Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 98 Green Plum Candy
Su Changying's outstretched hand froze in place, and Zhou Zhao, standing behind him, burst into laughter without any restraint.

The wet nurse picked up the child, ran away from the three of them, and slipped into the side door that was open, slamming the door shut behind her.

Zhou Zhao laughed heartily, took the candy from Su Changying's hand, and popped it into his mouth.

"Why does General Su always carry candy with him?"

Su Changying glanced at Zhou Zhao beside her, then popped the candy into her mouth. It tasted sour, probably because it had been mixed with plum juice.

"I put the money my colleague gave me today into my sleeve pocket."

Zhou Zhao nodded and pointed to the mutton soup shop next door.

"I'm having lunch here today. My brother used to be in love with Sister Chuyou and would often wander around this area hoping to bump into her. During that time, we practically lived in this shop. Even the smell of mutton soup lingered in our hair."

Su Changying glanced at the wooden sign that had been erected, but still had no recollection of it.

Seeing his expression, Zhou Zhao immediately understood and patted him on the shoulder, "No need to rush, take your time."

The three of them had lunch. Su Changying escorted the two to the gate of the Court of Justice before leaving. Zhou Zhao parted ways with Liu Huang at the crossroads and then turned to the Left Court of the Court of Justice. When he came in, Li Youdao was no longer lying on the table. He was lying directly among the bamboo slips, snoring loudly.

The people inside seemed unfazed and no one paid any attention.

Zhou Zhao had finished reviewing the case files, and no new ones were being sent. So she decided not to stay in the room and headed towards the library where the case files were kept.

She didn't remember the Star-Picking Tower, but she did remember the Riverside Tower.

The Linjiang Tower was originally quite famous in Chang'an. It was the private property of the renowned scholar Sun Yiyang, who had a wide circle of friends, including scholars and eccentrics from various schools of thought. Legend has it that Yu Niang, the most famous courtesan in Chang'an, once danced a fairy dance on the Linjiang Tower, which was astonishing as if she had ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

Later, Sun Yiyang redeemed Yu Niang from her servitude and took her as his concubine, which became a celebrated story.

Three years ago, a fire suddenly broke out at the Linjiang Tower, burning the entire building to the ground. After the fire was extinguished, the authorities found two unrecognizable bodies embracing each other.

Chang'an City was full of interesting things happening every day and new celebrities every month. Soon, Linjiang Tower and Sun Yiyang were no longer mentioned.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then took out the token engraved with Li Youdao's name and respectfully handed it to the old man guarding the gate with both hands.

"Uncle Wu, I want to go into the storeroom to see some sealed old files."

The old man called Grandpa Wu took the token, looked at it, and stood up with a limp. He looked to be about sixty or seventy years old, and his eyes were already somewhat cloudy.

"They actually assigned you to work under Li Youdao. Well, that's fine. Li Youdao used to be a sharp knife in the local area. Although he's dulled now, he's still a good knife. It's not a bad deal for you to follow him."

As the old man spoke, he pushed open the warehouse door and led Zhou Zhao inside.

"Your father was upright his whole life, but in the end, he ruined his reputation for Zhou Cheng'an. I was right to scold him before; he really had a pair of big eyes, but they were no different from a blind man's. He went to great lengths to hand Zhou Cheng'an over to Xu Yun."

Zhou Zhao listened without changing his expression.

In the Great Qi Dynasty, official appointments were mostly based on recommendation and hereditary privilege. Zhou Cheng'an had never been well-known in the capital before, nor did he have any notable experience in investigating cases. His appointment to the Court of Justice must have been due to Zhou Buhai's efforts.

This old man was named Wu Fang, and he had been guarding the archives of the Court of Justice from the previous dynasty to the new dynasty.

When Zhou Zhao's grandfather was the Minister of Justice, he was the Minister of Justice's assistant, following him all over the country. They were old friends.

Seeing that Zhou Zhao remained calm and showed no signs of injury, a hint of admiration flashed in Wu Fang's eyes. "What case are you looking for?"

After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Zhao said directly, "The Linjiang Tower arson case."

Wu Fang thought for a moment, "It's on the third shelf of the wooden shelf on the east side of the second floor, near the window. Go see for yourself. The files can't be taken out of the Court of Justice. Also, as you know, there are only files here; the evidence is stored somewhere else."

"If you want to see the evidence, you can go find Min Zangzhi."

Wu Fang paused, then added, "He's no ordinary person."

Zhou Zhao listened attentively and bowed slightly to Wu Fang.

What kind of ordinary person is a man who wears pink, has flowers in his hair, and carries a feather fan?

Thinking about it this way, there really aren't any normal people around her.

Following Wu Fang's directions, Zhou Zhao accurately located the case file for the arson case at Linjiang Tower.

The case seemed very simple. The person in charge of investigating the case at the time was the court official Xu Yun. Xu Yun discovered dripping tung oil near Linjiang Tower and retrieved a pottery jar that had contained tung oil from the river near the tower. He concluded that it was not an accident but arson.

After careful investigation, a blackened jade pendant was found in the ruins of Linjiang Tower. The pendant belonged to a scholar named Zheng Jiuchuan, and witnesses who had bought tung oil from him were found.

Zheng Jiuchuan confessed that he was the murderer, and that the cause was being deceived by Yu Niang, which turned his love into hatred.

That night, he heard Yu Niang and Sun Yiyang playing music and dancing by the water, looking like a divine couple. In a fit of rage, he set fire to Linjiang Tower.

In the end, Zheng Jiuchuan was executed for murder and arson.

Zhou Zhao saw the signature at the back of the case file, which recorded the details of the case. The three characters "Min Zangzhi" were written in bold.

Zhou Zhao frowned as he looked at the scene. At first glance, there seemed to be no major problems with the arson case at Linjiang Tower. Could it be that something bad was going to happen at Zhaixing Tower in three days, and that it had nothing to do with the former Linjiang Tower?

She couldn't possibly go to the Star-Picking Tower every day, so the most likely time for something to happen is three days from now.

They all went to Linjiang Tower because of Chu You's invitation.

At the same location, Linjiang Tower was burned to the ground, and on the very first day that Zhaixing Tower was built and opened to the public, a major accident with fatalities occurred.

Is there anything special about that place? Or is it just a coincidence?
……

at the same time.

In a courtyard in Chang'an, a pale-faced boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, sat before a small couch. His eyes were large but lifeless. He reached out and touched the cold armor in front of him.

"Brother, is this the armor of the Northern Army? Are you a general now? The kind of general who goes to the battlefield!"

"Yes! He's the great general who catches bad guys."

The boy smiled upon hearing this, reached out and touched around, then grabbed the man's hand. Touching the object in his palm, he instantly beamed with joy, "Brother, it's candy, isn't it?"

As he spoke, he picked up the candy, brought it to his nose, and sniffed it carefully. "It smells like green plums! I can smell the sourness!"

Happy New Year! May everyone be healthy and happy in 2025.