The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 162

“Grandpa! Grandpa! You’re back!”

As soon as Mei Zhuyu finished lighting the three incense sticks in his hand, he heard a little girl’s voice shouting loudly from the courtyard outside. Before long, the sound of footsteps—thump, thump, thump—came closer. He placed the incense into the burner and turned his head, just in time to see a round-eyed little girl hop over the threshold and enter the room, followed by a waddling white goose.

The goose had short legs and couldn’t step over the threshold. Seeing this, the little girl skillfully grabbed the goose by its neck and hoisted it into the room before joyfully running toward Mei Zhuyu. She flung herself onto his lap and sweetly called him, “Grandpa,” then turned toward the incense table and cheerfully called out, “Grandma.”

The moment Mei Zhuyu saw the little girl, the sternness in his face melted away from the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth, replaced by a loving smile.

The little girl was his third son’s youngest daughter, a child born late in life. Since she was the only girl in the entire family of three brothers, she was doted upon, especially by Mei Zhuyu, her doting grandfather.

“Yuan Yuan, why are you up so early? Why not sleep a little longer?” Mei Zhuyu stroked his granddaughter’s small head.

The little girl climbed onto the couch by herself, sitting beside her grandfather while swinging her legs. She clutched his hand and said, “I missed you, Grandpa! Next time you go to Changxi Temple, can you take me with you?”

“Grandpa wasn’t going for fun, I was going for important business.” Mei Zhuyu saw through his granddaughter’s little scheme. “Besides, you don’t actually miss me; you just want to go out and play.”

The little girl pouted and said pitifully, “When you’re not in Chang’an, I see those monsters, and it’s so scary. I can’t sleep at night.”

She seemed so sincere, as if she had truly been frightened, but Mei Zhuyu knew better and sighed helplessly. “You must have taken off the wood amulet I made for you, didn’t you?”

The little girl was caught off guard for a moment but quickly blinked her eyes, thick-skinned, trying to get away with it by being cute. “Yuan Yuan has been very good!”

Mei Zhuyu tapped her forehead. “You must have found it fun and deliberately took the amulet off to see the monsters. You’re still young; you shouldn’t be interacting with them too much.”

The little girl buried her head in his chest, squirming and whining for attention.

Mei Zhuyu could only pick her up, bouncing the little “monkey” in his arms, and asked, “Did it really scare you? You’ve gotten thinner.”

The little girl lifted her head, wrinkling her nose. “I’ve been having nightmares and can’t sleep well. I want to stay with Grandpa; I don’t want to sleep at home!”

Mei Zhuyu thought for a moment and then said, “Grandpa will go check if there’s a monster hiding in your room, scaring our little Yuan Yuan.”

Since his third son’s house was close by, Mei Zhuyu didn’t even bother to ride a horse. He carried his granddaughter and left the Mei family home, walking slowly to wait for the waddling goose behind them. Meanwhile, his granddaughter chatted about the recent happenings as they turned onto a new street and arrived at his third son’s house.

Since his third son was on duty that day, he wasn’t home, and the house was in chaos due to the little girl’s disappearance. Before they even entered, Mei Zhuyu heard the worried voices of the servants inside.

“Has anyone seen Miss Yuan? Where could she have gone so early without eating anything?”

“Is she hiding somewhere? She usually likes sneaking into the back garden.”

“We’ve looked everywhere—she’s not there!”

“Has anyone seen the big goose? Wherever Miss Yuan goes, she takes the goose. Try calling for it.”

“The goose isn’t here either… At least with the goose, we don’t have to worry about her being bullied.”

“Maybe she went to the old house to find Old Master Mei? I heard he returned to Chang’an last night.”

“Oh dear, that’s probably it! I’ll go ask right away!”

Just as the servants were discussing, they saw Mei Zhuyu carrying their little mistress inside, the goose waddling behind them. The older servant woman let out a sigh of relief and greeted them with a smile.

Mei Zhuyu was known for his seriousness, and aside from Xiao Yuan, his other sons and grandsons were afraid of him—let alone the servants. With her grandfather around, Yuan Yuan had no fear of being scolded by her parents, and she dragged her grandpa straight to her room to search for the monsters.

Mei Zhuyu walked around his granddaughter’s room, sighing countless times in his heart. This little granddaughter was the only one in the Mei family to inherit both his and Wu Zhen’s abilities. Her temperament was also somewhat similar to Wu Zhen’s—a mischievous little rascal.

