Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 005

Chapter 5: Banquet

After An Zhi’s mother was angered to death by Xu three years ago, the power to manage the An family’s inner courtyard fell into An Zhi’s hands.

Although there were two concubines in the family, one was raised as a maid, and the other was bought from a small family, so neither of them could take charge of the household. Furthermore, An Zhi was very capable, so An Chengye never worried that she wouldn’t be able to manage the household properly. Therefore, everything in An Zhi’s house was furnished to her own taste, and no one could control her.

After getting up and washing up, while An Zhi was drawing her eyebrows, Binglu brought over two sets of clothes. “Miss, these are the new clothes we just made a while ago. Do you want to wear them today?”

The two pieces Binglu took were both in cute colors. An Zhi couldn’t wear them before because she was in mourning, but now that the mourning period was over, she didn’t have to worry about it.

An Zhi glanced back and smiled, “Let’s go with the pink one. I think most young ladies would like to wear green to suit the occasion during the spring outing. But if too many people wear the same color, it will just become a bunch of green leaves.”

“Miss, you look good in anything you wear.” Binglu praised sincerely.

An Zhi truly looked good in everything she wore. She was tall and slender, and her appearance was impeccable. Two years ago, she accompanied her brother to the military camp, and everyone who saw her couldn’t forget her. As a result, she was rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the capital.

After getting dressed, An Zhi was just about to go out when a servant came to tell her that the master wanted to ask her to come over.

An Zhi arrived at the reception room and as soon as she entered the door, she saw An Rong standing behind An Chengye in a pink dress.

What a coincidence.

They thought of the same thing.

However, the same color can have vastly different effects on different people. An Zhi was graceful, bright, and charming, while An Rong was timid and petty. It was easy to tell who was the master and who was the servant.

“Zhi’er, you’re here. Look, you two sisters think alike. You’re both fairies.” An Chengye wanted to ask An Zhi something, and his tone was much softer. He also hoped that An Zhi could take advantage of the situation and not be ungrateful and make everyone look bad.

Seeing An Rong when she entered the room, An Zhi knew what An Chengye was thinking. “You hit yourself in the face, so be it. Don’t make me treat my aunt’s daughter as a sister. It’s insulting to me and it’s humiliating.”

“An Zhi!” An Chengye slammed the table and glared, “Do you really have to make such a scene?”

“Did you have to make such a scene?” An Zhi’s eyes turned, turning into sharp blades as she glared at An Chengye. “If you treated a lowly concubine’s daughter like a treasure in private, it would be fine, but if you insisted on bringing her home, everyone outside would laugh at you for being shameless. I know what you are planning today, and don’t even think about letting her go out. And don’t even think about letting her go to the Lin family banquet, otherwise I have a hundred ways to make her miscarry in public!”

If an unmarried girl became pregnant, it would bring shame to the entire family, and other women in the family would also face difficulties in their marriages. An Zhi didn’t care whether she would get married in this life, but she knew An Rong didn’t dare to take the risk.

An Zhi was too lazy to watch An Rong’s hypocrisy, so she left with Binglu after saying that.

~

Lin Mansion.

Lin Shuyao was wearing a goose-yellow, spring-flowered Sichuan brocade dress with gold trim. Among the other noble ladies, she looked delicate yet dignified. She was the center of attention at the banquet, and most visitors would likely offer her compliments.

After welcoming most of the guests, Lin Shuyao began to invite them to appreciate the flowers and taste the wine.

“Sister Lin, why don’t we see Miss An today?” The person asking the question was Hao Dongmei, the daughter of the Hao Dianlu family. Her father and An Chengye worked in the same government office. They disliked each other, and even the daughters of the two families were enemies.

Lin Shuyao had been waiting for this question. She heard yesterday that Pei Yu went to the An family to cancel the engagement. She regretted the time she had wasted before and was anxious to step on An Zhi. She hated An Zhi’s attitude the most, that she could do anything but looked down on everyone in her heart.

Lin Shuyao smiled lightly, “I guess something is holding her back.”

Hao Dongmei snorted, her brows furrowed, and she smiled, “I think she doesn’t dare to come.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around fell silent, because the Pei family was a large family, and Pei Yu was a noble young man that these noble ladies had always thought was out of their reach, so they all knew yesterday that Pei Yu had gone to cancel the engagement.

Lin Shuyao pretended to be angry, “Sister Hao, please don’t say that. Sister An has her own reasons.”

