Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 55 Tell the truth
Tan Huaike said, "I can handle it. Uncle, you don't have to get involved in this matter."

Shentu Zhuo was still worried. "If it's really that Prince Mohe who wants to see you, perhaps you can handle it. Regardless of whether you're his biological sister or not, at least he won't harm you. But what if that person is just using this identity to lure you out? What if they're assassins still searching for survivors? How are you, a powerless young woman, supposed to handle it?"

It's important to be on guard against others, and there's some truth to that...

Tan Huaike thought about it and decided that he was still afraid of death, so he did not refuse to go with him.

The next day at noon, Tan Huaike, Shen Tuzhuo, and Pei'er arrived at Huji Restaurant. Badan looked them over and led them to a compartment on the second floor. Pei'er did not enter, but stood guard at the door like Badan.

Badan looked at her and teased, "I'm protecting the young master. What are you doing?"

Having spent so much time with Tan Huaike, Pei'er considered herself worldly-wise. She said calmly, "Of course, this is to boost our master's morale and prevent you from doing anything shady. If you dare to bully the lady, I can't beat you, but I have a great voice. I'll make sure everyone knows about it and not a single one of you can escape!"

Haha, the little girl is quite fierce.

Badan didn't care. He leaned against the door with his arms folded, keeping his eyes and ears open. The situation at the border was unclear, so he had to be on guard at all times to ensure the safety of the eldest prince.

At this time, there were three people sitting in the compartment, and they had not touched the food and wine at all, just waiting for someone to speak first.

In this awkward silence, Aisha glanced at Shentu Zhuo, then turned to ask Tan Huaike: "Who is he?"

Shen Tuzhuo answered himself: "I am her uncle, and my brother is her late husband."

However, Aisha acted as if she hadn't heard him and continued to look at Tan Huaike: "Is he the one who coerced you? Are you controlled by him?"

Shen Tu Zhuo said angrily, "What do you mean?"

Seeing the atmosphere becoming tense, Tan Huaike hurriedly clarified: "No, he is an insider and followed me because he was afraid that I would be in danger."

"Okay, let him stay here for now," Aisha said. "Let's talk business first."

"Before we get down to business, let me confirm with you, are you the Great Prince Mohe himself?"

Aisha did not reply, but took out a string of sapphire beads from her bosom, placed it in front of Tan Huaike, and asked, "Do you recognize this string of beads?"

Tan Huaike recognized it at a glance; this was the token Alan had given her.

She picked up the beads and nodded: "I recognize them. Princess Alan gave them to me personally."

"Alan gave it to you..." Aisha lowered his eyes and said, "I am Aisha, the eldest prince of Mohe. I came east as an envoy with the marriage party. In order to clear the obstacles along the way, I entered the customs ahead of time to make arrangements. However, for some reason, the marriage party never arrived, and I never saw my sister again. Can you tell me where Alan is now?" "Princess Alan... is dead." Tan Huaike said, "Those assassins killed her. I saw it with my own eyes."

Even Shentu Zhuo was not sure about this matter. He once thought that Tan Huaike was the princess who was lucky enough to survive. But since he said the same thing in front of the Mohe envoy and the princess's brother, it was obvious that he was wrong.

A myriad of thoughts raced through his mind: Was the princess dead? Did Mo He and Da Xuan's plan end before it even began? Who had done this? What were they planning? How would the prince who was to marry Princess Mo He cope with this?
Aisha clenched the cup filled with crimson wine.

Even though he had already suspected this and thought he had prepared for the worst, he still couldn't control himself when he actually learned the exact news: "Dead...dead? How could it be? Weren't they going to capture her? Weren't they going to use her to threaten me, or the Daxuan royal family? Why kill her? Why!"

Tan Huaike told everything he had experienced in the valley.
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She said, "That night, three groups of people came to the valley. The first group looked like ordinary sand bandits, intending to plunder the precious goods from the marriage party and the merchant caravan. Although they kidnapped the princess, it seemed to me that they had no intention of killing her."

Aisha said, "Ordinary Sand Bandits? That shouldn't be the case. According to what you said, that river valley is not far from Yangguan Pass. Badan and I also lured those Sand Bandits elsewhere in advance. At the same time, we sent a message to the Zhenxi Army, asking them to send people out of the pass to patrol and greet them. How could Sand Bandits brazenly rob the marriage party?"

"Perhaps there are some who are missing?" Shentu Zhuo said, "There are many bandits outside the Great Wall who are rampant and unruly. The Zhenxi Army has cleared them out many times but still hasn't been able to eradicate them. It's understandable that some of the bandits who were missed would target the marriage team, which is a fat sheep."

"The second group came from the Daxuan Zhenxi Army, who came to rescue us," Tan Huaike continued. "It must be because of the information you, Your Highness, passed on that they did send people to welcome the princess. But even they couldn't escape the attack of the third group of assassins."

"The Zhenxi Army is brave and good at fighting, and my brother is the best among them. How could it be..." Shentu Zhuo was puzzled.

"Because the assassin used poison, or rather, poisonous spices," Tan Huaike said. "At that time, the valley was in chaos. We all smelled a strange fragrance, and then we became dazed and our hands and feet lost strength."

"The assassins came prepared, waiting until the Zhenxi Army arrived and everyone was relaxed to strike," Aisha said bitterly, "so they wanted to kill Alan and completely prevent the marriage."

"Yes, they killed everyone present, whether they were from the marriage party, the soldiers of the Zhenxi Army, or even our caravan. The assassins searched very carefully, leaving no one alive. Afterwards, they set a huge fire, burning everything to ashes." Tan Huaike stroked his bracelet and said, "The princess was seriously injured at the time. Knowing she couldn't escape, she gave me this sapphire bracelet and asked me to take it to the border to find you."

"You said the assassins searched so meticulously, leaving no one alive, then how did you escape?" Aisha demanded, overcome with grief and indignation. "How can I trust you? Maybe you're an accomplice of the assassins, deceiving Alan's trust and ultimately killing her!"

"Calm down!" Shen Tu Zhuo held him down and scolded, "I know you're sad that your sister died, but don't take your anger out on others! My sister-in-law is the innocent victim!"

"How can she prove it!" Aisha broke free from his hand.

"My past record proves it. I was just an insignificant Hu woman who followed my father and brother to Daxuan to do business," Tan Huaike defended himself frankly. "Unfortunately, I was picked up by a human trafficker, sold to the Tan family's Fu Niang, and then married into the Shentu Mansion. My records were long lost, and my bracelet was pawned. I can't even say who I am. If you still think I'm an accomplice to the assassins after this, I have nothing to say."

“…” Aisha gradually regained consciousness.

Indeed, if she was an accomplice of the assassin, she would not have gone through so much trouble and hidden for so long. She would have handed the token to herself long ago and lured him out to eliminate him completely.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Tan Huaike said, "Your Highness, the princess asked me to bring you a message."
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　Next chapter: What to do about the marriage?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)