20demayo Chapter 167: A disagreement leads to a quarrel
Chapter 167: A disagreement leads to a quarrel
Zhao Xuan reached out and carefully stroked the three words "Zhao Xiaoman" on the tombstone.
"Xiao Wu, you fainted in the carriage at the time and had no idea what was happening outside. There is a hidden story behind the deaths of Master and the Crown Prince."
Gu Zhanghua was shocked when he heard this.
"Isn't that the Jigong Mountain bandits?"
"They might have been among the murderers who attacked the diplomatic corps that day, but they were definitely not the masterminds!"
"Who else?"
"Just listen to me and I'll tell you slowly."
Zhao Xuan withdrew her hand, held Gu Zhanghua's hand, and then spoke slowly.
"That day, my master was carrying me on the carriage, intending to rescue you and the prince, but he was suddenly shot by a poisoned arrow. He had no choice but to take me with him and escape to the foot of this mountain. After abandoning his horse, he carried me up the mountain. It wasn't until he spat out blood that I realized the poison had already taken effect. He passed away without saying a word to me. My father found me by following the special marks he left behind."
Gu Zhanghua's nose felt sore and he couldn't help crying again.
"I never thought that Aunt Zhao had passed away for so many years. I always thought you and Aunt Zhao were alive and well somewhere I didn't know about."
Zhao Xuan reached out and wiped Gu Zhanghua's tears.
"Okay, stop crying. I want to cry too if you do this."
Gu Zhanghua took a deep breath.
"Fortunately, you are safe and sound now. Have you never returned to Liyang since that day?"
"Actually, my father and I rushed back to Liyang the next day, but Grandpa died, you were in a coma, Qingfengyuan was raided, and my master and I were wanted by the government. We simply couldn't stay in Liyang any longer, so we left and eventually settled in Heyan Village."
"It's all my fault. If you had woken up earlier, maybe you wouldn't have to wander around."
"How can I blame you for this? Later, when I thought carefully, I remembered that my master said something when we were holding me and fighting against the group of people who attacked us. She said, 'Strange! How can there be two groups of people? Their martial arts routines are completely different.'"
"Aunt Zhao is a skilled martial artist. If she really said that, then it must be true."
Zhao Xuan hummed, took out the handkerchief wrapped with the poisonous arrowhead from her arms, opened it, and handed it to Gu Zhanghua together with the handkerchief.
"This is the tip of the poisonous arrow that killed my master. Be careful not to touch it. Even though it's been over a decade, the poison may still remain."
Gu Zhanghua took the handkerchief and carefully looked at the poisonous arrowhead in the candlelight.
"It doesn't look anything special."
"It's very special. You may not believe me, but I've checked the pattern of this poisonous arrowhead. It's a common configuration for the elite Xia Army."
Gu Zhanghua took a breath.
"How can this be?"
"Xiao Wu, do you still remember when the northern Rongdi cavalry invaded Yancheng a year ago and Qin Shao led his troops to fight the enemy?"
"Remember, General Qin was invincible in battle. He quickly repelled the Rongdi cavalry and recaptured Yancheng."
"Yes, the two armies eventually fought a decisive battle at the foot of Tianwu Mountain. Uncle Guo and I were hiding in a cave on the mountainside. One night, I quietly sneaked into the Xia army camp and found the archers' tents. I secretly took away a few arrows and compared them. I found that the workmanship and materials were exactly the same, not a single difference!"
"Sister Xuan, what on earth is going on?"
"I'm currently checking the arrow patterns of the Yue army's archers. If they're different from this one, then it must have been made by the Xia army."
"Could something have gone wrong during this period? Why would the Xia army attack the delegation led by my prince? If it was the Kingdom of Yue, I would believe it!"
Zhao Xuan stood up and paced back and forth in front of the tombstone.
"I also found out that shortly after the incident, the Crown Prince of Yue secretly came to Xia State and had a private conversation with my father."
"Why is Father involved?"
"I'm just telling you the facts I found out. After the Crown Prince of Yue left, Xia and Yue began to trade. And Jinyang City was handed over to our Xia Kingdom shortly after the Crown Prince of Yue returned. These are all facts!"
Gu Zhanghua's expression gradually became solemn, and he immediately stood up and looked at Zhao Xuan.
"I know both of the things you mentioned. Calculating the time, they actually match up. However, there's one thing I can't figure out."
Gu Zhanghua returned the handkerchief containing the poisonous arrowhead to Zhao Xuan, who carefully put it back into her arms.