“Her difficulty is probably because she thinks she’s too noble.” Hao Dongmei said this without any politeness. In the past, she had only given in to An Zhi because she was engaged to the Pei family. Now, why should she give in to this abandoned woman, also the daughter of a fourth-rank official? “She was originally trying to marry into the Pei family, but she has a stern face all day long. Which man would like that?”

“Then Sister Hao, tell me, how do you please men?” An Zhi walked out from the corridor.

She listened for a long time before she came out to find fault with Hao Dongmei.

Hao Dongmei opened and closed her mouth, her cheeks flushed. It took her a while to recover. “Don’t talk nonsense. I’m not trying to please… please anyone!”

An Zhi nodded to Lin Shuyao and smiled, apologized for being late, and then sat down opposite Hao Dongmei. “Then how do you know what men like if you have never tried to please them? Sister Lin, do you think I am wrong?”

An Zhi looked at Lin Shuyao with a smile.

Lin Shuyao was the host, so it was not appropriate for her to stir up conflict just to help someone, at least not openly. She could only change the subject and compliment An Zhi on how nicely she was dressed today.

Hearing this, An Zhi deliberately stood next to Lin Shuyao and compared herself to Lin Shuyao, “Sister, you look good today too. Yellow suits you very well. It’s as dreamy as the sunset.”

Someone chuckled when they heard this.

The sunset glow was the sun that was about to set. It was not suitable to describe women of any age, but An Zhi used it to praise Lin Shuyao in front of everyone.

Lin Shuyao was very surprised. Although An Zhi was difficult to approach in the past, she was not as prickly as she was today. She lowered her face and said, “Sister An, please sit down first. You just went through something unhappy. I understand.”

Although she smiled on the surface, Lin Shuyao was cursing An Zhi in her heart that she would never get married.

The other young ladies on the side were watching the show silently, especially when An Zhi and Lin Shuyao stood together. In comparison, Lin Shuyao was like a maid beside An Zhi. No matter her temperament or appearance, she could not compare to An Zhi.

An Zhi ignored Lin Shuyao’s words, maintaining a polite smile. “Sister, you’ve got the wrong idea. I had a wonderful experience yesterday, so I’m especially happy to see you today. By the way, sister, I remember you secretly kept Pei Yu’s poems. If you don’t mind him hooking up with his mistress, then you should propose marriage as soon as possible.”

Having said this, An Zhi saw that Lin Shuyao’s face had completely changed, and her goal was achieved. Before Lin Shuyao got angry, she said goodbye and left.

After coming out of the Lin Mansion and getting on the carriage, Binglu looked worried. She felt that the young lady had changed a lot.

“Miss, haven’t you always been good friends with Miss Lin? Why did you stab her just now?” Binglu couldn’t understand.

An Zhi smiled, “I treat her as a friend, but she doesn’t think so. You’ll know later.”

There were some things An Zhi couldn’t explain clearly now.

She came to the banquet today to tell others that she was fine and had not been affected by Pei Yu. But she didn’t want to flatter those people, so she just said hello and left.

Now she no longer had the Pei family as her backing and was just the daughter of a fourth-rank official. If Lin Shuyao had been quicker in thinking and had challenged her just now, it would have been difficult for her to leave.

The carriage was shaking. An Zhi yawned and just closed her eyes when the carriage stopped. The driver said that the wheel was stuck in a hole.

An Zhi had no choice but to get off the carriage.

As soon as she got off, three horses stopped in front of her.

It was Pei Que.

He walked over with his hands behind his back, a smile on his lips, his eyes seemed to be filled with sparks, a face that was unforgettable at first sight, and with a bit of unruliness about him.

“Fourth Uncle.” An Zhi greeted Pei Que.

Pei Que was still dressed in black today. Seeing An Zhi dressed delicately, his eyes narrowed slightly, “Do you need help?”

An Zhi didn’t want to have too much interaction with the Pei family. Just as she was about to shake her head, she heard Pei Que ask two followers to push the cart.

The two attendants hurried to help push the cart, and one of them muttered quietly, “Our master, why is he suddenly so considerate?”

The other glared at the other and said, “I think it’s because of the eldest son’s matter. He feels guilty towards Miss An. Don’t say anything too much. I’ll beat you up if I hear you.”

An Zhi was a little nervous at the moment. She didn’t hear the conversation between the two servants, and her eyes were fixed on the ground. If she looked up, she would see Pei Que admiring her unscrupulously.

After a while, the wheels came out of the pit, and An Zhi expressed her gratitude to Pei Que.

As soon as she got on the carriage, she heard Pei Que say that he would escort her back home.

What was going on?