Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 026

Chapter 26: Invitation

“Don’t worry, she’s not so powerful that she can’t tolerate others.” An Zhi knew Aunt Zhang was going to ask this and had already thought of the wording. “But she’s not a pushover either. After all, her parents are gone, leaving only her and her younger brother. Anyone who can survive in such a situation must have some means. But I’ve inquired about the Meng family, and they don’t have a particularly chaotic family tradition. Aunt, just rest assured and take care of your pregnancy. Once the new wife comes in, just make your position clear. From then on, we can each live our own lives.”

Aunt Zhang sighed repeatedly. An Zhi’s words made her feel a little more at ease. Before she had a child, she didn’t care about the new wife, but now that she had a child, her boring life suddenly had hope. How could she not worry?

“I’m afraid that no matter how careful I am, it will be useless.” Aunt Zhang forced a smile.

“Don’t worry about that, Auntie. I’ve met the new wife, and she won’t resort to any dirty tricks.” An Zhi soothed her, “But Auntie, it’s always right to be careful. You finally have a child, and to be honest, my father is unreliable. Having a child won’t give you a lifelong support, but it will definitely bring you some joy.”

“Yes, that’s what I think.” Aunt Zhang touched her belly. She was only one month pregnant, which was the most dangerous time. “I’m sorry to bother you with my concern, Miss. I hope it’s a girl in my belly. If she is as beautiful and intelligent as you, I will be satisfied in this life.”

“Girls don’t have it easy.” An Zhi had suffered enough from being a girl. Aunt Zhang was a concubine. If she gave birth to a concubine’s daughter, she would have to marry a lower-class man in the future. If An Chengye had no conscience, she might even be given to a powerful person as a concubine. Moreover, there were so many restrictions on being a woman. If she could choose, she would definitely be a man. “Sons are better. This world is very unfair to women. If I were born a man, I would have traveled the world or established a career.”

Aunt Zhang understood An Zhi’s intentions, but if she gave birth to a son, wouldn’t it be a thorn in the new wife’s side? Being a concubine was just that difficult.

An Zhi spoke a few more words to Aunt Zhang, asked her to have a good rest, and then said goodbye and went back.

For the next half month, An Chengye would visit Aunt Zhang every day.

Although An Chengye was a romantic man, he had average offspring. Even his favorite, Mistress Xu, only had one daughter, An Rong.

It was a beautiful day, and there were only nine days left before Meng Jie married in.

An Zhi was bustling with activity.

The weather gradually became warmer. After directing outside for a while, An Zhi was sweating all over. When she went into the house to rest, Binglu brought her uncle’s reply.

In the letter, her uncle reported that he was safe and that her brother had been promoted to the rank of Qian Hu. Since they couldn’t return at the moment, they had sent a gift through the escort agency to congratulate An Chengye. At the end of the letter, her uncle cursed Pei Yu and said he would find her a better husband than Pei Yu.

“Miss, besides the gifts, your uncle also brought you many Northwest toys. I find them all very interesting.” Binglu held up a clay doll. “Look at how chubby and adorable it is.”

An Zhi took the clay doll, looked at it and smiled, “It’s really interesting. Go and pack it up into three parts. Send two to the two concubines and one to the Meng family. The new wife’s brother is only seven years old this year, I think he will like these toys too.”

Binglu: “Miss, you are so thoughtful.”

An Zhi took a sip of tea. Ever since the family got engaged to the Meng family, she had been thinking about Meng Jie’s younger brother. She just hoped that he would not be a playboy in the future.

After preparing the tea, snacks and fruits, An Zhi asked the servants to start checking the invitations. Generally, they would not be remissed, but just in case, they still had to check them once.

The steward took the order and went to confirm, and when he came back, he called An Zhi aside.

“Miss, you forgot the Pei family.” The steward knew that the young lady didn’t like the Pei family, but out of politeness, he could only remind her carefully at this time.

If the steward hadn’t told her, An Zhi wouldn’t have noticed. When she first checked the invitation, she seemed to have heard whether the Pei family should be invited, but she was probably too tired at the time and didn’t want to see the Pei family, so she said no.

Although the Pei family had no relationship with her now, the wife of the eldest branch of the Pei family was her mother’s best friend. No matter what, she would invite the Pei family.

But now, she accidentally missed the Pei family.

There was no other way, An Zhi could only go to the door in person to deliver the invitation.

When she arrived at the Pei’s residence, Madam Li happened to be at home.

“I originally thought that you didn’t want to have anything to do with my family anymore.” Madam Li joked.

“Aunt, you’re joking. I have to deliver your invitation in person, and I will also deliver my aunt’s in person later.” Someone had already delivered Madam An’s invitation, and An Zhi was just using it to smooth things over. Everyone was smart and wouldn’t be so ignorant as to expose it.

“Since you’re so interested in me, I’ll definitely go.” Madam Li saw that An Zhi seemed to have lost some weight, with more delicate features on her face. She couldn’t help but sigh that she had missed out on such a good daughter-in-law. “I heard that not long ago, the Wang family, the Minister of Works, came to propose to you?”

The capital was not a big city, so as long as you were willing to ask, you could find out 90% of the information. An Zhi smiled and replied, “Yes, I was not there at the time. It was the eldest son of the Wang family who came to propose marriage on behalf of his half-brother, but my father refused.”

“Well said, that bastard from the Wang family is not a good person. Not only has he slept with all the maids in the house, he also keeps many mistresses outside.” Madam Li mentioned the Wang family, of course, not just to gossip. Firstly, she was a little worried about An Zhi’s marriage, and secondly, her father-in-law had said that their family had let An Zhi down, and asked Madam Li to help worry about her. “Zhi’er, we will never be mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in this life, but I watched you grow up. Now that Pei Yu is not doing well, I have nothing to say. But to you, I really feel that I owe you too much. If you trust your aunt, your aunt will help you look after your marriage. What do you think?”

An Zhi was a little confused. Why did everyone want to arrange a marriage for her? But she didn’t want to marry anyone.

But since Madam Li had brought it up, she couldn’t resist. “Don’t worry too much, Auntie. I’ve noticed you’ve lost a lot of weight. You should get some rest. Don’t worry about my affairs. Just keep an eye on me.”

“Okay, if there is a suitable one, I will send someone to call you.” Madam Li patted An Zhi’s hand and said a few words. Knowing that An Zhi had a lot of things to do at home, she didn’t want to keep An Zhi.

The Pei family’s courtyard was large, and it took a while to walk along the corridor to reach the door. An Zhi was afraid of meeting Pei Que, so she walked a little fast, but she didn’t expect to actually meet Pei Que on her way back home.

The two met in the corridor, and An Zhi bowed first and called out “Master Pei”.

Pei Que winked at the servant, and the servant blocked the maid who came to send An Zhi away, leaving space for Pei Que and An Zhi to talk .

“Are you here today to deliver an invitation?” Pei Que asked.

An Zhi nodded and said “hmm”. The one who came to see her off was a maid from Madam Li’s courtyard. If she talked too much with Pei Que, Madam Li would definitely know, and then she would be in trouble.

“What about mine?” Pei Que stretched out his hand and asked An Zhi for the invitation.

An Zhi didn’t expect Pei Que to stop her just to get the invitation. She looked up at Pei Que, met his deep eyes, and quickly looked away. “I’ve already sent it to Aunt Pei. You can just come together on the wedding day.”

“Oh.” Pei Que stared at her and suddenly said angrily, “Perfunctory.”

For some reason, An Zhi blushed when she heard Pei Que’s tone.