Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 183

Chapter 183: Like

An Zhi was extremely busy after returning home from the Bai household. Meng Jie wouldn’t be able to leave her confinement for another ten days, and all the household management tasks fell to An Zhi, not to mention overseeing all the wedding preparations.

When she became overwhelmed, An Zhi asked the two concubines to help, and to show respect to the madam, she also called Chaolu. With more help, An Zhi’s workload eased.

This continued until Meng Jie left her confinement. Having had time to reflect during her confinement, Meng Jie recovered well and was in good spirits.

An Cheng-ye chose an auspicious day to formally propose to the princess.

An Zhi originally didn’t plan to go, as she had been busy for so long, and now that her stepmother had finally recovered from childbirth, she just wanted to rest at home. However, she received a message from Princess Huiping asking her to come.

Given that the formal proposal was an adult matter, An Zhi was taken away by one of Princess Huiping’s maids after she, along with her father and stepmother, paid their respects to the Grand Princess at the Princess’s Mansion, and the Grand Princess made some courteous comments.

When she reached Princess Huiping’s private room, An Zhi was immediately scolded by the princess for being late.

“Didn’t you arrive an hour ago? Why are you so slow?” Huiping had been forced by her mother to embroider and learn household chores, and she was practically going crazy. She had been eagerly awaiting An Zhi’s arrival, wanting to talk to her, but An Zhi was so slow.

An Zhi noticed that Princess Huiping still acted like a child. Thinking that the princess would soon become her sister-in-law, she wondered if her brother would like her and began to worry about them.

“The Grand Princess had some things to say, so I couldn’t come right away.” An Zhi sat down and saw the embroidered mandarin ducks the princess had done and guessed why the princess had been so eager to see her.

Seeing An Zhi looking at the embroidered mandarin ducks, Huiping blushed and covered them with a piece of fabric, saying, “What are you looking at? Have you never seen mandarin ducks that look like ducks before?”

An Zhi smiled and shook her head. “Your Highness, I really haven’t seen anything like that before.”

Having spent time with Princess Huiping, An Zhi knew that the princess was just a little pretentious but essentially a kind-hearted person, so she dared to tease her.

“You!” Huiping puffed out her cheeks angrily, but then her expression softened. “Fine, if you want to laugh, go ahead. My embroidery skills are indeed not very good.”

“It’s alright. My brother is stationed in the northwest, and the army camp is full of soldiers. They can mend their own clothes, so there’s no need to trouble Your Highness,” An Zhi comforted her.

“How can that be!” Huiping exclaimed, picturing her brother mending his own clothes, and felt a pang of pity. “When I become his wife, I will naturally take care of the delicate work like mending clothes.”

As she said this, Huiping smiled brightly, as if she had already become An Xu’s wife.

An Zhi saw that the princess’s heart was full of love for her brother and was truly happy for him. She also envied the princess for being able to marry someone she loved.

After smiling for a while, Huiping signaled to the maidservants, and they left, leaving only her and An Zhi.

She carefully took out a folded handkerchief and placed it in front of An Zhi, blushing slightly. “I can’t make boots or clothes; I can only embroider handkerchiefs. Don’t laugh at my poor embroidery skills anymore. I embroidered this bamboo pattern on the handkerchief dozens of times. Look at my fingers!”

Huiping opened her palm and showed An Zhi the needle marks on her thumb.

There were many needle holes on her delicate, white fingers, and An Zhi was deeply moved. “I will convey the Princess’s kind sentiments to my brother.” An Zhi carefully folded the handkerchief. “However, embroidery can strain the eyes; the Princess doesn’t need to do it herself.”

“No, that won’t do!” Huiping was determined to be a good wife. “Although my mother says she will support me, allowing me to live freely, I truly love your brother; I want to see him every day. Since he is my beloved, I want to be kind to him wholeheartedly.”

Whenever she talked about An Xu, Huiping always had a happy smile on her face. “Oh, you’ll understand when you find someone you love.”

Hearing the Princess say this, An Zhi became curious. “Princess, besides wanting to be kind to someone you love, what other feelings are there?” She wanted to confirm her feelings for Pei Que.

There was no one else in the room, and Huiping was naturally forthright, so she wasn’t shy about An Zhi’s question; instead, she adopted an air of experience. “You’ll constantly think about him, whether good or bad; you’ll want to tell him everything. You’ll worry about his well-being and be jealous if he’s kind to other women. Most importantly, when you see him, no one else will matter.”

An Zhi partially understood, but not entirely.

After leaving the Princess’s Mansion, An Zhi kept thinking about what the Princess had said. When she saw Pei Que, did she feel the same way?

An Zhi couldn’t recall the feeling the Princess described.

“I’ll know when I see Pei Que again,” An Zhi thought. After returning home, An Zhi found her brother and handed him the handkerchief embroidered by the princess, saying enviously, “The princess truly cares for you. She must have hurt her fingers terribly while embroidering this handkerchief for you; I felt so sorry for her.”

“Is she alright?” An Xu couldn’t imagine what the princess’s fingers looked like, but hearing his sister say that, he felt it must be serious. “I don’t need this handkerchief anyway. Why did she go through all that trouble?”

Seeing her brother worried, An Zhi covered her mouth and laughed, “If you’re worried, why not secretly go visit the princess yourself? She’ll be very happy.”

“That’s utterly inappropriate!”

Before marriage, men and women shouldn’t meet, and An Xu didn’t have a habit of sneaking into a woman’s chambers. He and the princess were to be married in less than two weeks; if he climbed over the wall now, it would ruin the princess’s reputation.

An Zhi saw her brother was annoyed and offered another suggestion: “The princess only has a minor needle-prick wound. But if you send some ointment, it’ll show that you care about her, and the princess will know you value this marriage. The Emperor will also know. It’s a win-win!”

An Xu sighed, gently folded the handkerchief, and told his sister to leave, “You’re such a girl with so many ideas! You’ve had a long day; go back to your courtyard. I had some nourishing ginseng soup prepared for you; it will get cold if you don’t go back soon.”

The ginseng soup was being kept warm by a maid so it wouldn’t get cold. An Xu just wanted his sister to leave; his face was flushed, and he didn’t want her to see.

An Zhi noticed her brother was embarrassed and teased him a little, then walked to the door, turned around, raised her eyebrows, and smiled, “Remember to send the ointment to the princess!”

“You’re still talking about it!” An Xu exclaimed.

An Zhi stuck out her tongue playfully at her brother, having predicted his reaction and knowing he would definitely go deliver it.

And indeed, as An Zhi had expected, before the next day even arrived, that evening, while Huiping and her mother were having dinner, a young eunuch arrived to announce that the eldest son of the An family had sent a bottle of ointment.