Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 010

Chapter 10: Orchid

Although the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion was not as prominent as before, it was still a hereditary title, and there were more rules for entering and leaving than for ordinary families.

As soon as An Zhi got off the carriage, she was led by a respectable maid to a side room for tea. When the host was ready, she was led into the garden by the host’s servants.

As soon as An Zhi sat down, the nanny serving beside her couldn’t help but look at her.

Feeling the nanny’s gaze, An Zhi felt unhappy, but this was not her home, so she had to wait quietly.

After An Zhi left, the nanny complained to the maid next to her, “She just got her engagement broken off, and she’s already showing off! Don’t let this ruin our family’s reputation.”

“Who says she isn’t?” The maid nodded. “She used to be the future daughter-in-law of the Pei family, so precious that she looked down on everyone. Now she’s fallen on hard times, and she even has a shameless concubine sister. I don’t know how she still has the nerve to come to our house.”

“I guess she’s here to extort money.” The nanny said with a pout.

At this time, An Zhi had already arrived at Madam An’s courtyard.

Madam An was only in her early thirties, but she dressed like an old lady. She usually wore a string of Buddhist beads, looking like a living Bodhisattva, which made people feel uncomfortable.

An Zhi greeted Madam An. She was a guest and also a member of Madam An’s family, so she would get more respect here than in other places.

“Aunt, your birthday is in ten days. I saw a pair of Dongzhu earrings the other day. Since you are a Buddhist, they would be the most appropriate gift for you.” An Zhi showed proper manners by sitting below Madam An. She knew that Madam An liked girls who were serious and methodical.

“If you hadn’t come today, I would have sent someone to call you.” Although Madam An seldom went out and had little interest in what happened outside, she still knew about her maternal family. “Is it true?”

An Zhi pursed her lips and glanced at the people serving beside Madam An. Madam An immediately understood and only left one nanny to serve, and sent the others away.

“It’s true.” An Zhi couldn’t bring herself to say anything bad about An Chengye in front of Madam An, so she put all the blame on Mistress Xu. “This is so embarrassing. When the young master of the Pei family came home, I thought we could still get back together. But who knew that Mistress Xu actually encouraged An Rong and the young master Pei to have an affair? Now… now An Rong is pregnant.”

Hearing this, Madam An couldn’t sit still anymore. She was the daughter of the An family. If the news of An Rong’s pregnancy before marriage got out, not only would her reputation be ruined, but her ten-year-old daughter would also suffer.

“How dare she?” An slammed the table, not even taking her Buddhist beads. Everyone said she was a Buddhist, but if it weren’t for the difficult situation in the Marquis’ Mansion, forcing her to pretend to be indifferent to the world, she wouldn’t want to be seen as an old woman. “Is she thinking of marrying into the Pei family by getting pregnant? Let her daydream. To be frank, even a legitimate daughter like you is marrying up to the Pei family, let alone a concubine’s daughter.”

An Zhi squeezed out two tears, “Who said it wasn’t true? Now my father has taken An Rong home. It was all because of Xu’s words. Aunt, Xu forced my mother to death. I hate her to the core, but I never did anything to her. But now she makes An Rong do these shameful things. How can I live in the future? Not only me, but all the girls in the An family will be criticized by others.”

“Then talk to your father!” An couldn’t help but want to curse.

“I did.” An Zhi said aggrievedly, “But my father only listens to Xu. As a daughter, it’s not easy for me to tell him what to do.”

Madam An snorted, “Isn’t it that Mistress Xu is taking advantage of the fact that the An family doesn’t have a mistress now that she can stir up trouble? Your mother has been gone for three years. Tomorrow I will find a matchmaker to find a suitable person for your father to remarry.”

This was exactly what An Zhi wanted to hear, but remarrying was a big problem, so why not let another troublemaker come along.

“Aunt, I also think it’s a good idea for Father to remarry.” An Zhi paused, “But, Father is easily influenced, and Mistress Xu is a bit of a troublemaker. I think a clean family background is enough. It doesn’t need to be particularly good. The most important thing is that the person is good and can impress Father.”

Madam An understood this logic. “I understand this, but could it be that your father really wants to keep the bastard in An Rong’s belly, thinking that the Pei family will send someone to propose marriage?”

An Zhi nodded, “I think that’s exactly what father meant.”

“He has a good idea.” To be honest, Madam An also wanted to become a relative of the Pei family, but she had to be worthy of the Pei family. “The Pei family will never allow An Rong to marry in, not even as a concubine. So if An Rong wants to be the An family’s daughter, she must not keep the child in her belly. Of course, if she is willing to sever ties with the An family, then it doesn’t matter whether she wants to have the child or not. Zhi’er, you were raised by your aunt. Although things are a bit difficult right now, your aunt believes you can handle this little thing. Once you deal with An Rong, your aunt will arrange a good marriage for you and make sure you marry off with honor.”

Old fox. An Zhi cursed in her heart.

In her previous life, An Zhi knew that her aunt was a shrewd person. She gave the most difficult tasks to her and handled the matters that brought her fame herself.

But she had no choice but to agree.

After everything was said and done, An Zhi and Madam An had nothing else to say, so An Zhi stood up and took her leave.

An Shi didn’t ask An Zhi to stay. “It’s a rare occasion for you to come today. There’s an orchid blooming in the garden of the Marquis’ Mansion. Auntie knows you like orchids the most. Go and take a look before you leave.”

An Zhi didn’t understand why An mentioned orchids, but since her elder had spoken, she had no choice but to agree.

An Zhi was not unfamiliar with the Marquis’ Mansion, but Madam An still found a maid to lead the way for her. When they arrived at a rockery, the maid walked away.

Binglu looked around and asked, “Miss, aren’t you sad that you asked Aunt to help the master remarry?”

“Is being sad useful?” An Zhi now felt that tears were the least valuable thing. “Father is a playboy. It’s impossible to expect him to remain virtuous for Mother forever. Besides, Father is in his prime and really needs a wife to deal with Mistress Xu’s situation.”

As soon as she finished speaking, An Zhi heard a sneer coming from behind the rockery.

Pei Que came out from behind the rockery with a smile, followed by a servant. However, as soon as the servant came out, he pulled Binglu away.

An Zhi was anxious. There were not many people around the rockery. Even if there were, she couldn’t shout at this moment, otherwise if someone saw her, she would never be able to wash herself clean even if she jumped into the Yellow River.

She had to pretend to be calm and said, “Hello, Fourth Uncle.”

Pei Que really didn’t like the name “Fourth Uncle”. He had heard the conversation between An Zhi and Binglu just now. “Sister An, just call me brother, or Fourth Brother. If you call me brother, I will make the Xu family disappear forever and never bother you again.”

This time, An Zhi was sure that Pei Que was teasing her, and she immediately became angry, but she couldn’t afford to offend Pei Que.

Feeling Pei Que’s fiery gaze, An Zhi’s face flushed completely. An idea suddenly occurred to her, “Fourth Uncle, stop joking. Oh, cousin Li is here.”

“Where?” Pei Que turned around, but saw no one. When he turned around, An Zhi had already run away.