Nine Nights Owl Song

The 3rd day of the 11th month of the 17th year of Yong'an.

Before dawn, the back door of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence was silently pushed open.

Su Jiuge slipped in through the crack in the door, dressed in a dark gray short khaki outfit, with a sword hanging at her waist, and her hair tied into a braid with a strip of cloth.

She held a roll of paper in her hand, which Bai Yu had delivered last night—a list of personnel the Zhou family had placed in the Marquis's residence, detailed down to each person's name, age, position, and specific area of ​​activity within the residence.

She came today not for a meal, not to reunite with relatives, but to remove the nail.

Su Zhentian was waiting for her in the study.

Seeing Su Jiuge enter, he stood up from his chair, his gaze falling on the roll of paper in her hand, without saying a word.

He already knew about Su Jiuge's plan—last night, Bai Yu sent someone to the Marquis's residence to tell him in detail about the Zhou family's conspiracy, Zhou Wenyuan's identity, and the Zhou family's spies in the Marquis's residence.

When Su Zhentian finished reading the letter, his hands were trembling. Not from fear, but from anger.

He had fought on the battlefield for twenty years and had never been so deceived. A concubine had been operating under his nose for twenty years, turning him into a blind man, a deaf man, and a fool kept in the dark.

Half of the people he trusted were Zhou family spies.

Half of the people he relied on were pawns of the Zhou family.

He thought he was the head of the household and controlled everything in the Marquis's mansion.

In reality, he was merely a puppet whose power had been stripped away.

"Everyone on the list is here." Su Jiuge unfolded the scroll and laid it on the desk.

Su Zhentian looked down at the list, examining each name one by one.

With each name he saw, his face grew darker. By the end, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Twenty-three people." His voice was hoarse.

"Twenty-three people from the Zhou family have infiltrated my Dingyuan Marquis's mansion."

"There are twenty-four."

Su Jiuge said,

"There's another one, Chunlan, your wife's head maid. She's not on the list; I overheard it myself last night in Aunt Zhou's courtyard. When Zhou Wenyuan was talking to Aunt Zhou, he mentioned 'that person by your wife's side.' Aunt Zhou said, 'Chunlan is reliable and has never made a mistake.'"

Su Zhentian closed his eyes.

Spring orchid.

She was the most trusted maidservant of Madam Shen, who had served her for eight years, serving her tea and water, dressing her, and taking care of her personally. Madam Shen treated her like a daughter.

Eight years. The Zhou family's informant had been by Shen's side for eight years.

"What do you plan to do?" Su Zhentian opened his eyes and looked at Su Jiuge.

"To stir up trouble and alert the enemy," Su Jiuge said.

"But not one by one, but all at once. This morning, gather everyone in the manor in the courtyard in front of the main hall, including the stewards, maids, old women, gatekeepers, and guards—no one should be left out. In front of everyone, call out each person on the list one by one and confront them on the spot. I have witnesses and physical evidence."

Su Zhentian remained silent for a moment.

"and then?"

"Then, those who should be driven away will be driven away, those who should be investigated will be investigated, and those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned." Su Jiuge's voice was completely flat.

"I'll handle those people in Aunt Zhou's courtyard myself."

Su Zhentian looked at her, at her dark, bright, yet cold eyes.

He recalled the sentence in Bai Yu's letter last night—

"Your daughter spent eight years in the Dark Pavilion, learning not only how to kill, but also how to interrogate people. What she's going to do is more thorough than you can imagine."

"Okay," Su Zhentian said.

"We'll do as you say."

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), in the courtyard in front of the main hall of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.

Nearly a hundred people from the Marquis's residence stood there, a dense, dark mass. Stewards, maids, old women, gatekeepers, guards, cooks, gardeners, grooms—everyone who could come was there.

Some people, unaware of what was happening, whispered amongst themselves. Others appeared calm, but their eyes darted around, searching for each other in the crowd.

Some people were pale, their palms were sweating, and their legs were trembling slightly.

Su Zhentian stood on the steps, dressed in a black official robe, with a sword hanging at his waist, his face solemn.

Su Chengen and Su Chengzhi stood behind him, one on the left and one on the right, like two door gods. Su Jiuge was not on the steps.

She stood in the shadows of the corner of the courtyard, arms crossed, leaning against a pillar, like an inconspicuous bystander.

Su Zhentian didn't waste any words. He took out the list from his sleeve, unfolded it, and read out the first name.

