Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 036

Chapter 36: Children

“You’ve always been smart and capable, so why do you still need me for something?” Meng Jie looked surprised and teased, “Don’t ask me for something as big as the sky.”

“Madam, don’t worry. I’m asking for my marriage. Madam, you can do it. Only you can help me.” An Zhi followed Meng Jie into the main room. A maid immediately served tea. “Madam, you know that the Pei family broke off my engagement. Now many people dislike me because of this. I was embarrassed to say more with so many people around just now. Now I have a few things I want to talk to you about. I hope you don’t find me annoying.”

Meng Jie smiled, “You and I are family, and right now we are just mother and daughter. I won’t be bothered by your affairs.”

“I know Madam has worried a lot about my marriage, and I’m very grateful for that.” An Zhi kept looking at Meng Jie as she spoke. “Ever since my engagement was broken off, I’ve been in tears for a long time, and it’s made me see things more clearly. I don’t care about family background anymore, I just want someone who treats me well. So I only ask Madam that when you help me find a partner in the future, let me meet the person before my father decides.”

“This?” Meng Jie said in embarrassment, “I can let you see each other from a distance, but I’m afraid talking is not allowed.”

Nowadays, when large families discussed marriage, they would actually let the man and woman look at each other privately, but they usually looked at each other secretly through a screen, or from a distance, and there was no close-up blind date.

“Just a glimpse from afar is enough.” An Zhi asked for this, not because she really wanted to see the other person’s character, but because she would know about this matter in advance so that she could think of a way to deal with it in advance. Otherwise, if An Chengye didn’t tell her about the marriage until he finalized it, she would have no choice but to run away. “I would like to thank you in advance, Madam. I prepared some donkey-hide gelatin for you, it is good for beauty and nourishing, and it is the best for women. Now that you are married, I hope you can give me a brother.”

As soon as An Zhi finished speaking, Binglu handed the box she had been holding to Xi’er.

Meng Jie’s cheeks flushed slightly, “You girl, you even make fun of me.”

“It’s because Madam is such a good person that I dare to say this.” An Zhi noticed Meng Jie’s envy of Concubine Zhang, which was not a good thing. “Concubine Zhang is just a concubine. Whether she gives birth to a boy or a girl, it will be hard for her to achieve anything in the future. If Madam gives birth to a child, it will be my legitimate brother, and I will have to rely on my legitimate brother from now on.”

“It’s all the same,” Meng Jie said magnanimously. “If Aunt Zhang’s child calls me mother in the future, I will raise him and raise him just like any other child I have.”

An Zhi smiled and said, “How can they be the same?”, then chatted with Meng Jie for a few more words before returning to her own courtyard.

She sat on the couch and let out a long sigh. “Binglu, wait until night when no one is around, and go secretly to Aunt Zhang’s place. What I said in the main room today will soon reach her. Bring a piece of wild ginseng with you, and tell Aunt Zhang to be careful about her diet in the future. She’ll understand.”

“Miss, do you think that Madam wants to harm Concubine Zhang’s child?” Binglu felt strange when she was in the main house. The master and Concubine Zhang had always been on good terms. The sudden disdain for Concubine Zhang must have a reason.

“Just in case.” An Zhi no longer trusted Meng Jie. “Concubine Zhang finally had a child, and that’s her hope for the rest of her life. If anything happens to the child, she won’t be able to live. Madam, she used to seem well-intentioned, but she’s actually short-sighted and easily impulsive.”

In a large mansion, it would be easy for the wife of the main house to harm the child of a concubine.

An Zhi didn’t want to see this happen, so she could only take precautions.

On the other side, in the main room, Meng Jie was taking medicine.

Xi’er stood by and waited on her. Although she had been brought in, she was still Meng Jie’s maid in name. An Chengye had not given her any status, so she lived the same way as before, except that sometimes there was one more person sleeping at night. “Madam, you have only been married for a month and a half. There is no need to rush to drink the pregnancy medicine, right?”

“You don’t understand.” Meng Jie sighed.

Every time she saw Aunt Zhang’s belly, she would become extremely anxious.

If she was not a second wife and her husband was as young as she was, she would naturally not be anxious. But An Chengye was more than ten years older than her, and the An family had very few children over the years. How could she not be anxious?

Only if she gave birth to her own child, would the An family business be related to her in the future. Otherwise, when An Chengye died, she would have to depend on others and live according to An Xu’s mood.

Meng Jie hasn’t met An Xu yet, but she knew without thinking that she and An Xu wouldn’t get along. She could see it from An Zhi. Although An Zhi respected and praised her on the surface, every time An Zhi said something, she was testing and testing her. Her methods were so sophisticated that she had no power to resist. It seemed that An Xu was not clumsy and easy to fool, otherwise he would not have been promoted to Qian Hu in two years.

Xi’er heard her lady sigh again and didn’t dare to talk about the pregnancy medicine anymore. She turned the topic to the Pei family, “Madam, what do you mean by the Pei family? We informed them of the news, but they acted as if they knew nothing. Do they really want to see Young Master Pei be a servant in our house?”

Meng Jie couldn’t understand this either. “As a parent, you definitely wouldn’t want your child to be treated like this, but the Pei family not only didn’t come to ask for him, they didn’t even send anyone to blame An Zhi. I really don’t understand. But the Pei family definitely won’t give us face. We messed this up.”

In Meng Jie’s opinion, even if An Zhi and the Pei family maintained a friendly relationship on the surface, they must have harbored resentment in their hearts, which was why she dared to inform the Pei family. However, the Pei family did not respond at all, which showed that this move displeased them. Her attempt to climb the Pei family’s big tree was no longer possible.

Since marrying into the An family, Meng Jie has seen more and more wealthy families. Their food and clothing were much better than those of the Meng and An families, which tempted her. However, An Chengye was a man without ambition. As a woman from a humble family, she could not earn a fortune no matter how hard she tried.

So after thinking about it carefully, it would be better to give birth to a son first.

“By the way, Madam, today the master talked about the eldest daughter’s marriage, why didn’t you mention our young master?” Xier asked.

When Meng Jie’s aunt Li heard that Meng Jie was looking for a husband for An Zhi, she recommended Madam Li’s son, Meng Jie’s cousin.

“Are you confused? If An Zhi marries into the Meng family, then An Zhi and I will be in conflict.” Meng Jie said in a deep voice, “Besides, my cousin is such a lazy boy, how could An Zhi and the master possibly be interested in him? If I had mentioned this just now, I wouldn’t be sitting here drinking tea right now. Xi’er, you have to remember that you are now my maid, not a member of the Meng family anymore.”

Hearing this, Xi’er immediately knelt down and said, “I understand. I will never dare to do it again.”

Meng Jie helped Xi’er up. “Don’t blame me for being harsh. In the past, you were the maid of the Meng family, and you might have been under her control. But now that you’ve come with me to the An family, I only have you as my dear maid. You can’t have any second thoughts, understand?”

“I understand.” Xier’s lapel was wet at this time. She had accepted some benefits from Madam Li, but Meng Jie was right. She had already arrived at the An family and her contract was in Meng Jie’s hands. Should Meng Jie beat her and sold her out, all of which were her own fault.