Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 287

Chapter 287: Confrontation

Hearing Madam Xu’s words, An Zhi’s hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly.

This was going to stir up trouble!

And the fact that Madam Xu dared to bring this up in front of so many people meant that she knew who did it and that the person was present today and had a bad relationship with her.

While she needed to get to the bottom of yesterday’s incident, An Zhi honestly didn’t want to stir up trouble now.

But since Madam Xu had emphasized it so strongly, it was impossible for the others to pretend they hadn’t heard.

Pei Huaijin raised his eyelids. “Pei Que, what’s going on?”

Pei Que: “Someone hid several needles in the wedding quilt yesterday. I’ve already sent someone to investigate.”

“Have you figured out who did it?” Pei Huaijin’s face remained expressionless, as if the people now squabbling overtly and covertly weren’t his son and daughter-in-law. He asked in a calm tone.

“This…” Pei Que hesitated. He didn’t intend to speak out now. He would teach those who needed a lesson, but he didn’t want Madam Xu to take advantage.

Pei Huaijin glanced at his youngest son, his thoughts forming. He took a sip of his teacup, his dry throat finally clearing. His sharp gaze swept across everyone in the living room, and he said, “Whoever did it, tell me. Don’t wait for me to investigate, or else…”

“Grandpa, there’s no need to ask. It was me!” Pei Xue stepped forward.

Madam Li and Pei Zheng were horrified. Madam Li had only intended to watch, but she hadn’t anticipated her daughter stepping forward. She hurried over, grabbing her and sternly demanding, “Xue’er, what are you talking about? You’re only eleven. How could you possibly do such a thing?”

“How difficult is that!” Pei Xue protested. “Give those maids a little money, and they’ll slack off. Besides, I climbed in through the back window, so hiding a few needles and escaping wasn’t a big deal.”

Madam Li grew increasingly anxious as she listened. She had never dreamed her daughter would be so audacious. “Pei Xue! Do you know what you’re talking about?”

“I know!” Pei Xue puffed out her chest, her tone righteous and unwavering. “A woman like An Zhi, who’s unfaithful to her husband—who seduced my brother and then my fourth uncle—deserves retribution! Mother, why are you pulling me? Am I wrong? If it weren’t for An Zhi, my brother wouldn’t have suffered so much in the northwest, and you wouldn’t be crying!”

Pei Xue was furious, glaring at An Zhi, wishing she could go over and skin An Zhi alive.

Pei Huaijin called out Madam Li’s name in a deep voice. Knowing her father-in-law was angry, and fearing she might say something outrageous, she quickly covered her daughter’s mouth and forced her to kneel.

“Father, please forgive me. Xue’er is young and doesn’t understand many things. She wouldn’t have thought of hiding a needle in the wedding quilt. Please be considerate.”

Pei Zheng also knelt. “Father, Xue’er is at fault. We will punish her severely, but please also find out who instigated her.”

Pei Huaijin looked at his eldest son and daughter-in-law, their foreheads sweating. His graying eyebrows raised slightly. He turned his gaze to An Zhi and asked, “An Zhi, what are your thoughts on this?”

An Zhi was surprised by her father-in-law’s sudden question. She paused for a moment before answering, “Pei Xue acknowledges this. How my eldest brother and sister-in-law decide to punish Pei Xue is their own business. However, I have a few things to discuss with Pei Xue.”

When Pei Huaijin heard this, he knew An Zhi didn’t want to offend anyone, so he agreed. An Zhi turned to look at Madam Li. “Sister-in-law, please let go of Pei Xue’s mouth.”

Madam Li hesitated for a moment, then, upon hearing her husband’s words, she released her grip.

Pei Xue, having the opportunity to speak, immediately yelled at An Zhi, “Vixen! You’re the vixen who harms people!”

An Zhi was a little offended by being called a vixen, but since this was a matter of her future within the Pei family, she could only mentally tell herself to remain calm. Then, with a smile on her face, she looked at Pei Xue and said, “Pei Xue, you’re also the daughter of an official family. You should understand right from wrong. Your brother and I were engaged as children. I didn’t seduce him into marriage, am I right?”

Pei Xue glared at An Zhi, her gaze fierce, and nodded with great reluctance.

An Zhi continued, “Then it was your brother who proposed breaking off the engagement, right?”

Pei Xue didn’t want to nod. “My brother would break off the engagement because he must have discovered you were being unfaithful!”

“Oh, how do you know your brother discovered me? Do you have any evidence, or did someone tell you something?” An Zhi asked.

“Well…” Pei Xue glanced away, then quickly looked back at An Zhi, insisting on her theory. “Anyway, I know it.”

