When Wu Zhen announced her decision to move up the wedding date, the originally planned post-Dragon Boat Festival date was shifted to before the festival. Accustomed to Wu Zhen’s capricious nature, no one could control her. Consequently, the craftsmen in various shops tasked with creating items and clothes for her wedding hurried to complete their work. Fortunately, many valuable items had already been prepared in advance, so the remaining tasks weren’t too challenging.
Mei Zhuyu also had many preparations to make. With both his parents deceased, his closest elders in Chang’an were only Mei Shangshu, Mei Si’s father, and the Noble Consort in the palace. Many matters required the assistance of elders to avoid becoming overwhelmed, so Mei Zhuyu frequently visited them in recent days, also increasing his interactions with Mei Si.
Mei Si, fond of his soon-to-be brother-in-law… no, his cousin who was going to marry his big sister, became increasingly friendly towards him, always eager to chat when they met.
During one of Mei Zhuyu’s visits, Mei Si happened to be at home. Seeing him arrive, Mei Si excitedly approached and said, “Cousin, I’ve finally decided what wedding gift to give you!”
The group of young friends had been fussing over what gifts to give for a long time. Cui Jiu suggested a golden screen with peonies embroidered in gold thread but was mocked by the others for being too vulgar and uninteresting. Zhao Young Master had initially proposed gifting two rare fine horses, then changed his mind a few days ago to a tiger, and yesterday when they gathered, he changed his mind again to a large fox fur that could cover an entire bed, never settling on a final decision. Miss Sun said she would personally prepare a box of fine incense. Some suggested gifting several Hu courtesans and strong slaves. It seemed everyone had their ideas.
Only Mei Si had been struggling for a long time, without any clue about what gift to give. After all, as a close friend to both parties, his gift should be better and more sincere than the others, right?
After much contemplation, a sudden inspiration struck Mei Si this morning, and he finally knew what gift to give.
“Cousin, guess what it is!”
“Never mind, you’ll never guess, and I won’t tell you. I want to give you a surprise on the day!”
“Alright, I’ll say no more. While there’s still time, I need to go buy the best paper and brushes!”
Mei Si rambled on, not caring about Mei Zhuyu’s reaction. He became increasingly excited and practically danced out the door.
Mei Zhuyu: “…” Given what Mei Si had said, the gift was likely a hand-painted picture. Knowing his cousin’s usual preferences, it was almost certainly going to be some kind of demon-warding talisman.
Mei Si walked happily down the street with a spring in his step, thinking to himself, “My gift will be the most sincere and special!” He had decided to create a “Thousand Demons Warding Talisman,” painted by his hand. He imagined Wu Zhen and his cousin hanging it in their room, guaranteeing protection from all evil and ensuring their safety!
For this purpose, Mei Si decided to temporarily set aside the various demons he was creating for the “White Snake Gentleman’s Records of Demons and Ghosts” and focus entirely on preparing this Thousand Demons Warding Talisman. To make it worthy of his sister’s grand wedding, Mei Si wanted to buy better quality paper and brushes. Skilled in painting, he frequented shops selling ink, brushes, and paper, but this time he couldn’t find anything satisfactory despite looking everywhere. Finally, he reluctantly decided to venture out to other shops to continue his search.
After searching for an entire day without finding paper and brushes to his liking, Mei Si felt extremely dejected. Just as he was about to head home, planning to ask his friends the next day if they knew of better options, he was suddenly knocked down by a hurried passerby.
The person wore a veil, concealing their face and figure, though it was clear they were male. He also stumbled backward from the collision, and a wooden box in his hand fell and opened, revealing a roll of pristine paper and a deep purple brush inside.
Mei Si’s eyes fixed on the paper and brush, immediately recognizing them as extraordinary items that perfectly suited his needs. It was as if his wishes had been answered. Forgetting that he had been knocked down, Mei Si lunged forward and hugged the box, eagerly asking, “This, this paper and brush, are you selling them? Please sell them to me!”
The veiled man spoke in a hoarse voice, “I was actually on my way to consign these for sale. If you want to buy them, that’s even better. It saves me a long trip.”
He named a price, which Mei Si readily agreed to, immediately paying and happily thanking the man before scurrying home with the wooden box. With such fine paper and brush, he was sure he could paint better than ever before!
The veiled man standing there, watching Mei Si leave, gave a soft chuckle before walking into a nearby dark alley, where he instantly vanished in a puff of smoke.
Mei Si rushed home, too excited to think of anything else, and dove straight into his study. Carefully unrolling the paper, he gently ran his finger across its surface, his face immediately showing an expression of ecstasy. He ground some of his best ink, which he usually saved for special occasions, took a deep breath, and picked up the brush that felt perfect in his hand. Following the vision of the Thousand Demons Talisman in his mind, he began to paint on the paper.
Although he had never seen real demons, his love for them allowed his imagination to create a new world, one that was about to appear under his brush!
Mei Si painted excitedly until the lamp in his room went out, only then realizing how exhausted he was. He managed to tidy up the paper and brush before stumbling to his bed, where he collapsed and fell into a deep sleep.
In the silent night, the painting Mei Si had left spread out on his desk suddenly quivered slightly. The dozens of ink-black, terrifying demons he had drawn seemed to come to life, their eyeballs rolling on the paper. Then, large blobs of deep black ink lifted off the paper, rising into the air and coalescing into the forms of living demons.
