Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 580

Chapter 580: Alliance

After An Xu and his wife had been there for half a day and had lunch, Pei Que called An Xu to another study, while An Zhi, Huiping, and Binglu played cards.

Huiping drew a card, saying, “I haven’t played for quite a while. Looks like my luck is really good today.”

Binglu, who was just there to keep everyone company, smiled and chimed in, “The Princess always has good luck.”

An Zhi nodded in agreement, glancing towards the door. She noticed her brother and Pei Que had been gone for quite a while and asked, “Sister-in-law, what did Brother say to Pei Que? Why hasn’t he come back yet?”

Huiping spun the cards, deep in thought. After a moment, she said, “They’re probably talking about your future. Pei Que plans to stay in court until the New Year, so An Xu must be discussing that with him.”

An Zhi said, “Oh,” and continued playing cards, thinking about her brother and Pei Que.

On the other side, An Xu asked Pei Que about his specific plans, “What are you really thinking? If you keep arguing with the Emperor, do you think he’ll appreciate your honest but unwelcome advice after he assumes power?”

People from imperial families were used to looking down on others and rarely reflected on their own actions. Even if they knew they’d made a mistake, they would not admit it in the end. Because for them, face was more important.

The Emperor’s face could not be lost, and given that he deeply believed the Yun family’s words, there was very little room for maneuver.

“He won’t be grateful,” Pei Que said.

“Knowing he won’t, why did you do it?” An Xu frowned and asked, “You’re not thinking of replacing him as Emperor, are you?”

An Xu directly asked Pei Que about his guess, without beating around the bush.

“That’s not it,” Pei Que said, looking at the prayer beads in his hand, each bead full and round. “He’ll be the Emperor, and I’ll be his subject; it’s just that the respect is gone.”

Many powerful families possessed the ability to stir up trouble in the court, and the top families could even control certain lifelines.

A powerful family like the Pei family could indeed suppress the power of the Emperor, but Pei Que wouldn’t do that. Once he wanted to control the throne, he would have to maintain that control, and that wasn’t the life he wanted.

Imperial power seemed appealing, but in Pei Que’s eyes, it was something devoid of freedom, filled with constraints.

Pei Que was indifferent to imperial power, so he only needed to protect his territory; he didn’t care who was on the throne. Of course, if one day the person on the throne really wanted to kill him, Pei Que would retaliate with all his might, and then it would be a matter of who had the greater strength.

The current young Emperor was, in Pei Que’s eyes, just an ordinary child; his thoughts were easily seen through. Even though he might throw tantrums, his tantrums actually revealed his true thoughts, making him easier to deal with.

An Xu stared at Pei Que for a long while, then said firmly, “Pei Que, if I had known you had such audacious intentions, I wouldn’t have married my sister to you. I only want my sister to live a peaceful and happy life. I don’t need her husband to be powerful, and I certainly don’t want her to be scheming against others day and night in the eye of the storm. Do you understand?”

Pei Que nodded, saying he understood. However, as the head of a powerful family, he inevitably had to engage in power struggles. But to be honest, he had already tried his best to keep An Zhi away from the intrigues of the powerful families.

“Nothing in this world is absolute,” Pei Que said calmly. “Some people seem kind and unassuming, but secretly they beat their wives. A simple family doesn’t guarantee a peaceful life. What you’re talking about are things I was born to learn. I can’t say An Zhi doesn’t have to worry about anything, but I can guarantee that if the sky falls, I’ll be there to support her.”

Pei Que spoke with unwavering conviction, without the slightest hesitation.

An Xu saw the light in Pei Que’s dark eyes and suddenly felt that he had been too forceful earlier.

Indeed, nothing was absolute.

“Sigh,” An Xu gently pounded the chair. “I’m telling you all this because Zhi’er is about to give birth. If something happens to you, I’m afraid Zhi’er won’t be able to handle it.”

During those years in the Northwest, An Xu knew he hadn’t fulfilled his responsibilities as an older brother, so now he wanted to desperately make up for it.

Seeing Pei Que open his mouth to explain, An Xu raised his hand to signal Pei Que not to say anything more. “Everyone knows that I’m better now. I expect that an imperial edict will arrive at the An Mansion in a few days. If you need, I can resign from my post with you.”

“No need,” Pei Que replied immediately. “My resignation is merely to show the Emperor my importance in the court, so he won’t dare harbor any more ulterior motives. Even if he does, he’ll have to hide them well; otherwise, if I abandon my duties, his Jin Dynasty will be in chaos.”

“It’s already in chaos,” An Xu said. “These past two days at home, affairs in the Ministry of Public Works have been forced to stagnate. The Empress Dowager in the temporary palace is so anxious that she’s sending someone to supervise the Baohua Hall in your place, but the people in the Ministry of Public Works are all your trusted confidants, and no one is willing to cooperate. It seems like only the final finishing touches are left, but there’s been no progress at all at the Baohua Hall.”

In fact, it wasn’t just the Baohua Hall that had been delayed.

Although most people were still observing, some impatient individuals had already begun to vie for power. Once someone started fighting for power and profit, a life-or-death struggle was inevitable in the court, especially in areas where there was more profit to be made.

An Xu continued, “These are all minor issues right now, but given enough time, even with Duke Cheng and his men handling them, the Pei family’s century-old foundation remains. As long as your people continue to stir things up in the shadows, you can make the Emperor and the Yun family furious.”

“The Yun family has been suppressed by me for so long; they harbor a lot of resentment.” Pei Que put down the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand—given to him by An Zhi to help him stay calm when he saw them. “But no matter how anxious they are, it’s useless. During their six months of silence, even if I don’t try to seize power from the Yun family, other aristocratic families will. However, the Yun family is, after all, the Emperor’s father-in-law’s family; they won’t fall easily.”

Pei Que didn’t intend to bring down the Yun family now. As long as the Emperor was still in power, the Yun family wouldn’t fall, so he could only suppress them.

An Xu nodded in agreement. “Recently, the Wang family’s rise has been particularly strong, reminiscent of the Yun family’s actions back then.”

There was a balance of power among aristocratic families. If one family became too powerful, a power struggle would occur, and the smaller families would unite.

Speaking of the Wang family, Pei Que didn’t seem to care much. “The Wang family isn’t much better than the Yun family. But I heard that Minister Xu recently visited you?”