Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 195 Restoring Original Body
Tan Li was so frightened that sweat beaded on his forehead. He wiped it with his sleeve and quickly knelt down to plead his case: "When the devastating news of the death of Young Master Shentu came suddenly, our whole family panicked. With the wedding date approaching, my wife and I were only concerned for our daughter, which is why we resorted to this desperate measure. We beg Your Highness Prince Qin and the Prefect to consider our predicament as parents and show leniency..."

The guests were all taken aback by how things had turned out, and their discussions became even more animated.

Some people felt that the promising marriage had turned into a widow's marriage, and it was understandable that the Tan family wanted to free their daughter from misery. Others felt that this was a breach of faith, that they wanted to gain everything, and that even if the Tan family had broken off the engagement, it would have been understandable why they would have sent a barbarian slave to impersonate their daughter to deceive the Shentu family.

What everyone is most concerned about right now is, since their identities don't match and the marriage certificate is obviously wrong, does the marriage between this young lady Mo He and the late eldest son of Shen Tu still count?
Tan Anfu smiled sinisterly and said, "Now you all believe me, right? What kind of Madam Shentu is she? Even if she redeemed herself from slavery, she's still a lowly barbarian woman! What right does she have to steal my marriage? What right does she have to act so arrogantly in front of me!"

Tan Li, unable to bear it any longer, glared at her and yelled, "Just shut up!"

As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. Now that the die is cast, the fake "Tan Huai Ke" has been playing the role of Madam Shen Tu for so long, and even Prefect Chi doesn't know how to make a decision.

Zhou Wenzong said to Prefect Chi, "The matter of buying a slave to replace a bride ultimately depends on how the aggrieved party views it. Prefect Chi, since we can't find the eldest son of the Shentu family, we might as well ask Old Madam Shentu what she thinks."

Prefect Chi echoed, "Your Highness is right." He then turned to the still dazed old lady and said gently, "This marriage was agreed upon by both families, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned... Madam Shentu, things have come to this, what do you intend to do?"

Upon hearing his question, the old lady glanced at Tan Li and Tan Anfu, then at Tan Huaike, and sighed: "In the end, this marriage was arranged too hastily."

"Heng'er's death was originally caused by our Shentu family breaking their promise. At that time, I was immersed in the pain of losing my son and was in a daze all day long, and I did not care about the subsequent trivial matters. But when I saw that the Tan family did not cancel the engagement, but only changed the candidate in the marriage contract, I thought it would be a good thing to help others and fulfill my son's last wish, so I went with the flow and facilitated the matter. I never expected that it would lead to the situation we see today."

"Ah, this is probably what they mean by 'a twist of fate'."

"Although the marriage certificate was wrong and the identity was fake, the person the Shen Tu family welcomed into their home was a living, breathing, and real person. It was indeed she who performed the wedding ceremony with my son's coffin, and it was she who kept vigil and mourned for my son, never complaining even though she lived in a secluded courtyard as a widow... As a new bride, she did not commit any wrongdoing, and even managed to improve the family's business, which benefited the entire household. I think Heng'er's spirit in heaven must feel indebted to her and cannot bear to see her suffer any more injustice."

Prefect Chi said, "So what Lady Shentu means is..."

The old lady held Shen Tu Heng's jade pendant and said, "No matter what her background is, I will accept her as my wife. If she is still willing to be Heng'er's wife, then we can just change the name on the marriage certificate. The Shen Tu family will still be her husband's family's support. If she is willing to separate from the Shen Tu family, I will also agree to her divorce from Heng'er, and she can find another good match in the future."

"Well done, Lady Shentu is indeed worthy of being from a prestigious family. She is magnanimous and courteous," Prefect Chi praised. "Although the process of this marriage was not entirely satisfactory, in my opinion, it is clearly a wonderful match made in unexpected ways."

"Whether or not to arrange a marriage depends on what Madam Shentu thinks," Zhou Wenzong said, looking at her meaningfully.

