Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 003

Chapter 3: Status

“Ah’Yu, you should go home first.” An Rong advised, “We are all family after all. There is no need for you to quarrel with your family because of me.”

Despite saying so, An Rong burst into tears. She wanted a legitimate status, and she couldn’t let Pei Yu lose his status as the Young Master of the Pei Family. As long as she was still alive and the child in her belly was still there, she would make the Pei Family accept her as part of the family.

Hearing this, Pei Yu felt even more grateful for An Rong’s generosity. Compared to the aggressive An Zhi, he liked An Rong even more. “Don’t worry, I will definitely give you a legitimate status and will never let our child be without a legitimate status.”

An Chengye stretched his neck to look outside, fearing that Pei Que would actually send someone in to kidnap him. Furthermore, if Pei Yu really left the Pei family, he wouldn’t be willing to have a poor scholar as his son-in-law. “Young Master Pei, you should go home and discuss this as soon as possible. Rong’er’s stomach can’t wait.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle An. Even if I get beaten to death, I will marry Rong’er.” Pei Yu said, holding An Rong’s hand. “Rong’er, you wait for me well.”

Pei Yu firmly believed that his parents did not agree because they did not know An Rong’s good qualities. Moreover, he was their only son and they would never abandon him, so he dared to say those words.

After Pei Yu left, An Chengye picked up the teacup and found that the tea was cold, so he asked the maid to bring him some hot tea.

An Rong stood there, looking at her toes. She came here today not only for the matter with Pei Yu, but also for something equally important. “Father, if my sister insists on not letting me enter the family tree, then… let’s just forget it.”

“I’m the boss of this family!” An Chengye had just taken a sip of his fresh tea when he put it down with a thud. Thinking of An Zhi’s disobedient words, his chest felt tight. If it weren’t for An Zhi’s uncle being so powerful, he would have wanted to teach his daughter a lesson long ago. “Rong’er, if you keep giving in to her, she will only push you further. Don’t say anything more. Stay at home today. Tomorrow I’ll go find the elders and have you written into the family tree. If An Zhi talks too much, I…”

“What about you?” An Zhi, who had just returned, snorted when she heard this. Seeing An Rong still wiping away tears, she curled her lips in disdain and sneered, “Let me be clear with you. If you want to recognize An Rong, I’ll have to die. Otherwise, we’ll both be dead. I’ll go to Tianbo Mansion and report you for having a mistress and forcing your wife to death. Then you’ll lose your position as a fourth-rank official.”

Hearing this, An Chengye angrily slamming the table. An Zhi was not affected at all and continued, “Actually, you just want to get close to the Pei family and don’t care which daughter you marry. But don’t forget, the Pei family will never let a daughter from a concubine become the main wife. Even if she becomes a concubine, it will probably be difficult. Today you asked me to cancel the engagement. This is the Pei family, you will never be able to get close to them in your lifetime. Don’t look at Pei Yu’s deep love for An Rong, but you should know best how worthless love is when it’s spoken.”

“You!” An Chengye’s lips were trembling. “Get out of here! Go back to your yard and reflect on your mistakes!”

From the time An Zhi was young, An Chengye disliked his daughter. He had only achieved his official position thanks to the support of his wife’s in-laws, but he considered his wife, Bai, too aloof and boring. He didn’t dare take a concubine in their early years, so he secretly kept a skinny girl, Ma, as his mistress. An Zhi, raised by Bai, was as aloof as she was, and less docile than An Rong and her mother. In contrast, An Chengye neglected An Zhi’s development.

An Zhi was yelled at, but she stood still without a trace of fear. She had already started over again and would no longer foolishly think that An Chengye was her father after all and would not harm her.

“Father told me to get out?” An Zhi asked with a sneer. “It’s been three years since Mother passed away. You’ve probably forgotten that everything in this mansion was her dowry. Years of fighting left a lasting legacy of illness for my grandfather, who wanted to find a scholar for Mother. That’s how it became your turn, a poor scholar, to marry the daughter of a first-rank general.”

An Chengye never let anyone mention these past events at home, because many officials outside would laugh at him for relying on his wife to become an official.

An Zhi said this just to deliberately poke An Chengye and remind him that without her consent, he shouldn’t even think about adding An Rong to the family tree.

“You unfilial daughter!” An Chengye raised his hand.

“Go ahead and hit me!” An Zhi stiffened her neck. “Why, you don’t dare anymore? Then just be a good fourth-rank official. I don’t care if you want to remarry or take a concubine, but An Rong and her mother are not allowed to enter the An family’s gate. Someone, please take Miss An Rong out. We don’t let unrelated people have dinner at our house.”

When the servants in the courtyard heard this, none of them dared to step forward.

An Zhi turned around and glanced at Binglu. Binglu understood and walked up to An Rong. “Please, Miss An Rong.”

An Rong’s eyes were misty and she looked at An Zhi aggrievedly.

She had finally entered the An family’s gate and could not leave so easily.

