The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 97

Before nightfall, everyone had left, and the Mei family’s house had returned to its former tranquility. The fruit peels and debris in the yard had been cleaned up by the servants, and the small table, long couch, fruits, and flowers had been placed again.

On the small table, a censer of incense emitted curling green smoke, giving off a light fragrance. At night, a candle illuminated the flowers, and fireflies flashed.

Wu Zhen lay on the couch, waving a small round fan in her hand. When she saw a glimmering insect, she used the fan to drive it away. Mei Zhuyu sat behind her, holding a cloth and wiping her wet long hair.

It was a custom for women to wash their hair with orchid-infused water on the night of the Chinese Valentine’s Day. However, Wu Zhen seldom followed the custom in the past. In previous years, after playing with the other ladies, she could not bear the loneliness and ran around everywhere. However, that year, Mei Zhuyu had already prepared the orchid water, so she gladly accepted it and asked her husband to help her wash her hair.

The orchid water was boiled with peach branches, which had a strange smell. Wu Zhen didn’t like it, so she washed it several times before giving up. When the moon came out, she still had to worship the moon according to custom, and only then could she complete the Qixi Festival.

While waiting for the moon to come out, Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu sat on the couch and chatted. Speaking of the little boy from the daytime, Wu Zhen asked, “How did you scare him?”

Mei Zhuyu said, “Summoning ghosts, silencing spells.”

He really showed no mercy. Wu Zhen was curious, “Did you discipline your nephew in the same way before?”

Mei Zhuyu shook his head, “No, you can’t summon ghosts in the temple with the ghost-summoning technique, and ordinary ghosts can’t scare him. So, if he didn’t obey, I would just beat him up.”

“Just beat him up,” these three words were enough to show how cruel and ruthless Master Mei was. Wu Zhen thought of her childhood and suddenly felt guilty. She coughed and changed the subject.

When the ladies were together during the day, someone asked Wu Zhen how she met and got to know Mr. Mei and how they had such a good relationship. Wu Zhen couldn’t answer. Thinking about it carefully, she didn’t know how it became like that. Reflecting back, she could only say that it seemed to be a natural thing, and she hadn’t thought much about it.

However, Wu Zhen was genuinely curious about why her husband liked her so much. She was not a fool, so how could she not see Mei Zhuyu’s feelings for her? And recalling the past, her father had said that it was Mei Zhuyu who proposed their marriage first, which was puzzling.

Wu Zhen guessed that he might have seen her before, but she never asked. Her curiosity resurfaced, so she turned around, walked to him, pulled his belt, and asked, “Husband, I heard that you were the first to propose our marriage, so did you know me before?”

Mei Zhuyu didn’t expect her to suddenly bring it up. He looked a little uncomfortable and whispered, “Yes.”

Yes, then what? Nothing? Wu Zhen simply leaned on his shoulder, became more interested, and asked repeatedly, “What was it? Tell me.”

Mei Zhuyu remained silent, so Wu Zhen had no choice but to ask in a different way, “My dear, you came to Chang’an more than a year ago, right? When did you arrive in Chang’an?”

Mei Zhuyu answered, “The Flower Festival.”

Wu Zhen was stunned, and after thinking for a while, she suddenly clapped her hands and smiled, “I knew it!” 

She turned her head to look at Mei Zhuyu and asked teasingly, “Did you see me as soon as you arrived in Chang’an? Did you fall in love with me at first sight?” 

Wu Zhen still remembered that she had seemed to make a big splash at the Flower Festival (Huazhao Festival) last year.

Mei Zhuyu did not answer. The day he entered Chang’an City was indeed the Flower Festival, and he met Wu Zhen, but that was not the first time he had met her. He had seen her before coming to Chang’an.

Mei Zhuyu had encountered many evil monsters on his way down the mountain. He killed countless monsters all the way to Chang’an. When he was one day away from Chang’an, he was attacked by another evil monster. The monster was no match for him and hid in the mountains. Mei Zhuyu had always been determined to eliminate all evil, so he immediately chased the monster into the mountains to completely eradicate it and prevent future troubles.

Just as he entered the mountains where people often hunted, he saw Wu Zhen by a clear stream in the mountains.

At first glance, Mei Zhuyu thought he saw a mountain ghost. On the bank of the orchid grass in the clear stream, the woman bathing had skin as white as snow, black hair hanging down, and a beautiful, clean face—nothing like an ordinary person at all. At that time, Mei Zhuyu was covered in dust, the corners of his robe splashed with mud, and the long sword in his hand stained with blood. He was searching for the wounded evil monster with a stern face, but he didn’t expect to see this vivid scene. After a moment of shock, he realized it was an ordinary woman. He immediately dodged without thinking and stayed away from the clear stream.

He was just guarding not far away, in case the evil monster smelled human breath and came to harm her. He waited until he saw the woman bathing in the clear stream dressed neatly, leading the horse and prey away from there, and then he left again to find the evil monster. After he killed the evil monster, he stayed in a Taoist temple outside the city for two more days to recuperate from his injuries, and then entered Chang’an City.

Mei Zhuyu lived in Changxi Temple when he was a child, and his parents would come to see him every year. Therefore, he had no impression of the prosperous Chang’an that his parents talked about. Perhaps when he was a child he had a yearning for that bustling place with endless music of sheng, pipes, and wind instruments and brightly lit streets all night long, but after getting used to the quietness of the mountains, that childhood yearning disappeared like smoke.

There was also a town at the foot of Xiling Mountain. When Mei Zhuyu was young, he had been there with his fellow apprentices. It happened to be a festival, and the streets were crowded with people and very lively. However, Mei Zhuyu did not find the liveliness particularly appealing and just treated it as normal.

On that day, he arrived in Chang’an, and it happened to be the Flower Festival. There were crowds of people coming and going. The wide streets and alleys were filled with people in brightly colored clothes. Some wore flowers in their hair, and some carried colorful lanterns. The trees on both sides of the long street were also hung with flower lanterns. There were people selling stuff, horse-drawn carriages moving slowly, nobles wearing veils, and foreigners in colorful and bright clothes. Looking around, there were crowds of people everywhere.

In the middle of the street was a long procession welcoming the Flower Goddess, which was two people tall. There were more than a dozen exquisite statues of the Flower Goddess decorated with fresh flowers and red silk, in various shapes. The musicians welcoming the Flower Goddess were dressed gorgeously, with red robes and bare feet, long bells tied around their waists, and golden bells in their hands, dancing to the music.