Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 630

Chapter 630: Afterwards

The carriage rolled down the slope, and Wangcai jumped off first.

He saw the carriage was no longer moving and felt a warm liquid flowing between his legs; he had wet himself in fear.

“Master…Master? Madam?”

There was no response.

“Help! Is anyone there?” Wangcai cried out for help, hoping someone passing by would assist him.

But no one answered him either. He was the one who drove the carriage out; if anything happened to the master and madam, he’d be in deep trouble.

Sliding down the hillside, Wangcai slowly made his way to the carriage.

“Bang! Bang!”

A series of thuds came from inside the carriage, followed by the master’s painful groans.

Wangcai wiped away his tears and went to push open the carriage door.

But when he opened the door, he saw a tree branch piercing through the young madam’s abdomen, and the master’s legs were impaled by pieces of wood. The stench of blood assaulted his nostrils, and Wangcai’s legs trembled even more violently.

~

After resting for a while, An Zhi asked Tao Wengong to check on her daughter again. Only after learning that her daughter was alright did she let Tao Wengong go home.

Pei Que sat on the bed, having overheard Tao Wengong’s diagnosis. He reassured An Zhi, “Uncle Gong said it’s nothing, so it’s nothing. Put Yue’er in the cradle and rest for a while.”

An Zhi’s arms ached. Seeing her daughter asleep, she put her down.

Pei Que looked apologetic. “This is your first time being a mother, and you don’t have any elders around. I’m sorry to have troubled you.”

If they were in the capital, a wet nurse could had taken good care of the child; An Zhi would not have needed to work so hard day and night.

An Zhi looked at Pei Que’s wound. “Although this is my first time being a mother, Nanny Wang gave me a lot of advice before I left the capital, and I also learned a lot when I chatted with Sister Yu a few days ago. Even though I still don’t know much, I’m not completely clueless.”

Sighing, An Zhi glanced at the sky outside. “I just hope that once Yue’er is old enough to remember things, we can resolve all this mess.”

Pei Que wanted to hug An Zhi, but he could not move at the moment. He could only hold An Zhi’s hand and gently stroke it. “That day will come.”

Just as he finished speaking, Shuo Feng knocked on the door.

An Zhi got up and let Shuo Feng in.

“Madam, Master, news just came from the Zhong family that Zhong Manguan’s carriage overturned down a hillside on the way. Madam Zhong died instantly, and Zhong Manguan’s legs were broken. They just returned to the Zhong Mansion,” Shuo Feng said.

Pei Que’s original intention was to have Zhong Manguan and his wife go to De’an first. While investigating Hu Ling’an, they could also uncover Zhong Manguan’s bribery, thus giving the new magistrate a credit. However, he had not expected Zhong Manguan to be so unlucky.

An Zhi was very pleased to hear this. “This is retribution! Zhong Manguan acted arrogantly, and even Heaven could not stand it anymore.”

Pei Que agreed, then looked at Shuo Feng and said, “Tell the new magistrate of De’an to come quickly. Don’t wait until Zhong Manguan is dead; then there will not be as much credit.”

“Sir, should we investigate the magistrate of Ding’an as well?” Shuo Feng asked hesitantly. “Zhong Manguan gave Hu Ling’an a lot of bribes, but even more money went into the magistrate of Ding’an’s pocket. Since we’ve stirred up trouble in Ding’an, would it not be better to investigate them together?”

Pei Que also wanted to take down the magistrate of Ding’an County, but he was still considering it.

An Zhi said, “Ding’an’s the wealthiest place in this region. Anyone who can become magistrate in a place like Ding’an must have a powerful backer. Since the new magistrate of De’an County has not taken office yet, you should first investigate the background of the Ding’an magistrate, without alerting him. If you can remove him, wait until the new magistrate of De’an takes office before removing him as well. If not, leave it for now.” She turned to Pei Que. “What do you think?”

“Madam is quite right,” Pei Que agreed.

Shuo Feng said, “Alright,” and after leaving, he closed the door behind him.

Now that Hu Ling’an was dead, a new magistrate would soon take office in De’an.

An Zhi and the others did not need to worry about Huludao anymore. Now, they needed to be careful not to reveal their identities in Ding’an, and they needed to start thinking about what to did next.

Pei Que asked An Zhi to bring him paper and pen. He used his left hand to write the three characters ‘Prince Dingnan.’ “The Pei family has had dealings with Dingnan for many years. The Prince of Dingnan is a reliable person, and Dingnan’s not far from Ding’an. I’ve already sent someone to deliver a letter to the Prince of Dingnan,” Pei Que analyzed. “With the Prince of Dingnan’s protection, it will be easier for us to shake off the governor’s surveillance.”

“To leave Ding’an, we must first deal with the Governor of Yongning,” An Zhi understood.

“That’s right. The Ding’an area’s under the jurisdiction of the Yongning Governor, and that Yongning Governor is a man of Minister Xu. With Hu Ling’an dead, the Yongning Governor will become suspicious. We need to control the Yongning Governor first before we can proceed with our next plan.” Pei Que added the Bai family name above the name of the Prince of Dingnan. “The Bai family is your uncle’s family. You certainly know them better than I do.”

“My uncle’s family never participates in factional struggles, and the entire Northwest Army listens to them.” An Zhi was still reassured, thinking of her uncle’s character. “With us in exile, my uncle will definitely put pressure on the court. With him around, he can help us share some of the burden.”

The Bai family guards the most harsh frontier of the Jin Dynasty. Beyond the Great Wall were the most skilled warrior states, like Xiliang. If the Bai family was gone, Xiliang and other states could easily advance from the northwest to the south, fighting their way through. the Jin Dynasty would surely be thrown into chaos.

Therefore, even the ambitious Minister Xu would not dare to touch the Bai family at this time.

Faced with the troubles caused by the Bai family, Minister Xu would only grit his teeth and endure it.

Afterwards, Pei Que wrote “Xia Family of Lingnan,” “Qian Family,” and “Princess Jing’an” next to the names of the Bai family and the Prince of Dingnan.

“The Xia and Qian families each control a region’s military forces. They don’t have the military strength to rebel, but they possess the power to intimidate their respective regions,” Pei Que continued, thinking of these two families. “Although their relationship with the Pei family is not particularly good, we cannot influence them with kinship. However, for their own interests, they will not sit idly by.”

Minister Xu’s goal was the throne, but ascending to it would not be easy. He would have to contend not only with the imperial family and powerful clans but also with many aristocratic families already enjoying wealth and power.

Who would willingly watch their current wealth and power vanish?

None, of course.

Therefore, Pei Que could also utilize the Xia and Qian families.

An Zhi continued Pei Que’s words, “As for Princess Jing’an, she has been out of the public eye for the past year or two, but that’s just for show. In reality, she still knows most of what’s happening in the capital. As a member of the imperial family, she’s the last person who wants to see Minister Xu rebel, so she will not sit idly by.”

“Yes,” Pei Que wrote down the three characters for Duke Cheng. “The others are all playing a supporting role. The most crucial person is Duke Cheng, who controls the court. It seems that Minister Xu’s first target is not Yun Xingbang, because he doesn’t take Yun Xingbang seriously at all; instead, he wants to drive his spear into the Cheng family.”