The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 76

Mei Zhuyu: …?

He was puzzled until his cousin slowly said, with awe, “Sister Zhen’s physical strength is something that even Mr. Huang and the others may not be able to match. To be able to make Sister Zhen so tired, you’re really a hero.”

“But, cousin, it’s better to be a little more restrained. It would be bad if Sister Zhen falls ill from exhaustion.”

Mei Zhuyu finally understood what he meant but was speechless because, in fact, his wife had run away.

After asking many people and failing to get any news about Wu Zhen, Mei Zhuyu walked to the bustling East Market, frowning and wondering whether to break into the Monster Market to take a look. But he was very hesitant because the Monster Market was guarded by the Cat Lord and the Snake Lord, and it was not a good idea for him as a Taoist Priest to break in rashly. If something happened, Wu Zhen would probably be even more angry.

But apart from the Monster Market, he didn’t know where else to find Wu Zhen.

Just as Mei Zhuyu was looking at the East Market Gate, he suddenly heard a meow. He looked down and found a tabby cat sitting under the gate pillar.

Mei Zhuyu’s eyes lit up, and he leaned over, asking softly, “Are you still angry?”

The tabby cat gave him a cold look and turned its head away, with only its tail swinging back and forth behind her.

Mei Zhuyu said, “I asked you to drink the water to expel the plague from your body. It’s better to suffer a short pain than a long one; otherwise, you will suffer much more.”

The tabby cat exhaled through its nose. Mei Zhuyu tentatively reached out to carry it, but the tabby cat retreated cautiously. 

Mei Zhuyu paused and retracted his hand. “I’m worried about you staying out here alone like this. Can you come back with me first and go out after you’ve recovered a little?”

The tabby cat still didn’t respond, but a strange voice came from behind Mei Zhuyu, “Minister Mei?”

Mei Zhuyu turned around and saw a tough middle-aged man holding a lotus leaf bag—Liu Yushi. Liu Yushi had gone out to buy snow bud tea for his precious daughter. When he passed by the gate, he unexpectedly saw the young man he admired squatting at the gate and muttering to a cat, so he called out in surprise.

“Imperial Censor Liu.” Mei Zhuyu stood up.

Censor Liu looked at him, then at the squatting tabby cat, and suddenly stretched out his hand to the cat and said, “Hua Nu, come here.”

The tabby cat immediately jumped into Liu Yushi’s arms and rubbed its head against his chest. Mei Zhuyu was stunned and asked, “Who is this cat?”

Censor Liu, holding a snack in one hand and the cat in the other, seemed a little embarrassed to be seen like that. He patted the cat’s head and said, “This is Hua Nu, my daughter’s cat.”

Mei Zhuyu looked at the affectionate expression of the tabby cat in Liu Yushi’s arms and became uncertain whether it was Wu Zhen. He knew that Wu Zhen kept a distance from Liu Yushi. Many tabby cats looked the same, so maybe the one in front of him was not Wu Zhen.

Mei Zhuyu couldn’t recognize his wife and had no idea what to do.

Censor Liu seemed to be in a good mood, and seeing that Mei Zhuyu didn’t look troubled, he invited him to his home to chat. Mei Zhuyu was unsure of the identity of the tabby cat, so he agreed and followed Censor Liu to the Liu family’s house.

Censor Liu was an honest official, but his deceased wife had been a wealthy woman who left him and his daughter a lot of land, properties, and shops. Their house was in a good location and had a nice view.

But Mei Zhuyu was shocked when he entered the Liu family’s house, because as he followed Censor Liu inside, he saw another tabby cat like Wu Zhen jump out and get caught by Censor Liu.

Staring at the two identical tabby cats in Censor Liu’s arms, Mei Zhuyu asked, “Two?”

Seeing that his expression was not right, Censor Liu thought that Minister Mei also liked cats, so he introduced them with a bit of pride, “This one is called Linu, and he is the brother of Hua Nu. They were both raised by my daughter. She has taken care of them for several years, and they are very well-behaved and obedient.”

Mei Zhuyu looked at the two innocent kittens for a moment and sighed softly. “…It seems that it really wasn’t Wu Zhen.”

Mei Zhuyu left the house disappointed. Liu Taizhen, who had been watching from behind a flower tree, saw Mei Zhuyu leave. She then turned back to her room, sat down beside the bed, and poked a bulging bag under the quilt.

“Your husband looks anxious.”

The little bag moved, but soon it was still. Liu Taizhen reached out her hand and pulled back the quilt, revealing a ball of fur inside. It was also a tabby cat, but it looked like a kitten. The kitten squinted its eyes and slept soundly.

Liu Taizhen reached out and rubbed the kitten’s head. “Your husband couldn’t recognize you in the first place, and now that you’ve become like this, he can’t recognize you even more.”

On the third day after the cat ran away from home, Mei Zhuyu still couldn’t find her. It was Chang’an, her territory, so Mei Zhuyu knew nothing would happen to her. The reason she hadn’t shown up was that she didn’t want to see him. So, after waiting in the room for another night, he stopped running around Chang’an looking for the tabby cat and returned to work.

That afternoon, he was on his way home from work when he saw a tabby cat basking in the sun on the wall of a house. Mei Zhuyu stood under the wall, hesitating for a long time, then reached out and said, “Is that you?”

The tabby cat licked his fingers. Mei Zhuyu’s eyes lit up, and he reached out to pick it up from the wall. However, before he could say anything else, an identical tabby cat slowly walked over from the other side of the wall.

This tabby cat held its chin high with an elegant posture, walking in a straight line and looking down upon everyone. Finally, it stopped in front of Mei Zhuyu and looked into his eyes.

Mei Zhuyu: “…”

Mei Zhuyu had never been so at a loss before. What made him even more confused was that the two tabby cats started fighting right in front of him. He had no choice but to hold one cat in each hand to stop them from biting each other.

“Mr. Mei.” A woman with a slightly pale face and a dull expression interrupted Mei Zhuyu’s thoughts.

Mei Zhuyu looked at the person approaching. They were about ten feet apart, with the shadow of a pomegranate tree leaning over the wall between them.

Liu Taizhen and Mei Zhuyu exchanged glances for a moment before she spoke, “Excuse me, we haven’t met formally yet. I am Liu Taizhen, the daughter of Imperial Censor Liu, and also the Snake Lord of the Monster Market.”

Mei Zhuyu was surprised for only a moment. He quickly regained his composure, nodded to Liu Taizhen, and then asked with some hope in his eyes, “Snake Lord, you and the Cat Lord guard Chang’an together, so you must be a close friend of the Cat Lord. Do you know where she is?”