Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 015

Chapter 15: Betting

After receiving the young lady’s instructions, Binglu found Pei Yu the next day.

In fact, Pei Yu was hiding in the An family last night, but before he could find An Rong, An Zhi led people to An Zhi’s yard, so he had to hide in the pond.

It was still cold in March. When An Zhi arrived at the woodshed, Pei Yu was sneezing while holding the quilt.

“Binglu, bring the ginger soup.” An Zhi sat on a stool brought by the maid. Seeing Pei Yu’s miserable appearance, she was truly happy. Naturally, she smiled happily, without any intention of concealing it. “Why don’t you drink it? Are you afraid that I’ll poison you?”

Pei Yu didn’t move, but rolled his eyes. “An Zhi, you’re a vicious woman. What do you want to do by arresting me?”

“Oh, you really hurt my heart.” An Zhi remembered that in her previous life, Pei Yu also called her a vicious woman. At that time, she was determined to defend herself, but she didn’t know that no matter how much she explained, Pei Yu would not believe her because he had already determined that she was a vicious woman. “Binglu, if Pei Yu doesn’t want to drink it, you guys have to force it down.”

The man had been caught, and she couldn’t let him die, otherwise the Pei family would hate her to death.

Binglu brought two servants and poured ginger soup into Pei Yu’s mouth. In order to prevent Pei Yu from spitting it out, Binglu deliberately lifted Pei Yu’s chin for a while.

After the servants left, An Zhi said, “Since you haven’t been poisoned to death yet, then listen to what I have to say. Pei Yu, I really want to throw you into the pond and drown you, but on second thought, that would be too easy for you. So, how about we make a bet?”

“What are you betting on?” Pei Yu asked.

“I will let you and An Rong go, and I will also arrange for you two to leave the capital, giving you a chance to be together as lovebirds. If An Rong is willing to retire to the mountains with you, then I will not bother you again. If An Rong despises you and abandons you because of your poverty, then you will have to be my slave for ten years. Pei Yu, do you dare to bet with me that An Rong is sincere?” An Zhi smiled slightly and looked at Pei Yu, then smiled, “She is pregnant with your child now. If you don’t want her, she and her child will die.”

In her previous life, she was imprisoned and tortured by Pei Yu for ten years, and she wanted Pei Yu to pay her back for ten years!

“I want it!” Pei Yu shouted, looking at An Zhi hesitantly, “But why are you helping me?”

“I’m not helping you. I’m making a bet with you. I really can’t swallow this. So I hope you can see what I see.” An Zhi stood up. “Since you want her, have a good rest today. I’ll let you go tomorrow night.”

After coming out of the woodshed, Binglu asked unwillingly, “Miss, if they really live together, wouldn’t that be what they want?”

“If that’s the case, I’ll just accept my fate.” An Zhi looked into the distance. If Pei Yu and An Rong were truly as close as brothers, then she would have nothing to say.

Binglu: “But in this case, Fourth Master Pei, how are you going to explain this?”

“Just say we didn’t find him. Can he still eat me?” An Zhi didn’t believe that Pei Que would dare to arrest her without evidence.

~

Pei family, Pei Que yard.

“Master, you guessed right. The eldest lady of the An family really wants the eldest young master to elope. Should we go to her house to ask for him?” Mingyan was the most trusted servant around Pei Que.

“No need.” Pei Que laid on the lazy chair, “You just need to follow the young master. If necessary, you have to help them elope.”

“Why is that?” Mingyan was puzzled. “If the old man knew you were doing this in secret, he would break your legs.”

Pei Que said calmly, “I can tell you’ve never been involved in the world of romance. In the world of love, people are often confused by their own strength. Even if we kidnap Pei Yu now, he will still escape, and he will even turn against his family because of this. But if we let him escape, and An Rong abandons him later, then he will be a pillar of hope that will rise from the ashes.”

Mingyan nodded vaguely.

Pei Que glanced at Mingyan with disdain, “Why did I choose someone as stupid as you in the first place?”

“You are the master, you must have your reasons for choosing the people.” Mingyan flattered at the right time.

After Mingyan left, Pei Que looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. The little girl would have to pay the price for fooling him.

~

An Zhi prepared fifty taels of silver in banknotes and some clothes for Pei Yu. “Take these. I’ll give you one night to persuade An Rong to elope with you. But remember, you can’t tell An Rong that I told you to elope, otherwise she will definitely not leave. Tomorrow morning before dawn, you should go to the East City Gate. Someone will meet you there.”

“An Zhi.” Pei Yu picked up the bag. “If I escape from the capital one day, I will definitely go to the Buddha to bless you.”

“No, I don’t believe that. If you want it, just give me the banknote.” An Zhi urged, “Hurry up and leave, so that your fourth uncle won’t come to trouble me again.”

An Zhi was now most afraid of seeing Pei Que, especially Pei Que’s eyes, which were like an eagle, as if he was always staring at his prey.

Watching Pei Yu’s receding figure, An Zhi instructed Binglu beside her, “Remember to have someone follow Pei Yu all the way. Once they reach their first stop, we’ll make other arrangements.”

Binglu replied with a “yes” in a rather indignant tone, “Don’t worry, Miss. Young Master Pei is determined to elope with An Rong. He won’t notice us.”

An Zhi nodded with satisfaction. After returning from the woodshed and washing up, she heard Binglu say that Pei Yu had already arrived at An Rong’s room. She yawned and was about to go to bed.

After letting Binglu and the others leave, An Zhi was just about to go to bed when Pei Que walked out from behind the screen.

“Ah.” An Zhi screamed. Binglu outside immediately asked what happened. She saw Pei Que scratch her neck, so she said it was nothing and let Binglu go back to sleep. She lowered her voice and asked, “Fourth Uncle, why are you here with me?”

In the middle of the night, an adult man appeared in the lady’s room. An Zhi was scared just thinking about it. If Pei Que wanted to do something later, she would fight to the death and make Pei Que die here.

“Why am I here?” Pei Que laughed. “I should ask you this.”

“Uncle, you’re joking. How would I know you were here?” An Zhi stepped back. “Uncle, please don’t come any closer. It’s not good enough for you to be here. If you get too close to me, it will damage your reputation.”

“It’s okay, I don’t have a good reputation.” Pei Que’s smile deepened. Seeing An Zhi’s pale face from fear, he stopped moving forward. “I came here today to ask you, you openly told me that you were helping me find someone, but secretly you were instigating Pei Yu to elope. What was your intention?”

An Zhi: …How does he know?

“There’s no need to deny it. I know everything I want to know in this world.” Pei Que sat on the soft couch. The faint candlelight in the room shone on his deep facial features, making him look extremely charming.

An Zhi was disappointed. She had thought that if she did things carefully at home, no one would know about it. But Pei Que not only knew about it, but also came to her house to question her. What should she do?

“Why aren’t you talking?” Pei Que asked with interest.

“I…I…” An Zhi didn’t know what to say. Pei Que was so scary. She felt that any lie she told would be seen through by Pei Que.