Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 193: Turning against guests
Taking the jade pendant, Tan Huaike held it up high to show the King of Qin, the Prefect, and the guests, then asked Tan Anfu, "Is this the tassel that you were talking about, elder sister?"

Tan Anfu said, "That's right. The ones I saw at my sister's place last time were these turquoise beads. When I first saw them, I thought the turquoise color was so beautiful and lustrous that it was incomparable to the scraps from those miscellaneous mines. Now that I look at them closely, they are even more precious. Even if they were in the hands of the biggest jeweler in the county, such quality would be rare."

Tan Huaike nodded: "My sister knows her stuff. These Serene Beads are indeed treasures. When my uncle gave them to me, I was worried about not being able to find a stable source of Serene Beads for the Chamber of Commerce. However, he refused to tell me which boss in the Western Region was the source of the goods, citing the fact that the recent trade routes had not yet been changed. So I thought of making a net to give to him, hoping to get some information out of him."

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault for being so talkative. Whatever I say goes." Tan Anfu seemed to be speaking up for her, but in reality, every word she said was a smear against her. "You two have always been close. Lord Shentu gave you all of these precious Se Se beads, and you even made a jade pendant for him. You are truly very affectionate."

"They say it's for the Chamber of Commerce's business, but heh heh, they're probably just using this as a pretext for personal gain..." the guests whispered among themselves.

"You just don't understand. All that talk about sources of goods and trade routes is just an excuse. Perhaps Lord Shentu spent a lot of money to buy these Se Se Pearls just to please his sweetheart."

"So, Madam Shentu is returning the favor and accepting this kindness?"

"Tsk tsk, an incestuous relationship between an uncle and his sister-in-law. The deceased eldest son of the Shentu family can't say anything about it, but can the old lady of the Shentu family just sit idly by? Even if she was kept in the dark before, she can't just let that eldest daughter-in-law ruin the family's reputation now."

Tan Huaike remained calm and composed: "My sister just said she saw me make a bracelet with the same serpentine beads?"

Tan Anfu smiled and said, "Yes, my sister has a good eye and is very skillful. The other day when I was tidying up your desk, wasn't there a half-strung bracelet next to this jade pendant? I remember there were small gold bells mixed in inside, it was really exquisite, I was envious. You two, uncle and sister-in-law, both use these beads as personal ornaments. Luckily this is in Da Xuan, if it were in Mo He, people might mistake them for tokens of love."

The King of Qin, sitting at the head of the table, interjected at the opportune moment: "Hmm, this reminds me of my beloved concubine. She once said that in the customs of the Mohe people, the Se Se beads are used to convey faith and affection. Sometimes they would string the Se Se beads together with bells to make prayer instruments, praying that the god Monroe would see their piety and hear their wishes. Sometimes they would make beautiful accessories from the Se Se beads and give them to the person they love to express their affection."

The words of the King of Qin further added a romantic touch to the relationship between Tan Huai Ke and Shen Tu Zhuo.

Amidst the whispers of the guests, the King of Qin sighed, "My beloved concubine once gifted me a delicate beaded curtain, which I hung in my boudoir, but sadly, it was eventually reduced to ashes..."

Seeing his grief, Prefect Chi quickly comforted him: "Your Highness, please don't be so upset. I believe that the spirit of the Princess Consort in heaven will always remember you and pray for your well-being."

After recalling the events with a mix of truth and fiction, the King of Qin raised his sleeve, drank a cup of wine, and looked at Tan Huai Ke: "Madam Shen Tu, are you wearing that shimmering beaded bracelet on your wrist right now?"

Tan Huaike looked surprised and denied it, saying, "A bracelet? A string of beads? I've never made any accessories like that for myself." She secretly hid her left hand behind her back and said to Tan Anfu, "Sister, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Noticing her subtle movements, Tan Anfu seized the opportunity, stepped forward, and grasped her hand, saying, "Really? I saw it all clearly. Since you have a clear conscience, why bother to hide it?"

