Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 307

Chapter 307: The Wedding

“A way?” Pei Lan stopped crying and looked at her fourth uncle.

Pei Que nodded. “Although Wang Wenxuan may have lost his wife and is twelve years older than you, he’s a promising young man and already holds a high position. So I can’t help you with this matter. But if you really don’t want to get married, you can go to the Old Master and let him make the decision for you.”

Pei Que already knew that An Zhi had been summoned by his father for a talk, and he could guess what the Old Master had said.

Since the Old Master had nothing to do, he’d find him something to do.

Pei Lan hesitated, “But Grandfather… isn’t easy to talk to,” her voice trailing off.

“That’s your business.” As long as Pei Jing wasn’t selling his daughter, Pei Que wouldn’t interfere in the affairs of the second branch. Besides, he and Pei Lan had no friendship; he was a rather cold-hearted person. “Go back. Next time you want to cry, remember to hide somewhere secluded. There’s so much going on here, and you still have to protect your reputation.”

With that, Pei Que took An Zhi away.

After a while, An Zhi told him about Pei Lan’s crush on another man. “Do you think Father will help?”

As a woman, An Zhi felt a certain empathy for Pei Lan. Marriage was a major event for a woman; getting married was like being reborn. So, from that perspective, An Zhi hoped Pei Lan would marry someone she loved.

Pei Que smiled and said, “Father won’t necessarily help Pei Lan and Young Master Cheng, but he will definitely disrupt the marriage with the Wang family. When Father left office, Prime Minister Wang made a lot of sarcastic remarks. Everyone says I hold a grudge, but in reality, our father is the one who truly holds a grudge, yet he never speaks of it. On the surface, he acts like a brother to his enemies. He’s the real one you can’t offend.”

In fact, just as Pei Que expected, Pei Huaijin summoned his second son to the study and gave him a scolding after hearing his granddaughter’s cries.

Pei Jing felt aggrieved at being scolded. “How could it be wrong for me to find Lan’er a marriage of equal status? Prime Minister Wang may be a bit arrogant, but he’s second only to the emperor. Even if my father holds a grudge against him, it shouldn’t affect Wang Wenxuan, right?”

“Stupid!” Pei Huaijin, irritated to death by Pei Jing, slammed the table and said, “Snakes and rats run together. Don’t you understand the principle of ‘birds of a feather flock together’?”

Even if Wang Wenxuan was different, every aristocratic family knew the principle of collective punishment, as long as Pei Que didn’t intervene in this matter.

Pei Jing was speechless.

Pei Huaijin sighed. “I know why you wanted to marry into the Wang family, but after you suffered a loss, didn’t you ever think about why I didn’t help you last time? Or do you really think you were able to return this time because of someone else’s help?”

Pei Jing hadn’t really known. Hearing his father’s question, he paused for a moment before realizing, “Did you help me get transferred back?”

“Nonsense!” Of his four sons, Pei Huaijin despised his second son the most. He was impatient and overconfident, but he was his own son after all. He could punish him, but he couldn’t watch him go astray. “I sent you out for a year to calm you down. I want you to know that I’m no longer the head of the family and that you have to behave yourself. I let you come back because you’re my son. Do you understand?”

“I understand… I understand.” Pei Jing had never thought that much before. He had always assumed his father was solely devoted to Pei Que and had given up on him, but he hadn’t expected his father to still be making plans for him. However, he still harbored resentment about his exile for over a year. “Since Father has allowed me to return, why hasn’t he arranged a path for me?”

Pei Huaijin truly felt his son was hopeless. If he weren’t his biological son, he would have long since distanced himself. Frowning, he said, “Even reporting to your duties requires timing. Do you think there’s a suitable position waiting for you every day? Besides, you’ve been exiled for over a year and have achieved nothing. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t help you get back to your original position. Pei Jing, let me give you one last piece of advice: take on responsibilities in proportion with your abilities. Don’t be so overconfident. Go back and wait. It’ll only be a couple of days.”

After saying this, Pei Huaijin waved Pei Jing away, looking reluctant to say more.

Pei Jing didn’t seem particularly pleased by his father’s words.

Since childhood, he had been the top student in school, far superior to many outsiders, yet his father rarely praised him.

Before being exiled, Pei Jing had fought hard to reach the high status of Third Rank. He was on the verge of another promotion but was suddenly reduced to his position from ten years ago. How could he accept this now?

The Pei family would eventually split up. Counting on Pei Que to support him then? That was a joke!

In the end, Pei Jing knew he could only rely on himself.

~

An Zhi wasn’t surprised to hear that Madam Xu was looking for someone else for Pei Lan. She had sent someone to the Cheng family to inquire, but it turned out that Young Master Cheng was absolutely unwilling to marry Pei Lan. Since Madam Yuan had lost her eldest son, she doted on her youngest, so she sent someone to tell Madam Xu that it was impossible.

“Young Lady Pei Lan will be disappointed,” Binglu sighed as she poured tea for her young madam.

“There’s nothing we can do,” An Zhi said, looking at the clear tea. “My second sister-in-law is willing to marry into the Cheng family, but Young Master Cheng isn’t. Even if Pei Lan is attracted to him, it’s useless. Love is a matter of mutual consent; it can’t be forced.”

“That’s true.” Binglu had also experienced some pursuits, but she rejected them all, so she understood that if someone didn’t like her, they didn’t like her.

An Zhi didn’t care about Pei Lan’s affairs. She was more concerned about Xu Wenjuan’s wedding the day after tomorrow. “I heard He Xun prepared a betrothal gift of eighteen loads for Xu Wenjuan. It seems he’s quite wealthy.”

“Yes,” Binglu said with a smile. “Actually, Prince He is quite nice. I just don’t know how things are going between him and Young Lady Xu.”

“We’ll find out when we go to the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow.” An Zhi was also curious.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was Xu Wenjuan’s wedding day.

An Zhi got up early and went to the Xu family first. However, there were so many people in the Xu family, so she only saw Xu Wenjuan briefly, and they didn’t get to talk. After arriving at the Prince He’s Mansion, An Zhi finally spoke to Xu Wenjuan in the bridal chamber.

“It’s bustling outside right now. Don’t you want to go out and take a look?” Xu Wenjuan said, stretching out her hand through the red veil.

“I’ll sit here with you for a while and then leave when the banquet officially begins.” An Zhi didn’t want to go out yet. If she ran into any of the madams and young ladies, they’d all have to talk to her, which would be a real headache.

Xu Wenjuan understood An Zhi and smiled, “Then bring me some food. Even though my mother says I can’t eat, I’ll be starving if I sit here until nightfall.”

An Zhi took two small snacks and placed them in Xu Wenjuan’s hand, asking, “By the way, didn’t you say you wanted to talk to He Xun? How did it go?”

“Just… that’s it.” Xu Wenjuan suddenly became shy at this. “I didn’t say anything. I’ll just get on with it.”