Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 600

Chapter 600: The Prison Wagon

Chunlan ran out of the house, laughing and crying at the same time. As soon as she showed her face, she called out, “Master!”

Pei Que looked over at the sound of her voice and asked anxiously, “How is everyone? Are they alright?”

Chunlan saw a group of Imperial Guards in the courtyard, paused for a moment, and then replied, “Reporting to the Master, Madam’s labor took too long, and she is already unconscious. The doctor said that as long as there is no major bleeding, her life will not be in danger.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Pei Que’s eyes lit up.

“It is a girl! The midwife said the little lady cries loudly, so he must be healthy.” Chunlan’s face was full of excitement when she mentioned the little lady, but then she noticed Minister Yun was also in the courtyard and asked with a worried expression, “Young Master, what is going on…?” Did the search of the house cause problems?

Pei Que did not hear Chunlan’s question, muttering to himself that a girl was good; a girl would definitely be beautiful in the future.

Yun Xingbang did not give Pei Que much time to dawdle. “Pei Que, if you do not leave, do not blame me for taking action.”

The reason he had not acted was that Yun Xingbang feared Pei Que might also cut off his hand. Although Pei Que’s face was frighteningly pale, the thought of Lin Fan’s severed hand still made him shudder.

Pei Que knew he could not avoid it and told Chunlan, “Tell Madam to rest assured, I will be fine. Tell her to prioritize her health.”

“But your hand…” Fusheng could not help but interrupt but was stopped by his master’s gaze.

Pei Que was hand was only simply bandaged; the doctor had not brought much medicine, and it needed further treatment. If he left like this, the wound might worsen.

Yun Xingbang sneered, “You will be a prisoner soon; your life is hanging by a thread. What is the harm in losing your hand?” He looked at Pei Que. “If you do not hurry, your newborn daughter might not even make it to her one-month celebration.”

Although Pei Que’s actions had their reasons, others did not care about reasons, especially when at a disadvantage. Besides, cutting off Lin Fan’s left hand at this critical juncture was excessive.

Hearing about his daughter, Pei Que turned sharply, his eyes blazing with murderous intent as he glared at Yun Xingbang. He said, word by word, “Minister Yun, the fact that you could not find gunpowder in my courtyard shows your previous incompetence. Since you are in the wrong, do not be so arrogant, or you will fall hard. I advise you not to touch anyone in the Pei family. It is best to restore the damaged plants to their original state, or you will become just like your father!”

These were blatant threats. Most people would be trembling with fear in this situation, but Pei Que remained as arrogant as ever. Yun Xingbang gritted his teeth and uttered the word “you,” but even facing Pei Que, he lacked confidence. After glaring for a long time, he turned and said, “You will be crying later! Guards, take Pei Que away! I want to see how he explains himself to the Emperor in court!”

With Pei Que taken away, the remaining members of the Pei family varied. Pei Jing breathed a slight sigh of relief, while the third branch of the family remained deeply troubled.

Chunlan watched the son-in-law’s departing figure, wanting to say something, but her tongue seemed tied in knots. Finally, Fusheng pulled her back, and she hurriedly turned and went back into the house.

Binglu had fallen into the water and was still unconscious. Chunlan was her young madam’s head maid.

After she entered the room, Nanny Wang said that the young madam might sleep for a long time, and tears streamed down her face. “What has happened? Our young madam and son-in-law are the best of people; how could they suddenly ransack the house? And those Imperial Guards were so barbaric; not a single cabinet in our courtyard is intact.”

“Stop talking!” Nanny Wang glanced back at the little young lady in the cradle and sighed softly. “We are the most capable people in the young madam’s service. Everyone in the courtyard is in a panic right now; we cannot afford to panic. We cannot help the son-in-law, but we must help the young madam hold the courtyard together and prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation!”

Chunlan wiped away her tears and said, “Nanny Wang, I will go get some food. Everyone has worked hard all night. Even the young madam needs to eat when she wakes up. Only after she is full will she have the energy.”

There was a lot of leftover food from making the New Year’s Eve dinner last night; the small kitchen could just heat it up.

Chunlan, accompanied by several maids, went to prepare food for everyone. At the entrance of the Pei Mansion, An Xu was supporting Huiping.

Huiping held her mother’s golden seal and said to Xiao Zheng, the gatekeeper, “Seeing the seal is like seeing the Grand Princess. Hurry up and let me through.”

Xiao Zheng said with difficulty, “Your Highness, please do not make things difficult for us. We were ordered to confiscate the property, and we have not reached a conclusion yet. We dare not let you in.”

“What do you mean there is no conclusion yet? Did you really find something?” Before dawn, the An family received news of the Pei family’s confiscation. It came too suddenly; no one had anticipated it. An Chengye was terrified and fainted on the spot. Huiping and An Xu had come together.

Upon arriving at the Pei Mansion, they learned that Pei Que had already been taken away. An Zhi had just given birth. Even though An Xu had not shed a tear despite being wounded by an arrow, his eyes immediately reddened.

Huiping, being an impatient person, could not wait any longer and wanted to go in immediately to see An Zhi. She did not care about avoiding suspicion; An Zhi had been good to her, and she would never do anything ungrateful at a time like this.

Seeing that Xiao Zheng remained silent and would not move aside, Huiping, heavily pregnant, walked forward. “Xiao Zheng, if you have the guts, stab me through the stomach with your sword. Then both I and my unborn child will die, and your entire Xiao family will be buried with you! If you do not have the courage to kill me, then get out of my way.”

The Imperial Guards guarding the gate, seeing Huiping rushing forward recklessly, all looked at Xiao Zheng with difficulty.

But Xiao Zheng dared not harm Huiping. Not only did Huiping have her own title, but the Grand Princess Jing’an behind her was notoriously powerful.

While Xiao Zheng was still pondering how to deal with Huiping, An Xu had already pushed aside the Imperial Guards guarding the gate and led Huiping inside.

Meanwhile, at the palace gate, Pei Que’s right hand wound bled again due to the bumpy ride. He only managed to open his eyes with difficulty after hearing someone outside call out “Old Master Pei.”

Yun Xingbang had specially arranged a prison cart to humiliate Pei Que so Pei Que could see the old master’s condition clearly.

Pei Huaijin, hearing Minister Xu call him, did not look up at first, but upon hearing that Pei Que had been put in a prison cart, he slowly raised his head, his dim eyes searching left and right for Pei Que’s figure.

Seeing Pei Que sitting in the prison cart, Pei Huaijin’s grieved face revealed a somewhat satisfied smile. “Not bad, just him.” If there were other male members of the Pei family, it meant the Pei family had been successfully framed. Now that only Pei Que was taken, the Pei family could be guaranteed safety for nine generations. As for what would happen to Pei Que, Pei Huaijin had already made preparations.

“Que’er!” Pei Huaijin suddenly shouted, his hoarse voice echoing at the palace gate. “Remember today, remember the injustice done to the Pei family, and remember what your father told you!”

With that, Pei Huaijin abruptly raised his head and then slammed it hard against the cold, hard stone slab.

In an instant, hot blood gushed out, and Pei Huaijin fell to the side.

His eyes were wide open, filled with resentment, bitterness, and regret.

T/N: Σ(°Д°υ)