Silently, they passed through the doors and walls of the house, disappearing into the night.
The next day, Mei Si slept until noon. The first thing he did upon waking was to check the painting he had done the previous day. However, when he approached his desk, he froze in shock. After a long moment, he let out a miserable cry, attracting the attention of servants and maids outside his door.
“Young Master, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Mei Si collapsed in disbelief in front of his desk, repeatedly touching the pristine paper surface, which was completely devoid of any trace of ink.
“How can this be? How is this possible? Where are the demons I painted yesterday? I painted several dozen of them! I painted them so well, and I was looking forward to admiring them again this morning. How could they have disappeared?”
After hearing what he was saying, the servants looked at each other and asked, “Young Master, is it possible that you didn’t paint yesterday and it was just a dream?”
“Yes, otherwise how could there be no trace at all on this paper?”
Mei Si held his still slightly groggy head, staring blankly at the blank paper. “Am I dreaming now, or was I dreaming when I was painting last night?” Finally, after rubbing his eyes several times, he had to admit that he must have painted the talisman in his dreams, which is why there was nothing on the paper now that he was awake.
“Wah… I had already painted it once, and now I have to paint it all over again!” Mei Si almost cried out of frustration. The servants beside him tried to console him: “Young Master, you really shouldn’t neglect your rest like this. Painting day and night without sleep, how can that be good? You must have been too exhausted, which is why you had such a dream.”
“Alright, I understand,” Mei Si said, stroking his paper and regaining his determination. “If I have to paint it again, then I’ll paint it again! This time, I’ll paint it even better!”
While Mei Si was secluded in his room painting, Wu Zhen was at a wine shop buying alcohol. She was extremely knowledgeable about wines, able to identify the origin of amber wine just by its color, distinguish between Yuzhou Winter and Yuzhou West’s Yushao Spring with a single taste of similarly colored wines, and determine the type and vintage of wine by its aroma.
Jianlin, Spring Wine, Xunyang Rice Wine, Wangfeng Water Brew, Zhuqing Wine… Wu Zhen visited the East and West Markets and thirty wards known for good wine, selecting the best-tasting variety of each type. In the end, she assembled a large cart of wine and had the servants of the Duke of Yu’s mansion deliver it to Mei Zhuyu’s residence.
With the wedding date approaching, it was time to build up some alcohol tolerance.
When Mei Zhuyu returned home, he saw the large cart of wine. Along with the wine came a letter from Wu Zhen, explaining that the jars sealed with red contained the strongest wines, while those with yellow seals had milder flavors. She briefly described her impressions and preferences for various wines and recommended an order for tasting them.
Mei Zhuyu carefully read the letter, then followed her instructions, and took a small jar of yellow-sealed wine from the top of the cart. It was called Apricot Yellow, apparently a wine brewed from apricots.
After finishing his other tasks, Mei Zhuyu took the wine back to his room, broke the seal, and poured out the liquid.
The wine was slightly yellow, the color of apricots, clear and bright, with a fresh fragrance wafting up.
The cloudier the wine, the cheaper it is, while clarity indicates higher value, so a transparent appearance is considered the best. Although Mei Zhuyu didn’t drink, he knew that such a clear and bright wine must be quite expensive.
As he took a small cup of Apricot Yellow, he found that, just as the letter described, it was overwhelmingly sweet with a slightly sour aftertaste and very little spiciness. Unlike the amber wine he had hastily drunk before, this Apricot Yellow was rich and sweet as it went down his throat. Mei Zhuyu drank nearly half the jar without feeling any effects, so he decided to finish the rest of the jar as well.
Outside the window, a tabby cat perched on a tree branch watched as Mei Zhuyu drank cup after cup as if it were water. The cat shook its head and sighed, thinking to itself that the young gentleman’s drinking method was truly a waste. Apricot Yellow should be savored slowly to appreciate its flavors. Moreover, although not strong, this wine had a long-lasting aftertaste. Drinking an entire jar at once was still too much for someone who didn’t usually drink.
Sure enough, the tabby cat saw the young gentleman’s gaze gradually becoming unfocused, still holding a half-full cup of Apricot Yellow.
Well, he’s drunk now.
The tabby cat gracefully jumped into the room, sauntering up to the young gentleman.
The now hazy Mei Zhuyu took a while to focus his gaze on the tabby cat in front of him. After staring blankly for a moment, he suddenly solemnly knelt before the cat, giving it a deep bow. Then, he offered the cup of wine in his hand, saying, “Father, it’s been a long time. I must inform you, Father, that I will soon be married. I cannot return to Qu Prefecture to offer incense to you and Mother, and I feel truly guilty about this. Please accept this humble cup of wine as a token of my sincerity.”
Wu Zhen: “…”
After acknowledging his “father,” Mei Zhuyu lay down on the ground and fell into a quiet sleep. Wu Zhen, twirling her cat whiskers, finished the cup of Apricot Yellow that had been offered to her. She then wandered over to the young gentleman’s face, raised her paw, and gently patted his cheek a few times.
Mei Zhuyu stirred groggily from her pats, shakily got up from the ground, rubbed his eyes, and sat down on a nearby couch. His head tilted to one side, and he fell asleep again.