Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 196 Two Boxes
By this time, most of the guests had left, and the courtyard appeared much emptier, finally free from the whispers and pointing.

Shen Tu Zhuo pulled Cai Zhu'er aside, crossed his arms, and sneered, "So you insist on being my sister-in-law, huh?"

Having stood for too long and with her mind constantly on edge, Cai Zhu'er was getting tired. She leaned against a pillar and said with a forced laugh, "What's wrong? If I'm not your sister-in-law, what do you want me to be?"

"The King of Qin and Prefect Chi have already restored your identity, and your mother has agreed to your divorce from your brother. Can't you just go with the flow and get rid of the title of Madam Shentu, so as to fulfill our love?"

"Isn't Uncle being a bit too hasty?" Cai Zhu'er comforted him. "We finally managed to clear up the accusations of incest between uncle and sister-in-law in front of everyone. If I were to break free from the Tan family right away and then rush to sever ties with your brother, and then get entangled with you again in an ambiguous way, do you think people would say that? What would happen to my reputation and that of the Shentu family?"

"I understand the logic..." Shen Tu Zhuo muttered resentfully, "But such a rare opportunity, almost enough to make me the official wife, and you just let it go so easily? You're not planning to burn bridges and abandon me, are you?"

"Pfft, you sound like a lonely woman confined to her chambers." Cai Zhu couldn't help but chuckle, and could only coax gently, "Alright, I'm sure you know, Uncle, that's not the right time. Even if we were officially together, we still have to get past Aunt Jun. Besides, we both have important responsibilities now. Rather than wasting our energy on such personal matters, it's better to take care of business first. There will be plenty of opportunities later... later..."

"To rekindle their romance?"

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” Cai Zhu’er said. “It’s just that I’ll continue to be your brother’s widow. Are you afraid I’ll run away? I can’t bear to part with your family, such a good backer.”

"..." Shen Tu Zhuo thought to herself, if the affairs of the Eastern Palace could be resolved properly and her brother could be "brought back to life", then she would not be a "widow". In addition, there were the kindnesses of those who saved her along the way, as well as Cai Zhu'er's respect for her brother. What if she didn't want a divorce then?
However, he could only keep these thoughts to himself.

Sigh, things can get complicated if this goes on for too long.
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Shaking off those unpleasant thoughts, Shentu Zhuo said, "Let's not talk about that anymore, come with me."

Cai Zhu'er asked in confusion, "Is there anything else?"

"The King of Qin summoned you, it seems he has something for you." Shen Tu Zhuo snorted. "I asked him before the banquet, but he wouldn't tell me, insisting on handing it to you personally."

"Your Highness? Your Highness came looking for me. Why didn't you give it to me earlier? Did you forget?"

"Did they contact you? What did you talk about?" Shen Tu Zhuo asked sourly.

"Ah, it's nothing." Cai Zhu chuckled and urged, "We only had a brief encounter just now. There must have been too many people around when the banquet ended, so it was inconvenient to say some things or give that thing. Let's go quickly. His Highness summoned us so solemnly, so he probably has something important to discuss."

Just as they expected, Zhou Wenzong dismissed his attendants and had his guards stand outside the door, leaving only the two of them inside, truly intending to discuss a secret that could not be revealed.

He placed two items wrapped in silk on the table and said, "I came to see you because of these two things."

Judging from their appearance alone, they were a wide, flat, long box and a small, square box, but what was inside was impossible to guess.

Seeing his serious expression, Shentu Zhuo frowned and asked, "What is this?"

Zhou Wenzong first unwrapped the silk cloth covering the long box and took out a curved knife. Upon seeing the knife, Caizhu trembled and blurted out, "Your Highness, where did you get this knife?"

“You do recognize this kind of knife.” Zhou Wenzong nodded. “A while ago, I went to the Yangguan Zhenxi Army. In addition to rectifying military discipline, I also wanted to investigate the case of Princess Mohe’s assassination in the valley. It was the Zhenxi Army that cleaned up the valley, but they did not dare to destroy the evidence without authorization, so they kept many things they found in the valley, such as this scimitar.”

“These are the knives used by that group of assassins back then,” Cai Zhu’er recalled. “The first batch of sand bandits used a variety of weapons, which didn’t look particularly special. But the second batch of assassins who massacred the valley not only used very powerful bewitching incense, but also carried these curved knives, and they looked very well-trained.”

"We have already found out the origins of the first batch of bandits. They were sent by Xu Shaofu. Their purpose was only to intercept the procession and delay the marriage alliance, not to exterminate them."

"Young Master Xu?" Cai Zhu'er was shocked. "The father of Lady White Snake?"

"What, you didn't know?" Zhou Wenzong looked at her. "This matter has already been settled. I thought you already knew. That's why Xu Guanbai was sent by the Empress to clean up the mess."

"I...I don't know..." After a moment of thought, Cai Zhu'er finally understood why Bai Niangzi had treated her so strangely when she was in the palace. It turned out that she felt guilty about what Bai Niangzi had experienced in the valley.

“It’s alright. The Shaofu’s actions were merely a personal grudge and did not truly harm the marriage alliance. The Empress Dowager suppressed the matter, and Xu Guanbai made amends, so the matter was no longer pursued.” Zhou Wenzong brought the topic back to the main point, “But this kind of curved blade is quite peculiar.”

"Let me see." Shen Tu Zhuo took the curved sword and examined it closely, running his fingers along the back of the blade and tapping the blade from time to time. "It is forged using the techniques of the Great Xuan Dynasty, but its shape is very different from the swords of the Great Xuan Dynasty. It has a style similar to the weapons of the Western Regions."

"To put it more bluntly, this kind of curved sword is most commonly seen in the army of the crossbowmen," Zhou Wencong said.

“Wait, I’ve seen Ti Nu’s scimitars before,” Shen Tu Zhuo retorted. “They can’t smelt such pure iron; the blade’s color is more mixed and darker. My brother also told me that Ti Nu’s blades are heavy and powerful, but they are also more prone to chipping.”

“This is where the mystery lies,” Zhou Wenzong pointed out the key point. “How was this crossbow scimitar forged? And who provided it to those assassins?”

“I suddenly realized something,” Cai Zhu’er said with a start. “The assassins’ accents were very strange. I always thought it was the dialect of Da Xuan from somewhere, but now I think that the assassins might not be from Da Xuan at all. They might be crossbowmen who deliberately speak the Da Xuan dialect?”

“If that’s the case, things get complicated.” Shentu Zhuo looked at Zhou Wenzong. “Is there someone in the court colluding with the enemy?”

"It's too early to draw conclusions like this," Zhou Wenzong sighed. "Without concrete evidence, the Crown Prince's Palace won't have a ground to impeach those people, and they might even be the ones to turn the tables on them."

"In any case, we have a better understanding of the situation and can continue investigating in this direction," Shen Tu Zhuo said.

"Hmm." Zhou Wenzong nodded, temporarily putting down his curved sword, and opened the small box. His expression softened considerably. "Caizhu, take another look. Do you recognize this?"

Cai Zhu stepped forward, looked down at the contents of the box, and her eyes widened immediately.

This object surprised her even more than the scimitar.
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Next chapter: Is this... the character "黎"?