Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 585

Chapter 585: The Chessboard

Pei Que, dressed in a dark fur coat, emerged, his figure upright. He noticed Lady Shi still standing there and said, “Since Aunt is going back first, she should leave early. The wind and snow are strong outside; it was not safe to be late.”

Hearing Pei Que’s words, Lady Shi snapped out of her daze, said “Oh,” and turned to leave the house.

An Zhi glanced at Lady Shi’s retreating figure, then walked to the dining table with Pei Que. “The Shi family and we are two separate families. It’s fine for them to celebrate the Little New Year together, but for a major holiday like the Lunar New Year, they should be home.”

Pei Que knew An Zhi was trying to comfort him, but he did not care. “I’ve watched the walls rise and fall. They were never really part of the Pei family. Whether they stay or leave is their own business; I cannot interfere. I’ve hardly ever seen my aunt since I was little, so this will not hurt me, but it will hurt the old master’s feelings.”

Pei Huaijin only had one younger sister alive. He had just helped his niece, and now that trouble had struck his family, his sister wanted to leave with her children—it seemed rather heartless. Even delaying for a day or two would be better than leaving now.

An Zhi sighed, “The old master seems to be getting more and more sentimental as he gets older.”

Pei Que nodded in agreement, placing a piece of green vegetable on An Zhi’s plate, but inwardly he thought that the old master was too rational in his youth, which was why he was being so emotional now.

After the couple finished breakfast, An Zhi sent someone to see the Shi family off, while Pei Que went to the old master’s courtyard.

The large courtyard was orderly, with everyone busy with their own tasks.

However, the scene was different in the main house next door. Since Madam Li’s passing, Pei Yu had been managing everything.

Originally, accounting should have been Pei Xue’s job, but she had not quite mastered it before Madam Li left.

As for Pei Yu, he was skilled in poetry and literature, but his accounting and housekeeping skills were mediocre. Coupled with the death of their master this year, the main house was quite desolate.

Pei Xue entered the study and found her brother standing by the window watching birds. Puffing out her cheeks, she walked over. “Brother, why are you still watching birds? There was another fight in the kitchen today because of a mistake in calculating money. Do you not care about our home at all?”

“Home?” Pei Yu gave a mocking smile.

After leaving the Pei family, Pei Yu was the head of the household, the patriarch.

But he never felt at home here. It was just a house to live in, not a place that made him feel happy or nostalgic.

Pei Xue did not understand her brother’s question. She nodded. “Yes, now it’s just you and me in our family. If you do not care, we’re doomed.”

Pei Xue’s biggest fear was being laughed at. Before, she was the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking family; now, she was nothing. Even if her fourth uncle next door had resigned from his official post, it was not her place to laugh at him, because her life was even worse than his.

Looking at her younger sister’s pretty face, Pei Yu thought of her affair with the Emperor. “Xue’er, after you enter the palace, do you want to be a favored concubine, or do you want to climb to the position of empress?”

“Can I be Empress?” Pei Xue had never considered becoming Empress, because her family background was no longer worthy of it. “The court officials will not agree to the Emperor making me Empress, and I also know that the Emperor’s feelings for me are just temporary; he might forget me in three years. So, being a favored concubine is better. As long as I have the Emperor’s favor, I can do whatever I want.”

Pei Xue was thinking simply. She had read some romance novels, and she did not want anything like virtuous and gentle women; she only wanted the Emperor’s favor. With the Emperor’s favor, her fourth uncle’s family would look up to her and even kowtow to her.

After listening to his sister’s words, Pei Yu smiled and nodded. “Yes, being a favored concubine is good. A favored concubine does not need to be virtuous and magnanimous, nor does she have to bear too much responsibility. As long as you are favored, your brother can make you Empress Dowager. What Empress or anything like that? Those are just empty titles.”

Pei Xue did not understand what her brother was saying. In her mind, only an Empress could become Empress Dowager, but her brother agreed with her, which made her very happy.

“But brother, when Mother was dying, she told us not to lose contact with Grandfather. Now that Fourth Uncle has resigned from his official post, the Pei family is on the verge of decline. Should we still shamelessly go next door?” Pei Xue did not want to go next door, especially now, because she would feel ashamed to go.

Pei Yu withdrew his gaze from his sister’s face and turned to look at the bird in the cage. The bird had not eaten all day and ate happily with a few grains of millet. “Go, since it was Mother’s last wish, let’s go.”

“But did Mother not hate Grandfather for being so ruthless? Why do we have to go see him again?” Pei Xue pouted, unwilling to listen. “Besides, Grandfather already kicked us out. Even if we go, he will not see us.”

“Whether we see him or not is Grandfather’s business; whether we go or not is our business,” Pei Yu said patiently. “Even if we’re not in the Pei family genealogy, our blood ties with Grandfather remain. If we do not go, people will say we’re heartless. But if we go and the Pei family will not let us in, then they’re heartless, not even caring for two children who have lost their parents.”

Pei Yu stayed home most of the time, rarely going out. He read through half of the family’s books, learning many things he had not understood before.

Pei Xue still did not understand her brother’s thoughts, but now she only had him, so she did whatever he said.

Meanwhile, Pei Yu and his sister prepared their things, intending to visit Pei Huaijin.

On the other side, Pei Que was still in the old master’s courtyard, the father and son talking across the chessboard.

Pei Que placed his “horse” and said, “Checkmate.”

Pei Huaijin moved his elephant, blocking Pei Que’s attack. “You only have a horse and a pawn. The horse is already restrained by my elephant and chariot, leaving only a pawn. Pei Que, you can’t win this game.”

“I cannot win, and neither can Father. Your chariot is used to restrain my horse, leaving no other pieces to checkmate,” Pei Que said thoughtfully, looking at the chessboard.

Pei Huaijin nodded. “Yes, neither of us can win. Just like you and the Yun family right now, the Yun family is being suffocated by your suppression, and the Empress Dowager is in an awkward position. Anyone with a brain might think that your resignation is a strategic retreat, and you might indeed achieve your desired effect, but look at the pieces we have left on the board.”

On the chessboard, neither Pei Huaijin nor Pei Que had many pieces left; it was a mutually destructive situation.

“Although you did not suffer as much damage on the chessboard, what benefit did you gain?” Pei Huaijin leaned back, let out a long sigh, and threw the captured chess piece on the ground, where it rolled away with a clatter. “The Yun family was suppressed, yet you still hold the same amount of power, and you have not won over anyone else. The Empress Dowager was suppressed, and you did your part as a precaution, but look outside the chessboard—in whose hands have those captured pieces end up?”