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves with a smug look on her face.
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The guests couldn't contain their curiosity and craned their necks to watch the spectacle. Even the King of Qin and the Prefect of Chi County stood up so they could get a better look.

—Tan Huaike's wrist was bare.

Miscalculation?
Tan Anfu tried to pry open her right hand again, but there was still nothing there.

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on him, Tan Huaike took something out of his sleeve: "Sister, are you looking for this?" Ding-a-ling.

With her palm facing down, a red rope tassel dangled from her fingertips, making a clear, tinkling sound.

Tan Anfu suddenly became excited: "Yes, that's it..." Before she could finish speaking, she frowned and looked at Tan Huai Ke's other hand in confusion, "Why is there another jade pendant and another tassel?"

At this moment, Tan Huaike had a string of jade pendants in both of his hands. Upon closer inspection, the two jade pendants were indeed a pair.

Thinking of something, Tan Anfu couldn't help but sneer: "So it's not just the Se Se Pearl, even the Jade Pendant is a pair. Sister, are you admitting to your incestuous relationship with Lord Shentu..."

"Enough!" Old Madam Shentu snapped at her, "Stop talking nonsense!"

The old lady, who had been silent for a long time, stood up, walked to Tan Huaike's side, and took the string of gold bells with trembling hands.

Everyone in the courtyard held their breath, thinking that the old lady was about to make trouble for Tan Huaike.

However, the old lady said sadly, "This is my son Shentu Heng's jade pendant. It was originally a pair with Zhuo'er's. After my daughter-in-law married into the family, I entrusted Heng'er's pendant to her for safekeeping."

A guest scoffed, "Oh? So after all this time, this is Madam Shentu making a knot for her deceased husband and brother-in-law respectively?"

Some people didn't believe it: "Is the old lady perhaps afraid of airing her dirty laundry in public, and deliberately taking sides?"

The old lady glared at her angrily: "How could I lie about Heng'er's matter! These two jade pendants were carved by my husband himself, and their names are on the beaks of the two wild geese. How could there be any mistake!"

The King of Qin said with great interest, "So Lady Shentu wasn't making a token of love, but rather reminiscing about her deceased husband and weaving new beaded necklaces for the jade pendants of the two Shentu brothers? Ah, what a sentimental and righteous young lady!"

Prefect Chi echoed, "Madam Bao, you are indeed blind and have misjudged. You must not make false accusations."

The situation suddenly changed, and Tan Anfu said in a panic, "No, I didn't see wrong. She was making a bracelet! She originally intended to make a beaded bracelet! Look, this string of beads has gold bells on it, which is different from Lord Shentu's. No matter what her purpose was in changing the way it was made, the two of them, uncle and sister-in-law, did something illicit!"

"Sister, do you hate me so much?" Tan Huaike looked at her in disbelief. "The knot I made for my uncle was to repay his kindness in helping me establish myself in the Chamber of Commerce, and also to find out news about the jewelers in the Western Regions. It was when I was getting a new knot for him that I remembered that the jade pendant knot that Aunt Jun gave me for my husband was also old, so I could make it for him at the same time."

“Your Highness is right. In Mohe, the Se Se Pearl is used to convey faith and affection. Since my husband has passed away, I wove a golden bell on it to pray for him. My uncle is still alive, but he finds the golden bell cumbersome, so I didn’t wove one for him. I don’t know why my sister misinterpreted my actions as a token of love?”

"No, no, it was you who plotted this... You deliberately wanted to embarrass me in public..." Tan Anfu looked at the crowd pointing and whispering about her, feeling ashamed and indignant.

“Sister, you’re the one who’s been scheming all along, aren’t you?” Tan Huaike said, lifting up Shen Tu Zhuo’s jade pendant. “That day, after you left my courtyard, you casually stole Uncle’s jade pendant, didn’t you?”
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Next chapter: You lowly barbarian woman! You only deserve to be my servant!