The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 161

Far away in the Ministry of Justice, Taoist Master Mei, busy handling official business, suddenly noticed a yellow talisman on his desk spontaneously combust without fire. He paused, picked up some ash, and sniffed it, then sighed.

He had a similar talisman at home, and now that this one had burned, it was clear that his seemingly obedient son had gone out. It was evident without a doubt that his mother had taken him out.

He sighed and shook his head, sweeping the ashes into a box. The small box was already filled with a layer of new and old ashes. When the box became full, he would settle the accounts with both of them. However, if the two knew when to stop before the ashes reached the brim, then their previous opportunistic and hypocritical behavior could be overlooked.

It all depended on whether they could stop in time. Master Mei just watched quietly.

“Mom, which music hall should we go to today? Or should we visit the Huzhu Pavilion to play games with Sister Huzhu? Otherwise, let’s go to the West Market. Didn’t the two camel caravans say they would bring more interesting things? And the Persian caravan should be back too. Let’s go find those Persian sisters who can dance the Flying Dance!”

Xiao Baoyuan asked his mother with great interest, completely oblivious that his father knew everything.

Wu Zhen was about to answer when a horse came to a stop beside them on the side of the road.

“Sister Zhen, I was just looking for you!” Exclaimed Mr. Zhao from atop the horse.

Wu Zhen responded, “What’s wrong?”

Mr. Zhao said, “You need to check on Mei Si! He is really going to become a monk this time!”

As soon as she heard the word ‘monk’, Wu Zhen guessed what had happened and felt a toothache. “Where is he now?”

Mr. Zhao replied, “At Chenxiang Temple.”

Wu Zhen gathered her son in her arms and declared, “Your uncle is causing trouble again. Let’s go see him first, and then we can visit Sister Huzhu.”

Xiao Baoyuan chimed in, “Okay, let’s go quickly.”

The mother and son reached a consensus. Wu Zhen carried her son on horseback to Chenxiang Temple. Upon arrival, she noticed the young monk welcoming guests and asked, “Is there a good-looking silly young man who wants to be ordained as a monk in your temple?”

The little monk was frightened by her expression and answered honestly, “Yes, there is one…”

Wu Zhen asked, “Did you shave his head?”

The young monk shook his head quickly. Wu Zhen sighed, expressing her regret. “Why didn’t you just shave that boy’s head!”

“Alas, this won’t do!” The young monk replied seriously, “That young man didn’t produce the certificate issued by the state. We are a formal temple; how can we just shave someone’s head casually?”

Wu Zhen nodded, patted his shoulder, and walked past him inside.

When she found Mei Si, she saw him in Daoyun Hall behind Chenxiang Temple, which was used to entertain tourists, having a pleasant conversation with a young man.

“This is the flower monster I drew. Have you read Bai Shelang’s Monster Notes? There are descriptions of flower monsters in it. Look at this, the camellia monster. I think the camellia should be white.”

After hearing Mei Si’s words, the young man, who was drinking tea, put down his teacup and said, “No, of course, the red tea flower is the best.”

Wu Zhen recognized who that young man was. His name was Pei Jingxuan. He was the candidate to marry Princess Yuanzhen. However, because Princess Yuanzhen refused, that young number one scholar was not afraid of death and rejected the marriage in front of the Empress, causing the engagement to be dropped.

Wu Zhen had some impression of this man because of that. He dared to reject the Empress and give up the Princess so directly. He was not a simple person. She had heard that he used to be poor and had no other relatives. After coming to Chang’an, he had been living in this temple. She didn’t know why he hadn’t moved out and found another house since he had become an official.

Listening to the two arguing about tea, Wu Zhen glanced at the lush red camellia growing in front of the guest room. The leaves of the red camellia trembled under her gaze. Wu Zhen smiled softly and said, “What are you afraid of? You have been here for so many years and have not done anything bad. I am not going to pull you out.”

After that, she sighed again, “One loves white camellia, and the other loves red camellia. It’s fate.”

Xiao Baoyuan looked surprised and asked, “Mom, who are you talking to?”

Wu Zhen replied, “Mom is talking to herself.”

After saying that, she went inside.

“Mei Si.”

When Mei Si heard her voice, he immediately turned into a bitter gourd and put down the things in his hand.

“Sister Zhen, why are you here?”

After a cup of tea, Mei Si followed Wu Zhen and obediently walked out of the gate of Chenxiang Temple.

“I will give you a certificate of ordination when I get back. Remember to bring it with you next time you want to become a monk; otherwise, people will not give you the tonsure,” Wu Zhen said with a smile.

Mei Si replied, “Sister Zhen, please stop making fun of me. You know I’m just talking; I won’t really shave my hair. It will take a long time for it to grow back after shaving. I was kicked out by Censor Liu; it’s already miserable enough.”

Wu Zhen laughed out loud. “You’ve been kicked out three times, and you still want to go to the Liu family to propose marriage?”

Mei Si was excited and determined when he talked about this. “Of course I do! Ever since I found out that the lady from the Liu family is the White Snake Lord, I decided to marry her!”

Wu Zhen teased, “Why? Are you not afraid of snakes anymore?”

Mei Si scratched his head. “Actually, I have a snake at home. I force myself to touch it every day. It will be fine after I get familiar with it.”

Wu Zhen tried to hold back her laughter, thinking that if the little snake knew about it, she would probably get even angrier and might even go to his house in the middle of the night to take the snake back to stew and eat.

“Okay, then you keep working hard.” Wu Zhen didn’t say much, just one last reminder, “Next time you say you want to become a monk, I won’t care about you.”

Mei Si blushed and promised, “No!” After thinking about it, he added with a bitter face, “As long as Censor Liu doesn’t kick me out again.”

After resolving the issue, Wu Zhen left. Xiao Baoyuan looked at his uncle as he left and asked, “When will my uncle marry the person he likes?”

Wu Zhen patted her son’s head lovingly. “Maybe when you get married, he still won’t be able to.”

Xiao Baoyuan responded, “It sounds so pitiful.”

Wu Zhen said, “So next time I take you to play with the little snake, you should say something nice about him in front of her.”

Xiao Baoyuan countered, “That’s not right. You have to rely on yourself for everything. That’s what Dad said.”

Wu Zhen changed the topic without any burden. “Okay, your father is right, so let’s not talk about it.”

The mother and son chatted as they headed toward the West Market. The crabapple blossoms on the roadside were in full bloom, with petals occasionally falling onto them. Xiao Baoyuan looked up at his mother’s smiling face and the rosy crabapple blossoms, feeling something cold on his forehead.

Wu Zhen lowered her head and blew a pink petal off her son’s forehead.

“This year’s Flower Festival is coming soon. Your father said that he first saw me during the Flower Festival…” Wu Zhen suddenly remembered something and urged her son, “Next time, ask your father where he saw me.”

Xiao Baoyuan pouted and gave his mother a look of rejection.

“If you ask, I’ll take you to the polo match.”

“Okay, don’t lie to me!”

The mother and son reached an agreement again, smiled similarly, and disappeared at the end of the long street.

In the distance, the Jade Belt Pond was covered with flowers again. Small pleasure boats were connected end to end, filled with people admiring the flowers. The various markets were bustling with people and carriages coming and going, wine shops with flags waving, and endless music echoing throughout Chang’an.

Mr. Mei, who was working hard, didn’t know that his wife and son were watching a beauty dancing and planning how to get some information out of him.