Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 93 Amazement
The content of the eulogy has been changed.

She did not die in Tianying City, so "farewell" became "reunion". She forced Qin Tianying to move the blood sacrifice day from July 15th to July 14th, so "ghost day" became "orchid month".

Lan Yue means July. In July, she found her old friend Su Changying under the pear tree and among the reeds.

Fate may change, but death may not.

Zhou Zhao took a deep breath, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the blank bamboo slip.

What caused this new letter to his deceased wife to appear on the bamboo slip? How many more death predictions are there in the future?
Zhou Zhao shook his head. So what if he was destined to die young?
She was already defying fate.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then took out his brush and ink, and pulled out another bamboo slip, writing down the last two sentences on it.

"The Imperial Censor wields his double-edged sword against the Northern Army, and a lone soul flies from the perilous tower, plucking stars from the sky."

Just now, Zhang Ran told Su Changying that His Majesty had ordered her to join the Northern Army. She was returning to the capital from Tianying and would officially become an official in the Court of Justice tomorrow. From now on, she would be the one investigating cases, and Su Changying would be the one catching the murderers. This could be seen as the Court of Justice wielding a double-edged sword in the Northern Army.

So what is the "Star-Picking Tower"? A tower is a tall building. There are many tall buildings in Chang'an, and there are countless ones that are said to be "so tall that one can pluck the stars from the sky".

So, which tall building will be her next death site? Or will it be somewhere outside Chang'an?

Zhou Zhao frowned as he thought about it, not even noticing the ink dripping from his hand onto the bamboo slip. Not only was the location unknown, but this time even the date of death was not specified.

She put down her calligraphy brush, leaned back, and looked up at the long rope hanging above the table.

Qin Tianying possessed unparalleled martial arts skills, and Tianying City was a dangerous place. It was not surprising that she died there on her first mission as a spy.

But what about this time?

Why did she die? And why did she have to die?
There are few masters, and even fewer who can kill her easily. So, could the person who appeared this time be the real culprit in the Shanming Changyang case back then?

As soon as Zhou Zhao thought about it, she was filled with fighting spirit. What did she have to fear if she had to fight against people and against the heavens?
"Miss, the master and his wife have returned. Please come to the study."

A soft voice came from outside the door. Zhou Zhao stood up, picked up a hair ribbon, and tied up her still wet hair. "I understand. I'll be right there."

As she spoke, she concealed the bluefish dagger in her sleeve, straightened her robes, opened the door, and went out.

At this time of year, Chang'an was already starting to get a bit chilly. As you walked toward Zhou Buhai's study in the front courtyard, you could see the servants changing the flowers and plants.

Zhou Buhai's study door was open. He stood in front of the screen with his hands behind his back, staring intently at it.

"This is an article your elder brother wrote when he was thirteen years old. The Confucian scholars praised him for his gentlemanly and benevolent character. However, I am very dissatisfied with it. The law should be strict, and people are like knives. Benevolence and kindness are easy to hesitate about and follow one's heart rather than the law. They cannot control those monsters and demons."

“That time I punished him by making him copy the legal scriptures again. I had high hopes for him and hoped that he could become the next Minister of Justice. Historical records state that the Zhou family was diligent in enforcing the law and had served as Ministers of Justice for three generations.”

Zhou Zhao didn't speak, but walked behind Zhou Buhai and silently looked at the inscription on the screen.

“Zhou Xuan is my eldest daughter, and she is the one I have wronged the most. During the war in the previous dynasty, your mother was sick and weak. In order to support the family and protect her younger siblings, she developed a competitive nature and did not get a good reputation in the capital.”

“By the time of Zhou Wan, she was well-behaved and sensible, and she did everything very well without any supervision. After A Yan passed away, she stayed with me and your mother to manage family affairs. I always thought that a girl like her, without her father and brothers to rely on, would be mistreated if she were to be betrothed to someone in the future.”

"Until the imperial decree came down..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao interrupted Zhou Buhai. "Father, what did you want to say to me today? That you plan to install three more screens in this room and inscribe the articles written by my two sisters and me? Oh, we are not the pillars of the Zhou family. Inscribing three screens would be a bit presumptuous. It would be better to inscribe them on the same screen."

Zhou Buhai was speechless.

After a while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Before you left, didn't you tell me to reflect on my actions? I have reflected on them seriously."

Now it was Zhou Zhao's turn to fall silent.

The room became so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop. After a while, Zhou Buhai continued talking.

"I have indeed failed as a father. At this point, there's no point in saying anything more."

"You have truly impressed your father regarding the matter of Tianying City!"

Zhou Zhao awkwardly shifted his gaze from Zhou Buhai to the window. Birds hopped about on the branches, and fallen leaves swirled in the air before settling on the window frame.

"Please don't bother with the 'however,' 'but,' 'however...' and other unpleasant phrases; I don't like hearing them."

The bird seemed to find this amusing and began to chirp and chatter.

As Zhou Buhai listened to Zhou Zhao's self-righteous words, the "but" that was cut off from his mouth got stuck in his throat. After a long while, he finally let out a breath and shook his head with a wry smile.

Zhou Zhao glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and felt that his father, Zhou Buhai, had truly aged.

If it were in the past, he would have drawn his sword and chased after her, beating her mercilessly. Then she would turn around and make faces, hiding behind Zhou Yan with a smug look on her face.

"Tomorrow I'm going to the Court of Justice. Be careful with your words and actions. It's easy to deal with gentlemen, but hard to guard against petty people. There's more than one superior, and they all have their own plans. Regardless of their investigative abilities, none of them are simpletons when they're even standing in this officialdom."

Zhou Zhao nodded. "Understood. If Father has nothing else, I will take my leave now."

Since she entered the city, she has only eaten one fruit from the Zhang family, and she is already starving.

Zhou Buhai's lips moved, but he couldn't help asking, "Are you injured?"

Zhou Zhao glanced at Zhou Buhai with a complicated expression, then shook his head. "It was just a minor injury, it's already healed."

As she spoke, she respectfully bowed to Zhou Buhai before turning to leave. When she reached the tree, Zhou Zhao reached out and quickly touched the bird on the tree. Feeling the soft and warm touch, she released her hand and left satisfied.

Zhou Buhai looked out the window at Zhou Zhao's receding figure and let out a long sigh of relief.

He always felt that speaking to Zhou Zhao now was more unsettling than meeting the emperor, and he didn't know who was the daughter and who was the father.

Fortunately, the child returned safely, and they were spared the tragedy of parents outliving their children once again.

When Zhou Zhao returned to the courtyard, Zhou Xuan and Zhou Wan were already waiting. The three sisters ate together, chatted for a while, and then went to their mother Xu's place to make a fuss for a while before washing up and going to bed.

When I woke up again, it was already dawn.

Today is her first day at the Court of Judicial Review.