Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 011

Chapter 11: Industry

On the way home, An Zhi asked the carriage to take a detour to Heshun Hall because she remembered Cuisi’s pastries.

After buying the cakes, when they passed a brocade silk shop, An Zhi pointed at the shop and asked Binglu, “I remember that shop was the one my mother used as her dowry, right?”

Madam Bai was the only daughter in the family and had been favored since childhood. Had the Bai family not lost two sons on the battlefield, Old Master Bai would not have considered marrying his daughter to a civil servant. When Madam Bai married, the dowry list was eight feet long, demonstrating its generosity. After Madam Bai’s death, the dowry passed to An Zhi. However, in the three years since her mother’s passing, An Zhi had lost interest in the business and much of it was wasted.

Now, although the An family was not short of money, since An Zhi became the housekeeper, the monthly payment has decreased by more than 30%. Several shops say that business was bad and they were losing money for several months a year.

But at this moment, An Zhi saw that the silk shop was full of guests and did not look like it would lose money.

Binglu replied, “Madam brought six shops as a dowry. This is the largest one. The other five include three silk shops, a pawnshop, and a silver shop.”

After An Zhi was reborn, she had no interest in getting married. She knew her family was definitely unreliable, so she wanted to do something practical so that she could live a stable life even if she didn’t get married in the future.

In her previous life, during her first year married into the Pei family, although Pei Yu treated her harshly in every way, she still had some freedom and was somewhat familiar with the goings-on in the capital. As for the silk shop she had just seen, once Bashu sent a batch of Shu brocade as tribute this year, the women of the capital would begin to crave it. If she could secure a supply of Shu brocade, she would surely make a lot of money this year.

“When you get home later, send someone to tell these shopkeepers to come see me tomorrow. I have something to ask them.” After An Zhi finished her instructions, she thought of Pei Yu. “Is there any news from the Pei family? Are they still holding Pei Yu captive?”

Any family that had such an unfilial son would be locked up for a few days. Binglu said, “Right now, the Pei family refuses to release Young Master Pei. An Rong can’t see Young Master Pei, and they have lost contact. I’m afraid…” She was afraid that if An Rong’s pregnancy were known, it would ruin the An family’s reputation.

An Zhi curled her lips and sneered. She understood what the Pei family meant at the moment. The An family was in chaos now. As long as the An family couldn’t help but make a fuss, and the world was more harsh on women, if people knew that An Rong was pregnant before marriage, they would not blame Pei Yu for doing anything wrong, but would accuse An Rong of being shameless and scold the An family for being uneducated.

“Keep an eye on An Rong and don’t let her leave the house.” An Zhi yawned. In this life, no one could stand in the way of her bright future. “Go get a prescription for an abortion pill in secret and keep it for when it’s needed.”

Binglu felt that her young lady had matured a lot after the broken engagement, and she felt quite emotional. “Once there’s a new wife in the mansion tomorrow, Mistress Xu will no longer have any influence on her, and the good days of mother and daughter will be over.”

An Zhi: “That may not be the case. It’s certain that the new wife will set off three fires as soon as she enters the house, but these fires are just for scaring people and are useless. Just watch. I still have to deal with that bitch An Rong.”

“Miss, have you thought of a solution?” Binglu asked.

An Zhi closed her eyes. She was a little sleepy. Dealing with An Rong was really tiring and stressful. “Let’s take it one step at a time. She only has those two tricks anyway. She can’t jump too high.”

For the rest of the journey, An Zhi stopped talking.

When she got home, a servant said that Master Pei had sent a pot of orchids and asked what to do with it.

An Zhi thought of Pei Que’s words when they were at the rockery.

Call him brother? Dream on!

“Throw it away.” An Zhi ordered without thinking, but then she thought of Pei Que’s difficult personality, and asked the servant to put it in the corner of her yard.

When An Zhi saw the courtyard gate from afar, she saw Cuisi sitting on the porch. When Cuisi saw her, her eyes surprisingly lit up.

An Zhi handed the cakes she bought to Cuisi, “This is what we agreed on.”

Cuisi hugged the pastry and smiled from ear to ear.

After entering the house, Binglu dared to ask, “Miss, what exactly does Fourth Master Pei mean? He scared me to death today at Weiyuan Marquis’ Mansion.”

An Zhi didn’t understand what Pei Que was up to. In her mind, he was just a power-hungry playboy who loved visiting brothels. She had never imagined that he would flirt with her.

“I guess he’s crazy.” An Zhi said angrily.

Binglu looked at her young lady’s angelic appearance and hesitated, “Miss, could it be that Fourth Master Pei has taken a fancy to you?”

“How is that possible! He and I are a generation apart!” An Zhi subconsciously retorted when she heard this topic.

She was somewhat pretty, but Pei Que was not an inexperienced person. Moreover, the Pei family valued reputation and would never allow an uncle to marry his nephew’s ex-fiancée.

An Zhi didn’t sleep well that night.

She dreamed of herself wearing a wedding dress, waiting for her new husband in an unfamiliar environment. After a long time, she heard the door open, and she was so nervous that she couldn’t breathe. At this moment, her veil was lifted, and when she saw the groom was Pei Que, she woke up immediately with a start.

It was just dawn outside, but An Zhi was no longer sleepy and simply got up.

She put on a coat and stood in the porch, looking at the flowers and plants in the yard, thinking of the days when her mother was still alive.

Back then, her father was still as unreliable and philandering as he was now, but her mother and brother were still around. Her brother didn’t like studying, so he joined his cousins in martial arts training. Every day when he came home from school, her brother would bring her her favorite snacks. Her mother, the daughter of a military commander, knew nothing about needlework or cooking; she only knew how to wield a sword and spear.

She remembered that it was also during this rainy spring that her mother sewed a bellyband for her. It was embroidered with lotus flowers, but An Zhi didn’t recognize it. At first she guessed it was colorful clouds, which made her mother angry and said she would never embroider again.

As she thought about it, An Zhi’s eyes became moist.

She missed her brother and her mother, but now, in this huge house, filled with their memories, she couldn’t see them.

“Miss, there is a lot of dew in the morning. Please don’t stand there for too long.” When Binglu got up and saw her young lady leaning on the railing, she knew that her young lady was thinking about her deceased mother again.

An Zhi uttered an “ah” and went into the house with Binglu. “Help me wash up. The shopkeepers will be here soon.”

Binglu agreed, “I’ll go to the kitchen to get some hot water. Miss, please sit for a while. I’ll be right back.”

An Zhi combed her hair herself. It would be better to be calm when meeting the shopkeeper today. She picked out a dark blue dress with a pattern of birds paying homage to the phoenix. After she put it on, Binglu brought her some water.

After washing up, An Zhi was drawing her eyebrows when Cuisi suddenly rushed in, “Miss, there is great news, great news!”