The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 18

Many more people went to the Ministry of Justice on the pretext of something, all to see Wu Zhen’s future husband. When he rode on the street, there were many curious eyes staring at him. Even when he returned home, he could not feel at peace. He received many visiting cards and invitations from strangers. Before, there had never been any guests in his house, and no one would invite him to banquets or poetry gatherings.

There was also a court attendance day every five days. Mei Zhuyu, who had basically been a transparent person, was unexpectedly called by His Majesty the Emperor.

It seemed that everyone expressed disbelief and amazement at the fact that Wu Zhen was really going to marry a certain man. That amazement could be broken down into two main aspects: “How could Wu Zhen fall in love with such an ordinary man? And how could there be a man who dared to marry Wu Zhen?”.

As the group of people closest to Mei Zhuyu, the officials of the Ministry of Justice had been gathering together to discuss the matter whenever they had free time these days, and everyone had an expression and tone of disbelief.

“I never thought that Second Miss Wu would marry Minister Mei. How could these two people, who have nothing in common, get together?”

“Yes, Minister Mei has been in our Ministry of Justice for such a long time. Have you ever seen him go to a brothel with us? I have never seen him smile. He is so young, but he behaves so rigidly and boringly. Even our most playful Minister Du dares not joke with him. Do you think such a man can tolerate Miss Wu who hangs out in brothels all year round? If they get married, I am afraid it will not last long. They may quarrel every few days.”

“That’s right. Miss Wu is not someone you can easily mess with. I heard that she once beat a man to death in a brothel. If he makes her unhappy, Minister Mei will probably get beaten. But I don’t think Minister Mei is someone who will give in. Oh, just thinking about it makes me feel that his life will be hard.”

Several people sighed, and suddenly they all became silent.

Mei Zhuyu had a blank expression on his face, carrying a pile of processed documents and walking through a group of embarrassed officials from the Ministry of Justice, as if he had not heard what they said at all. However, just as he was about to enter the door, he stopped, looked at a minor official in the crowd, and said indifferently, “Miss Wu has never beaten anyone to death, and there is no relevant record in the archives of the Ministry of Justice. Article 35 of the ‘Laws of the Court’ states that slandering others without reason may be a serious crime and may result in criminal punishment. Be careful next time and don’t make rumors and cause trouble again.”

The door was closed, and the faces of the people outside turned pale. The clerk whose scalp was numbed by Mei Zhuyu’s stare whispered, “I heard about it too, everyone says so…” In the end, he didn’t dare to continue. After a while of silence, they all went back to work in shame. 

Wu Zhen had just finished watching a newly rehearsed dance and music performance in Xingyuan with the Emperor, Empress, and Concubine. As they were about to leave the palace, they met an acquaintance, Huang Yi, who had once been a candidate for a husband chosen by Duke Yu. Later, because he lost to her in a horse-riding and archery competition, he refused the marriage out of shame and became her brother instead.

Young Master Huang was a captain responsible for guarding the palace gate and patrolling the outer court. His armor shone in the sun, like a giant tower door God. The two had always had a good relationship over the years, so they talked casually. Young Master Huang, like everyone else, had heard about Wu Zhen’s marriage. When he saw Wu Zhen, he stopped her and talked about the matter.

“I really didn’t expect that,” Young Master Huang said, putting his hands on his waist, his rough and resolute face full of sighs. Nine out of ten people Wu Zhen met these days would say so.

“Not long ago, I wanted to introduce you to a brother of mine. He just came back from the border of Yizhou. He is very good at riding and shooting and is definitely not inferior to you. I thought that this time there is finally a man who is worthy of you, and he will not let you down. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to tell you, and you suddenly chose a partner to get married to. What a pity.”

It was clear that Young Master Huang’s pity came from the bottom of his heart, but Wu Zhen didn’t really understand where his belief that ‘only the person who could beat Wu Zhen in riding and shooting could marry her’ came from. The guy was stubborn, and Wu Zhen was too lazy to explain anything to him. She waved her hand lazily and said, “You actually just want to see me compete with others in riding and shooting. Forget it, I’ll compete with your brother next time I have a chance, so you don’t have to worry about it all the time.”

Mr. Huang suddenly thought of something and whispered, “Actually, I don’t have a good feeling about Minister Mei.”

Wu Zhen was not surprised at all. The real man that Mr. Huang mentioned must be strong and sturdy, nine feet tall and with amazing strength. Someone like the oldest son of the Mei family, although he also had broad shoulders and a strong back, was a little thin after all, and looked like a noble scholar. It would be strange if Young Master Huang liked him.

Young Master Huang continued, “Do you know why? Because Minister Mei seems to have something against me.”

