Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 14 Confrontation
Two hours ago, Shentu Zhuo strolled around Youlin Village for a while, chatted with a few families, and mentioned the romantic affairs of the master of the Tan family when he was young. Those people were happy to talk more.

He soon found out where the Hu girl was buried after her death.

West of Youlin Village, in the wilderness, stood a hillock of excellent feng shui. Most of the ancestors of the village's respectable families were buried there, and the Tan family was no exception. Hu Ji, of course, couldn't be buried within the Tan family's ancestral tombs, but Tan Li found a suitable burial site not far away for her, fulfilling his final act of kindness.

There was no monument on Hu Ji's tomb, only a wooden plaque. Long neglected, it had decayed, and one could vaguely make out the words "Tan Shi Min Duo." She was from the Western Territory, and Shentu Zhuo guessed that the latter part was the pronunciation of her name, Wu Xu.

Since he was already there, he swept the grave and pulled out the weeds around it. As he was pulling, he discovered another grave right next to hers. This grave was very small, almost invisible in the half-man-high grass, but the moment it appeared, it almost confirmed Shentu Zhuo's idea.

Looking closely at the small tomb, there is a small piece of soil turned out in front, the color of which is newer than the ones next to it. Obviously, there should have been a wooden sign here, but it was destroyed not long ago.

So who is buried in this small grave?
Shentu Zhuo rolled up his wide sleeves, took out the hoe he had borrowed from a fellow villager, and started digging the grave without hesitation.

Shen Tu Zhuo never cared about whether things were unlucky or not, whether they were auspicious or not, whether they harmed his virtue or not, or whether they adhered to the moral code or not. His good friend Chi Fanyu often mocked him, saying that he appeared to be a graceful and elegant person, but was capable of any filthy deeds behind the scenes, fearless of gods and ghosts, and unyielding to education, making him the most unscrupulous person in the four counties of Hexi.

Of course, he also has to save face, so he usually has to avoid people when doing such things.

For example, last time he sneaked into his brother's coffin to look for clues, and lived in the brothel with his widowed sister-in-law. Another example is that he sent Ah Shuo and Ah Hui back and did the hard work alone.

It was almost dusk, and the sky was gradually getting darker. Just before the last ray of sunlight disappeared, he dug up the loose soil and saw clearly the person buried in the small grave.

This is the skeleton of a child, about seven or eight years old, judging by his stature, which matches the old clothes found in the old house.

Shentu Zhuo leaned on his hoe and suddenly smiled.

He filled the soil back in, removed the weeds, built the grave, and placed a bunch of wild flowers in front of the grave.

It was already completely dark. He returned the hoe, bought a lantern, and stumbled back home.

Shentu Zhuo was covered in dust, and his hair was tangled by tree branches. He was afraid that someone would see him and tell his mother, so he would have to make up a lie to cover it up. He could only sneak into his house.

Returning to the room, he sneered at the pile of women's old things on the floor.

Tan Li, you've lost all your dignity, finding a fake to impersonate your own daughter. No wonder he insisted on arranging this marriage even though he knew his daughter would be a widow. It turns out he was just trying to get something for nothing.

Since it is an imposter, the "sister-in-law" who lives in the side courtyard now is not "Tan Huaike", and her surname is not even Tan. She is most likely a wild girl that Tan Li bought from somewhere.

But judging by her words and deeds, she's well-educated and knows how to assess the situation. She even dares to bargain with the Shentu family...

Who is she?
Shentu Zhuo discovered that he had solved a mystery, but there was another mystery hidden underneath.

Thinking of this, he could no longer sit still. He took out the black-bearded rattle from those old things and sneaked to the side yard.
-
Tan Huaike opened the window and shouted in a low voice, "Shentu Zhuo, are you sick?"

Shen Tuzhuo was stunned, the bell in his hand stopped in mid-air: "How did you know it was me?"

"I heard some noise and peeked through the crack in the door, only to see you swaying around like you were hysterical..." Tan Huaike cursed, his hands on his hips. "What are you doing up in the middle of the night? Why are you always so weird every time I see you?"

"Is it your turn to control me?" Shen Tu Zhuo snorted and laughed, "Do you really think you are my sister-in-law?"

"Why, am I not?"

Shen Tu Zhuo's expression suddenly darkened: "You...really?"

Tan Huaike had been just teasing him, but seeing his pointed expression, he was startled and frowned. "What do you want to say?" Across the window from her, Shen Tuzhuo leaned against the wall and shook the bell in his hand. "Do you recognize this?"

Tan Huaike said, "I recognize it. It's the rattle my mother made for me. Have you been to the old house?"

Between the questions and the answers, she already knew Shen Tu Zhuo's purpose.

This is another test.

Shentu Zhuo asked, "Your biological mother is from Wuxu, right? This bell ringing is quite interesting. How do you say it in Wuxu language?"

Tan Huaike answered calmly, "I was born and raised in Daxuan. When my mother was alive, she mostly spoke Daxuan dialect to me. She only taught me a few words of Wuxu dialect, which I can't speak fluently."

"So you won't tell?"

"Mudu Luo, the meaning of ringing a bell in Wuxu language." Tan Huaike laughed. "Do you understand what I'm saying in Wuxu language? How do you know if I'm right?"

"You underestimated me. The four Hexi counties are adjacent to the border. I have always had many friends and have learned a lot of foreign languages."

"I see, am I right?"

Shentu Zhuo smiled but said nothing.

He didn't really understand Wuxu, but he knew a bit of Timu, but that didn't affect his attempts. After fiddling with the bell for a few times, he pointed to a joint in the bamboo strips and said, "Is it broken here?"

The black-bearded rattle is a toy for children. It can be bent to change its shape. The twisted structure in the middle is very complicated and can be damaged if not handled with care, not to mention that this rattle has been put aside for many years.

Tan Huaike took the bell and fiddled with it with his nimble fingers a few times, and the joint recovered.

She said: "The bamboo stubble here is stuck. I can only make it move temporarily. If I want to fix it completely, I still need to replace it with a new bamboo strip."

She can even repair this? It seems like she is really familiar with Wuxu's things? Shentu Zhuo thought.

You wouldn't have thought that, would you? My father and I have dealt in groceries from all over the Western Territory. What kind of things have we not seen? Tan Huaike thought to himself.

Shen Tu Zhuo still didn't give up. "I understand that you can't go home, so I went to the Tan family's old house today to get some old things for you. But the clothes that old woman packed out for you were all child-sized. I see that none of them fit you. Don't you have anything to wear in that old house?"

Tan Huaike replied, "My uncle, you're joking. How could I not have clothes? It's just that I'm not favored and am always oppressed and deprived by my stepmother, so I don't have many good clothes to begin with. Before I got married, my father-in-law took me back to his mansion in the city. I brought all the clothes I could wear with me, but my sister thought they were too ugly and said I looked like a country woman, so she threw them all away. Later, considering that I was getting married, my stepmother finally made me a few decent clothes, and I brought them all to the Shentu Mansion."

This statement was so flawless that Shentu Zhuo even laughed out of anger.

He looked up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, shaking a rattle in his hand, and said nonchalantly, "I also heard that Tan Huaike had a serious illness when he was young, and the doctors said he would not survive."

"I'm lucky and have a long life. I finally made it through."

"Then whose bones did I find in the small grave next to Hu Ji's tomb?"

"..."
-
　Next chapter: Things have changed and people have changed.

　　Thanks to Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Han, Yu Da Gu Ping, Shu You 8574, and Xia Xi Chan Ming for their recommendations~
　　

(End of this chapter)