Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 013

Chapter 13: Fake Crying

“You evil creature, do you have to tell everyone about our family affairs?” An Chengye couldn’t wait to scold An Zhi as soon as he stepped through the door. “I really raised you as a daughter in vain. Everyone says that family disgrace should not be made public, but you insist on making it known to everyone.”

An Zhi’s legs went limp, and Binglu, who was beside her, caught her in time to prevent her from falling. She started crying, a tone she and An Rong had learned. “What are you talking about, father? If you’re scolding me for my aunt’s matter, I’m being wronged. Pei Yu brought An Rong here to break off the engagement with such fanfare. Everyone in the capital knows about this. Why would I need to tell my aunt?”

Moreover, he said it was a family disgrace. Since it was a family disgrace, he brought it home and included it in the family tree like a treasure. When it came to embarrassing things, no one did a better job than An Chengye.

An Chengye also knew what was going on, but when An Zhi went to Weiyuan Marquis’ Mansion yesterday, his sister immediately sent people to beat Mistress Xu. He just saw that Mistress Xu had a large wound on her body, which made him feel very distressed. He was sure that An Zhi was fanning the flames. “Then you shouldn’t talk nonsense in front of your aunt.” His tone had softened a bit, not as impatient as at the beginning.

“Oh my God, Father, just beat me to death. When have I ever said anything nonsense?” An Zhi thought fake crying was quite interesting, and it seemed to work quite well. No wonder An Rong and her mother loved to use this trick the most. “It was only because my aunt pressed me that I told her about An Rong’s pregnancy. Father, you have more than just An Rong as your daughter. Her belly is getting bigger day by day, and we can’t hide it. You dream of becoming the father-in-law of the Pei family, but since you sent Pei Yu back, there has been no news, let alone Pei Yu coming out. If An Rong gave birth to a child in the An family, would you have told the girls of the An family not to get married?”

An Chengye gradually felt guilty and stopped glaring. He sighed, “I know this is difficult, but your aunt sent someone to beat up Mistress Xu. What does this have to do with her?”

“Why is it okay?” An Zhi stopped crying and wiped her tears. “If a child is not well educated, it is the fault of the father. An Rong was raised by her. Could it be that An Rong and Pei Yu were secretly having an affair? Didn’t Mistress Xu notice this?”

“But…” An Chengye had been convinced by An Zhi in his heart, but he felt unwilling to leave like that.

An Zhi knew An Chengye best. He had no backbone, and he took others’ praise and flattery as a good person. Seeing An Chengye’s attitude change, she got down to business. “Father, don’t worry about Mistress Xu. She only has a minor injury. She will be fine in two months. Your big issue is more important.”

Today, the An family had told An Chengye that they were planning to remarry him, and he naturally clapped his hands in approval. However, he had assumed that An Zhi would definitely disagree.

“Zhi’er, do you agree to your father remarrying?” An Chengye looked at An Zhi in surprise.

“Of course.” An Zhi led An Chengye into the house while Binglu poured tea. “Mother’s mourning period has passed, and father is in his prime. In two years, I’ll be getting married. The two concubines at home are useless, so you need a caring wife to take care of you. I’ve already said that I don’t object to you remarrying, but it has to be a good girl from a decent family.”

An Chengye still had several years before he turned forty, still in his prime. He also held an official position in the court, and entertaining guests and presenting gifts required the care of a wife. Previously, An Chengye had fallen for Mistress Xu’s gentle embrace and, fearing the Bai family, hadn’t given much thought to remarrying. Now that An Zhi had brought it up, and Mistress Xu wasn’t available lately, and he’d long since grown tired of his two concubines, he couldn’t wait to welcome a new woman.

“But your aunt is very rigid, and I’m afraid of her…” An Chengye didn’t want to be too specific with his daughter, so he just wanted to stop at the point. His sister was obviously not very old, but she wanted to act like an old ancestor. If he was to find a wife like that, he would rather not have one.

An Zhi cursed him in her heart, calling him a pervert, but smiled. “Don’t worry, Father. Auntie has good taste. Besides, you’re looking for a wife, someone who will represent our family when we go out to meet guests. If you let Mistress Xu go out to meet the wives of your colleagues, would you be willing?”

An Chengye was of course unwilling. Although he liked Mistress Xu, he also knew that Mistress Xu was not presentable.

The father and daughter talked for a while, and An Zhi personally escorted An Chengye to the door. “Don’t worry about the remarriage, Father. With my aunt’s approval, it won’t go wrong. You should worry more about An Rong. If you fail to marry her off when her pregnancy begins to show, don’t blame me for being rude. After all, you can’t support me forever, right?”

The hatred between her and An Rong had been exposed for a long time. Acting hypocritically now would only make An Chengye more vigilant. It would be better to tell An Chengye the truth and let An Chengye let down his guard against her first, so that it would be easier to deal with things in the future.

When An Zhi sent An Chengye away, the Pei Mansion was in great trouble. Pei Yu took the opportunity to go to the toilet and secretly ran away.

Prime Minister Pei was so angry that he threw his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to the ground. “What a curse! What a curse! How could my Pei family produce such an unfilial descendant!”

Pei Que sat aside, still looking calm.

Madam Li was so anxious that she was pacing around the room. “Now that he has escaped, he must be going to find An Rong. What kind of vixen is that? How could she have bewitched my son?” Speaking of An Rong, Madam Li hated her so much that she wished An Rong would die today.

“I’ll take people to look for him.” Pei Que stood up. Now his elder brother was still in the government office, and he was the only strong laborer left in the family.

“You can’t bring people with you,” Madam Li said cautiously. “After all, the An family is a family of officials. If you bring people directly to their door, firstly, they can sue us, and secondly, it will cause an unpleasant scene and be unnecessary. Our family already owes An Zhi this matter. If you tarnish her reputation further, I will be even more ashamed to see my poor sister.”

“Okay, I’ll go by myself then.” Pei Que patted his sleeves. “Don’t worry, sister-in-law. Pei Yu must be in the capital. As long as he hasn’t left the capital, there’s no problem finding him.”

“Wait a minute.” Prime Minister Pei called out to Pei Que thoughtfully, “While looking for someone, try not to attract the attention of the An family. All the servants in the family should dress like ordinary people and go out and ask around on the streets. The sooner we catch this kid, the better.”

Pei Que said yes, changed into ordinary clothes and went to the An’s house.

In the alley behind the An’s house, he easily climbed over the wall and got in.

He had been here several times before. Except for the inner courtyard, he was familiar with other places. However, this did not affect his ability to find the courtyard where An Zhi lived.

At this time, the sky was gradually getting darker, and only a thin layer of red glow remained on the clouds in the sky.

Pei Que hid behind the bamboo forest and saw An Zhi come out of the house and sit on the stone bench in the garden. She dismissed the servants around her and held a pot of wine in her hand, looking a little melancholy.