Tan Huaike knew that as long as she spoke up, Zhou Wenzong would definitely seize the opportunity to completely restore her freedom and rid her of the title of widow. However, she did not actually want to immediately sever ties with the Shentu family. Firstly, she did not feel that being a widow was anything wrong with it. Secondly, the old lady had also hinted to her that as long as she was Madam Shentu, they could be her support.

She and Jun Gu remained locked in a stalemate for a long time, and she knew that although Jun Gu seemed to have given her two choices, she was actually reminding her that her interests were tied to those of the Shen Tu family.

Everything comes at a price. Gaining freedom means she will lose the support of the Shentu family, and the Shentu family will lose a cash cow that is right in front of them.

She knew what choice she should make, and so did the old lady.

So Tan Huai Ke said, “Although it was not my wish to marry into the Shen Tu family in place of someone else, my aunt has not treated me harshly. She even gave me a token of my husband's favor, land to settle down in, and allowed me to go out and do business. I feel that I am doing very well and have benefited a lot. I really shouldn’t ignore these kindnesses. I am deeply grateful to my aunt for not abandoning me and for acknowledging me as her daughter-in-law.”

“Caizhu’er? Aren’t you called something like Sani?” Magistrate Chi asked.

“My name, Mohe, means ‘colorful pearl’ in the Daxuan language. You can just call me Caizhu’er.” “Caizhu’er, so you want to leave the Tan family, revert to your original Hu woman status, revise the marriage certificate, and continue being Shen Tu Heng’s wife?” Zhou Wenzong asked her to confirm, “Have you thought it through?”

If she is willing, he can provide her with a place to stay.

In Zhou Wenzong's heart, the two of them were a married couple who had gone through the rituals of marriage in the bridal chamber. However, the fire buried everything, leaving him with no chance to reminisce. It was she who helped him become the King of Qin he is today. Even if they could not be lovers, he was willing to repay her kindness of sacrificing herself for a political marriage.

Or perhaps he thought she would want to break free from the constraints of "incestuous relationship between uncle and sister-in-law" and be with Shen Tu Zhuo legitimately.

However, she didn't seem to want to do that.

Cai Zhu'er smiled and knelt down: "I humbly request Your Highness, the King of Qin, to be my witness and restore my original background and origins, and grant me the rightful place of the Mohe Hu merchant. This is what I desire most."
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At this point, Cai Zhu'er was finally able to be herself again.

For Zhou Wenzong, the banquet was a resounding success. He not only successfully won over various forces, including aristocratic families and merchants, demonstrating his determination to pacify Hexi and open up new trade routes, but also fulfilled one of Caizhu'er's wishes.

Although he thought he could give her more.

When they met again after the banquet, Caizhu said to him, "Everything that happened before was of my own free will. Your Highness owes me nothing."

With just this one sentence, he severed all other thoughts, but also preserved all their affection.

Later, Prefect Chi also came to see her, promising to give her the new residence another day, and subtly inquired: "Oh my, Madam Shentu has a lot of influence. Anyone with eyes can see that His Highness is deliberately favoring you."

Cai Zhu'er replied evasively, "Your Excellency is too kind. His Highness hosted a banquet today, but I never expected that such a trivial matter would spoil the enjoyment. It is already a great kindness that His Highness does not hold it against me."

"His Highness didn't blame you, but he blamed others."

"What do you mean?" Caizhu asked, puzzled.

"Although Madam Shen Tu no longer cares about the name, and you are still Madam Shen Tu, the Tan family has indeed committed the crimes of falsifying household registration and deceiving the aristocratic families. Your Highness has instructed me to punish them according to the law."

"What kind of punishment will be given?"

"Actually, it wasn't a very serious crime. Tan Li and his troublemaking daughter each received twenty strokes of the cane and a fine, which was enough," said Prefect Chi. "In the end, it was their own fault. If they hadn't insisted on causing trouble at the banquet, they wouldn't have suffered this punishment."

Cai Zhu'er suppressed a laugh in her heart.

She wanted Tan Anfu to escalate the matter so she could achieve her own goals. She was afraid Tan Anfu would back down if she didn't push her step by step.

After dealing with Prefect Chi, the person who truly gave her a headache appeared.
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Next chapter: You just insist on being my sister-in-law, don't you?