Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 405 Zhou Zhao's Promotion
The next morning, as dawn broke, light snow began to fall outside Chang'an.

A carriage stopped beside the pavilion, and the carriages and horses on the straight road lined up and headed towards the direction of Dai.

Zhou Zhao stood aside, watching Zhou Xuan and Zhou Wan hugging each other, feeling a pang of emotion in her heart.

Zhou Wan, dressed as a princess, looked much more radiant. The Prince of Dai stood beside her, one hand secretly supporting her waist from behind. He appeared to be talking to Su Changying and Han Xincheng, but his eyes kept glancing at Zhou Wan, like a piece of sticky candy that could stretch.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhao felt a little more at ease.

The couple is newly married and their love is at its peak. With Zhou Wan's intelligence, she is sure to have a bright future ahead of her.

However, after this parting, who knows when we'll meet again?

"I won't say anything more. Brother-in-law, I'm entrusting my sister to you from now on. She's delicate and gentle, and she only knows how to glare when she's bullied."

"Dai is far from Chang'an. Once she leaves, she can only rely on His Highness the Prince of Dai. I hope you will respect, love, and cherish her."

As Zhou Xuan spoke, the tip of her nose turned slightly red.

The Prince of Dai nodded gently, his eyes filled with tenderness as he looked at Zhou Wan. "Don't worry, elder sister. Wan is devoted to me, and I will certainly not let her down."

Zhou Zhao stood behind her, listening intently. He quickly glanced at Zhou Wan and said, "Hey, look at these two silly girls you've fooled."

"Ah Xuan, it's getting late. Let the Prince of Dai depart. You and your sister can exchange more letters in the future."

Upon hearing the words "family letter," the Prince of Dai looked up and exchanged a glance with Han Xincheng before tacitly looking away.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan took a step back and grabbed Zhou Zhao, who had been standing behind her. "Why is Zhao hiding in the back? Could it be that you can't bear to see Wan crying in the back? You two sisters are the closest of friends."

Zhou Zhao and Zhou Wan exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat distorted.

There's a saying that describes people as careless and sloppy. Their older sister's nerves are thicker than the old locust tree at the entrance of Shanming Villa. The two of them have clearly never gotten along since childhood and dislike each other. How could they possibly have any close relationship?

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he stiffly went up and hugged Zhou Wan.

Zhou Wan gave it to him perfunctorily.

"Don't die."

"Live longer."

The two spoke their true feelings and then immediately parted ways.

Zhou Wan didn't say anything more, turned around and got into the carriage, but she cupped her hands in greeting on behalf of the prince, saying, "Until we meet again."

The convoy sped away until it was completely out of sight. Only then did Zhou Zhao have a sense of reality: her second sister, Zhou Wan, who had fought with her for more than ten years, was gone for good. When they met again... she would be the Minister of Justice.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment and then looked away.

She looked toward where Zhou Xuan had been standing, only to find that she was looking at empty space.

She searched around and found that Han Xincheng, that vixen, had somehow taken Zhou Xuan aside and was making her smile.

Zhou Zhao rolled her eyes and was about to step forward when she saw her future brother-in-law turn around as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He smiled and said mysteriously, "Young Master Zhou, you should hurry back to the Court of Justice. Something good is about to happen."

Zhou Zhao rolled her eyes halfway through, then straightened them again. Something good happened? What good thing?
"Ah Zhao, you should go quickly. Your new Court Judge might be thinking of making an example of someone, so don't let her use it against you!" Zhou Xuan said, turning back to advise him.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhao immediately became indignant, "Do you think I'm afraid of him?"

Zhou Xuan shook his head. "What's there to be afraid of? I'm afraid you won't be able to resist secretly beating him up?"

Other people's little sisters have so many suitors that they wear down the threshold; but since their little sister could run and jump, the threshold has been worn down by so many people complaining about her.

Zhou Zhao cleared his throat, bid farewell to Zhou Xuan, mounted his horse, and went straight back to the Court of Justice.

It was still early, so she went to the small canteen for breakfast. This morning she ate mutton pies, which were mostly meat and had little vegetables. Each bite was bulging and left her mouth full of oil.

Zhou Zhao took a big bite and said to Su Changying across from him, "Does Han Xincheng have a dog's nose? Does he know that we at the Court of Justice are having meat pies today?"

Seeing that she was getting a little irritable, Su Changying reached out and smoothed down a tuft of hair that was sticking up in Zhou Zhao's hair. "Don't worry, with us and Han Xincheng here, the Prince of Dai won't dare to bully your sister. Besides, the Court of Justice can inspect local cases, so if you want to go to Dai, you can go anytime."

Zhou Zhao was taken aback, and awkwardly took a bite of the meat pie.

"Zhou Wan is amazing. She can live a very good life on her own, better than anyone else."

The Prince of Dai's mother was not favored. Although he held the title of a prince, he had no maternal clan to rely on. If he hadn't been engaged to Zhou Wan early on, given Han Xincheng and Su Changying's current military power and her flourishing position at the Court of Justice, their marriage might not have been possible.

Indeed, as long as they are powerful, even if the Prince of Dai is unhappy, he must still give Zhou Wan respect and dignity.

What's more, that kid was clearly overjoyed.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then devoured the whole meat pie in one bite. Her cheeks were bulging, making her look very cute.

Su Changying looked at it, reached out her hand, and was about to poke it when she heard a commotion outside the door.

He Tingshi, with his old legs, rushed in like a gust of wind. When he saw Zhou Zhao's appearance, he immediately became anxious, "An angel from the palace has come. How can you still have the heart to eat meat pies? Swallow them quickly and wipe your mouth, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Zhou Zhao was caught off guard and pulled up by He Tingshi. She picked up the mutton soup and took a big gulp, chewing the meat pie in her mouth frantically, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief as she walked.

Only when they arrived at the left courtyard did they finally look like human beings.

Upon entering, one sees an eunuch standing there, holding an imperial edict in his hand. Seeing Zhou Zhao enter, the eunuch smiles kindly and says, "Young Master Zhou, please receive the edict!"

Zhou Zhao was taken aback, remembering the good news Han Xincheng had mentioned earlier, and his heart began to pound.

She watched as the eunuch opened and closed his mouth, uttering a string of nonsense before finally saying the important thing, "Congratulations, Lord Zhou! You've been promoted and made a fortune. From now on, I should call you Left Supervisor Zhou."

Zhou Zhao accepted the imperial edict and stood up happily. Who wouldn't want to be promoted and make a fortune?
As she was smiling, Su Changying, who was standing beside her, had already given the eunuch a tip with practiced ease. The eunuch quietly shrugged the tip but did not refuse. He smiled and said, "His Majesty summoned Zhou Zuojian to court, probably to discuss the memorials. Young Master Zhou can make some preparations on the way."

Zhou Zhao was taken aback. The first thing she did after getting up this morning was to submit a memorial to the emperor. She didn't expect that the emperor had already read it so quickly.

No wonder they say money can make the devil turn the millstone; after Su Changying gave the reward money, the eunuch gave her the questions in advance.

Zhou Zhao thanked the eunuch and followed him away.

As soon as she left, the left courtyard immediately became lively and bustling.

Xu Jin nudged Zhou Cheng'an, who was standing there dumbfounded, and said, "It's all because of you, Lord Zhou! Look at her! It's like she's climbed a ladder to heaven. After the Shanming Changyang case, His Majesty dismissed the Left and Right Supervisors, but now, for her sake, he's brought them back. You, on the other hand, are completely outshone by her!"