In the corners of the room, under the bed, and inside the cupboards were little spirits that the child had clearly caught herself to keep as pets. Though spirits weren’t as dangerous as monsters, too much contact with them was still harmful, especially since this child hadn’t learned magic from him, nor did she have Wu Zhen’s experience.

Finally, Mei Zhuyu came to the bedside, lifted her pillow, and with a swift hand movement, pulled out a flowing piece of material.

This object was fluid, shimmering with iridescent colors.

The little girl’s eyes sparkled the moment she saw that her grandfather had actually found something. She quickly pulled out a ceramic jar from the cupboard and hopped excitedly, saying, “Grandpa, Grandpa! What is this? Let me keep it!”

If it had been any other mischievous child, Mei Zhuyu would’ve immediately taken it out for a round of training. But hearing it from his beloved granddaughter, the biased grandfather could only indulge her. He placed the object into the little jar as she wished.

“This is a type of spirit called an Evil Nightmare. It grows in a person’s hair and settles in the pillow, feeding on nightmares. If there’s one in your pillow, you’re more likely to have bad dreams.” 

Generally, if a person was troubled with worries during the day, the stagnant energy would spill out from their mind at night, causing these creatures to grow in their hair.

Another possibility, like in Yuan Yuan’s case, was that children born with spiritual powers—especially those too young to control them—would naturally attract such little creatures.

“If you keep it in this jar, it won’t live for long,” Mei Zhuyu warned.

The little girl’s face fell with disappointment. “Aww? No, I want to keep it! Grandpa, please~”

Before long, she was beaming as she watched her grandfather grab a cinnabar brush to draw protective symbols on the jar, ensuring the Evil Nightmare could live a little longer.

Seeing the way his granddaughter smiled, hugging her jar of spirits, Mei Zhuyu sighed and said, “Next time, if you want any spirits, just ask Grandpa. Don’t go catching them yourself. You’re too young. What if you run into something dangerous? Grandpa worries you’ll get hurt.”

The little girl stuck out her tongue, knowing that her grandpa had found the other jars she’d hidden. She lined up the new jar next to the others.

“Grandpa, I want to go out and play! Mom and Dad never take me out, but you’re the best!”

“Where do you want to go this time?” Mei Zhuyu asked.

“To the music hall!” The little girl replied without hesitation. “I want to see the beautiful Persian dancers!”

“… How do you know about that? Have you seen them before?”

Without any hesitation, the little girl sold out her uncle, Mei Ruozhuo. “Last year during the Lantern Festival, Uncle took me to see them! They were so pretty!”

Mei Zhuyu’s eldest son had recently been assigned as a prefect in Suzhou. On his way to Changxi Temple, Mei Zhuyu had visited his son’s family. In front of him, his eldest son always put on a proper, serious face. But privately, he was as unruly as his late mother had raised him to be—taking his niece to brothels and music halls was just the kind of thing he would do.

The old grandfather regretted not scolding his son when he had the chance, but faced with his granddaughter’s big, expectant eyes… he agreed.

First, he bought his granddaughter the flatbread she wanted to eat at a local eatery, then took her to drink the fermented rice beverage from the Li family shop, which used to be Wu Zhen’s favorite. After making sure the little girl was full, he took her to see the beauty that had been on her mind.

The child was full of energy, and since she hadn’t seen her grandfather in a while, she pulled him around excitedly, wanting to see everything. Mei Zhuyu felt sorry for his granddaughter, who had been cooped up at home for so long, so he agreed to take her wherever she wanted. The little girl’s face beamed with a constant smile.

After a day of fun outside, they returned home, where the Mei family residence was already bustling. His two sons who were still living in Chang’an had brought their families over for a meal together.

“Father, Yuan Yuan is such a handful. You must be tired after watching her all day,” his third son said attentively, scolding his daughter with a stern face, “Clinging to your grandfather like that, what kind of behavior is that? Get down!”

The old grandfather couldn’t bear to see anyone being harsh with his little granddaughter. With a stern expression similar to his son’s, he scolded his third son, “Yuan Yuan is less of a bother than you.”

His third son, Mei Sanlang, stood there, speechless. He had known his father would say that, yet he still stepped forward and got scolded anyway.

The second son also came over. Among the three children, his temperament was the most like Mei Zhuyu’s, while his appearance resembled Wu Zhen’s the most. Since childhood, he had always been the one cleaning up the messes left by his elder and younger brothers

The wives of the second and third sons came over with their sons, who greeted everyone. A bunch of boys, each with their own unique personality, stood meekly in front of their serious grandfather, as obedient as their fathers.

