Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 97 Pixing Linjiang Tower

The Imperial Censor and the Northern Army wield double blades, plucking stars from perilous towers as lonely souls soar.

Zhou Zhao felt a chill run down her spine. Fate, like a thorny vine, had already wrapped around her neck without her knowing, ready to deliver a fatal blow unexpectedly.

Could the tallest building Chu You is currently constructing be her new final resting place...?

"Ah Zhao!"

As Zhou Zhao was thinking, she suddenly heard a clear female voice. Her face lit up with joy, and she looked in the direction of the voice to see a dilapidated carriage approaching.

"Sister Chu You".

Chu You lifted the carriage curtain, leaned out and waved to them. Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, she jumped down.

She was dressed in a faded cloth robe, which looked a little wrinkled. Her hair was casually tied in a bun, and she was dressed plainly without any jewelry. She walked to Zhou Zhao's side and looked directly at Su Changying.

“You’ve changed a lot. I went to the Zhou family. They said you’ve lost your memory.”

Chu You stared intently at Su Changying. In the past, people in Chang'an City compared Su Changying to the blazing sun and Zhou Yan to the cold moon. At that time, he seemed to carry an invincible spirit. But now, Su Changying was as cold as the iron armor on his body.

He was surrounded by a murderous aura, and his unpredictable and oppressive presence was very much like that of his grandfather, who had once held a high position.

Su Changying also looked back at Chu You, nodded slightly, and didn't say another word.

Yesterday, upon returning to the Su family, he had already heard many stories from his former servant, Guan Yu, about the past. Even back then, Chu You would have called him "sister-in-law." The six of them used to gather together frequently, but he had no recollection of it at all.

Chu You received an affirmative answer and felt somewhat disappointed.

"Come in and let's talk. I've been busy with the Zhaixing Tower these past few days, and it wasn't until this morning when I heard the craftsmen talking about Changying that I learned that you, Azhao, had taken Ahuang to Tianying City. Then I went to the Zhou family, and only Awan was there. That's when I learned that you, Azhao, had gone to the Court of Justice to take up an official post."

"If your brother were still alive, he would be very proud of you."

Chu You spoke, her eyes slightly red.

However, she didn't linger on the topic of Zhou Yan for long, and strode ahead, leading the group towards her courtyard.

As Zhou Zhao walked, he quietly looked around.

After Zhou Yan passed away, she came here a few times, but later Chu You's mother personally came to return the betrothal gifts and annul the engagement. She also privately spoke to her, hoping that she would visit Chu You less often in the future, since no matter how good Zhou Yan was, he was already gone.

Chu You is still young. Even if her mother has to bear the infamy, she can't bear to let her dwell on the past. She still has her own life to live.

After that, she came less often.

The Chu family mansion appeared even more dilapidated than when I last visited. Although the garden was well-maintained, almost all the rare and precious flowers and plants had vanished. The tiles on the roofs of some pavilions and remote courtyards were broken, and no one had bothered to pick them up.

Weeds grew from the cracks in the wooden floorboards of the corridor, and every now and then a bamboo joint would sprout out.

"Yes!" Zhou Zhao replied earnestly, "How have you been lately, elder sister? If you've encountered any difficulties..."

Chu You laughed heartily and pointed around, "You mean all the nice houses are abandoned? What's so difficult about that? There aren't many people in my family to begin with, and we can't possibly live in all these houses. Those precious flowers and plants are too difficult to care for, so my mother is going to dig them up and plant vegetables instead."

She spoke with composure and grace, and there was no trace of bitterness on her face, which reassured Zhou Zhao somewhat.

"Why did you go to build a building, Sister? What is that tallest building?" As they spoke, they arrived at Chu You's courtyard. Compared to Zhou Zhao's house, which was so small that even a rat would get lost and become exhausted, Chu You's house was exceptionally large.

Upon entering, Zhou Zhao immediately noticed that the wall directly opposite was covered with white silk scrolls, covered with densely drawn diagrams in fine brushstrokes. The diagrams clearly indicated the materials to be used, dimensions, and so on. In the lower right corner of the diagrams, small characters read "Zhaixing Tower".

Sure enough.

Zhou Zhao's heart sank slightly as he saw Chu You raise her hand and point to the several huge pictures. "The tallest building is the Star-Picking Tower. Someone is looking for my uncle who wants to build an even taller building as a wine bar on the site of the former Linjiang Tower."

"This painting was drawn by me, and the master is very satisfied with it. We can welcome guests in three days. I asked the master to reserve a private room for us, firstly to welcome Changying, and secondly to celebrate Azhao and Ahuang. Would you like to come?"

Go ahead to dangers.

Zhou Zhao's answer was, of course, that he absolutely had to go!
"Of course we have to go to the tallest building that my sister built!"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he looked at the huge table in the center of Chu You's room. On the left side of the table was a white cloth covered with countless obscure and difficult arithmetic problems that Chu You had solved. On the right side were various ingenious mechanisms and tools such as ink lines and scissors.

This table took up almost half of the room, with a simple little bed in the corner, just big enough for one person to lie down.

She used to squeeze in with Chu You, but when she woke up at dawn, she saw that Chu You hadn't slept all night and was excitedly solving a difficult problem with her sleeves rolled up.

Chu You smiled and nodded upon hearing this. She bent down, rummaged through the wooden shelf against the wall, found a piece of parchment, picked it up and put it in her bosom. "The Star-Picking Tower is waiting for me. I'm in a hurry to go there first. We'll meet again the day after tomorrow."

Zhou Zhao knew her temperament and smiled, "We also have errands to run this afternoon, and judging by the time, it's time for us to leave."

When the group returned to the Chu family's gate, Zhou Zhao and the other two watched Chu You's carriage drive away. The gatekeeper, Uncle Qi, rubbed the corner of his clothes somewhat embarrassedly. "Miss Zhao, His Highness the King of Chu, and Marquis Lu, I'm really sorry. Once our young lady gets busy, she can't take care of anything else."

"At this hour, I didn't even invite you to have a meal at my home..."

Zhou Zhao smiled upon hearing this, "Why is Uncle Qi acting so distant with us? We're the same way, otherwise why would we be so close to Sister?"

Her sister-in-law, Chu You, was a mathematical genius and a rare master of mechanical arts. Zhou Yan met her during a case investigation. Later, when he wanted to get engaged to Chu You, his grandmother disliked her for being ignorant of household affairs and for the family's decline, and even made a big scene.

As Zhou Zhao recalled the past, many images flooded her mind.

She turned her head and saw Liu Huang leaning against the corner of the wall, as if trying to blend into the mottled wall; Su Changying had a cold face, without the slightest emotion, obviously not remembering anything.

"You two are such blockheads! Put yourselves together and you're just like a pair of chopsticks! Or a pair of oars!"

Su Changying pursed her lips: "We are standing here properly and have not offended Lord Zhou."

How could she not have offended anyone? These days, when she walks down the street, it's not just like she's accompanied by a dragon on the left and a tiger on the right; it's practically like she's being led around by two guardian deities…

As Zhou Zhao pondered silently, he heard a sudden cry. A child in the alley looked at the three of them in terror, then abruptly turned his head and hugged his wet nurse's leg, bursting into tears.

The three of them froze in place.

Zhou Zhao rummaged in her sleeve pockets, trying to find some candy or snacks, but after searching for a while, all she had were a dagger and coffin nails...

She looked at Liu Huang... the box containing the dissecting knife and axe was swaying.

As she was thinking, she saw Su Changying holding a piece of candy and handing it to the little boy in front of her.

The child hiccuped and cried even louder.