Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 006

Chapter 6: Xu Family

“Thank you, Fourth Uncle, but don’t bother with me. The capital is under the emperor’s feet, so you don’t have to worry.” An Zhi really didn’t want to have anything to do with the Pei family anymore. Moreover, she had just broken off the engagement, and she asked Fourth Uncle Pei Que to send her home. On the way back, who knows what people would say if they saw her.

Although An Zhi no longer cared too much about her reputation in the outside world and may avoid unnecessary trouble, why bother getting herself into trouble?

Pei Que was riding a horse beside her carriage, his long legs hooked around the horse’s belly. An Zhi looked at him from behind the curtain. Even though she had seen many young masters before, she still couldn’t help but admire his good looks in her heart.

“You’re welcome. I’m just passing by.” Pei Que replied calmly. Turning his head to see the shy and forbearing look of the girl, he smiled and said, “Or is it that Miss An has broken off the engagement and no longer considers us in the Pei family as old acquaintances? Then my sister-in-law will be heartbroken.”

An Zhi didn’t have the courage to talk back to this gentleman, so she could only thank him quietly. After lowering the curtain, she felt very nervous.

Along the way, An Zhi would peek out through the gap in the curtain from time to time. Pei Que was dressed in black, but his skin was fair and his profile was as handsome as a peak. She had heard earlier that some women in a brothel had fought with Pei Que for his company to drink with them. Now it seemed that the news was true.

An Zhi sighed. The Pei family was a place she didn’t want to set foot in again. After all, she had finally been given a second life. She had to deal with all her enemies from her previous life before she could discuss anything else.

The carriage stopped again, and the driver outside said they had arrived home. An Zhi got off the carriage and thanked Pei Que, “Thank you, Fourth Uncle, for bringing me back. I guess Fourth Uncle has other things to do, so I’ll go in first.”

Pei Que understood the meaning of An Zhi’s words, which clearly indicated that she did not want to invite him into the house for tea.

Pei Que’s thin lips curled up slightly.

Was she so afraid of him?

“I’m not busy.” Pei Que said deliberately.

“Master, aren’t you going to Tianbo Mansion to deliver the case files?” One of Pei Que’s servants reminded him.

Pei Que turned around and glared at the servant, who immediately shrank his head and looked at Pei Que innocently.

Pei Que turned and smiled at An Zhi, “He doesn’t understand my business. I’m really sorry for what happened yesterday. I think Sister An is still angry with our Pei family, so I won’t bother her for now.”

Sister An?

An Zhi was stunned.

Why did he suddenly call her sister?

According to seniority, he should call her niece.

However, An Zhi couldn’t think so much at the moment. Pei Que had taken the initiative to say that he wanted to leave. She was very happy and bowed to Pei Que.

After watching Pei Que mount his horse and saying “Goodbye, Fourth Uncle”, another carriage stopped.

A graceful woman got off the carriage. Her back alone was coquettish enough, and she didn’t look like a girl from a good family. She was carrying a bag and preparing to enter the An Mansion.

When An Zhi saw the woman, she immediately took Binglu over to stop her.

Seeing this, Pei Que stopped and did not move.

“What are you doing here?” An Zhi frowned.

Xu Mengdie was a little nervous when she saw An Zhi. Today, An Chengye sent someone to pick her up and said that An Zhi was out for a banquet and was not at home, so she asked her to take this opportunity to enter the mansion. However, she did not expect to meet An Zhi at the door of An’s mansion.

“Miss, the master sent someone to pick me up.” Xu Mengdie replied. Seeing the gatekeeper go into the mansion, she just hoped that An Chengye would come soon, otherwise if this young lady made a fuss, she was afraid that she would be in trouble.

“Bah.” An Zhi spat directly at Xu Mengdie.

The woman in front of her was An Rong’s mother. It was Xu Mengdie who had caused such a scene at the An family home that An Zhi’s mother had a miscarriage and soon died of depression.

That’s why An Zhi hated Xu Mengdie and An Rong so much.

At this time, people passing by began to stop and point at An Zhi.

Binglu whispered a reminder in An Zhi’s ear, but An Zhi did not move. She must not see Xu Mengdie step into the An family’s door.

Pei Que probably guessed what was going on and winked at the two servants, who immediately went to disperse the crowd, but some people still looked over here.

An Chengye ran out and pulled An Zhi, “What are you doing? You’ve embarrassed yourself right here at your doorstep. Do you still want to be a human being?”

As he spoke, An Chengye pulled Xu Mengdie into the house.

When An Zhi turned around, An Chengye had already pulled Xu Mengdie over the threshold, and her eyes suddenly turned red.

“Don’t be sad, I’m still here.” Pei Que handed An Zhi a handkerchief and said, “Go in. You don’t want to see that woman really stay here, do you?”

