book you wanted."

She had already discussed the specifics of Tianying City with Zhang Ran, focusing on the key points.

When Zhang Ran saw the three red lights flying towards him, he broke out in a cold sweat. He frantically grabbed at them, and finally managed to catch the three pieces of tortoise shell by pulling up his clothes.

“My little ancestor, this is the Six Paths Heavenly Book. If it is smashed, His Majesty will cut off my head and use it as a football, without even waiting for Marquis Lu to arrive.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the three tortoise shells. These things were dark red all over, and looked like blood-stained jade pulled out of a coffin. They looked ominous no matter how you looked at them.

He carefully picked up the three pieces of tortoise shell, placed them into a black box with gold lacquer that he had prepared beforehand, and then locked it.

"As for the matter of the Six Paths Heavenly Book, I hope that Heaven, Earth, you, and I know it. Once we leave this study, my two nephews should not mention it again."

As Zhang Ran spoke, he stroked his beard, and looked at Su Changying with a hint of embarrassment in his eyes.

"Now that my nephew has been proven right, it is not appropriate for him to work under me in the future. Otherwise, others will surely criticize me for being blind and mistaking ginseng for firewood. His Majesty's intention is to send you to the Northern Army in the future. You will know the specific details when you return to the Marquis of Lu's residence."

Su Changying remained silent and bowed to Zhang Ran.

Seeing that he didn't blame him, Zhang Ran breathed a long sigh of relief, and his gaze towards Zhou Zhao became much more relaxed!

"My dear nephew! Since you like that fruit, have someone dig up the tree and bring it back later! Thanks to your good fortune, I can finally hold my head high in front of His Majesty!"

Zhou Zhao looked at Zhang Ran's mustache sticking up to the sky and waved his hand speechlessly, "Dig up two!"

As she spoke, she grabbed Su Changying's sleeve, and the two of them flashed to the outside of the Zhang family's wall.

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously frowned.

“We deliberately separated from Chang Zuoping along the way. I even waited in Tianying City for three days until it became an isolated city. We also deliberately left loopholes along the way, but everything was calm and we did not encounter any assassins. This is very unusual.”

Zhou Zhao walked side by side with Su Changying, lowering his voice. That was the Six Paths Heavenly Book! Who in this world with power and status wouldn't want to seek immortality?

The person capable of killing Princess Changyang and Zhou Yan, and erasing Su Changying's memories, is definitely not an ordinary person. Su Changying becoming a spy for Zhang Ran and being sent to Tianying City—if this is a coincidence, that's one thing; if it's not, then that person likely has two motives.

One is Tianying City. What's in Tianying City? Of course, it's the "Six Paths Heavenly Book." It can't be that old geezer Qin Tianying.

Secondly, he could allow Su Changying to return to Chang'an through Tianying City and resume his position as the Marquis of Lu. At that point, that person would reappear and reveal their true purpose.

Su Changying nodded expressionlessly, "This thing is probably fake; only Zhang Ran doesn't know that."

The back alley wasn't long; once you passed through it, you'd find yourself in a bustling market. The vibrant, everyday atmosphere there gave Zhou Zhao a real sense of coming back to life.

She did indeed defy the death prophecy in the "Letter to My Deceased Wife" and returned alive from Tianying City.

As she was thinking, something suddenly came to mind.

If she died in Tianying City, how could Su Changying have the nerve to call her his deceased wife? They hadn't even had a wedding ceremony. Did this guy really dare to arrange a ghost marriage with her? Or would he shamelessly pretend to be her husband?
As she thought this, her gaze toward Su Changying was exceptionally complex.

Su Changying noticed her gaze and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

That gaze was truly unsettling; Zhou Zhao looked at him as if he were some kind of shameless scoundrel.

"It's nothing! I'll go back to the Su family with you. There's something I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Last year, your father came to our door, wanting to break off our engagement, but I didn't agree. That was also last year."

Zhou Zhao paused as he spoke, "Your father has already petitioned to have Su Changyu made the heir apparent to the Marquis of Lu."

Su Changying's mother died early, and his father, Marquis Lu, remarried, taking a wife named Liu. Liu gave birth to a son and a daughter, Su Changyu and Su Ling.

When Su Changying was alive, his martial arts skills were superb, and he enjoyed the Emperor's deep trust. Surpassing his father's military achievements was only a matter of time. At that time, he was the undisputed heir of the Marquis of Lu. But he has been missing for so many years, and everything has changed.

The young Marquis of Lu in the capital today is not Su Changying, but Su Changyu.

Su Changying felt a pang of anxiety and shook her head at Zhou Zhao.

He didn't care about the title of "Little Marquis of Lu," but what he did care about was that he had almost broken off his engagement with Zhou Zhao. No wonder that man surnamed Zhao proposed to Zhou Zhao.

“I didn’t tell you before because I thought that with your abilities, Su Changying, you could easily take it back if you wanted to. If you didn’t want it, you could earn your own title and position,” Zhou Zhao said, glancing at Su Changying’s slightly clenched fist out of the corner of his eye.

She winked at Su Changying, "After all, you are the number one expert in the inner city and the number one spy in the Great Qi Dynasty."

Even though he lost his memory, Su Changying was still Zhang Ran's most capable spy and the number one expert in Tianying City.

A person like him is the strongest wherever he goes.

Of course, it wouldn't work at the Court of Judicial Review, because she would definitely be the strongest.

Seeing the trust in Zhou Zhao's eyes, Su Changying's initial trepidation about returning home vanished instantly. He gently released his hand and nodded to Zhou Zhao.

"I have come to the Court of Justice, Lord Zhou."