Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 570

Chapter 570: Harmony

“I think this is probably true,” Madam Meng said cautiously, glancing towards the door before lowering her voice. “People outside are talking about it in great detail. It’s said it was spread by Lin Shuyao’s maid, that the deceased Prince never touched Lin Shuyao, yet she’s pregnant.”

An Zhi exclaimed in surprise, “If it’s true, Lin Shuyao is incredibly careless. As a Prince’s consort, having an affair is a capital offense. Now she’s even deceiving the imperial family. If any spirited member of the imperial family were to report this to the Emperor, the entire Lin family would be wiped out.”

“But no one dares to, right? Even if someone did dare to report it, the Wang family would stop them. After all, since the Yun family’s decline, the Wang family has risen day by day. Right now, the Wang family is the most dangerous family in the capital to mess with,” Madam Meng said.

“That’s true.” An Zhi didn’t have a good impression of the Wang family members. “Let her be. I don’t care whether she lives or dies.”

Actually, if Lin Shuyao really had the ability to cuckold Li Yao, An Zhi would have to look at her with new respect. After all, people who were so ruthless awere rare.

Madam Meng originally thought An Zhi would be gloating, but she didn’t expect An Zhi to be so indifferent. Such a state of mind was rare; she herself could never do that.

The three of them chatted for a while. Just as Madam Meng was about to say goodbye, Chunlan suddenly came in, looking flustered, and said that the First Madam next door had passed away.

An Zhi and Madam Meng were both taken aback. An Zhi reacted first and instructed Chunlan, “Go and prepare some items for the memorial service. Have Nanny Wang deliver them personally. Regardless of their reaction, just get the items delivered. Don’t argue with them, and don’t keep them any longer.”

Nanny Wang was an older nanny who served An Zhi. Sending a maid would be too young; it was better to have the more mature Nanny Wang go.

After Chunlan left, Madam Meng asked curiously, “When she was sick the other day, you didn’t send her anything. Why are you sending something now?”

“Death is the greatest tragedy. She’s no longer in this world, so what is there for me to hold a grudge about?” An Zhi said calmly, a strange sense of unease settling in her heart. “After all, when I was young, she genuinely treated me well. Now that she’s gone, there’s no need to dwell on the past or the future; otherwise, I’ll only burden myself.”

Madam Meng and Madam Li had both lived in the inner quarters for many years. In the early years, Madam Meng had greatly respected Madam Li, but as time went on, the third branch of the family, being born of a concubine, received little attention and had to seek their own development. After the third branch was assigned to a post outside the capital, Madam Meng and Madam Li grew increasingly distant.

Now, hearing the news of Madam Li’s passing, Madam Meng felt no sorrow whatsoever.

“You’re right, the person’s dead; there’s nothing to fuss about.” Madam Meng sighed, then took her leave again. “I’ll go back and prepare some things; I’ll head back now.”

An Zhi stood up and said, “Alright,” seeing Madam Meng to the door before returning to the house.

After leaving the main house, Madam Meng stopped, turned back to look at the plaque, and softly asked her daughter, “Do you know why your grandfather handed over the family headship to your fourth uncle instead of your eldest uncle?”

Pei Xuan answered without much thought, “It’s because Grandfather felt that my fourth uncle was more capable than my eldest uncle, and my eldest uncle couldn’t manage such a large organization as the Pei family.”

“Talent is one thing,” Madam Meng said, turning to get into the carriage. After her daughter was seated, she continued, “Speaking of talent, if Grandfather had nurtured Pei Yu in the same way, he might not have been inferior to Pei Que. The eldest branch of the family is inferior to the fourth branch in terms of mindset and vision. Years ago, when I first married into the Pei family, I thought my eldest sister-in-law was an extremely capable person. Later, I discovered that while she was indeed capable, she looked down on others.” The fourth branch was different.

Not to mention what happened after An Zhi married into the Pei family; even Pei Que in his youth seemed very different to Madam Meng. Because Pei Que didn’t look down on the third branch just because they were concubine-born—something the eldest branch couldn’t do.

Although there was a distinction between 嫡 (legitimate) and 庶 (illegitimate) children, and Pei Que followed the proper rules, he gave off a different feeling, making the Pei-Meng couple feel more like family.

Pei Xuan roughly understood her mother’s meaning. “Outsiders see Fourth Uncle and they’re all terrified of him, but with us, although he’s not all smiles, he’s not arrogant either. Fourth Aunt is also a very kind person, right?”

Madam Meng laughed heartily, looking at her daughter’s still-childish face, and suddenly felt that her daughter was still young, and there was no rush to find her a husband.

The third branch of the family lived not far; the carriage turned a corner and was almost home.

However, as they passed a restaurant, they suddenly heard a commotion outside. Pei Xuan curiously lifted a small part of the curtain to look out, and unexpectedly, she saw Qian Jinyu.

After arriving in the capital, Qian Jinyu was taken to various banquets daily, but he disliked them. The men always spouted poetry he didn’t understand, and the inner quarters were filled with rigid rules—nothing compared to the carefree spirit of the western regions.

So today, he skipped the banquet and sneaked out for a stroll. However, after finishing his meal, he discovered his purse was missing. He wanted to go back to the mansion to get his money, but the waiter wouldn’t allow it, fearing he’d dine and dash. He didn’t want the waiter to go back home, as his mother would know he’d skipped the banquet.

After some arguing, Qian Jinyu and the waiter exchanged a few words at the entrance, attracting a crowd of onlookers.

Because Qian Jinyu was loud, the Meng mother and daughter inside the carriage heard everything.

Since they had had some prior dealings, Madam Meng had the coachman get out and pay for Qian Jinyu’s meal.

When Qian Jinyu heard someone paying, he turned around and saw Pei Xuan peeking out from the carriage. The young lady was smiling and looking at him. For some reason, Qian Jinyu’s face flushed, and his voice softened slightly.

After paying, Qian Jinyu went to the carriage to express his gratitude: “Thank you so much for your help today, Young Lady Pei. I’ll go home now to get the money and deliver it to the Pei Mansion immediately.”

Pei Xuan smiled and said, “No need. Don’t trouble yourself with the money for the drinks, Young Master Qian. Just remember, next time you go out, it’s best to bring a servant; otherwise, the local thugs in the capital are quite a handful.”

With that, Pei Xuan lowered the curtain, the coachman got into the carriage, and they drove off shortly after.

Qian Jinyu touched the spot on his belt, thinking angrily that if he encountered a pickpocket again, he’d break their hand.

However, he still had to repay the money. But Qian Jinyu was careless; after getting the money from home, he handed it to the gatekeeper at the Pei family’s third branch and left without going in to visit.

That evening, Madam Fang found out about Qian Jinyu’s escape from the banquet.

Madam Fang wasn’t angry but simply asked Qian Jinyu to accompany her to see Young Lady Wang the next day.

Qian Jinyu immediately flew into a rage. “I’m not going! I’m not a stallion in a stable, to be paired up as you please. No Wang Family Girl, no Xu Family Miss—I won’t see any of them! After the New Year, I’m going back to the West!”

A surge of anger welled up inside her. Madam Fang glared at her son for a long while before scolding, “A man of marriageable age should marry. If you don’t marry, what do you plan to do? Be a bachelor for life?”

“Be a bachelor then; I won’t stay in the capital,” Qian Jinyu’s tone softened. He turned to face his mother, his handsome brows furrowed in a defiant manner. “I won’t get married until my elder brother’s revenge is fulfilled.”