Since Wu Zhen realized that the young lord also wanted to see her, she would go to find Mei Zhuyu whenever he had a day off, inviting him out for a stroll. It was somewhat improper for unmarried men and women to go out alone, but Wu Zhen was not one to adhere to the rules. The very rule-abiding Mei family young lord, upon seeing her smile, would throw caution to the wind, completely enchanted, and could hardly refuse her.
Unconsciously, they developed a tacit understanding; they no longer needed to arrange their meetings in advance. On his days off, they would meet with their horses and explore together.
Having been in Chang’an for a year, Mei Zhuyu was unfamiliar with many places. In contrast, Wu Zhen had grown up here and knew it well, aware of where to find delicious food and the best performances. However, considering Mei Zhuyu’s temperament, she didn’t take him to her usual haunts but instead chose quieter, scenic spots, with Lingjing Temple being one of them.
These places were not particularly interesting, but Wu Zhen discovered a different kind of amusement—Mei Zhuyu’s various reactions. She found it strange how her future husband appeared so differently when she approached him as a cat in secret compared to when she approached him as a proper person. In the morning, the young lord would look at the cat that jumped onto the windowsill with a common, indifferent gaze, but by the afternoon, he would gaze at her on horseback with a bright, infatuated expression.
Thus, Wu Zhen couldn’t help but tease him, enjoying the youthful, awkward expressions he made while trying to contain himself.
After returning from Lingjing Temple, they first arrived at the residence of Duke Yu. A few carriages were parked at the entrance, and servants were moving things into the house. When Wu Zhen noticed a small glass lantern hanging from one of the carriages, she immediately knew who was inside.
“Cousin Pei, why did you come so early? You didn’t even send me a message to let me know to come greet you,” Wu Zhen said as she dismounted and walked over to knock on the carriage door.
The door opened from the inside, revealing a handsome face. Although the face was good-looking, it bore signs of fatigue, likely from the long journey. Upon seeing Wu Zhen leaning against the door, he smiled at her, “Zhen, you haven’t changed at all.”
Wu Zhen replied, “Cousin, hurry and get out. Is it comfortable sitting in the carriage?”
This cousin, named Pei Jiaya, was the only nephew of Wu Zhen’s mother. He was a few years older than Wu Zhen, handsome and gentle, a refined person. Having lived in Duke Yu’s residence for two years during his youth, he had a close relationship with his cousin. He had always been in poor health and was recuperating in Kunzhou. This time, he traveled a long distance upon hearing that his cousin was getting married, coming to celebrate with her.
Pei Jiaya stepped out of the carriage, tall and elegant, dressed in a wide-sleeved long robe, which was quite different from the narrow-sleeved Hu clothing favored by the young men of Chang’an. He resembled the refined young gentlemen of the past. The Pei family had also been prominent in the previous dynasty, and although they had moved south and experienced changes in dynasties, they still raised their children according to the old traditions.
In Kunzhou, Pei Jiaya was also a sought-after young gentleman. Naturally, Wu Zhen was touched by his special trip to congratulate her. After not seeing him for several years, she treated him warmly, inviting him down from the carriage and introducing him to Mei Zhuyu, who was standing nearby.
“This is my cousin, Pei Jiaya from the Pei family in Kunzhou.”
“This is Mei Zhuyu, the eldest son of the Mei family, my future husband.”
Upon hearing Wu Zhen’s introduction, Pei Jiaya finally looked directly at Mei Zhuyu. When Mei Zhuyu met his gaze, he slightly furrowed his brows. The man gave him an uncomfortable feeling, subtle yet perceptible, and Mei Zhuyu keenly sensed that this cousin harbored ill intentions toward him.
Moreover, Mei Zhuyu had noticed Pei Jiaya’s gaze lingering on Wu Zhen, which also made him feel uneasy.
Pei Jiaya smiled and greeted Mei Zhuyu in a friendly tone, showing no signs of anything unusual. For a moment, Mei Zhuyu doubted whether he had misinterpreted the situation. He paused and returned the greeting to Pei Jiaya, but compared to Pei Jiaya’s smiling face, he appeared less gracious.
Pei Jiaya then leaned closer to Wu Zhen and innocently whispered, “Why does the eldest son of the Mei family seem to dislike me, his cousin? Did I offend him in some way?”
Wu Zhen seemed oblivious to the strange atmosphere between them. She tilted her head slightly toward Mei Zhuyu, teasingly saying, “The young lord probably feels unhappy because he sees how close I am with my cousin.”
As soon as she said this, Pei Jiaya’s expression stiffened slightly, while Mei Zhuyu felt a bit embarrassed and pressed his lips together. He glanced at Pei Jiaya again, reflecting inwardly on whether he was feeling jealous, which made him perceive his cousin negatively.
Pei Jiaya would be staying at the Duke Yu’s residence for a while. As Wu Zhen’s cousin, he was family, while Mei Zhuyu was still an outsider, so he didn’t want to overstay his welcome and quickly took his leave. As he rode his horse toward the street corner, he couldn’t help but turn back to look, just in time to see Pei Jiaya glance at him with a somewhat provocative smile, pulling Wu Zhen closer and leaning down to speak with her, making it appear as if they were cozying up to each other.
Mei Zhuyu couldn’t help but stop his horse, lingering for a long time until he saw them enter the door before he finally spurred his horse to leave.
