The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 49

Wu Zhen had been looking at it for quite some time. Mei Si had indeed put a lot of thought into his work. It was somewhat different from the popular depictions of ghosts and evil spirits; each of the ghosts and monsters in his paintings was very unique.

After putting away the painting, Mei Si remembered to ask her why she had come. 

“Sister Zhen, do you need to talk about something?” Mei Si could be very perceptive at times. Seeing the expression on Wu Zhen’s face, he asked cautiously.

Wu Zhen replied, “Yes, cry for me.”

Mei Si looked confused, “Huh?”

Wu Zhen insisted, “Cry, start now.”

Mei Si protested, “Wait a minute, how can I start like that? I’m not ready yet!” 

He didn’t even think to ask why he had to cry. The moment Wu Zhen shouted “start”, he panicked—probably due to the bad habits he’d developed when training archery in the past. Wu Zhen once required them to shoot a certain number of arrows within a fixed time. If they didn’t finish in time, they’d have to double their efforts. It was a painful training experience. When Mei Si heard her familiar “start”, he instinctively wanted to grab a bow and arrow and aim, flustered and sweating.

After collecting Mei Si’s tears, Wu Zhen went to find Mei Si’s father. He was the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, a man with a good personality who was kind to everyone except his own son. He always wanted Mei Si to study hard and follow in his footsteps, but Mei Si wasn’t interested, so he was often punished by his father.

Wu Zhen found Mr. Mei in a restaurant, drinking with his colleagues and complaining about his son’s lack of progress. Wu Zhen listened to the middle-aged man’s family troubles, then moved her fingers, and a gust of wind and sand blew into the building. They were sitting by the window. As Mr. Mei lamented his son’s unfilial behavior and how heartbroken he was, the wind and sand suddenly blinded him. His eyes turned red instantly, and as he rubbed them, tears streamed down his face.

After successfully obtaining Mr. Mei’s tears, only Mei Zhuyu’s tears remained. Wu Zhen couldn’t find him anywhere, but finally discovered him near his home. He was standing under a tree with his horse, quietly gazing at the gate of the Duke Mansion.

Wu Zhen had once jokingly told him that if he wanted to see her, he could write her a letter, and she would come to meet him when she saw it. However, Mei Zhuyu never wrote her a letter. He had always been like that, never taking the initiative to disturb her, just waiting for her to remember him and seek him out.

Mei Zhuyu stood near the door for a while before preparing to leave.

“Did you come to find me?” Wu Zhen, standing behind him, asked with a smile.

Mei Zhuyu hadn’t seen her for several days. He stared at her for a long time before softly uttering, “Yes.” 

He had finished his work and could have gone home early, but instead, he had unknowingly walked here. He stood there foolishly, looking at the door and the wall. In fact, he didn’t expect to meet her by chance. The moment she unexpectedly appeared, the melancholy of the previous few days seemed to be swept away.

As the two walked together, Mei Zhuyu was thinking about what he could do to make Wu Zhen happy, while Wu Zhen was contemplating how to make him cry.

Maybe she should use the same trick again? Wu Zhen slightly moved her fingers, stirring up a cloud of sand on the street. The weather was bad, the sky gloomy, and gusts of wind blew from time to time. The street was dusty, and Wu Zhen made the sand blow a little harder.

“Be careful of the wind and sand; they might blind your eyes,” Mei Zhuyu’s voice sounded beside her, and Wu Zhen immediately felt a darkness before her eyes. The young man reached out and gently covered her eyes, shielding them from the wind and sand.

When Wu Zhen’s vision regained clarity, she looked up at Mei Zhuyu. His eyes were bright and calm—without a trace of redness.

Wu Zhen held one of his hands, then hooked her fingers again, raising a gust of sand. Mei Zhuyu instinctively covered her eyes with his remaining hand. His eyes still weren’t red, but the base of his ears had turned slightly red.

The method was useless. Wu Zhen pondered what to do next. She couldn’t just make him cry like she did with Mei Si. The boys were accustomed to her inexplicable antics and didn’t dare to question her. But Mei Zhuyu… her young master looked serious. If she wanted him to cry, she would need to provide a reason first.

The sky had been gloomy for a long time, and it finally started to rain. At first, there were only a few raindrops, but after a few breaths, it suddenly turned into a downpour. The fast and dense raindrops hit the ground hard, splashing water and mist. The pedestrians on the road were caught off guard, becoming drenched one by one.

Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu were trapped on the road. They had planned to take a walk together, but the sudden rain forced them to seek shelter under the eaves of a nearby house. Mei Zhuyu’s horse was also led under the eaves, and he stood on Wu Zhen’s side to shield her from the rain. The rain had come so quickly that, despite their swift move to take cover, they were still a bit wet.

Wu Zhen was slightly absent-minded, thinking about how to make the young man cry, but Mei Zhuyu beside her was very focused. Noticing the water splashed on her head and clothes, he hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out to wipe it away for her. He used the inner sleeve of his white shirt to dry her off. 

Wu Zhen was brought back to her senses by his actions, and she noticed that while his own robe was soaked, he was still intent on wiping the water droplets from her hair.

She gently pulled down the young man’s hand and said, “Okay, no need.” Then she turned around and knocked a few times on the door of the house behind her.

The door opened, and the servant, upon seeing her, quickly opened it wider and said, “It’s Miss Wu. How did you end up here in such heavy rain? Please, come in.”

Wu Zhen nodded, saying, “Are your master and mistress at home? We were just passing by and needed to take shelter from the rain.”

“Yes, yes, please come in. I’ll take care of your horses. Come in.”

Wu Zhen took Mei Zhuyu’s hand and followed the servant into the house. She wasn’t at all shy, acting as if it were her own home, and introduced the courtyard to Mei Zhuyu with familiarity, “Look at those peonies. They’re called Silver Red Candlelights. Their flowers are as big as bowls, and one branch can bloom six. They’re rare peonies, but unfortunately, they haven’t bloomed yet. We’ll have to wait a few more days.”

“Come over here. At this time, the lazy couple must be hiding in their room.”

Mei Zhuyu was a bit stunned when he was suddenly dragged in. Coming to his senses, he looked around the house and asked, “Do you know the owners of this place?”

Wu Zhen replied, “Yes, I know both of them, the husband and wife.” 

She used to play with them, but after they got married, the husband found a job and became busy, and the wife, being shy, didn’t feel comfortable hanging out with a group of unmarried guys, so they interacted less often.

After hearing her casual introduction, Mei Zhuyu once again realized that her reputation of having friends all over Chang’an and acquaintances throughout the world was indeed true.