Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 640

Chapter 640: Reunion

After He Zheng left the teahouse, Chi Jiayun walked to the window and watched him leave.

A servant whispered, “Master, sending He Zheng to kill Pei Que and his wife is a brilliant move. Once He Zheng succeeds, our men can silence them, and no one would be able to trace us back.”

Chi Jiayun smiled. “You’re so clever; you know so much.”

A couple of days ago, news came from the capital that Chi Jiayun needed to eliminate Pei Que and his wife. He had been worried about how to proceed, but He Zheng had delivered himself to his doorstep.

“Master is so clever,” the servant flattered. “If you can help the officials in the capital eliminate Pei Que, your promotion will be just around the corner.”

“Yes, such a great achievement; how could I miss it?” Chi Jiayun sighed, turning to walk inside. “Go tell your men to continue searching within Yongning territory, especially the farms near Yongning; those places are the easiest places to hide people. Once you find Pei Que, pass the news to He Zheng. I want to use He Zheng to kill Pei Que.”

The attendant nodded and followed Chi Jiayun downstairs.

On the second floor, diagonally opposite, was an uninhabited house. Shuo Feng, hiding behind a window, silently left only after seeing Chi Jiayun leave the teahouse.

The next day, just as dawn broke, An Zhi, as usual an early riser, went downstairs to help Chunlan and Binglu since the teahouse wasn’t open for business that day.

“Good morning, Madam.” Fusheng, his hand still injured, sat on the threshold, initially counting ants, but immediately looked up to greet her upon hearing footsteps.

“Why were you sitting in the wind again? If Chunlan saw you, she’d definitely nag you. Hurry inside, or put on another layer of clothing,” An Zhi said softly.

When she reached the kitchen, Chunlan had already rolled out the dough.

“Madam, there are three eggs today!” Chunlan proudly showed her young madam the bowl of eggs.

The newly fed chickens had started laying eggs, small though they were, but thanks to Chunlan’s excellent care, they got eggs every day.

An Zhi praised Chunlan, “You truly love rural life, and you do it so well.”

Chunlan nodded in agreement and continued chopping vegetables, preparing some sauce for the noodles.

Binglu brought in warm water. “Madam, are we not opening today?”

“No, let’s rest for a couple of days. We’re not short of money anyway.” An Zhi glanced out of the kitchen. “After dinner, let’s make new clothes together. We left Ding’an in such a rush that we didn’t bring much. It’s getting warmer, and everyone needs new clothes, especially Fusheng; he’s growing so fast.”

Speaking of Fusheng, Binglu smiled and lowered her head. “It’s all thanks to Chunlan’s excellent care. She feeds him lots of meat and fish, and he’s at that growth spurt stage; there’s no way to slow him down.”

“He’s injured so badly; shouldn’t he get some nourishment?” Chunlan glared at Binglu.

The gravy was ready, and Chunlan started cooking the noodles.

Pei Que also came in carrying Yue’er.

After everyone had breakfast, An Zhi took Chunlan and Binglu to make new clothes. Pei Que’s hand wasn’t fully healed, and going out now would be too conspicuous, so he could only play chess with Fusheng upstairs.

“Are you sure you want to go this way?” Pei Que asked Fusheng.

Fusheng hesitated, “I’m a little unsure; maybe… we should change it.”

“No way, once a move was made, it can’t be taken back.” Just as Fusheng was about to take back his move, Pei Que placed his own piece. “Checkmate, haha, you’ve lost.”

Fusheng didn’t feel anything about losing, but seeing his master laughing happily, he was puzzled. “Master, have you been cooped up all this time?”

“Sigh, even you noticed, but my hand isn’t fully healed. If Chi Jiayun’s men saw my hand, they can arrest me first.” Pei Que’s right hand was still bandaged and hung around his neck.

Fusheng leaned forward slightly, carefully examining his master’s right hand. “Master, I heard from Doctor Tao that your thumb can move now?”

Pei Que hummed in agreement, then tried to move his right thumb with a little force, resulting in a small wiggle. “It’s much better than before, and I can feel a tingling sensation. Uncle Gong said that if it’s tingling, there’s hope for improvement.”

“If only it can be faster,” Fusheng sighed.

Pei Que also wanted it to be faster, but a broken bone took a hundred days to heal, and he hadn’t had much time left.

“One more game,” Pei Que said boredly.

Fusheng reluctantly agreed.

Just then, a loud “bang” came from outside the window.

Pei Que and Fusheng immediately stood up. Fusheng grabbed a sword from the table and tossed it to his master.

Without thinking, Pei Que drew the sword, glanced at Fusheng again, and gestured for him to go downstairs to warn his wife and the others.

With a creak, the wooden window was pushed open a crack.

Without a second thought, Pei Que thrust his sword forward.

Several impacts followed, and the other man dodged Pei Que’s sword.

“Stop! It’s me!”

“He Xun?” Pei Que asked in shock.

“Yes, it’s me,” He Xun said aggrievedly. “Please let me in. I was hit several times; it really hurts!”

Pei Que, half-believing, used his sword to pry open the wooden window. Seeing He Xun slumped against the wall, he sheathed his sword.

Once He Xun entered the house, Pei Que asked, “Why aren’t you being a good king in your Jiuyi Kingdom? What are you doing here?”

“I came for a reason, of course. Don’t stare at me like that. I’m not my father-in-law. You looking at me like that scares me,” He Xun said, moving his stool back a little.

Pei Que snorted, annoyed. “Even if you weren’t Minister Xu, you’ve been his son-in-law for so long; didn’t you see anything amiss?”

Faced with Pei Que’s accusation, He Xun quickly exclaimed, “At first, I sensed my father-in-law had some ambition, but I never guessed he wanted to be Emperor, much less that you would be his first target. Later, I returned to Jiuyi, barely able to take care of myself; how could I possibly attend to matters in the capital?”

To prove he truly didn’t know Minister Xu intended to harm Pei Que, He Xun immediately swore, “I swear to heaven, if I had known beforehand that my father-in-law wanted to kill you, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!”

“Fine, I’ll remember your oath for heaven,” Pei Que said. “Hurry up and get back to my earlier question… Hey, why aren’t you being a proper King of Jiuyi? What are you doing here in Yongning? And how did you find me?”

“Actually, I wasn’t sure you were staying here,” He Xun said. “When you left Ding’an, you sent me a letter, right? I guessed you’d come to Yongning. Plus, my brother escaped to Yongning, and my men tracked him down. One of them said he thought he saw a maidservant with An Zhi. I thought I’d come to confirm, but I didn’t expect you to be so vigilant, drawing your sword and almost stabbing me to the ground floor.”

“Brother?” Pei Que frowned. “He Xun, don’t tell me you became King of Jiuyi, but your brother got away?”

He Xun shrugged bitterly. “That’s right, that’s how it is.”