Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 007

Chapter 7: Backer

What An Chengye cared about most was his official position. He liked Xu, but she was just a concubine in her thirties. As long as he was still an official, he could have other better women.

“Mengdie.” An Chengye called out and said hesitantly, “I see you…”

Hearing An Chengye pause, Xu Mengdie’s heart completely chilled. She understood what An Chengye meant and knelt down. “Master, I will leave the An Mansion now. However, I beg you to give Rong’er a legitimate status. Even if it means dying immediately, I am willing to do so. But Rong’er is your biological daughter after all.”

An Chengye was sentimental after all. Seeing that Xu Mengdie was tactful and knew how to take advantage of the situation, he nodded in agreement. Seeing that An Zhi was about to speak again, he stood up and said, “It’s settled. Rong’er will be our second daughter from now on. Brother Pei, I’m sorry for making you laugh today. I’ll take you out.”

Pei Que didn’t move. “Don’t bother with me, Lord An. I have something to say to Miss An.” He turned his head and glanced at An Zhi.

Although An Zhi was unwilling, she had no choice but to see Pei Que out.

Pei Que and An Zhi walked side by side, one taller than the other, and it was a beautiful sight walking in the corridor.

“Sister An, aren’t you being a little too hard today?” Pei Que lowered his eyes, and in his sight, An Zhi frowned slightly, which made her look even more charming. “This is originally your family matter, but your mother and my sister-in-law are old friends, so I wanted to give you some advice. Lord An is your father, and you were disobedient by stopping Xu from entering the house, but it was understandable and others could understand. But if you stopped An Rong from entering, others would only think you were tough and ignorant, and wouldn’t understand your difficulties.”

“Sister An, don’t rush to defend yourself. What I’m trying to say is that you don’t care what others think of you, but have you ever considered that your reputation is your mother’s reputation?” Seeing An Zhi’s expression change slightly, Pei Que knew he had hit the nail on the head. “As the saying goes, it’s better to beat the dog behind closed doors. Now that you’re the head of the An family, if you want to deal with An Rong, wouldn’t it be much better to teach her a lesson in your own territory than outside?”

An Zhi had never thought of this.

The reason why Xu was still able to stir up trouble was no longer because of An Chengye’s affection for her, but because of the child in An Rong’s belly.

As long as An Zhi held An Rong in her hands, whether to trample on her or kill her was all up to her.

“Thank you, Fourth Uncle.” An Zhi saw that they were almost at the gate, so she stopped and addressed Pei Que. “I’ll come to thank you for your advice today when I’m free someday.”

“No need to postpone it, let’s do it tomorrow.” Pei Que said with a smile, “It just so happens that my sister-in-law also wants to see you. Since Sister An is willing to come, I will go back and arrange it. I will definitely be waiting for you at home tomorrow.”

“Hey…” An Zhi was just being polite, but Pei Que took it seriously.

When she wanted to say let’s do it another day, Pei Que had already walked away with big strides.

An Zhi couldn’t understand Pei Que’s thoughts. Other families would avoid each other after breaking off an engagement, but Pei Que kept coming back to her. If someone with ulterior motives used this as a pretext, wouldn’t they label her a slut who lost the nephew and turned to the uncle?

But it was An Zhi herself who said she wanted to come over, and since it was too late to take it back, she had no choice but to agree.

That night, in order to make up for Xu Mengdie, An Chengye went to find Xu Mengdie. After the two of them had a passionate affair, Xu Mengdie temporarily gave up hope of entering the An Mansion and only hoped that An Rong could be successful soon. By then, not only could she enter the An Mansion, but she could even be promoted to be his wife.

“Master, the young master of the Pei family has been home for a day and a night, but no news has come out. Did he change his mind?” Xu Mengdie whispered to An Chengye.

The people An Chengye sent out to investigate did not bring back any news. The Pei family was like a sealed wine barrel, not even a mosquito could get in.

He sighed, “If he dares not marry Rong’er, I will go to the Pei family to make trouble. His son has ruined my daughter’s innocence, but he doesn’t want to take responsibility. He has no chance.”

Seeing An Chengye’s temper rising, Xu Mengdie drew circles on his chest with her fingertips, “But Rong’er is of a lower status after all. Even if Pei Yu is willing, I’m afraid the Pei family won’t let Rong’er marry into their family.”

An Chengye also understood this. Marrying into the Pei family, and to the eldest grandson of the eldest son, meant they were marrying into a much higher class. However, An Rong was a concubine’s daughter and was not even listed in the family tree. Even ordinary families were unwilling to marry An Rong as their principal wife.

But An Zhi was firm in her attitude, so he still had to consider the Bai family.

Xu Mengdie understood An Chengye’s concerns, “Master, please secretly register Rong’er in the family tree. Just don’t make a big fuss about it and don’t let the eldest young lady know.”

“But won’t this be unfair to Rong’er?” An Chengye thought it was feasible.

Xu Mengdie had been a mistress for more than ten years and had long known that empty reputation was no match for solid foundation. “What’s wrong with that? Rong’er is my daughter. She is considerate and will never embarrass you.”

Thinking about it this way, An Chengye felt that this was indeed the truth. Xu Mengdie was so fragrant and soft in his arms that An Chengye couldn’t help but come again.

~

After An Zhi woke up, she said she wanted to go to the Pei’s house.

Binglu frowned when she heard this, “Can’t we just say you’re sick and can’t go?” She was worried that the young lady would be treated coldly when she came to visit.

“She promised me yesterday, but today she’s saying she’s sick. Who would believe that?” After Pei Que’s advice, An Zhi realized that she had indeed been very tough since her rebirth. However, there were too many twists and turns in the inner courtyard, and it couldn’t be solved by sheer toughness. Before she had absolute strength, she could only rely on tricks. “Since Aunt Pei wants to see me, it means she still cares about our past friendship. Right now, my uncle’s family is all in the frontier, and I’m isolated and helpless in the capital. Having a backer is better than having enemies.”

After packing up, An Zhi boarded the carriage. Before leaving, a maid came to report that An Chengye had opened a small kitchen for An Rong. An Zhi had expected this and instructed the maid, “From now on, don’t give An Rong anything she wants to eat. But if she wants to buy it herself, don’t stop her.”

The maid took the order and left. Binglu helped An Zhi get on the carriage. This time she understood what her master meant. “Young lady, do you want An Rong to eat more so that her belly will grow faster?”

“Smart.” An Zhi praised.

When the carriage arrived at the Pei’s house, An Zhi was surprised that after the servant went in to announce her, the eldest wife, Madam Li, came out to greet her in person.

An Zhi was a junior, so sending a personal attendant to pick her up would be a great honor for her, but Madam Li came out in person, which was telling everyone that their Pei family still valued An Zhi very much.

In a nearby teahouse, Lin Shuyao, wearing a gauze hat, was so angry when she saw Madam Li personally coming out to greet An Zhi that she threw her teacup on the spot and growled at the maid beside her, “What are the Pei family doing? A person whose engagement was broken off by their family is being picked up by the head of the family herself. Go check and see if the Pei family regrets breaking off the engagement?”

Lin Shuyao truly loved Pei Yu. She considered herself no less worthy than An Zhi, and her father’s official position was far higher than An Chengye’s. She had finally waited for the Pei and An families to break off their engagement, and she couldn’t let such a good opportunity slip away. As for An Rong, she was just a concubine’s daughter, and she had plenty of ways to deal with her. As long as she could marry Pei Yu as his legal wife, everything would be fine.