Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 008

Chapter 8: Thoughts

Madam Li has always liked An Zhi. She had been preparing to come to her house to propose marriage and arrange a wedding date a while ago, but she didn’t expect that her son would be so disappointing that he would come to her house to cancel the engagement, and that was for a concubine’s daughter.

An Zhi felt a little embarrassed when Madam Li held her hand.

Her purpose for coming here today was actually not pure, but when she saw how kind Madam Li was, she suddenly felt a little guilty.

The two of them arrived at the Pei family’s living room. Madam Li had someone prepare this year’s pre-rain Longjing tea. She held An Zhi’s hand tightly and refused to let go. “Zhi’er, I have to apologize to you first. It’s because I didn’t raise my son well that he got into trouble and made you angry. It’s because I’m unlucky that I can’t marry a daughter-in-law as good as you.”

An Zhi never thought of taking her anger out on others. Her feud with Pei Yu and An Rong was a matter between the three of them. But even though she thought so, she was definitely not as enthusiastic as before when she spoke to Madam Li.

“Aunt, you’re too kind.” An Zhi took the tea from the maid and served it to Madam Li as usual. “Young Master Pei and I just didn’t have enough fate, so here we are today. But the feelings between me and aunt haven’t changed. You are still my elder.”

In the past, An Zhi always called Pei Yu “Brother Pei”, but today she called him “Young Master Pei”. When Madam Li heard this, she understood what An Zhi meant.

An Zhi and Madam Li exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Madam Li invited An Zhi to dinner. “I only have one daughter, Pei Xue. You will also be my own daughter from now on. When you get married, I will definitely prepare a generous dowry for you.”

“Then I’d like to thank you, aunt.” An Zhi knew that Madam Li was busy, so she asked her to do other things first and she walked around the garden.

The Pei family was a prominent family. The mansion had been renovated many times, each time getting bigger and bigger. The garden was full of flowers, which was dazzling.

It rained a lot in spring. After An Zhi had been walking for a while, it started to drizzle. An Zhi hid in a pavilion, but she didn’t expect Pei Que to be there too.

Pei Que was actually at home all day today, but he was delayed by other things in the morning, and it started raining just when he got some free time.

“Hello, Fourth Uncle.” After An Zhi bowed, she sat opposite Pei Que, in the seat farthest away from him.

Pei Que nodded slightly, “Sister An, have you met with my sister-in-law?”

An Zhi nodded. She felt it necessary to remind Pei Que, “Fourth Uncle, there’s a generation difference between you and me. If you call me sister, I’ll have to take advantage of my aunt.”

Pei Que narrowed his eyes as he looked at An Zhi. He really didn’t like the name “Fourth Uncle”. “You called me Fourth Uncle because you followed Pei Yu’s way. Now that your marriage is over, and I’m only six years older than you, isn’t it normal for me to call you “Sister”?”

“Fourth Uncle, you’re wrong.” An Zhi turned slightly to Pei Que, looking away. “I call you Fourth Uncle, not because you’re Master Pei, but because my mother and your sister-in-law are old friends. I call your sister-in-law Auntie, so when it comes to you, it’s naturally Fourth Uncle.”

Pei Que: …The little girl has hidden her edge today, why is she even more difficult to deal with?

At this time, the rain stopped, Binglu stood aside and whispered a reminder.

An Zhi stood up and said goodbye to Pei Que. It was not good for a single man and a single woman to stay together for too long.

But Pei Que didn’t seem to have this awareness.

“Sister An, you are going to my sister-in-law’s place, right? I’ll go with you.” Pei Que caught up.

The land under her feet belonged to the Pei family. There was no reason for An Zhi to take over the position, so she had to let Pei Que go.

However, An Zhi deliberately kept some distance from Pei Que, making their relationship seem distant.

When they arrived at Madam Li’s place, she had already prepared lunch.

Seeing Pei Que and An Zhi coming together, Madam Li’s expression of surprise was barely perceptible. “Didn’t Fourth Brother go to the government office today?”

“I went there, and on my way back I met someone selling osmanthus cakes. Thinking Pei Xue would like to eat them, I brought some back.” After Pei Que finished speaking, the servant behind him brought up the food box.

