Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 373

Chapter 373: Sick

When Pei Que emerged, having changed into casual clothes, An Zhi was already having tea with his aunt.

An Zhi had already heard his aunt’s words about breaking off the engagement. While it wasn’t a righteous move, she understood it; every family wanted their children to find a good marriage, and she had no reason to criticize it.

However, his aunt’s implicit message was that she wanted An Zhi to pass on a message to the He family. She could do so, but she wouldn’t go there by herself.

After seeing Pei Que sit down, An Zhi turned to his aunt. “Aunt, I understand what you mean, but the He family is determined not to break off the engagement. If we force them, it will only backfire. It would be better for you to go and talk to Madam of He yourself. They’re only interested in their future and personal gain. We should just give them some concessions.”

The He family was now unafraid, which placed the Shi family at a disadvantage. Therefore, if they wanted to speak to the He family, they had to be humble, and Pei Qingyan was the last one to be humble. This was the main reason why Pei Huaijin sent his sister to An Zhi.

As An Zhi spoke, she observed his aunt’s expression. Seeing her face soften, she quickly continued, “Aunt said yesterday that as a young new bride, I’m bound to be remiss in many things. Without you by my side, I’d be uneasy, afraid I’d mess things up for you.”

Her words made sense. Pei Qingyan had said yesterday that An Zhi was still young and not too incompetent to manage a household, so An Zhi’s retreat was a perfect opportunity to silence Pei Qingyan.

Pei Qingyan immediately sensed An Zhi’s reluctance. After finally putting on a smile and asking for help, she only received a reluctant response. She immediately refuted An Zhi’s argument. “Since you’re so modest, there’s no need to bother you. After all, the Pei family doesn’t have just one daughter-in-law, so it’s better for me to find someone else than for you to give me the cold shoulder!”

After speaking in one breath, Pei Qingyan left without a backward glance. Watching his aunt leave, An Zhi was a little surprised, but she quickly recovered. After all, walking away with a displeased expression was only fitting for her spoiled nature.

“Pei Que, have I caused us any trouble?”

Pei Que remained calm. “Aunt’s asking for help and still throwing a tantrum? Let her go and do her own thing. We said it was alright, but she’s the one who doesn’t want to.”

Chunlan came in and said the aunt had left cursing, saying she was going to see the First Madam.

Hearing this, An Zhi felt nothing, because she knew Madam Li didn’t want to take on this hassle either.

In fact, as An Zhi had expected, as soon as Pei Qingyan left the Pei Mansion, Madam Li received the news and went to bed.

Everyone in the Pei household knew about Shi Shi’s marriage to the He family. With the He family now in dire straits and Pei Qingyan being a pampered girl raised in a wealthy village, Madam Li knew Pei Qingyan’s intentions from the beginning.

Madam Li was aware of how challenging it was to get along with Pei Qingyan. The Shi family lacked important officials at court, but they were wealthy, and Madam Li wasn’t short of money. She didn’t need Pei Qingyan’s help in assisting Pei Yu to return, so she feigned illness.

Pei Qingyan entered Madam Li’s room and saw that Madam Li’s face was haggard. Before she could even begin to speak about her daughter, she heard Madam Li begin to lament Pei Yu and then, joining Madam Li in scolding An Zhi, “You don’t understand. I just asked An Zhi for a small favor, but An Zhi refused and even implied I was spineless.”

“She’s just all talk.” Madam Li didn’t want to say more. With Pei Qingyan’s eloquence, it would be bad if she spread the news. So she simply agreed and steered Pei Qingyan off to other topics.

When Pei Qingyan grew tired of talking, and seeing that Madam Li had lost all energy, she couldn’t bring herself to ask for Li’s help, so she left the main house and headed for the Second House’s courtyard.

Madam Xu had always wanted to please Pei Qingyan. She wasn’t as well-off as Madam Li and An Zhi, and if she could get the Shi family’s help, her future endeavors would be much smoother, so she agreed immediately.

By the time An Zhi knew that Madam Xu was going to help Pei Qingyan, it was already the next day. An Zhi only found out about it when Madam Xu went to the He family.

Upon hearing this news, An Zhi knew Shi Shi’s marriage proposal would be difficult to cancel. Pei Qingyan had been in the capital for three days and hadn’t even sent a single invitation card to the He family. Instead, she had the concubine-born Pei family’s Second Madam run errands, an insult to the He family.

An Zhi didn’t quite understand the He family’s temperament, but it was natural for anyone to hold a grudge after being humiliated.

After listening to Fusheng’s story about Madam Xu’s visit to the He family, An Zhi asked him to go get a doctor again.

“Madam, are you ill?” Fusheng asked.

An Zhi smiled and shook her head. “I’m not sick, but my sister-in-law knows how to feign illness, so I have to do it too. Otherwise, how will I cope when my aunt comes crying? You should hurry up.”

Fusheng said, “Oh,” and quickly went to fetch a doctor.

When the doctor arrived, he accepted the silver ingot Binglu handed him and prescribed medicine to quench An Zhi’s cold. He also specifically instructed her not to leave the house for the next few days, and especially not to be exposed to the wind.

While An Zhi had Cuisi escort the doctor out, she also sent Chunlan and Qiulan to the old master’s and aunt’s courtyards to inform them that she wouldn’t be leaving for the next few days.

When Pei Qingyan heard that An Zhi was ill, she was leisurely eating sunflower seeds with her daughter. After Chunlan, who had delivered the message, left, she snorted heavily, “She really thinks she’s a princess! She’s just an ordinary official’s daughter, uneducated. I didn’t bother her at all, and yet she’s already sick. Someone who didn’t know her would think she’s sick for our family!”

Shi Shi didn’t dare eat too many sunflower seeds because they were too salty and would easily cause blisters in her mouth. She always arranged them on the table like flowers, playing with them. “My cousin’s wife is so delicate, and my cousin is so handsome and charming. She worries too much, and she’s sick too. It’s normal.”

“Your cousin is indeed quite good,” Pei Qingyan sighed. “If it weren’t for your childhood engagement, I would have definitely let you marry back into the Pei family. When you were little, I told you the Pei family was wealthier than the Shi family, but you didn’t believe me. Then you said the Shi family had the finest mansion in Lingnan. Now that you’ve come to the capital, your eyes have been opened, haven’t they?”

Although Shi Shi had visited the capital once as a child, she was too young to remember much. Since then, she’s been exposed to the customs and practices of Lingnan, so she’s always believed the Shi family is the best.

“The Pei family is indeed better than the Shi family,” Shi Shi said thoughtfully. “And not just the Pei family. Along the way, I’ve also witnessed the prosperity of the capital. Everything Mother said before is true. In fact, as long as we’re willing to work hard, we can still marry into the Pei family.”

“Are you talking about Pei Yu or the sons of the second and third houses?” Pei Qingyan thought of the unmarried men in the Pei family. “Pei Yu isn’t suitable. Although he has a good family background, he’s a failure himself. It’s uncertain whether he’ll ever come back. As for the second and third houses, they’re concubine-born children. Marrying their sons feels unfair. Forget it; there’s a generation gap between you.”

Shi Shi listened to her mother’s long speech, but her thoughts weren’t on the people she was talking about. If she was going to marry, she wanted to marry the best.