The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 159

Wu Zhen lit the lamp hanging in the cabin, wrapped herself in a thick cloak, and pulled Mei Zhuyu over to the bow, where she sat down and lit a flower-shaped lamp. The boat, with two solitary lamps aglow, slowly sailed out from the bridge hole under the cold, starry sky, drifting into the distance.

Mei Zhuyu noticed a faint aura of water monsters beneath the boat, as if there were creatures lurking below. Wu Zhen handed him a cup of hot tea and smiled softly. “I caught a few water monsters that made mistakes and punished them by having them push the boat for me.”

Mei Zhuyu: “…”

The boat moved slowly forward, gradually leaving the pedestrian street and entering a tributary. Soon, dense dark forests lined both sides of the river. There was no light at all, and even the lighthouse on the distant street could not reach this secluded spot.

After the initial darkness, the original colors of the world slowly emerged. The sky was not pitch black but had a touch of satin dark blue. The water was not dark either; it reflected the blue light from the sky, clear and bright.

There were probably wild plum blossoms in the bushes on both sides of the river, as Mei Zhuyu caught the faint fragrance of plum blossoms wafting through the air.

As the boat turned a corner around a section of trees that almost obscured the narrow river channel, the view ahead suddenly opened up. Brilliant star-like lights appeared, as if the sky had cracked open, and stars poured down, filling the trees with a dazzling brilliance.

The boat sailed into a relatively wide area of water—a small lake surrounded by trees. The lake was shaped like a full moon, and countless lights hung from the branches around it, almost illuminating the entire space. The lights on the trees resembled stars in the sky, reflected in the mirror-like lake, creating another upside-down sky. In this serene setting, the world felt unified, and all one could see were the bright lights.

Even Mei Zhuyu was momentarily stunned by the scene before him. He turned to look at Wu Zhen beside him. She appeared very pleased with herself, a smile lighting up her eyes and eyebrows, as if asking, “Are you satisfied with what you see?” 

Mei Zhuyu shook his head with a smile, placing his hand on the back of Wu Zhen’s neck. He rested her forehead against his chin, almost cradling her in his arms, and whispered, “I should have thought of it earlier; you must have prepared something special again.”

Wu Zhen playfully scratched his chin with one hand, pushing him away slightly while raising an eyebrow. “Why, don’t you like it? I spent a lot of time preparing this.”

Mei Zhuyu looked at her and replied, “I like it.”

“I like it too,” Wu Zhen said as she found herself back in his embrace.

The night was as quiet as water. Wrapped in a large fur cloak, the two sat in the small boat in the middle of the lake, quietly admiring the lights around them. They continued to watch until the bright lights gradually flickered out, one by one, and the distant sky slowly transformed into a light blue, resembling a bright dream.

As dawn approached, another kind of beauty emerged. The surrounding trees were covered in white frost, appearing like jade branches, and were reflected in the lake, which looked clear and bright in the daylight—clean and without a speck of dust.

At some point, Wu Zhen fell asleep, cradled in Mei Zhuyu’s arms, her head nestled in the fur coat. It was so warm and comfortable that she couldn’t open her eyes. Dimly aware of the dawn, she yawned, lifted a corner of the fur coat, and poked her head out, exhaling a large breath of white air as she did.

Mei Zhuyu, originally gazing at the horizon, looked down when he felt movement in his arms. He hadn’t rested all night but remained in good spirits. Some white frost clung to his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, making his eyes appear even calmer and gentler.

Wu Zhen reached out to wipe the frost from his eyebrows, then bit her pale lips. The cold felt like biting into snow.

“Why didn’t you rest in the cabin instead of sitting outside all night?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Mei Zhuyu replied, wiping the moisture from his eyelashes with his hand. Those were tiny water droplets that had formed when the frost melted.

“Your hands and feet must be stiff. How foolish of you,” Wu Zhen remarked.

Mei Zhuyu smiled but didn’t respond. He wanted to savor the beautiful scenery she had prepared for him a little longer, and before he knew it, dawn had arrived.

Touching Wu Zhen’s belly, Mei Zhuyu suddenly said, “The baby will be born soon. I heard childbirth can be extremely painful for women. When the time comes, let’s switch places, and I’ll take your place.”

Wu Zhen remained silent, gazing at his face. After a while, she smiled and said, “Okay.”

However, while Wu Zhen agreed generously and readily at the moment, when the child was born two months later, she had no intention of keeping her promise at all.

On the day the child was born, the sun shone brightly, dispelling some of the winter chill. Wu Zhen seemed to have a premonition, so she decided to stay home and bask in the sunlight. In the morning, when Mei Zhuyu went out to work, she smiled and waved at him, showing no signs of anything unusual.

Not long after Mei Zhuyu left, Wu Zhen stood up from the chair, brows pinched, and ordered, “Get ready; I’m about to give birth.” After saying that, she cursed softly, likely due to the pain.

So when Mei Zhuyu finished work and returned home as usual, the child had already been born.

“Congratulations, Master! Madam has given birth to a little boy!” The maid smiled and congratulated him. Master Mei was momentarily stunned, then rushed into the room. To his surprise, when he opened the door and turned around the screen, he found Wu Zhen sitting on the bed with disheveled hair, drinking heavily. She didn’t look weak after giving birth at all; her face was even rosy.

The anxious and worried expression on Mei Zhuyu’s face was dispelled by the sight before him. Wu Zhen raised her head and drank the entire jar of wine, as if she had finally indulged after months of withdrawal. She praised happily and contentedly, “Good wine!”

Turning around, she noticed Mei Zhuyu standing dumbfounded at the door. A flicker of guilt crossed her, but she quickly straightened up and said with a smile, “After giving birth, I can finally get rid of my alcohol withdrawal. Don’t worry; I didn’t drink too much—I just had one jar.”

There was a small plum blossom painted on the wine jug. Mei Zhuyu remembered that she had brought it back from the plum garden before. Wu Zhen had kept saying she wanted to save it for the full-month wine, so when had she hidden the wine under the bed?

Noticing his gaze fixed on the wine jar, Wu Zhen mentioned the child to divert his attention. “Come and see the child. I don’t know what he looks like; he’s ugly.”

Mei Zhuyu snapped back to reality and didn’t pursue the matter of the wine any further. He quickly walked to the bedside and looked at the child nestled on the inside of Wu Zhen’s bed. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, his mouth moving, and sleeping soundly. The child was not even half the length of Mei Zhuyu’s arm. Just as Wu Zhen had said, the child was wrinkled and red, and indeed… not very good-looking.

However, Taoist Master Mei did not despise him at all. He bent down to touch the child’s soft cheek, then withdrew his hand as if afraid of breaking him. Turning to Wu Zhen, he took the wine jar from her hand and set it aside, kissing her on the forehead before pressing his lips against hers, looking a little fierce.