Wu Zhen suddenly became interested and asked, “Why, do you know him? Why would he have a problem with you?”

Young Master Huang scratched his head, very puzzled. “It would be great if I knew him, but I don’t know him at all. I only met him a few times in the palace. But I don’t know why, every time he sees me, his expression is unusually cold, making it difficult for me to ask…”

Wu Zhen said, “You may be worrying too much. He treats everyone like that.” Except her.

Young Master Huang shook his head, saying, “No, you don’t know if you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. It’s that kind of piercing gaze. Every time he looks at me, I feel like there are many knives stabbing in my back, making me uncomfortable. His eyes are also very scary, as if…” Young Master Huang tried hard to think of a way to describe it, “As if I stole his woman.”

Wu Zhen’s eyes narrowed suddenly. She was not a fool like Young Master Huang, and she soon noticed something. Young Master Huang had been trying to recommend men who were good at riding and shooting for her, and his concern was no less than her father’s. If Mei Zhuyu really had feelings for her, he would definitely not be nice to such a strange man who had been trying to help her with her life. That was really the “hatred of having his wife stolen from him”.

After figuring it out, Wu Zhen patted Young Master Huang on the shoulder and said, “Be careful next time. If he really wants to hit you, I won’t help you.” Wu Zhen thought that the young man hadn’t fought with this big fool yet, maybe it was because the young man couldn’t beat him.

Although Young Master Huang didn’t know why she suddenly said so, he was still angry. “They say that brothers are like limbs and women are like clothes. Now that you have a family, you treat your brothers like this?!”

As soon as the words came out, Young Master Huang felt something was wrong. Wait, this didn’t make sense. Although this was what he meant, it just didn’t make sense.

Wu Zhen laughed out loud, “Brother, I have a piece of advice for you. Next time you go around telling people you’re looking for a husband for me, remember to check if my ferocious-eyed young husband-to-be is around.”

Mr. Huang’s guts suddenly boiled over, and he finally realized why Minister Mei looked so fiercely at him.

Young Master Huang: “Ah… So that’s how it is.”

Wu Zhen explained Young Master Huang’s doubts at the palace gate. On her way back on horseback, she saw a familiar figure on the street.

She was just talking about him with someone, and now she was seeing him. Mei Zhuyu looked like he had just come out of the palace after work. He was holding a horse in his hand, but he didn’t ride it. Instead, he walked quietly along the street.

Wu Zhen didn’t know what she was thinking, so she didn’t call him out but slowed down her horse and followed him not far behind, keeping a distance where he wouldn’t notice but she wouldn’t lose sight of him. She just watched the young man walking silently on the street, occasionally looking up at the elm trees beside the road, and then he stopped in front of a peddler carrying a small load.

There were always hawkers carrying loads on their shoulders, walking through the streets. Some sold needles, thread, and other small items, some sold freshly made snacks and food, some sold home-grown fruits and vegetables, and some sold beautiful seasonal flowers and thirst-quenching tea. It was a bit far away, so Wu Zhen only saw the young man buying something from the load, but she didn’t know what he bought.

Wu Zhen suddenly squeezed the horse’s neck and urged it to run a few paces faster, catching up with Mei Zhuyu. As they got closer, she saw that the carrying pole was filled with early peaches, small in size, more green than red, and looked sour. The young man was holding the horse with one hand and a lotus leaf bag with the other, which contained a dozen green early peaches.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves behind him, he turned his head and happened to meet Wu Zhen’s gaze on the horse. He paused and the frosty expression on his face immediately melted.

Wu Zhen pulled the reins of the horse, glanced at the small peach in Mei Zhuyu’s hand, and asked naturally, “Is the peach sweet?”

Mei Zhuyu looked at her on the horse, dazed for a moment, and said, “Do you want to eat it?”

He lowered his head and picked the one with the most red, raised it, and was about to hand it to Wu Zhen, but just as she raised her hand to take it, he suddenly retracted his hand. Wu Zhen missed it, leaned back on her horse, and raised her eyebrows to look at him, but saw that the young man lowered his head and carefully wiped the peach clean before handing it to Wu Zhen again.

Wu Zhen took it and took a bite. It was indeed sour, so sour that she covered her cheeks and breathed in. Mei Zhuyu saw her reaction and also took a bite of the peach. He looked calm and didn’t seem to feel it was sour.

No matter how Wu Zhen looked at it, she felt that the peach in her hand could only become more sour.

 “Not sour?”

Mei Zhuyu answered sincerely, “Not bad.” 

There was an early peach tree in the Taoist temple where he grew up. The fruits were small and sour, but they still looked forward to the peach tree bearing fruit every year. Those fruits were much sourer than the one he held, and they were not unbearable after getting used to them.