The little girl, seeing her cousins and brothers, couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle. Her brothers, usually mischievous, turned as docile as baby bunnies in front of their grandfather.

Noticing their little sister laughing, the boys all subtly made faces at her. They dared not behave as freely as she did with their grandfather; otherwise, they would receive the same treatment their fathers did—disapproval.

The large family ate a lively meal together. After chatting for a while, everyone gradually left, except for little Yuan Yuan, who refused to go. “I want to sleep here with Grandpa!”

The third son, thinking his little rascal might disturb his father’s rest, hesitated. But his wife gently reminded him, “Ever since Mother passed, Father’s been living here alone. It’s a bit lonely for him. Let Yuan Yuan keep him company.”

Hearing her words, her husband paused, thinking of his mother who had passed away years ago. With a sigh, he agreed to let the little girl stay.

That night, as Mei Zhuyu was preparing for bed, he suddenly heard a loud knocking at the door. It was his granddaughter outside, banging on the door. “Grandpa! Grandpa!”

“What’s the matter? Can’t sleep?” Mei Zhuyu opened the door, wrapping his robe around him.

The little girl slipped inside like a little puppy, running straight to the study next door. “I want to see the shadow pictures!”

The so-called shadow pictures were displayed on a blank wall in the study. Inside, there were shadow insects that Wu Zhen had put in years ago. Over the years, she’d always added more, and she used to drag Mei Zhuyu to watch the shadows at night. Back then, only he and Wu Zhen could see them. Now, there was a new addition—his little granddaughter.

The grandfather and granddaughter sat on the couch, watching the shadows. The window was wide open, and incense was burning to repel mosquitoes, its smoke drifting lazily in the air.

“Grandpa, I want to hear you play the pipa,” the little girl requested again after a while, sitting cross-legged.

“It’s late. How about I play one song, and then you go to sleep, okay?”

The little girl thought about it, then held up two fingers. “Two songs.”

Mei Zhuyu picked up the pipa and stroked the small character “Zhen” engraved on the side, then began to play.

The little girl rested her chin in her hands, listening. Her father, uncle, and brothers all thought that Grandpa didn’t like music and dance, and they believed he couldn’t play any instruments. Only she knew that her grandpa could play the pipa very well. He had once told her that her grandma had taught him when they were young, and he used to play only for her.

After finishing two songs, Mei Zhuyu gently patted his granddaughter on the head. “Now, it’s time for bed.”

The little girl, however, started to whine on the spot, “But I still can’t sleep.”

Mei Zhuyu: “…”

“Grandpa, tell me a story! Stories make me fall asleep quickly!”

In the end, as the story was being told, the little girl hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but Mei Zhuyu dozed off on the couch first.

There was a soft click, like something lightly tapping the window. The little girl woke up, rubbed her eyes, and saw a half-transparent tabby cat slip through the wall.

“Kitty!” The little girl shouted happily.

“Shh—” the tabby cat hushed her. The little girl immediately covered her mouth and carefully glanced at her grandfather, who was still asleep. She climbed off the couch and squatted in front of the tabby cat. “Kitty, when will you take me to see the monsters again?”

The tabby cat flicked her tail and smiled. “When your birthday comes, I’ll take you again. But, you must listen to your grandpa.”

“Okay!” The little girl agreed eagerly.

“Good child. Now, you should go rest.”

Once the little girl went back to bed, satisfied, the tabby cat lightly jumped onto the couch and curled up in Mei Zhuyu’s arms.

A wrinkled hand gently covered the cat. A voice sounded above her head, “You’re planning to secretly take her to the Monster Market again?”

Only then did the tabby cat realize he hadn’t been asleep and playfully denied it. “I was just teasing her. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything reckless~”

Mei Zhuyu sat up, his face filled with helplessness. “You’re not lying to my granddaughter—you’re lying to me.”

“I’m not lying to you. I’m just trying to comfort you.”

Mei Zhuyu shook his head and lay back down. “Fine.” After all, she had been “comforting” him for a lifetime.

The man and cat lay together, while outside in the courtyard, the epiphyllum silently bloomed.

“This year’s epiphyllum has bloomed again,” said a voice filled with laughter. 

She knew that to rush back in time to watch the epiphyllum bloom with her, Mei Zhuyu must have hurried back.

Mei Zhuyu said nothing, gazing at the epiphyllum in the courtyard, gently stroking the cat in his arms.

That year’s flowers were blooming beautifully too.