“Since you think it’s my fault that your brother fell for a fickle woman like An Rong and wanted to break off the engagement, then I won’t explain it.” An Zhi slowly curved her eyes. “But put yourself in my shoes. If your fiancé wanted to break off the engagement because he fell for a prostitute, I hope you’d also think it was your fault. As for your accusation that I seduced your fourth uncle, it’s none of your business, no matter how you look at it. The man and woman were unmarried, so it was legal and legitimate. Finally, why was your brother kicked out of the Pei family, and why did he go to the northwest? Do you really think I could have had power over the Pei family at that time?”

It was rare for a girl who has been brought up in such a pampered way to be so naive about the world.

From what happened today, it was obvious that Pei Xue was lured in, but she couldn’t understand such a clear and obvious truth. An Zhi didn’t want to have anything to do with Pei Xue again.

Simply as dumb as a pig!

Pei Xue was stunned by An Zhi’s words. She felt she was wrong, yet she also felt she shouldn’t be wrong. She was the daughter of the eldest branch of the Pei family, so how could she possibly understand such a simple question?

“No, you’re talking nonsense!” Pei Xue refused to believe it.

“Pah!”

A crisp slap rang out.

It was Madam Li who struck her.

“Pei Xue! Can you be more careful?” Madam Li glared at her daughter, annoyed.

Everyone present was shocked, including An Zhi.

They all knew how much Madam Li doted on Pei Xue. She had never spoken harshly to her since she was a child, but to slap her today was clear evidence of her genuine anger.

Pei Xue was stunned for a moment. Only after her cheeks began to burn with pain did she realize she had been hit by her mother. She said blankly, “Mother, you hit me?”

Madam Li had lived in the Pei family for over twenty years, and as the eldest daughter-in-law, she was no fool. Naturally, she could tell her daughter was being incited. It was for this reason that she had to slap her daughter, to prove to her father that they were not acting.

Madam Li held her daughter’s hand tightly and said in a strong voice, “Pei Xue, you’re already a grown-up child. Before you speak or act, please use your brain, alright? We haven’t told you anything about your brother, yet others are telling you. Why is that? Don’t you really understand?”

It was to sow discord. Killing two, or even three, birds with one stone. An Zhi answered for Pei Xue in her heart.

But Pei Xue couldn’t grasp this logic quickly. Even with Madam Li’s question, she remained stunned. After a long moment, she suddenly realized that her actions would burden her parents and also drag down An Zhi. She exclaimed, “It was Aunt Zhang from the kitchen. She’s been complaining to others that An Zhi is a vixen and that An Zhi is so alluring that no man could resist such temptation. It must be An Zhi who’s behind this. Knowing my brother couldn’t inherit the Pei family, she seduced Fourth Uncle instead. That’s what Madam Liu said. Mother, have I been deceived?”

Madam Li sighed deeply, her heart knotted. She suddenly felt like a complete failure as a mother, raising two children who couldn’t even judge people.

Before Pei Xue could answer, Pei Zheng whispered, “If you know you’ve been deceived, why don’t you apologize to your Fourth Aunt!”

Now, Pei Que was the head of the Pei family and the family’s highest-ranking official in court. Aristocratic families valued hierarchy, but this wasn’t about age or generation; age was merely a polite term; the true hierarchy was about power.

Pei Zheng had already reached the pinnacle of his official career, and his only son was far away in the northwest, needing Pei Que’s support. It wasn’t that he lacked integrity, but having grown up in an aristocratic family, he understood how easily those in power could crush someone.

No matter how awkward the situation between the First and Fourth Houses, there couldn’t be any open conflict.

Pei Xue, frightened by her father’s yelling, slumped against her mother. Sobbing, she looked up at An Zhi, but she bit her lip, unable to utter an apology.

For An Zhi, Pei Xue’s apology wasn’t necessary, as it wouldn’t bring her much. What mattered most was that Pei Xue acknowledged her mistake.

The most crucial factor in this matter was Madam Zhang.

“Brother-in-law, let’s talk about Pei Xue later.” An Zhi gave the eldest wife a way out. After she finished speaking, she heard her father-in-law say, “Get up!” After the eldest wife’s family of three had risen, she glanced at Pei Que from the corner of her eye. Seeing Pei Que nod slightly, she said, “I’m upright and honest. I’m not afraid of others talking about things I haven’t done. But the servants in this Mansion dared to instigate the master. They’re deliberately trying to disrupt our family. Father, please make a decision.”