"Liu Degui".

In the crowd, a man in his fifties suddenly stiffened.

He was Old Liu, the gatekeeper, who had worked at the Marquis's residence for twenty years. His face drained of all color in an instant; his lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"Liu Degui entered the government office as a gatekeeper in the seventh year of Yong'an."

Su Zhentian's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a knife.

"Since the eighth year of Yong'an, your monthly allowance has been two taels of silver. But your wife has acquired ten acres of fertile land outside the city, and your son has worked as an accountant in the Zhou family's silk shop for three years. Can your monthly allowance afford these things?"

Liu Degui knelt down with a thud, his forehead hitting the bluestone slab with a thud.

"My lord...my lord, spare me...it was Consort Zhou...it was Consort Zhou who made me do it...she said she only wanted me to keep an eye on who was coming in and out of the mansion...she didn't say anything else..."

Su Zhentian didn't look at him, and read out the second name.

"Aunt Zhao".

Aunt Zhao, the kitchen manager, stepped out from the crowd.

She was in her fifties, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a face full of fat; she looked more like a butcher than a cook.

She didn't kneel; she stood there, neck stiff, eyes glaring at Su Zhentian.

"My lord, I have served in your household for twenty-five years, since your father's generation. If you wish to dismiss me, you must give me an explanation."

Su Zhentian looked at her, his gaze as cold as ice.

"In the tenth year of Yong'an, your son Zhao Danian borrowed three hundred taels of silver from the Zhou family's pawnshop, and has not repaid it to this day. The Zhou family put this debt in your name on the condition that you do something for them in the Marquis's kitchen—add something to the Madam's food. It's not poison, but a slow-acting powder that weakens the body and causes lethargy. The Madam's health has been poor for years; do you think no one knows the reason?"

Aunt Zhao's face finally changed.

Her lips twitched a few times, as if she wanted to explain, but Su Zhentian didn't give her the chance.

"The imperial physicians have already reviewed the lady's prescriptions and dietary records over the years. What you've done cannot be hidden."

Aunt Zhao's legs went weak, and she knelt down.

Tears streamed down her face, but not tears of regret, but tears of fear—

"My lord... I was forced into this... The Zhou family said... they said if I didn't do it... they would take my son's life..."

Su Zhentian did not answer her and continued reading the list.

The third, the fourth, the fifth.

With each name read aloud, someone would step out from the crowd, kneel down, confess, or try to deny it but be silenced by the evidence.

Wu Niangzi from the sewing room, Sun Zhangfang from the storeroom, Lao Zheng the gardener, Xiao Li the groom... one by one, they fell from the big tree of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, like nails being pulled out.

When he read the twenty-fourth one, Su Zhentian paused for a moment.

"Spring Orchid".

The head maidservant beside Madam Shen stepped out from the crowd, her face pale, but her back straight.

She is twenty-four years old this year and has been by Shen's side for eight years. She is Shen's most trusted person.

She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had regular features and a reassuring, down-to-earth, and reliable quality.

Mrs. Shen often said, "Chunlan is more considerate than my own daughter."

Chunlan stood at the bottom of the steps, looked up at Su Zhentian.

"My lord, there's no need to say anything. This servant confesses."

"What crime have you committed?" Su Zhentian asked.

"This servant is a spy planted by the Zhou family next to Madam." Chunlan's voice was frighteningly calm.

"From the first day I entered the manor, I have been a member of the Zhou family. My task is to monitor Madam's every move and report to Concubine Zhou in detail about Madam's daily life, her reception of guests, and her correspondence."

In a corner of the courtyard, Madam Shen arrived at some unknown time.

She stood in the shadows of the veranda, leaning against a pillar, her face as white as paper.

Her lips trembled, and her eyes were filled with tears, but she didn't make a sound or come out. She just stood there, listening to her most trusted maid confess her crimes word by word.

After Chunlan finished speaking, she knelt down and kowtowed three times in the direction of Madam Shen.

Each head was kowtowed heavily, the skin on the forehead was broken, and blood seeped out and stained the bluestone slab.

"Madam, I am so sorry."

Chunlan's voice finally trembled slightly.

"You have treated me like your own daughter, yet I have done something to wrong you. I do not deserve your forgiveness."

Shen did not come out.

She leaned against the pillar, tears silently streaming down her face, dripping one by one onto the back of her hand that was tightly clutching her handkerchief.