The Pei family used to be quite large, but in the past few years, the second and third branches of the Pei family had been sent out, leaving only the first branch and its family and Pei Que, the fourth child. Although Pei Que had a mediocre relationship with his eldest brother and his wife, he treated his niece Pei Xue well, often bringing her food and toys.

Madam Li’s dining table was already set, and Pei Que happened to come, so she asked him to stay for dinner. The maid told her that her husband was still in the yamen, so it was just the three of them eating.

An Zhi was silent throughout the meal. She had this meal just to show Madam Li that she had no grudges. She just didn’t expect Pei Que to appear, which made her feel a little restrained.

After the meal, An Zhi was about to say goodbye and leave. Someone in the ancestral hall said that Pei Yu had fainted, so Madam Li had to ask Pei Que to send An Zhi away.

It started raining outside again. Pei Que walked on the outside. “Sister An, I just heard that Pei Yu fainted. Don’t you want to go check it out?”

An Zhi shook her head. “He is him, and I am me. We are no longer on the same boat. Life and death are our own, and there’s nothing to see. But Fourth Uncle, shouldn’t you be worried when you heard your nephew fainted?”

“I’m worried, but I’m here to send my sister off.” Pei Que looked at An Zhi with a pair of fox eyes and smiled slightly.

An Zhi was outmaneuvered and felt a lump in her chest. She didn’t want to talk anymore.

Pei Que showed no sign of stopping until they reached the gate, so An Zhi had no choice but to stop first. “Here this is fine. Thank you for escorting me out.”

Seeing An Zhi trying to keep her distance from him, Pei Que felt even more itchy inside. “No hurry, since it’s my sister-in-law’s order, I have to send you to the carriage. Please, sister An, the carriage is ready.”

An Zhi couldn’t persuade Pei Que, so she simply walked faster. Fortunately, Prime Minister Pei asked a servant to pass on a message, asking Pei Que to go there quickly, and An Zhi was spared from embarrassment.

When Pei Que arrived at Prime Minister Pei’s place, Prime Minister Pei looked very unhappy.

“Pei Yu just woke up and is still insisting on marrying the An family’s concubine’s daughter.” Prime Minister Pei asked, “What do you think we should do?”

Although Pei Yu was not the future head of the Pei family, he was also an outstanding figure of the new generation of the Pei family. Prime Minister Pei would never allow An Rong to enter the family, especially after listening to Pei Que’s talk about An Rong’s mother’s deeds, but he did not want to give up Pei Yu so easily.

“Hold on a bit longer,” Pei Que said calmly. “Use ginseng soup to keep Pei Yu captive in the ancestral hall. Don’t let any news get out. The An family member is pregnant and will be impatient. They have to spread the dirty word first before we can take action.”

Prime Minister Pei nodded in agreement, “When it comes to cunning, no one in this world can compare to you.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment from my father.” Pei Que smiled. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”

“Wait, what’s going on between you and the eldest daughter of the An family?” Prime Minister Pei’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if he could see through everything in the world. “Don’t try to fool me. I know what you are thinking at a glance.”

Pei Que stopped laughing. “Father, if you already know everything, why are you asking me?”

“Bang!”

Prime Minister Pei smashed the inkstone in his hand.

“You rascal, I think you’ve been planning this for a long time, right?” Prime Minister Pei came down. Pei Que had already looked at him, and when he looked at Pei Que, he had to look up. “No wonder you insisted on breaking off the engagement with Pei Yu that day. It seems you fell in love with her yourself. I’m telling you, give up this idea as soon as possible. Don’t even dream about it!”

Pei Que frowned. No one could stop him from doing what he was going to do. “Father, please worry more about Pei Yu. You should just turn a blind eye to my affairs.”

“You little brat, I think you’re looking for a fight!” Prime Minister Pei was really angry. He clenched his fists, but when he saw Pei Que standing there in a daze, he sighed and retracted his fists. “Que’er, you’re slapping your elder brother and sister-in-law in the face.”

Pei Que’s dark eyes turned, his gaze firm, “Then consider it as I owe them this. I will repay them with a Hanlin Pei Yu in the future.”