Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 584

Chapter 584: Farewell

The Emperor’s temper flared up unexpectedly. Because no one else dared to cooperate with him leaving the palace, he went to the stables himself. However, his horsemanship was limited to the palace’s riding stables; he had no opportunity to go outside.

He accidentally fell to the ground. The man was alright, just a sprained arm.

Xiao Dezi rushed forward to help his master but was kicked away. “Your Majesty, please do not be angry. Whatever you want to do, let the imperial physician examine your hand first.”

The Emperor’s arm was in excruciating pain; tears streamed down his face. Because of the pain, he had to be carried to his palanquin by the eunuchs.

As for the matter of fetching the Empress Dowager, it had to be put aside for the time being.

With the incident at Baohua Hall and the Emperor’s sprained arm, Xue Mengyao, having just arrived at Cining Palace, was summoned to Renzheng Hall.

On the way to Renzheng Hall, she called Zhenzhu to her side and whispered, “Once we get there, give the Pei family a heads-up about the news from the palace.”

Zhenzhu hesitated. “My lady, you have no connection with the Pei family anymore. If the Empress Dowager finds out you’ve done this, it would be disastrous.”

“What can she do now?” Xue Mengyao smiled smugly. “She can barely protect herself, let alone interfere in my affairs. Just do as I say; do not dawdle.”

Zhenzhu knew her young madam always had something on her mind, so she did not dare say more. She followed her all the way to Renzheng Hall and, finding an opportunity, leaked the news.

In fact, even if Xue Mengyao had not told Pei Que about the palace affairs, Pei Que would have known.

Before Xue Mengyao’s message arrived, Pei Que and An Zhi had already received it.

Inside the room, red candles flickered.

Pei Que and An Zhi sat facing each other on either side of the soft couch. Pei Que placed the letter in his hand into the stove to burn. “Shuo Feng has already stopped Jinxi and his men. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor have missed their best opportunity. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory’s divination has already been completed; it’s too late for them to do anything now.”

An Zhi held an orange in her hand, a sweet orange from Lingnan, a beautiful golden-orange. “After this incident, the Empress Dowager will probably never be able to return to the capital.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Pei Que smiled, brushed the scraps of paper from his hands, and sat back down in his original seat. “The Empress Dowager could disregard the late Emperor’s will, which shows she harbors resentment towards him. It means she does not care about taboos at all. Given her ambition, even if she were merely confined to Xiling, she would still have opportunities to cause trouble.”

An Zhi thought about the late Emperor’s will and chuckled softly, “If it were me, I would also hate the late Emperor. We were husband and wife for half our lives, and yet he still had to be so wary of us on his deathbed.”

An Zhi was not pitying the Empress Dowager; she was simply putting herself in her shoes. She still disliked the Empress Dowager; after all, the Yun family was her enemy.

Pei Que nodded in agreement. He also felt the late Emperor’s move was too underhanded, but the late Emperor was on his deathbed when he said those words, and after that, he passed away, leaving no room for maneuver.

Binglu came in and asked if she wanted to rest. An Zhi glanced at the sky outside, feeling she was not sleepy yet, and said no.

Just after An Zhi finished speaking, Fusheng had Chunlan come in through the door to deliver a message that news had arrived from the palace.

Pei Que initially thought the message was from one of his palace spies, but after meeting Fusheng, he learned it was from Xue Mengyao.

An Zhi could not hear the conversation outside, so she waited until Pei Que returned before asking what was wrong.

Pei Que relayed Fusheng’s words truthfully, and when he met An Zhi’s probing gaze, he suddenly felt a little guilty for some reason.

“Is she… planning to help you to the end?” An Zhi asked.

Pei Que did not quite understand Xue Mengyao’s specific meaning, but he vaguely guessed something, though he felt it was unnecessary. “I guess she wants to get rid of the Empress Dowager, but the Xue family does not have the power, so she thought of me.”

An Zhi said, “Oh,” and then asked, “What about you? What do you think? Having Dowager Consort Xue as an accomplice in the harem would make things much easier for you later.”

Regardless, before the Emperor assumed personal rule, as long as the Empress Dowager did not return to the palace, the harem was controlled by Xue Mengyao. In these three years, Pei Que and Xue Mengyao had planted many seeds of discord.

An Zhi believed Pei Que’s claim that he had no feelings for Xue Mengyao, but she did not believe Xue Mengyao had no feelings for Pei Que. Otherwise, she would not had repeatedly shown goodwill at this time, as she was someone who needed to avoid suspicion. Of course, if Xue Mengyao truly only wanted to consolidate the Pei family’s power, then she could consider herself to be narrow-minded.

However, she just could not be so magnanimous as to think about such things.

Upon hearing An Zhi’s question, Pei Que quickly replied, “The Pei family already has excellent spies in the palace. We do not need more people. Having more helpers is not always a good thing. I would let Xue Mengyao know my stance on today’s matter.”

An Zhi poured tea for Pei Que. The red tea steamed, swirling gently and slowly warming his face. She smiled and said, “Dowager Consort Xue is also a pitiful person. She earned her current position through hard work. If you want to help, you can, but there’s one condition: you must not hide it from me.”

An Zhi had never thought she’d felt jealous before, but this time she was genuinely a little jealous. After all, Dowager Consort Xue and Pei Que were childhood sweethearts. They had not done anything inappropriate, so she should not be too dramatic, but she still had to say what needed to be said.

Pei Que rarely saw An Zhi speak like this. Seeing her flushed cheeks, whether from embarrassment or the glow of the red candlelight, he was unsure, but she was undeniably beautiful.

“Alright, whatever you say. I’ve never hidden anything from you.” Pei Que took a large sip of tea, then rose to help An Zhi to bed.

They did not sleep in the same bed, but facing each other, they felt quite at ease.

The next day, when An Zhi woke up, Pei Que was already outside practicing martial arts.

Although Pei Que was not a military officer, sons of high-ranking families were not just good at reading and writing; horseback riding and archery were also essential skills. Plus, during his time in the Prefectural Office, Pei Que often went out to apprehend people, so his martial arts skills were no less than those of an average general.

When An Zhi came out of the inner room, Pei Que entered, covered in sweat. “Go wash up quickly, or you would catch a cold.”

Pei Que agreed and went into the inner room to dry himself.

At that moment, Lady Shi, who was temporarily staying next door, arrived. She had come to say goodbye.

Since the divorce, Lady Shi had stayed at home. Now that the Pei family had suffered a major incident, and they could not spend the New Year there anyway, they felt it was better to leave the capital as soon as possible.

When An Zhi heard Lady Shi said she was leaving, she did not try to stop her; after all, leaving at this time was normal. “The estate sent some meat the other day; take some back with you.”

Lady Shi agreed, but her mind was not on the matter. After a few perfunctory words, she took her leave. It was not until she heard her cousin’s voice from the inner room that her gaze was drawn to him.