Su Zhentian finished reading the names.

The courtyard was filled with people kneeling on the ground, their cries, pleas for mercy, and kowtows mingling together like a pot of boiling porridge.

Su Zhentian looked at the people kneeling on the ground, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Among these people were elderly people who had been with the Su family for decades, children he had watched grow up, and a few people he trusted.

Now, one by one, they knelt before him, telling him that they were the Zhou family's spies, pawns, and needles stuck in his heart.

Su Chengen stepped forward and began to arrange for people to detain and interrogate these people in batches.

Su Chengzhi stood to the side, his eyes scanning the crowd.

Su Jiuge emerged from the shadow of the pillars and walked to Su Zhentian's side.

"I'll handle the people in Aunt Zhou's courtyard," she said.

Su Zhentian nodded without saying anything.

Aunt Zhou's courtyard was in the east wing of the Marquis's mansion, with three main rooms, two side rooms, and a pomegranate tree in the courtyard.

When Su Jiuge entered the courtyard, the pomegranate tree had already lost all its leaves, and the bare branches trembled slightly in the cold wind, like an old man's outstretched fingers.

There were six people standing in the courtyard.

Ping'er, the head maid of Aunt Zhou, Xiao He, the second-class maid, Granny Liu, who was in charge of sweeping, Sister Wang, who was in charge of washing, Shunzi, the servant who was in charge of guarding the gate, and Zhao Ma, the old nanny that Aunt Zhou brought from the Zhou family, who was in charge of external liaison.

The six people reacted differently when they saw Su Jiuge walk in.

Ping'er's face was the most unpleasant. She recognized Su Jiuge—she had caught a glimpse of Su Jiuge from afar when Su Jiuge visited the Marquis's residence last time.

She knew this person was the real legitimate daughter of the Marquis's family, and had returned to collect a debt.

Su Jiuge stood in the center of the courtyard, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the six people one by one.

"You all know what your mistress, Zhou Yunniang, has done wrong."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a thunderclap exploding in your ears.

"I won't ask if you're from the Zhou family, what you did for Aunt Zhou, or whether you know about the switch. I'll only ask you one question—do you want to leave the Marquis's mansion alive?"

The six people looked at each other, none of them daring to answer.

Su Jiuge waited for three breaths, but no one spoke. She nodded, as if she had expected this outcome.

"Alright. Then I'll answer for you. If you want to leave the Marquis's mansion alive, there's only one condition—write down everything you know about Aunt Zhou, the Zhou family, and the baby-switching case, and sign it. The more detailed you are, the safer you'll live. If anyone dares to conceal a single word, I guarantee you'll die before your mistress does."

She took out six sheets of paper and six charcoal pencils from her sleeve and placed them on the stone table in the center of the courtyard.

"One hour. If you can't finish writing, don't bother."

She walked out of the courtyard, leaned against the wall outside the gate, crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and waited.

An hour later, she returned to the courtyard.

The six sheets of paper were covered with writing, densely packed and crooked. Some words were written incorrectly and then crossed out and rewritten. Some parts were blurred by tears.

But all six of them wrote it.

Everyone wrote down what they knew about Aunt Zhou and the Zhou family. Some wrote about the bribes Aunt Zhou had accepted over the years, some wrote about the list of spies Aunt Zhou had planted in the mansion, some wrote about the contents of the letters between Aunt Zhou and Zhou Wenyuan, and some wrote about the slow poison Aunt Zhou had used on Madam Shen over the years—not one kind, but three kinds, respectively put in her food, incense and clothing. Each one alone would not be fatal, but the combination of the three would cause a person to lose their blood and qi and fail their internal organs within a few years, dying like a normal old person.

Su Jiuge carefully put away the six pieces of paper, folded them up, and stuffed them into her sleeve.

"You can leave once this is over," she said.

"Leave Luojing and never come back. If I find out any of you have returned, or that any of you have told anyone about what happened today, you know the consequences."

The six men, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, scrambled away.

Su Jiuge was the only one left in the courtyard.

She stood under the pomegranate tree, looking up at the bare branches, and remained silent for a long time.

A cold wind blew, and the branches of the pomegranate tree made a faint whistling sound in the wind, as if someone was crying.

That afternoon, the news reached Aunt Zhou's ears.

She sat in front of the bronze mirror in the main room, clutching a comb in her hand. Several teeth on the comb were broken, from the force she had used earlier.

