Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 188

Chapter 188: Red Agate

After three years in the northwest, An Xu’s drinking tolerance had improved along with his martial arts skills. Besides, his friends he had gathered that day were all heavy drinkers, so he wasn’t very drunk and was quite sober when he entered the bridal chamber.

Life in the military camp was rough, but back at the An Mansion, with his sister taking care of everything, life became much more comfortable.

Before entering the bridal chamber, a maidservant brought him mint water to rinse his mouth and a towel.

Upon entering the bridal chamber, he found the princess resting on the edge of the bed. Although she was covered by a red veil, he already felt nervous.

Shuzhu, the maidservant accompanying Princess Huiping, heard the door open and wanted to wake her mistress, but her mistress was sleeping too soundly; she tried twice to no avail, and her palms were sweating with worry.

“That’s alright, you can leave now,” An Xu said. He was also tired and understood the princess’s exhaustion.

Shuzhu was the head maidservant assigned to Princess Huiping by the Grand Princess. She was a few years older than the princess and was meant to guide her in married life. But on her first day at the An Mansion, before the princess had even been reminded about the wedding rituals, Shuzhu didn’t dare leave.

“My lord, I must stay until the two of you have drunk the wedding wine,” Shuzhu said, deliberately speaking louder, hoping the princess would wake up.

But it was no use. Huiping had been exhausted all day, unable to sleep during the afternoon, and now she was fast asleep. Shuzhu couldn’t wake her with just a few words.

An Xu understood Shuzhu’s concerns, but he didn’t want to disturb the princess. “It’s alright. She’s sleeping so soundly; we can drink the wedding wine tomorrow.”

There weren’t such formalities in the military, so An Xu didn’t mind. Shuzhu said it was absolutely unacceptable, but seeing the princess looking tired, she gently pinched the young lady’s back from behind.

“Who?” Huiping woke up from her slumber, seeing a cloth covering her face. She tried to lift it, but her hand was held down.

“The master has returned; the young lady should prepare to drink the wedding wine,” Shuzhu hurriedly reminded her.

Huiping hesitated for a moment before understanding what Shuzhu meant.

She was used to her leisurely life at home and never expected to fall asleep on her wedding night. Thinking that An Xu was looking at her, her face flushed instantly.

She softly nodded, and the ceremony continued.

When the veil was lifted, Huiping felt a flash of light, then saw An Xu’s handsome face.

During the wedding wine ceremony, Huiping felt stiff and awkward.

Every day before, she had looked forward to marrying An Xu, but now that she was actually face-to-face with him, even touching him, she didn’t know what to say or do. She kept glancing at An Xu, but as soon as their eyes met, she quickly looked away, losing her initial boldness.

After the wedding wine ceremony, Shuzhu removed the headpiece and left the room.

Only the newlywed couple remained in the quiet room.

Huiping sat awkwardly on the rosewood chair.

An Xu was also nervous. Although his brothers had told him what to do before the wedding, he wasn’t experienced in such matters. He nervously rubbed his hands together on his knees.

After a while, Huiping, unable to wait for An Xu to suggest they rest, finally mustered the courage to softly ask, “Husband, shall we… rest now?”

An Xu nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, starting to take off his shoes.

Huiping also walked to the edge of the bed, raised her hands, and then lowered them again, finally not daring to help An Xu.

They stood a hand’s breadth apart. After another long while, An Xu finally went to close the gauze curtain.

And so, the night passed.

~

An Zhi had a few more glasses of wine tonight. Her brother was getting married, and as the hostess, many ladies and wives wanted to befriend her, so they all insisted on having a drink with her.

In the end, An Zhi saw the situation wasn’t right and pretended to be drunk, thus avoiding getting too drunk.

After the maids put her to bed, An Zhi was extremely tired and closed her eyes, saying vaguely, “Let’s just sleep like this tonight.” She didn’t have the energy to get up and remove her makeup.

“Miss, just lie down,” Binglu said, wiping her face with a warm towel. “If you don’t remove the makeup, you’ll get pimples tomorrow. Chunlan has gone to get some hangover tea; you should drink it before sleeping, otherwise you’ll have a headache tomorrow.”

As long as she didn’t have to get up, An Zhi let the maids do whatever they wanted.

She didn’t know when she fell asleep, so she didn’t know when Pei Que had placed the agate hairpin by her pillow. Only when she woke up and saw the character “Pei” pressed under the red agate hairpin did she realize Pei Que had been there. Startled, she quickly got out of bed and hid the hairpin in a drawer of her dressing table.

Donglan, who was waiting outside, heard her young lady wake up and came in with a bowl of warm water, while Cuisi brought a washbasin.

“Sister Binglu was tired yesterday and hasn’t woken up yet,” Cuisi said.

Cuisi was young and hadn’t gone out to work yesterday, so she and Donglan were taking Binglu’s place today. An Zhi sat before her dressing table, preparing to apply her makeup.

“She’s been busy all day; let her sleep a little longer. We should hurry, though; the new daughter-in-law will be serving tea, and we need to be there before my brothers.”

Donglan nodded and began to assist her young lady with her preparations.

Although they wouldn’t be receiving any outside guests today, An Zhi wanted to look her best on the first day of her sister-in-law’s arrival.

When An Zhi arrived at the main courtyard, her father and stepmother were already there, followed shortly by the two concubines.

Soon after, An Xu and Huiping entered the courtyard, one after the other.

After the new daughter-in-law served tea to her in-laws, it was An Zhi and An Jing’s turn to serve tea to their brother and sister-in-law. The two concubines weren’t allowed to participate; they were only present to show respect to Huiping.

After everyone had greeted each other and had breakfast, they went to the ancestral hall. Huiping’s official entry into the family was then complete.

Back in her own courtyard, An Zhi finally dared to take out the red agate hairpin that Pei Que had given her.

Red agate symbolized longing and love; thinking of this meaning, An Zhi felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

“Miss, the young mistress is here,” Cuisi announced, before even entering the room.

The princess? Her sister-in-law?

At this time of day, shouldn’t her sister-in-law be with her husband?

Why was she here?

An Zhi quickly put away the red agate hairpin. Just as she reached the threshold, Huiping stepped out from under the eaves. “Cuisi, please prepare some tea.” An Zhi smiled warmly as she helped her sister-in-law into the room, teasingly asking, “My sister-in-law is newly married and in the honeymoon phase; how come she has time to visit me now?”

Huiping glanced at An Zhi. After Cuisi served the tea, she sighed, “Your brother was called away by someone from the military camp.”

Huiping didn’t get along well with her mother-in-law, and the two concubines were also somewhat afraid of her, so she came to visit An Zhi.

“My brother got married just yesterday. Why would they call him away today?” An Zhi frowned.

An Xu had five days of leave, and unless it was an emergency, the military would never call him away.

Huiping shook her head. “I heard it was someone from the military, so I left the study before I could hear what they said. You’re smart. Can you guess what it might be?”

“Even if I’m smart, I can’t know about military affairs from inside my room.” An Zhi felt something was amiss. After sending Cuisi to fetch Binglu, she instructed her, “Send someone to find out if anything important has happened in the capital.”