Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 142 Internal and external cooperation
Fu Feng's eyes darted around, and he subconsciously denied it, saying, "Huh? What? I didn't, I didn't know..."

Seeing his attempt to cover up the truth only confirmed Shen Tu Zhuo's suspicions. At this moment, he was no longer in a hurry. He crossed his arms and scoffed, "Still pretending? What are you pretending for? I've already had a frank talk with him and seen what he looks like now. The scars on his face and neck are exactly the same as what you just described."

In reality, Shen Tu Heng only revealed his identity to him, without going into details about what he had experienced or who saved him. Shen Tu Zhuo said this on purpose, just to trick him.

Fu Feng wavered slightly, but still refused to admit it: "There are so many burn patients in the world, how do you know it's the same one..."

Shen Tu Zhuo pressed his advantage: "Is that so? During the year-end sacrifice in Zhangye County, he led my sister-in-law and the Third Prince to the banks of the Juyan River, and you happened to be in the marriage alliance caravan disguised as the Wuxu Merchant Caravan, and you happened to save the Third Prince who was seriously injured and unconscious. Is there really such a coincidence? Now that I think about it, he probably had contact with you beforehand."

"Before entering Andu, I heard that you received a wax pellet of unknown origin in the courtyard of Fengyi County. It was later confirmed that he was secretly passing on a message, warning you that there were actions in the court that were detrimental to Princess Mohe. At that time, they thought he had missed with his slingshot from a tree in the distance, but I know that my brother is an excellent archer and even more skilled with a slingshot. He aimed the wax pellet at the window of your room and threw it, didn't he?"

Fu Feng couldn't keep up the act any longer. He touched his nose and said, "Alright, since he's already contacted you, there's nothing more to hide."

So he recounted in detail how he met Shen Tu Heng.

At that time, Shen Tu Heng crawled out of the valley inferno with amazing perseverance. His body was charred and festering from the fire. He managed to hide in the cargo box of a caravan that was passing by in a hurry because they didn't want to cause trouble. He was then taken to the gathering place of the Wuxu tribe in the western region.

When the caravan found him, he was barely clinging to life. Seeing that he was wearing tattered armor, they dared not neglect him and quickly summoned this itinerant doctor to treat him.

Fu Feng said he had gone to great lengths to save the person from the brink of death. He then learned from him that Princess Mohe's marriage procession had encountered trouble. If this incident wasn't used to curb the arrogance of the Ti Nu Iron Cavalry, the situation in the western border might become unstable again. As a Mohe person, even though he disapproved of the atmosphere in the royal court, Fu Feng didn't want his beloved homeland to be destroyed by war once more. Therefore, he and Shen Tu Heng devised a plan: to go to the Naxi River Valley and seek funding and manpower from the friendly Mohe nobles of Da Xuan to form a new marriage procession.

That's why the group that disguised themselves as the Wuxu merchant caravan came to meet them. Along the way, he and Shentu Heng worked together to find ways to avoid the conspiracies and schemes that would hinder the marriage alliance.

Shen Tu Zhuo nodded: "So you are my brother's savior." He bowed respectfully, "Consider it a favor I owe you. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."

Unlike the humble and polite people of Da Xuan, Fu Feng immediately said, "Alright, didn't you want to take the imperial examination to become an official? Let me see what kind of official you can become before I ask you for payment."

Shen Tu Zhuo: "..." This reward is really too much. If I fail the exam, won't I be ridiculed by this person for being untrustworthy and ungrateful?
Another patient was being seen, and Fu Feng was about to leave when Shen Tu Zhuo added, "Don't tell my sister-in-law about that person's identity yet. She...they...in any case, my brother should tell her himself when the time is right."

Shen Tu Zhuo dared not think about how much selfishness was behind that admonition.

Fu Feng smiled knowingly, "Oh, don't worry, your brother said the same thing. He said he didn't know how to face the new bride he would marry after his death, and told me to keep it a secret, otherwise I wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble to keep it a secret." While he went to see his patients, Shen Tu Zhuo stood there alone, lost in thought.
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After Tao Ying was released from confinement, she behaved herself for several days before her father-in-law relaxed his control over her.

While confined at home, she was shocked to hear that the Prince of Qin, who had recently married, had lost his beloved concubine. Princess Mohe, who had finally made it to the capital, had only enjoyed a few days of peace before passing away. Although there were rumors circulating that the princess was ill and had not recovered, she had thought they were just making snide remarks. Who would have thought that she was truly a beautiful woman with a tragic fate?

Of course, she also still had her thoughts on Xiao Zhuo's sister-in-law.

Because of her previous runaway, she had been constantly subjected to the education of her tutor on the virtues of women, and was confined to the inner quarters of her home. She had no idea where her sister-in-law was, what she was doing, or what Shen Tu Zhuo was busy with. Now, thanks to her mother's pleas, she was finally free. Tao Ying immediately felt like a bird released from its cage and personally took two trusted maids to go out and gather information.

Unfortunately, when she went to the small courtyard that Shentu Zhuo had bought, no one answered the door when she knocked.

At that time, Shen Tu Zhuo was meeting with Wei Tao, a court official of the Guanglu Xun, to discuss various matters concerning the recommendation and examination process, and naturally had no time to deal with her. Tan Huai Ke and Pei Er were busy setting up a stall at the suburban market, and business was just starting to pick up, keeping them extremely busy. Tao Ying missed her, but did not give up, and instead went to chat with some idle neighbors nearby.

She asked Mrs. Wang next door, "Does Mrs. Wang know where this family went?"

Madam Wang sized her up a few times and, seeing that her clothes and speech were of good quality, guessed that she was a young lady from a wealthy and noble family. So she tentatively asked, "Are you also here to look at Young Master Shentu?"

"Ah? To meet? To meet what?" We've only been in Andu for a few days, and Brother Xiaozhuo's "beauty has already spread far and wide"?

"He couldn't possibly be here to buy sesame cakes from his sister-in-law, could he?" Granny Wang said, cracking melon seeds. "This family just moved here from Hexi not long ago. It's just the young master Shentu and his widowed sister-in-law living here. Oh, right, there's also a little maid."

"Everyone around here knows that Young Master Shentu was recommended to participate in the examination. His poor widowed sister-in-law suffered all kinds of bullying in that remote place and had no one to rely on. She could only come here to take care of her brother-in-law's meals and daily life, and do some small business to support the family. She only hoped that he could pass the examination and be appointed as an official, which would fulfill her late husband's last wish."

“Look at that uncle who visits famous teachers every day and studies scriptures diligently every night, while his widowed sister-in-law makes a living by selling flatbread and mutton soup. She doesn’t have the money to open a shop in the city and can only set up a stall in a small market in the suburbs. Sigh, it’s not easy for her.”

"..." Tao Ying thought she had come to the wrong person after hearing what Madam Wang said.

It's not entirely untrue that my widowed sister-in-law suffered all kinds of bullying and was left destitute. After all, Old Madam Shentu separated from her, and the Tan family really treated her badly. But she still had land and property, and owned three prosperous shops, one of which was the most popular restaurant in the county. How could she be so poor that she couldn't afford to open a shop in the city?
Furthermore, even if the Shen Tu family had fallen on hard times, surely they wouldn't have to rely on their widowed sister-in-law selling flatbread and mutton soup to make a living? Who on earth wrote this story about an elder sister-in-law being like a mother, a tale that moves heaven and earth?
Tao Ying took a deep breath and asked again, "Then what about the matchmaking I mentioned earlier?"
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Next chapter: Are you the sister-in-law who haunts his dreams?