Her face was ashen, her lips were purple, and her eyes were sunken; she looked ten years older overnight.

Her eyeliner was all pulled out.

Old Liu, the gatekeeper, was locked up; Aunt Zhao from the kitchen was taken away; Madam Wu from the sewing room was expelled from the mansion; Accountant Sun from the storeroom was sent to the Jingzhao Prefecture; and Chunlan, who served Madam Shen, was banished to the woodshed.

All twenty-four people she had placed in various corners of the Marquis's residence, plus the six people in her courtyard, were eliminated.

She is now blind, deaf, and mute.

She had no idea what was happening outside.

She didn't know how the Marquis intended to deal with her.

She didn't know whether her older brother, Zhou Wenyuan, had received her SOS. She knew nothing at all.

Aunt Zhou's hands were trembling.

She put down the comb, picked up the teacup on the table, and wanted to take a sip of water, but the cup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces just as it reached her lips.

Tea splashed onto her skirt, leaving a dark stain.

She looked down at the water stain and suddenly laughed. The laughter was sharp and mournful, echoing in the empty room.

"Haha...hahaha..."

She laughed for a long time, until her voice became hoarse, until tears streamed down her face, until she collapsed onto the table, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

"Su Jiuge".

She murmured the name, her voice hoarse like sandpaper.

"You have such ruthless methods."

What she didn't know was that something even crueler was yet to come.

That evening, a bounty appeared on the black market in Luojing City.

Bounty – 100,000 taels of silver.

Target—Night Owl.

The employer is anonymous.

However, Qianjilou's intelligence indicated that the money was transferred out in three installments from the Zhou family's silk shop in Luojing City, and the person handling the transactions was Zhou Wenyuan's confidant.

The Zhou family wants to kill Su Jiuge.

They spared no expense to hire Blood Hall, the top assassin organization on the black market.

Blood Hall is a new assassin organization established by Chen Beixuan after he defected from the Dark Pavilion. It absorbed a large number of assassins who had left the Dark Pavilion and its power expanded rapidly. It has already established a foothold in the Northwest and is now infiltrating the Central Plains.

The Blood Hall's top assassins are all experts above the Transformation Realm, and it is even rumored that Chen Beixuan himself has broken through to the Core Formation Realm.

Ten thousand taels of silver to buy the head of Night Owl.

This price is top-tier in the assassin market.

When the news reached Su Jiuge's ears, she was eating a bowl of vegetarian noodles in her small courtyard in the north of the city. Bai Yu sat opposite her, holding a teacup, his expression solemn.

"The Blood Hall will take the 100,000 taels," Bai Yu said.

"According to the intelligence from Qianji Tower, Chen Beixuan has dispatched his three strongest top assassins—'Poison Scorpion,' 'Blood Blade,' and 'Ghost Shadow.' All three are at the late stage of the Transformation Realm, a minor realm higher than you."

Su Jiuge put down her chopsticks, picked up her noodle bowl, and took a sip of soup.

"Three people," she said, her voice as calm as if she were commenting on the nice weather.

"Three people," Bai Yu repeated.

"Furthermore, the possibility of Chen Beixuan personally taking action cannot be ruled out."

Su Jiuge put down the bowl of noodles and wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Where is the headquarters of the Blood Hall?"

Bai Yu was stunned for a moment.

Why are you asking this?

Su Jiuge looked at him, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly—not a smile, but something more dangerous than a smile.

"They come to kill me, but I can't kill them?"

Bai Yu was silent for a moment, then smiled.

It wasn't a gentle smile, nor a polite smile, but a smile born of shock, a smile that left one speechless.

"Night owl," he said.

"You're crazy."

"Perhaps." Su Jiuge stood up and hung the knife at her waist.

"But crazy people usually live longer."

She pushed open the door and stepped into the night.

Behind him, Bai Yu sat at the table, looking at the bowl of noodle soup that was still half full, and muttered to himself:

"The original poster is right. Give this person a knife, and she can fight her way out. Give her the truth, and she can destroy an entire dynasty."

He picked up his teacup, drank the now-cold tea in one gulp, then stood up, straightened his robes, and walked towards the door.

He was going to the headquarters of Qianji Tower to report the news to Xiao Yan.

One hundred thousand taels of silver, three top assassins from the Blood Hall, and a madman named Night Owl who wanted to challenge the Blood Hall headquarters to a duel.