The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 44

Wu Zhen’s boudoir friends, apart from Liu Taizhen, were close to only two ladies, Madam Sun and Madam Xie, who often played with her and Cui Jiumei and her group. Madam Sun was generous, while Madam Xie was more reserved but very courageous; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to play with them. The two of them came this time, and they specially prepared gold flowers to sew onto the dress.

Originally, this should have been done by the boudoir friends, but Cui Jiu and his group of young men came over to join in the fun, clamoring to embellish flowers on Wu Zhen’s wedding dress. Wu Zhen, impatient with their nagging, waved her hand to let them do as they pleased. The young men, delighted, cheered and carried Wu Zhen’s wedding dress to one side, enthusiastically choosing the flowers they wanted to sew on it.

Then several people awkwardly pulled at her skirt, trying to sew with needles and thread. Wu Zhen watched as a group of young men fumbled with the needles, some of whom were tall, long-legged, muscular, and strong. She feared her wedding dress might be ruined. But she went out for a walk and returned to find that a fight had almost broken out in the house. 

Madam Sun, with her hands on her waist, shouted, “Each of you should sew one flower! What are you doing?”

“Yeah! What are you doing? You even have to bring extra stitches!”

“I have a good relationship with Sister Zhen, so what’s wrong with sewing one more flower?”

“Why? You sewed two, so I have to sew two too!”

Wu Zhen took one look at the wedding dress they were pulling at and said coldly, “If you keep sewing, I won’t be able to wear this wedding dress.” There was a lot of jingling and clanging, and the hem of the dress was about to fall off.

Madam Xie spoke softly, “Okay, I’ll remove all the extra stitches.” 

She snipped them one by one with the scissors, and every time she snipped one, a man wailed.

Wu Zhen watched them making a scene with a smile, and only when the closing drum was about to sound in the evening did she send all the people who had been making a fuss back. That night, Liu Taizhen suddenly appeared in Wu Zhen’s room. She took out a heavy golden flower and silently sewed it onto Wu Zhen’s wedding dress. After finishing, she left without a word. When Wu Zhen got up the next day and saw it, she immediately guessed who had done it. She picked up the wedding dress that had become extremely heavy and wanted to tear off all the messy flowers on it, but after thinking about it, she decided against it.

If they were really torn off, those guys would probably cry.

The wedding dress placed in the room reminded her that the wedding date was getting closer. However, Wu Zhen was not like other brides-to-be. She was not shy or nervous at all. She was still the same as before, occasionally turning into a cat to visit Mei Zhuyu in the Ministry of Justice, but she no longer went out with him alone because Duke Yu had returned from the temple and was temporarily staying at home, keeping a close eye on her.

There was no other way. Wu Zhen could only accompany her cousin around the mansion.

“Zhen, the wedding date is approaching, but you don’t seem to be happy. Could it be that you are not satisfied with this marriage?” Pei Jiya stared at her with concern. “I didn’t know before, but I heard these past few days that it was Uncle who forced you to agree to this marriage. I am a little worried about you. If you really don’t want to, maybe I can think of other ways for you.”

Wu Zhen glanced at him and suddenly laughed, swirling the wine in her glass, “Cousin, where did you hear such a joke? If that were the case, I would have left him a long time ago. Why would I wait until now? My young man is very interesting. I really want to marry him. There is nothing I don’t want to do.”

She said this and casually put down the wine glass. “This wine has no taste. I don’t like it.”

After Wu Zhen left, the smile on Pei Jiya’s face faded. He smashed the wine glass in his hand, thought for a moment with a sullen expression, and suddenly stretched out his white fingers in the air, grabbing a shadow from the void.

“There are only seven days left before the wedding. It won’t be easy to take my things away so easily.”

“Go ahead.”

Concubine Mei walked up to the tall hall, her skirt dragging on the smooth black bricks like a scattered flower. She slowly approached the tall figure overlooking the palace, rested her head on the man’s shoulder, and said softly, “Your Highness.”

Empress Wu turned around and took her hand. “Why did you come here at this time? Isn’t the Prince feeling a little unwell today? Why didn’t you stay with him?”

Imperial Concubine Mei replied softly, “The Prince drank the medicine and fell asleep, so I came to see Your Highness. Your Highness is here alone, looking out at the palace. Why are you in a bad mood?”

Empress Wu sighed, “I just felt a little emotional thinking about my sister getting married.”

Imperial Concubine Mei reassured her, “Don’t worry, Your Highness. I think my nephew really likes her and will definitely treat her well in the future.”

Empress Wu laughed and said, “I’m not worried about my sister; I’m worried about your nephew. I’m just afraid she will bully him in the future.”

Imperial Concubine Mei covered her lips and smiled, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents. “She may bully him, but I think my nephew is willing to let her. Your Highness may not see it, but I can. I’m afraid my nephew has already developed a deep affection for Sister Zhen. His personality is exactly like my eldest brother’s. Sister Zhen will not suffer any grievances while with him.”

The two stood there for a while, and the Empress, thinking of something, said, “Today, the envoys from Uzbekistan brought some rare animals. I heard that the Prince liked a white cat among them and asked to keep it, but you sent it away.”

Imperial Concubine Mei looked at her and said, “Yes, Your Highness, I know you don’t like cats, so I sent it away. If the Prince likes small animals, I’ll have someone raise a lynx for him next time. It doesn’t have to be a cat.”

Empress Wu was absent-minded for a moment and suddenly asked, “Do you know why I don’t like cats?”

Imperial Concubine Mei shook her head. “I don’t know, but if Your Highness doesn’t like them, I won’t let a cat appear before you.”

Empress Wu led her along the vermilion pillars, sighed slightly, and gazed at the sky as she reminisced. “My mother died suddenly. My father and I were deeply grieved. We neglected my sister during the funeral, and she fell from a tall building. She was seriously injured and near death… That night, as I watched over my sister, who was only breathing her last breath, I saw a huge cat appear in the room, and it ate my sister.”

Concubine Mei was stunned, but seeing that Empress Wu looked serious and didn’t seem to be joking, she listened carefully.

Empress Wu looked up at the sky. “I thought it was a dream, but my father came in a hurry and saw the huge cat. It ate my sister and ran away. My father and I were surprised and confused. But a day later, my sister appeared before us again. She had recovered from the serious injury of falling from the building and didn’t remember being eaten by the cat. I was very afraid of her at that time because every night, her courtyard would be full of cats, quietly surrounding her room.”