An Rong knelt down in front of An Zhi and said, “Sister, I beg you, please give me a way out. If you kick me out now, I won’t be able to survive.”

As she spoke, An Rong kowtowed pitifully.

An Zhi hissed, “Don’t call me sister. My mother didn’t give me a sister. No matter how hard-hearted or cruel you say I am, crying won’t help at all. I’ll count to three. If you don’t leave on your own, I’ll have you kidnapped and sent to Tianbo Mansion.”

An Zhi raised her fingers, “One, two…”

“I’m leaving.” An Rong gritted her teeth and stood up.

An Zhi turned around and smiled at An Chengye, raising her eyebrows. “Starting tomorrow, let the matchmaker come to our house. If my father wants to marry eighteen concubines, I won’t stop him.”

Only after seeing An Rong leave did An Zhi leave with satisfaction.

Sooner or later, she would deal with An Rong and her mother, but she couldn’t let them be punished so easily. She wanted An Rong and her mother to experience the torment and helplessness her mother had suffered three years ago before dying.

At the same time, when Pei Que brought Pei Yu home, Prime Minister Pei was already waiting in the main hall with a thumb-thick rattan stick in his hand.

After Pei Que entered the room, he sat aside as if it had nothing to do with him.

Prime Minister Pei was over sixty years old, his hair and beard mostly white. When he saw his grandson enter the room, he swung the cane in his hand without any hesitation and roared with full force: “Kneel down!”

Pei Yu was whipped so hard that his coat was torn and his teeth were chattering with pain, but he was still thinking about An Rong. “Grandpa, please help Rong’er and me get together. I’ve already broken off my engagement with An Zhi, and Rong’er is pregnant with my child. You can’t let my child become illegitimate .”

“Cancel the engagement?” Prime Minister Pei frowned and turned to look at Pei Que. “Didn’t I tell you not to cancel the engagement when you left?”

As he spoke, Prime Minister Pei raised the cane in his hand symbolically.

Pei Que said calmly, “It was Miss An who wanted to cancel. Please don’t blame me for everything.”

Prime Minister Pei looked at Pei Que hesitantly. For some reason, he always felt that Pei Que was lying, but educating Pei Yu was more important at the moment.

Prime Minister Pei said, “Pei Yu, you are a man who has learned propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame, but you act so vulgarly and irresponsibly. You really disappoint me. Today I will tell you the truth. That An Rong will never be able to enter the Pei family in this lifetime, and we, the Pei family, will never recognize her child. Right now, your parents are still asleep, so you should kneel in the ancestral hall and think carefully about where you went wrong. We will deal with you after they wake up.”

Prime Minister Pei had high hopes for his eldest grandson. In addition, Pei Yu was smart since childhood, so Prime Minister Pei personally taught him poetry, books, and policy essays. However, he did not expect that he would lose his mind for a third-rate woman just when he was still a young man.

With a sigh, Prime Minister Pei saw Pei Yu still kneeling and not moving, and his anger rose again, “Why don’t you leave?”

Pei Yu wanted to fight for himself, “Grandpa, Rong’er and I are truly in love. I swear, in this life, I will never marry another woman except Rong’er. She is really a good woman, considerate and gentle, and we have a close relationship. Please help me, Grandpa.”

“You unfilial son!” Prime Minister Pei couldn’t help himself. “Just for a concubine’s daughter who didn’t cherish you, you actually disobeyed grandfather again. Come, tie Pei Yu to the ancestral hall, and don’t allow him to eat, only give him water to drink. Let him think carefully, without our Pei family, he is nothing!”

Prime Minister Pei was truly furious. After he finished cursing, he sat in a chair for a long time to calm down. Seeing Pei Que’s calm demeanor, he recalled the servant’s report from yesterday and threw the cane at him, “Did you go out to drink again last night?”

Pei Que caught the cane and replied, “I was just entertaining people.”

“Socializing, you idiot!” Prime Minister Pei’s temper was partly due to Pei Que’s anger. “Let me ask you, why are you not satisfied with the girl your sister-in-law showed you a few days ago?”

Pei Que put down the cane and looked at Chief Minister Pei seriously, “The Xu family’s daughter is too fat, and the Wei family’s daughter is as thin as a monkey. I don’t like them.”

“Listen to your nonsense! It’s not like I haven’t seen them before. They are all top beauties. You are the only one talking nonsense. Tell me honestly, are there any girls you like? As long as she is from a good family and her family doesn’t have to hold an official position, it’s fine.” Prime Minister Pei has lowered his bottom line to the lowest level.

“What about those who have divorced?” Pei Que asked.

Prime Minister Pei felt like smoke was coming out of his head, but he still controlled himself, “It’s fine if the divorce is not due to moral issues.”

“Is that so? Then I will include those who have been divorced in the target list in the future.” Pei Que smiled slightly and stood up.

When Pei Que reached the door, Prime Minister Pei realized that he had been fooled by Pei Que again. He slammed the table and cursed, “You will be a bachelor for the rest of your life!”