Pei Huaijin had previously only thought An Zhi capable, but seeing her calm demeanor today, his initial uneasiness faded. Instead, he felt somewhat thankful that Pei Que had good judgment and didn’t let such a good daughter-in-law like An Zhi marry off to another family.

Pei Huaijin glanced in the direction where the two illegitimate sons sat. “Go and bring Madam Zhang here.”

Madam Li looked embarrassed and said she couldn’t bring her. “Madam Zhang suddenly developed a fever ten days ago, and her son took her back. The other day, he said she’d passed away.”

“Haha,” Madam Xu snorted. “Sister-in-law, that’s a lie, isn’t it, Third Sister-in-law?”

The person Madam Xu mentioned was Madam Meng from the third house. She had a round face and appeared to be very amiable. She didn’t interrupt a word the entire time.

“Second Sister-in-law, I don’t know,” Madam Meng said timidly.

Madam Xu glanced at Madam Meng with disdain and was about to say something else, but Madam Li spoke first. Madam Li was the most noble of the women here, and she saw through Madam Xu’s schemes perfectly. “Second sister-in-law, you were the first to say there was a needle hidden in the quilt, and you were the one who was so eager to point fingers at the eldest branch. I’d like to ask you, since Fourth Brother and his wife didn’t mention the needle hidden in the quilt, were you overreaching, or did you know about it beforehand?”

Before An Zhi arrived, Madam Li had been the household manager for over a decade. As someone capable of managing the vast Pei family, she naturally wouldn’t fall for Madam Xu’s rhetoric.

Madam Xu remained calm, not a bit flustered. “Sister-in-law, you really think too highly of me. I’m not that capable. I simply overheard a few words from the servants in Fourth Brother’s courtyard and wanted to show some concern for his wife. Is it that something’s happened in our Mansion, and Sister-in-law expects me to keep it secret?”

An Zhi listened to Madam Xu and Madam Li’s back-and-forth, each one a trap. Suddenly, it felt like she was meeting them for the first time, like she’d fallen into a trap.

“Sisters-in-law, there’s no need to argue,” Pei Que said at the right moment. “Since Nanny Zhang is dead, this matter is over. We’re family. We shouldn’t be suspicious of each other but rather support each other. No matter who gets into trouble, it will affect the reputation of the rest of the Pei family. No one can sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight and reap the benefits.” He turned to look at his father, who sat up above him. “Father, what do you think?”

Pei Huaijin stood up. “Then let this be. All four of you remember what Pei Que said just now. You can’t write the Pei characters with one stroke. Whoever embarrasses others outside will only bring shame to the rest of the Pei family. Alright, let’s go.”

An Zhi said yes along with the others, and after watching her father-in-law leave, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But just as she was about to leave, she noticed the remaining three families were staring at her.

Madam Li passed by her first. “An Zhi, I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. Tomorrow, I’ll bring Xue’er to apologize to you.”

As she spoke, Madam Li’s cheeks burned. She didn’t dare meet An Zhi’s gaze. With a vague look, she finished and hurriedly left, dragging her daughter away.

Next, Madam Xu from the second house arrived with her three children.

Madam Xu’s face was full of smiles. She looked at An Zhi wantonly for a while and said sarcastically, “You are so good-tempered, sister-in-law. You have suffered such a great injustice on your wedding day, but you can let it go. I really admire you. From now on, you will be the head lady of the family. You can’t be so soft-hearted. Alright, I won’t fuss anymore so that sister-in-law won’t be annoyed by me.”

An Zhi said nothing but moved a little closer to Pei Que. After Madam Xu left, Madam Meng from the third house rose. She said nothing but simply smiled at her and left with the two children.

The last ones left were An Zhi and Pei Que.

Regarding Pei Que’s recent statement of letting it go, An Zhi didn’t think he really intended to let the matter go. So, after they returned to their own courtyard, she asked him if he planned to conduct a secret investigation.

“Madam is truly clever,” Pei Que said, peeling a tangerine for An Zhi flatteringly. “You’ve just arrived at the Pei family and haven’t established yourself yet. Even if we find out who orchestrated Nanny Zhang’s actions today, Father won’t expel them. A small punishment won’t mean much to the other three families. It’s better to lie low and wait until we find out who’s targeting you before making any plans.”

An Zhi guessed what Pei Que meant. She took the tangerine from him and smiled, praising him. “You’re quite thoughtful.”

Pei Que stood up and sat behind An Zhi. Now that they were husband and wife, he could openly hug his wife.

But just as he sat down, Binglu entered.

“Son-in-law, Madam, everyone in our courtyard is waiting outside. When do you want to go meet them?” Binglu asked.