Once the piercing gaze behind him disappeared, Pei Jiaya tugged at the corners of his lips. What a perceptive young lord! He had merely let a moment of malice slip, and it seemed to have been caught.
“Cousin, you’re still staying in that courtyard. I received your letter earlier and instructed the servants to prepare it. My father will return home tomorrow, so you should rest first.” As the host, Wu Zhen personally escorted her guest to the guest courtyard. Noticing Pei Jiaya covering his mouth to cough, she asked, “What’s wrong? Is the journey too tiring, and your health is not good?”
Pei Jiaya’s complexion was somewhat pale, and he coughed a couple of times, “It’s nothing, just a bit of discomfort in my throat. I’ll be fine in a few days.” He smiled on the outside, but inside he was seething with anger. This was all because of that Mei Zhuyu. If it weren’t for him having killed a part of his spirit earlier, he wouldn’t have been so affected, and his body wouldn’t be struggling to cope. And those fierce dogs he had yet to unleash had been killed before he could even use them—what a pity!
Pei Jiaya hadn’t been to Chang’an for several years, and Wu Zhen couldn’t just leave him to entertain himself. Moreover, since Duke Yu had returned home from the temple, she had to stay at home to accompany her guests.
After two days, she grew bored. That day, a group of young men and women arrived at Duke Yu’s residence, clamoring for her to bring out her wedding dress. There was a custom that once the wedding dress was made, the friends of the bride in her boudoir would come to offer their best wishes, sewing a flower onto the dress with needle and thread. Poor families would cut flowers from paper or cloth, allowing each friend to sew one onto the dress, while wealthy families would use gold, silver, agate, or jade to craft flower shapes or string pearls into small flowers to sew onto the garment.
Among Wu Zhen’s friends, besides Liu Taizhen, the only ones she was close to were two ladies, Sun Niangzi and Xie Niangzi. They often played with her, along with Cui Jiu and Mei Si. Sun Niangzi was generous, while Xie Niangzi was more reserved but very bold; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to hang out with them. Naturally, both of them came this time, bringing along flowers to sew onto the dress.
Originally, this was something the bride’s friends should do, but Cui Jiu and his group of young men also came to join in the fun, loudly insisting on sewing flowers onto Wu Zhen’s wedding dress. Wu Zhen, annoyed by their persistence, waved her hand, allowing them to do as they pleased. A group of delighted young men cheered and carried Wu Zhen’s wedding dress to one side, eagerly selecting the flowers they wanted to sew on.
Then several of them tugged at the skirt, awkwardly handling the needle and thread, haphazardly sewing the flowers. Wu Zhen watched as a group of young men, some tall and muscular, fumbled with the needle and thread, feeling that her wedding dress might end up ruined. After wandering around for a bit, she returned to find that the room was almost in chaos. Sun Niangzi was standing with her hands on her hips, shouting, “One flower per person is enough! What are you all doing?”
“Yeah! What are you doing? Why are you sewing more than one?”
“I have a good relationship with Sister Zhen; what’s wrong with sewing an extra flower?”
“Why should you? You sewed two flowers, so I want to sew two as well!”
Wu Zhen glanced at the wedding dress they were tugging at and said coolly, “If you keep sewing, I won’t be able to wear this wedding dress at all.” The clattering of needles and threads was so loud that the hem of the dress was about to fall off.
Xie Niangzi spoke gently, “Alright, I’ll take out the extra ones.” With each snip of her scissors, a young man would let out a wail.
Wu Zhen smiled as she watched them create a ruckus. By the afternoon, when the drum signaling the end of the day sounded, she finally sent everyone home. That evening, 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 quietly left. The next day, when Wu Zhen saw it, she immediately guessed who had done it. She picked up the now incredibly heavy wedding dress and felt like tearing off all the haphazardly sewn flowers, but in the end, she decided against it.
If she tore them off, those guys might end up crying.
The wedding dress lay in her room, reminding her that the wedding date was drawing near. However, Wu Zhen was not like an ordinary bride; she felt no shyness or anxiety. She continued to transform into a cat occasionally to sneak into the Ministry of Justice to check on Mei Zhuyu, but she no longer sought him out for outings because Duke Yu had returned home from the temple and was keeping a close watch on her.
With no other choice, Wu Zhen could only accompany her cousin around the residence.
“Zhen, the wedding date is approaching, yet I don’t see any joy on your face. Could it be that you are not satisfied with this marriage?” Pei Jiaya looked at her with concern. “I heard that your uncle forced you to agree to this marriage. I’m a bit worried about you. If you truly don’t want this, perhaps I can think of another way for you.”
Wu Zhen glanced at him and suddenly smiled, swirling the wine cup in her hand. “Cousin, where did you hear such a joke? If that were the case, I would have married long ago. Why would I wait until now? My young lord is quite interesting; I genuinely want to marry him, and I have no objections.”
After saying this, she casually set down her wine cup. “This wine has no flavor; I don’t like it.”
After Wu Zhen left, the smile on Pei Jiaya’s face faded. He smashed the wine cup in his hand, his expression darkening as he pondered for a moment. Suddenly, he traced a line in the air with his pale fingers, pulling a shadow from the void.
“There are only seven days left until the wedding. You think it will be so easy to take what belongs to me?”
“Go.”