When An Zhi heard Pei Que’s words, her heart suddenly warmed. She wanted to say that she could do it herself, but seeing that Pei Que had already walked up the stairs and was waiting for her, she did not refuse, but she did not reach out to take the handkerchief either.

The two of them entered the An family’s gate together. An Zhi asked the servants and went straight to An Chengye.

When she caught up with An Chengye, he had already brought Xu Mengdie to the reception room, and was asking his servants to pour tea for Xu Mengdie.

“Don’t!” An Zhi yelled and walked into the living room.

She grabbed Xu Mengdie’s bag and threw it out. She didn’t even want to save face for An Chengye. “Father, my mother is not an intolerant person. When has she ever disagreed with you taking a concubine?”

An Zhi was approaching An Chengye step by step. An Chengye wanted to scold An Zhi, but he saw Pei Que standing behind An Zhi. He didn’t react for a moment and didn’t understand what Pei Que’s position here was, so he didn’t say a word of rebuttal.

Xu Mengdie had long seen An Zhi’s aggressiveness, and now she was acting in the same way as An Rong. She wiped away her tears in a low voice, aggrieved, “Miss, your mother’s miscarriage was not my fault. You are also a woman, and you will have children in the future. I just want to give my child a legitimate status so that she can live a decent life.”

“If you want her to live a legitimate life and you’re in that position, then don’t give birth to her.” An Zhi retorted directly, “My mother has known about your existence for a long time, but she never looked for you, nor did she stop my father from seeing you. Besides, if you really wanted a legitimate status, you could have just asked my father to ask my mother directly. Why did you have to kneel down at my uncle’s door and make a scene? If you didn’t do it on purpose, what else could you have done?”

After scolding Xu Mengdie, An Zhi turned to look at An Chengye, “And father, I really want to ask you, what did mother do wrong? Did she stop you from finding other women, or did she refuse to give you money? Is it worth it for you to tell your mother about her fierceness and viciousness to a mistress?”

In An Zhi’s memory, her mother had always been as calm as a chrysanthemum, never fighting for anything, and never stopping An Chengye from doing anything. Her mother’s mind was entirely on educating her and her brother, and she had nothing to do with being fierce or vicious.

An Chengye was speechless. It was because Bai was too reclusive that he felt unhappy and thought that Bai didn’t care about him at all, so he said nonsense after getting drunk.

An Zhi: “If father insists on taking Xu back, aren’t you afraid that my uncle’s cavalry will crush your head?”

An Zhi’s uncle Bai Cheng is a first-rank general of Weiyuan. He has been fighting in the border areas for two years and has not returned. He is one of the best generals in this dynasty.

An Chengye wanted to bring Xu Mengdie back home because Bai Cheng had not returned for two years. When he heard An Zhi mention Bai Cheng, his body trembled involuntarily and he was already backing down.

Xu Mengdie, who was standing beside him, saw what An Chengye was thinking and started crying even louder. “My poor Rong’er, how can I live from now on? If she doesn’t have a legitimate status, how can she marry into a good family?”

Xu Mengdie didn’t know Pei Que and didn’t understand that the person behind An Zhi was Pei Yu’s fourth uncle, so she thought of bringing up An Rong’s marriage.

Little did she know that when Pei Que saw Xu Mengdie’s behavior, he made up his mind not to let An Rong enter the Pei family, even as a concubine.

“Ahem.” An Chengye noticed Pei Que’s frown and warned her, “Don’t cry. I’m the head of this family. Zhi’er, you should forgive others when you can. Why do you have to push others into a desperate situation? Brother Pei is here today, and you don’t even give me any face. Do you still regard me as your father?”

An Zhi sneered, “I’d like to think of you as my father. You should support this family. Don’t forget, the land you stand on and the mansion you live in are all my mother’s dowry. If you want to recognize Xu Mengdie and her daughter, then please move out and live with them.”

Relying solely on the salary of An Chengye as fourth-rank official, he could only live in a humble mansion, let alone live a life of luxury.

An Chengye stopped talking.

Xu Mengdie also pursed her lips and said nothing. She was thinking quickly, thinking about how to stay in the An Mansion.

“Father, I’m not trying to force you.” An Zhi knew it would be bad to push An Chengye too hard. “I don’t have any other requests of you. The only thing is that Xu Mengdie and her daughter can’t stay in the An family. I don’t care how you pamper her and love her outside, but they absolutely cannot live under the same roof with me.”

Pei Que saw An Zhi starting to soften her stance and spoke up at the right moment, “Sir An, the Emperor values the character of his officials the most. You must think carefully. If you are demoted for something unworthy, you will suffer a great loss.”