Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 831

Chapter 831: The Virgin

While the Zhang couple were having a private conversation, Huiping sat with An Zhi on the veranda, watching the family’s children play with spinning tops.

A cool breeze blew gently on the summer night, causing strands of hair at her temples to tickle her cheeks.

An Zhi turned to the side and noticed her sister-in-law’s vacant gaze. She asked softly, “Sister-in-law, are you missing Brother?”

“Yes,” Huiping replied, counting the days. It had been a long time since she had seen An Xu. “We have not seen him since your brother returned to the Northwest. You and Pei Que are inseparable every day; you do not understand my suffering.”

An Zhi, sensing her sister-in-law’s teasing, skipped over the question. “If you miss him, write to him and ask him to come back. The war with the Northern Desert has stopped, and the Xiliang will not dare to invade anytime soon. The Northwest should be fine.”

“I will not write such a letter. I miss him, but I cannot let him come back without a reason,” Huiping sighed. Though she said this, her longing only intensified.

“Then I will write it for you, Sister-in-law. I miss my brother too,” An Zhi said. “Actually, Brother cannot stay in the Northwest for long. With Uncle and my two cousins ​​there, the Northwest will always belong to the Bai family army. In a few years, the Bai family’s nephews will grow up, and Brother will not need to work so hard in the Northwest anymore.”

An Xu’s talent was enough to govern a region. Such a capable general, if he stayed in the Northwest army, even if the Bai family trusts him, there would inevitably be those who sow discord. Moreover, to avoid suspicion, An Xu should go and conquer another region at some point.

An Xu went to the Northwest initially so that he could achieve merit and make his younger sister at home feel more confident. Now that his goal had been achieved, staying in the Northwest was only to repay the Bai family for their nurturing.

Just governing the Northwest was enough with the Bai family.

Huiping had not expected it to be so profound. “He can stay as long as he wants. If he really cannot come back, I will go find him. The palaces in the capital are beautiful, but the place with him is the best.”

An Zhi smiled, pursing her lips. “Sister-in-law really likes brother.”

“Do not laugh at me; you feel the same way about Pei Que,” Huiping retorted.

The two laughed together.

Because of the good news with Yu Yao, the Zhang family did not stay long. The family went back first, and Huiping also took her daughter back.

Before resting, An Zhi went to see Binglu.

Tomorrow was the wedding day. Binglu watched the candles on the candlestick burn out one by one.

An Zhi sat with Binglu for a while before returning to her room.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the wedding attendants arrived in the courtyard.

As the young madam of the house, An Zhi was marrying her personal maid. The wedding was not extravagant, but it was still comparable to the weddings of ordinary families.

As An Zhi placed the red veil over Binglu’s head, she noticed Binglu was about to cry again. An Zhi quickly stopped her, saying, “My dear Binglu, you are not usually such a crybaby. You must not cry today. Your makeup was so carefully applied; if you cry and ruin it, Shunzi will not be able to see it.”

These words made the maids behind her laugh.

Binglu became even more embarrassed and whispered, “Please, just keep teasing me.”

“It’s not teasing at all. Today is your big day; you should be happy,” An Zhi said with a smile.

Binglu was personally chosen by An Zhi’s mother. When she bought her, she said she had no other relatives. In this capital, her only friends and acquaintances were those from An Zhi’s household. Even Xialan, who was already married, came to see her off, heavily pregnant, not to mention Donglan and the others.

Several sisters who grew up together, now scattered in different directions, reunited today. So many questions swirled in their minds, yet time seemed so scarce. Before they could exchange more than a few words, the groom arrived to take the bride.

Shunzi, who had waited so long to be the groom, found his palms sweaty when he received Binglu’s hand from Chunlan. He stammered when asked to say auspicious words, eventually managing only a silly grin.

An Zhi could not drink alcohol, so she drank two extra cups of tea. To say she was completely willing to let go would be a lie. A childhood friend, now married, would not be by her side every day. But because it was Binglu, with whom she had shared a deep bond since childhood, she had to let her go to find happiness.

An Zhi personally escorted the bride to the Pei Mansion gate, her gaze lingering until the bridal sedan chair was out of sight.

Pei Que gently comforted her, “Let’s go back. Binglu did not marry out. Their in-laws and their own families are both ours; we will definitely have frequent contact in the future.”

“Sigh, I’m just a little reluctant,” An Zhi said, turning to follow Pei Que into the house.

The banquet at the Pei Mansion began, and An Zhi busied herself greeting guests. Soon, the busy day was over.

Meanwhile, as darkness fell, Shunzi was pushed into the bridal chamber by several people.

He stumbled as he closed the door, and after bolting it and shooing everyone away, his steps became steady.

The nuptial wine had already been drunk; now only the lifting of the veil remained.

Shunzi carefully lifted one side of the veil, but due to nervousness, he failed several times.

Binglu clenched her hands tightly on her knees. “Are you drunk?”

“No…no, really not drunk.” As he spoke, he lifted his hands, and the veil was lifted in one smooth motion. “Look at my face; it’s only a little hot. A few brothers in the army, feeling sorry for me at my age getting married so young, helped me drink most of the wine.”

Binglu’s cheeks were as red as a vibrant crabapple blossom in spring, half from rouge and half from embarrassment. “Now that the veil is off, I will go take off my jewelry.”

“Let me help you,” Shunzi said, reaching out to help Binglu, noticing the many ornaments on her head.

“No, please, you’re clumsy. You cannot do this kind of thing.” Noticing Shunzi staring at her, Binglu lowered her head slightly. Unlike others who only meet after marriage, they were already familiar with each other. She was a little embarrassed but not too reserved. “If you really have nothing to do, go get me a basin of water. The rouge is thick today; it needs warm water to wash off.”

“Warm water? It’s already prepared.” Before entering the room, Shunzi had everything prepared so no one would disturb his wedding night.

Binglu glanced at the warm water in the basin and began to remove her jewelry.

Shunzi, watching Binglu slowly, was anxious but dared not urge her. He could only walk around the dressing table, thinking of when he could lend a hand.

The guests who had not gone far outside were also getting impatient. The lights in the room remained on, and they worried that Shunzi might be inexperienced as a groom and did not know what to do. Fortunately, Binglu finally finished removing all her jewelry and washing her face. She sat on the edge of the bed, watching Shunzi slowly move closer, and glanced at the candles in the room. “Why do you not blow out the candles first?” she said.

Hearing this, Shunzi immediately ran to blow out the candles, taking a deep breath. “I’m coming.”

The red silk curtains swayed until dawn. Both were virgins experiencing love for the first time, and after the appointed time, neither of them could get up.