Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 021

Chapter 21: Cheng Huan

The An family had little background, An Chengye himself did not hold a high official position, and An Rong’s affair broke out a while ago, and he had a reputation as a playboy. It was already quite good that the An family could find the three women now.

But each of these three was quite interesting.

Binglu brought An Zhi some osmanthus tea. As soon as she opened the lid, the sweet aroma filled her nose. “Miss, I know the daughter of Duke Chengguo. I heard she was notoriously unruly. After her husband passed away, she asked to leave half of her dowry to her in-laws and then returned to her parents’ home.”

“Cheng Huan is the only legitimate daughter of Duke Cheng. She has many brothers, and she’s been around all sorts of men since she was little, so it’s normal for her to be a bit unruly.” An Zhi had met Cheng Huan a few times, but they had never spoken. In fact, she quite liked Cheng Huan’s personality; she was open-minded and happy to be herself.

Binglu saw the candlelight flickering and shaved off the ashes with scissors. “Miss, who do you think would be the best person to marry among these three?”

“Cheng Huan, right?” An Zhi analyzed. “The Yun family’s legitimate mother is no pushover. The family’s several concubines are either concubines or second wives of nobles. Marriage is all about the goodwill between the two families, not just the two individuals. As for the Meng family, I’ve heard from my aunt that the age difference between the legitimate son and the eldest daughter is too great, so they’ll inevitably have to support the younger brother in the future. Cheng Huan is better. She’s open-minded and tough, and perfect for someone like my father.”

An Chengye was easily influenced and could not control his own belt. People from small families could not scare him, and ordinary girls from big families looked down on him, so Cheng Huan was more suitable.

Binglu thought whoever the young lady said was good was good. The next day, after passing the message to Madam An, she received the message back and said that Madam An would arrange a meeting between the two sides and let An Zhi talk to An Chengye first.

Ever since An Chengye’s dream of becoming the father-in-law of the young master of the Pei family was shattered, he had been in a very depressed mood. He had been staying at Aunt Zhang’s courtyard most of the time these days. The other concubine came less often because she was taking care of the young son.

“The young lady is here.” Aunt Zhang had just finished lunch with An Chengye. When she saw An Zhi coming, she hurriedly stood up and asked the maid to add more bowls and chopsticks for An Zhi.

“Don’t bother, Auntie. I came here after eating.” An Zhi sat aside and saw that An Chengye’s face had become thinner. She was quite satisfied. “Father seems to have lost some weight in the past few days. After hearing the good news from his daughter, he should be able to eat two more bowls of rice.”

When Aunt Zhang heard this, she knew why An Zhi came and tactfully found an excuse to leave.

An Chengye put down his bowl and chopsticks and whispered, “What good news can there be?” He felt a bitter taste in his mouth when he ate.

“Of course it’s good news. My aunt has found three young and beautiful girls to be your successors. You will have a new wife soon. Isn’t this a good thing?” An Zhi said with a smile.

Hearing this, An Chengye’s face really showed some joy. “Which girl did your aunt find?”

An Zhi talked about the family backgrounds of the three girls. “I’ve seen all three of them. They’re all beauties. You’ll know once you see them, Father.”

“The Yun family and the Meng family are fine, but what does your aunt think about the widow of the Cheng family?” An Chengye forgot that he was a widower and said with disdain.

If she hadn’t been thinking about getting An Chengye to shift his favor away from Mistress Xu, An Zhi would have cursed. “Although Cheng Huan is a widow, she’s the eldest daughter of Duke Cheng and very much favored by him. If you marry her, your future prospects might even improve.”

“No, Cheng Huan is not acceptable.” After hearing An Zhi say that marrying Cheng Huan would help him in his career, he refused even more. In the first half of his life, he married into the Bai family for the sake of his career and family, which made him afraid to breathe at home. Now that he finally had the chance to marry a new wife, he only wanted her to be young and beautiful, and her family background would be the same as his, or even lower than his.

An Zhi cursed him in her heart for being short-sighted, but could only persuade him, “Even if Father doesn’t want to, go and see her. After all, Aunt has already made arrangements. If you don’t go, not only will you offend Duke Cheng, but you will also hurt Aunt’s feelings. After the meeting, Father can talk to Aunt privately about his thoughts.”

An Chengye hummed, thought of something, opened his mouth, shook his head and said forget it.

~

Duke Cheng’s Mansion

Cheng Huan was drawing her eyebrows in front of a bronze mirror, while her maid Rui’er was holding rouge for Cheng Huan to choose from.

“Have you found out everything? Does An Chengye really have a mistress?” Cheng Huan was only twenty-one years old this year. She had bright and attractive facial features and was considered a great beauty.

“It’s true.” Rui’er bent over and whispered, “A while ago, the news of the An and Pei families breaking off their engagement caused a lot of uproar in the capital. And the one who seduced Young Master Pei was Master An’s daughter from his mistress. I heard that Master An’s previous wife was angered to death by that mistress.”

Rui’er spoke up for the young lady, “You are the legitimate daughter of the Duke’s family after all, how could the Madam find such a man for you?”

Cheng Huan smiled indifferently. “Mother has her reasons for liking An Chengye. The An family doesn’t have a mother-in-law, so the population is simple. Although An Chengye is a playboy, I’m no pushover. Mother thinks I can conquer An Chengye, and after I marry him, my son can just live his life behind closed doors. My parents are still able to keep me and protect me because my father is still alive. If my brother and sister-in-law take over the family in the future, they will definitely be in a different mood.”

Cheng Huan saw everything clearly. After being married once, she took love less seriously, focusing more on practical benefits. But even though she spoke with clear reasoning, she still felt a sense of loneliness in her heart.

“Miss, do you really want to go see Master An?” Rui’er knew that her mistress still had someone else in her heart, but the other person was already married. “I heard that the Zhang family has been looking for a famous doctor recently. I guess…”

“Rui’er!” Cheng Huan interrupted her with a harsh voice, “I’ve already told you this before. Don’t mention it again. No matter what happens to the Zhang family in the future, it has nothing to do with me. He didn’t marry me the first time, so don’t even think about getting a second chance.”

After saying that, Cheng Huan turned away.

Rui’er knew she had said the wrong thing, so she pursed her lips and followed along.

As soon as Cheng Huan walked out of the yard, she saw her brother and Pei Que fishing together. She frowned and was about to turn around and leave when her brother called her over.

“Hello, Third Brother, Hello, Fourth Master Pei.” Cheng Huan didn’t like Pei Que. To be more precise, she hated Pei Que, because ever since her Third Brother and Pei Que became friends, her Third Brother no longer took her out to play.

After saying hello, Cheng Huan turned and left, and did not hear the conversation between the two.

Pei Que looked off into the distance, “Does your mother really want to marry her daughter to An Chengye?”

“Yeah, I don’t understand what my mother is thinking. An Chengye has a bad reputation and has not done anything yet, and she is willing to give up my sister, who is like a pearl.” Cheng Yi wanted to complain when he thought about it, but he could not go against the wishes of his elders.

“Oh, I see.” Pei Que dropped the fishing rod in his hand.

“Where are you going? The fish hasn’t been hooked yet.” Cheng Yi shouted at Pei Que’s back.

Pei Que turned around and replied, “I won’t tell you.”