Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 090

Chapter 90: Face

An Zhi got an unexpectedly good result, and she pursed her lips in satisfaction.

With Madam An’s letter, An Chengye would have no choice but to send An Xin back to Huaizhou. After all, An Xin was just a cousin’s daughter, and An Chengye was willing to take care of her just for the sake of face. She was not as important as his own sister.

An Zhi said a few words of comfort before leaving the room.

Binglu had been waiting outside the house for a long time, her face full of resentment. “Miss, it’s all An Xin’s fault. She made you lose face in front of so many people. Just now, when you went in, An Xin insisted on following you in, saying she had grievances to tell your aunt.”

“Did you stop her?” An Xin sighed in her heart.

Binglu nodded as if it was natural. “If I don’t stop her, what will happen if she goes in and offends my lady again?”

An Zhi chuckled softly, “You are such a silly girl. She offended my aunt, so she is the one who is in trouble. What are you afraid of? If you hadn’t stopped her, we would be watching a big show right now.”

A fool like An Xin would definitely not disappoint An Zhi.

Returning home required a carriage, but with so many noble ladies arriving, it was impossible for all the carriages to be lined up in front of the mansion. Instead, the carriages would wait in the alleys surrounding the mansion, with the coachman following the horses, and servants from the mansion bringing water and snacks. If the owner wanted to go home, they would wait in the small hall at the entrance until the servants lead their own carriage to the door before leaving through the hall.

Because An Xin had embarrassed herself, An Zhi was unwilling to stay in the small hall with her. She stood by the screen, looking at the two banyan trees in the courtyard of the Marquis Mansion.

She was engrossed by the view when Binglu suddenly called out “Princess Huiping”. Startled, she turned around quickly and bowed upon seeing that it was really Princess Huiping.

She was a somewhat surprised to meet Princess Huiping here.

Fortunately, when someone like Princess Huiping was about to leave, a servant would quickly run to announce her, so she didn’t need to wait in the hall. Otherwise, if she had run into An Xin again, she would have been in real trouble.

After she bowed, she didn’t hear any footsteps. She bravely looked up and saw Princess Huiping staring at her. Puzzled, she lowered her head, only to hear the rustling of footsteps.

Only when the voices around her died down did An Zhi look up and breathe a sigh of relief.

Binglu also took a slight breath.

Fortunately, the family’s carriage arrived at this time, and An Zhi didn’t have to wait any longer.

She walked to the door of the small hall and told the old woman who was guarding An Xin that she could leave. Only then did the old woman stop blocking An Xin’s way.

An Xin’s cheeks were swollen like pimples. If it weren’t for the pain every time she moved her mouth, she would have torn off An Zhi’s hypocritical mask. When she got home, she would definitely complain to her uncle. He had clearly asked An Zhi to take good care of her, but An Zhi left her to be beaten.

An Zhi found it funny when she saw An Xin angrily getting on the carriage.

But it had come to this, let her be stupid for a while longer.

An Zhi also got on the carriage, but when she got in, she saw a box of lotus root powder and osmanthus cake inside.

As soon as she smelled the fragrance, she knew it was made by the Pei family.

She lifted the curtain and asked, “Pei Yu, did anyone get on the carriage just now?”

Pei Yu shook his head and said he didn’t know. He had nothing to talk about with the coachmen and had been sitting in the carriage the entire time, except for a short break to go to the latrine. “I was only away for a short while. Is there something missing?”

“No, I just asked. Let’s go.” An Zhi lowered the curtain and gestured to Binglu to keep quiet. This box of food was sent by Pei Que, and she didn’t want Pei Yu to know about it.

When she arrived at the An Mansion, before she got off the carriage, she heard An Xin get off the carriage and rush into the mansion.

“How uneducated.” Binglu said unhappily.

“Yeah, we can all see that An Xin is not good enough, but my father doesn’t think so.” An Zhi laughed sarcastically.

Before returning to her own courtyard, An Zhi had to go to the main courtyard to deal with An Xin’s matter.

At this time, An Xin had already run to the main courtyard. An Chengye had gone out to play and had not returned yet, so only Meng Jie was there.

When Meng Jie saw the wound on An Xin’s face, she was so shocked that she dropped the teacup in her hand. “Xi’er, go get some medicine! Oh my God, what happened to you? How can you be like this after coming back from a banquet?”

“It was An Zhi who hurt me!” Even though her mouth hurt, An Xin still wanted to speak. She cried as she spoke, “Wuwuwu, she didn’t… didn’t take me with her. She hurt me… I offended… the princess.”

Although An Xin’s speech was a little unclear, Meng Jie still heard what An Xin said clearly, but she didn’t quite believe what An Xin said. No matter what An Zhi did, it led to the current result. Based on her understanding of An Xin, it was definitely An Xin’s fault.

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt fortunate that it was not her who took An Xin to the banquet.

At this moment, Meng Jie saw An Zhi walking in calmly from the corner of her eye.

“Hello, Madam.” After An Zhi bowed to Meng Jie, she sat down. From beginning to end, she didn’t even glance at An Xin.

“You came at the right time. An Xin just said that it was you who made her like this. Can you tell me what happened?” Meng Jie had a worried look on her face and seemed really worried.

“She was the one who complained first,” said An Zhi.

“Wuwu I didn’t!” An Xin cried defending herself.

An Zhi still didn’t look at An Xin. “When we arrived at the Marquis Mansion today, I reminded her to follow me, but she refused to listen and insisted on doing things on her own. She ended up talking to Princess Huiping. Madam, you grew up in the capital, so you should know what kind of person Princess Huiping is. When I heard about it and arrived at the scene, An Xin had already been beaten like this.”

She paused and sighed, “Madam, if you just send someone to the Marquis Mansion to inquire about this, you’ll know I’m not lying. And my aunt also knew about this and wrote a letter to my father, asking him to send An Xin back to Huaizhou immediately, saying that bringing someone like An Xin out would bring shame to the An family.”

As she spoke, An Zhi gave Madam An’s letter to Binglu, who then gave it to Meng Jie.

Meng Jie glanced at the contents of the letter and confirmed what An Zhi said. She really didn’t expect An Xin to be so bold as to offend Princess Huiping. Now, she would be laughed at when she went out in the future. She looked at An Xin’s face and it didn’t look good.

“I’ll leave the decision on this matter to Madam and Father.” An Zhi just had to explain the situation clearly. “We’ve offended Princess Huiping this time. I just hope Princess Jing’an won’t blame us. Otherwise, Father’s career and that of my brother’s will be affected. My aunt asked me to personally apologize to Princess Huiping tomorrow. I’ll go back and prepare a gift. Madam, please save face for the An family.”

An Zhi’s words hinted that An Xin wasn’t just embarrassing Meng Jie and herself today, but by the entire An family, including the child in Meng Jie’s belly. If they failed to properly handle An Xin and let her stay home and cause trouble for them, then the An family would truly be disgraced.