"Tell me, what don't you understand?"
Gu Zhanghua rubbed his eyebrows.
"I just feel that if even you could sense something fishy about the attack on the diplomatic mission and you even have evidence of poisoned arrows, I'm thinking there must have been more poisoned arrows left at the crime scene. It couldn't have been just the one that killed Aunt Zhao, right?"
"Makes sense."
"The emperor and the important officials at court likely knew about the poisoned arrows, and perhaps discovered other clues. But in the end, the court simply announced to the world that the Jigong Mountain bandits were responsible and beheaded them. Have you ever thought about why?"
Zhao Xuan shook her head.
"Now that you put it that way, I really don't understand why. Doesn't Father want to avenge the Crown Prince?"
"My father has been reluctant to meet me until now, fearing that seeing me would remind him of the Crown Prince and trigger his heart palpitations. How could my father not want to avenge the Crown Prince? So I think there must be concerns and considerations behind this that we can't imagine."
"What do you mean by that? What concerns and considerations could allow you to disregard so many lives?"
Gu Zhanghua held Zhao Xuan's hand and spoke sincerely.
"Sister Xuan! I think we can no longer act rashly out of passion and impulsiveness. In this situation, perhaps it's better not to investigate the truth of that year!"
Zhao Xuan shook off Gu Zhanghua's hand.
"You want me to just let it go? Stop investigating? Are you going to just watch Master and the Crown Prince die in vain? And there were so many people in the delegation back then. Except for you and me, no one survived. And then there's my grandfather, and the Zhao family. I still don't believe they were smugglers. I won't live my whole life in confusion. I must find out the truth!"
Gu Zhanghua held Zhao Xuan's shoulders.
"Don't worry, I just believe in my father. He will never let so many people die in vain!"
Zhao Xuan slapped Gu Zhanghua's hand away, took two steps back, and looked angry.
"Believe it or not! From the facts we know now, I think your father is most likely the real culprit behind this!"
Gu Zhanghua was completely enraged by Zhao Xuan's heart-piercing words.
"Zhao Xuan! Can you please use your brain before you speak? The one who died was his own son! And Aunt Zhao was Father's best friend back then. You know all this!"
"That's why I feel like there must be some ulterior motive behind this matter!"
"Don't spit on others!"
"I've finally figured it all out. Before she died, Master repeatedly told me not to avenge her. She must have realized the attack on the diplomatic mission and that there was a terrible conspiracy behind it. She didn't want me to put myself in danger. But if I can't avenge Master, I might as well die now! Let me ask you one thing: are you willing to join me in uncovering the truth of what happened back then?"
"I think you should calm down now!"
"If you don't answer my question directly, does that mean you're unwilling?"
"It's not that I don't want to, I just think your current thinking is too extreme!"
Zhao Xuan pushed Gu Zhanghua out of Qingshan Valley.
"Go! Go! I don't want to see you again! Just go back to your Xianwang Mansion and be a good and honest Xianwang! From now on, there will be no more Xianwang Consorts in the world. Just treat me as if I'm dead!"
Seeing that Zhao Xuan was angry, Gu Zhanghua tried to save the situation. He turned around and hugged Zhao Xuan.
"Sister Xuan, don't be angry first."
Zhao Xuan pushed Gu Zhanghua away directly.
"Don't call me, from now on we are done with each other and have nothing to do with each other anymore!"
Huang Shuo and Guo Da were eating grilled fish and drinking wine by the campfire in front of the house when they saw Zhao Xuan pushing Gu Zhanghua down the mountain.
Zhao Xuan was so angry that she kept scolding Gu Zhanghua.
"I think you're just a coward!"
"I'm not a coward, it's you who's too impulsive!"
The two of them hurried over, one in front and one behind.
Huang Shuo asked hurriedly when he saw that both of them looked angry.
"Everything was fine just now, why did you start arguing?"
When Gu Zhanghua heard Zhao Xuan calling him a coward, anger burned in his chest and he turned around and walked down the mountain.
Zhao Xuan returned to the campfire angrily and sat down on the ground.
"I told him everything I found out, and guess what he said? He told me to give up on the investigation and said his father probably already knew the truth, but had other considerations in mind when he pushed the Jigong Mountain bandits out to take the blame! Do you think he was being reasonable? If not him, who should I scold? A coward!"
Guo Da silently added firewood to the campfire, Huang Shuo silently grilled fish, and no one spoke.
Zhao Xuan waited and saw that the two remained silent.
"What do you two mean by staying silent? Am I wrong to scold him?"