In the dead of night, Mei Zhuyu stood barefoot on the floor, gazing at the little girl on the bed with a bewildered look.
“Hey! Where did you come from, you little thief? Why have you kidnapped me and brought me here?” A girl of about seven years old stood on the bed with her hands on her hips, wrapped in a brocade quilt that exposed her delicate little white arms. Though young, her imperious aura was overwhelming, her aura (qi shi) reaching a full two zhang high.
Mei Zhuyu had no idea what was happening. Earlier that day, he had brought Wu Zhen, who had transformed into a kitten, back from Liu Taizhen. He had been carefully tending to her all afternoon and even held her close while sleeping at night. Wu Zhen had seemed groggy, only occasionally moving a paw. But in the middle of the night, Mei Zhuyu suddenly felt movement in his arms, and the kitten had transformed into a little girl.
The girl had an adorable snow-white face, a miniature version of Wu Zhen. She emerged from under the covers, rubbing her eyes drowsily, giving Mei Zhuyu a huge fright. Before he could figure out what was happening, the little girl was frowning and glaring at him, calling him a thief.
Mei Zhuyu was kicked off the bed by the girl’s little foot and stood there enduring her disdain, apparently being treated as some kind of pervert.
Mei Zhuyu felt utterly wronged. He realized that his wife, who was usually a few years older than him and had her own opinions and abilities, had transformed from a kitten into a little girl, and her mind and memories seemed to have reverted to those of a seven-year-old.
She didn’t remember who he was, or even that she was the esteemed Cat Lord of the demon market. She only thought of herself as an ordinary little girl.
Mei Zhuyu tried to communicate with his miniaturized wife, but the little girl was fierce. Her small mouth chattered away, refusing to believe him.
“Do you think I’m a three-year-old child? How could I be married at seven? Are you some kind of bad guy who specializes in kidnapping children? I’ve heard about people like you – you love to target pretty little girls like me!”
Mei Zhuyu: “I’m not…”
The little girl glanced at him, tugging at the brocade quilt wrapped around her. “You must have some weird fetish, not even giving me clothes to wear! And sleeping while holding me! You scoundrel!”
Mei Zhuyu: “I didn’t…”
The little girl’s cheeks were round and rosy, her large eyes bright and mischievous. While talking to Mei Zhuyu, her eyes had already carefully observed the entire place, and she was gradually relaxing. Because no matter how she looked at it, this place didn’t seem like somewhere a bad person would keep children. Plus, the man standing foolishly in front of her looked too silly to be a villain.
Although little Wu Zhen couldn’t remember what had happened, with her memories only reaching the day her mother fell ill, she strangely felt very fond of this disheveled man standing before her and wasn’t afraid of him at all. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spoken to him so boldly.
Jumping down from the bed with the brocade quilt, the little girl looked around the room. She pointed to the desk and instructed Mei Zhuyu, “Light the lamp, I can’t see clearly.”
Mei Zhuyu obediently lit the lamp. His eyes followed the little girl as she looked around the room, dragging the brocade quilt behind her, and sweeping it across the entire floor.
Mei Zhuyu watched her for a while, finally pressing his reddened arm where she had pinched him, accepting reality. Seeing that the little girl didn’t seem very afraid, he tried to move closer and said, “The floor is cold. You should go back to bed.”
Little Wu Zhen suddenly stopped. She ran up to Mei Zhuyu, tilting her head back to look at him.
Mei Zhuyu felt inexplicably nervous, holding his breath as he looked down at the serious-faced little girl. “…What is it?”
The little girl cocked her head to one side, suddenly grinning and beckoning him with her finger. “Come down a bit, squat down.”
Mei Zhuyu silently squatted down. He was so tall that even squatting, he was at eye level with the little girl. With a serious expression, she suddenly cupped Mei Zhuyu’s face with both her small hands, turning his head left and right.
Mei Zhuyu thought he saw a look of disdain on the little girl’s face as if she was thinking ‘This little snack doesn’t look good, it probably doesn’t taste good either’. He fell silent.
“You don’t remember?”
The little girl bounced back onto the couch, swinging her little legs as she rested her chin on her hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’d better send me home quickly. My mother is sick, and I want to see her. And my father, if you don’t send me back, he’ll bring people to catch you.”
After a thought, the little girl added: “And my sister too. Don’t be fooled by her pretty face, she’s fierce. You’d be scared of her!”
“So, hurry up and send me home!”
Hearing her mention her mother, Mei Zhuyu didn’t know what to do. He had heard that Wu Zhen’s mother had passed away when she was young, seemingly around this age. Seeing him not answering, the little girl pouted and looked at the dark sky outside. She made a concession, “It’s dark now, so how about this – you can send me home tomorrow.”
Mei Zhuyu shook his head, “That won’t work. Duke Yu can’t see you in your current state.”
As soon as Mei Zhuyu finished speaking, he saw the little girl who had been smiling just a moment ago suddenly burst into tears – dry sobs without actual tears, but loud enough to pierce the clouds. Mei Zhuyu had never witnessed such a dramatic change in expression before. He stood there with his mouth slightly open, unable to say a word. But the servants outside had already been awakened by the noise and were hurriedly coming to inquire about what had happened, lighting lamps as they approached.
“Young Master, why is there a child crying in your room?”
What else could Mei Zhuyu do? He could only say, “It’s nothing, you can go back.”
The master didn’t want to explain, so the servants couldn’t ask further questions. They could only retreat with puzzled looks on their faces.
Meanwhile, the little girl in the room opened one eye to look at Mei Zhuyu, her crying stopping instantly. “If you don’t agree, I’ll start crying again.”
Mei Zhuyu sighed. Afraid that she might hurt her throat from crying, he compromised, “Alright, I’ll take you to see Duke Yu tomorrow.”
The little girl smiled again, rolling to the inner side of the bed. “Okay, since you’re being so obedient, I won’t bother you anymore. Come and sleep, I’ll share half the bed with you.”
Mei Zhuyu found this a bit strange and tried asking her, “Didn’t you think I was a bad person just now?”
The little girl propped up her smiling face, looking utterly adorable. “I never said you were a bad person. You agreed to take me home, so you’re a very good person~”
Mei Zhuyu looked at the little girl’s big eyes, which were rolling around as if she was plotting something mischievous. Somehow, he found himself both amused and exasperated. He sat on the edge of the bed and said, “You sleep. I’ll just sit here and watch over you.” This was to prevent any further unexpected incidents.
The little girl, wrapped in the quilt, tapped the bed with her legs, making light sounds. She showed no signs of wanting to sleep. Suddenly, she got up and pushed the pillow onto the floor.
“It’s too hard. I don’t want this pillow.”
Mei Zhuyu picked up the pillow and put it aside. Wu Zhen grumbled for a while, then got up and searched around the bed.
Mei Zhuyu: “What’s wrong?”
The little girl pouted and sniffled, “I can’t find my little sister.”
Mei Zhuyu: “Little sister?”
The little girl looked at him with an expression that seemed to say ‘You’re so stupid, do I have to explain everything?’: “It’s the doll my mother made for me. My sister has a little sister, so I wanted one too. My mother sewed a little sister for me.”
Mei Zhuyu had never seen this so-called little sister doll and could only say, “I haven’t seen it.”
The little girl’s gaze swept across the cabinets in the room. She pointed at the cabinet doors and said, “Maybe it’s in the cabinet. Why don’t you go look?”
Mei Zhuyu thought that since Wu Zhen had brought quite a few things when she moved in, she might have brought along some childhood favorites. So, under the little girl’s hopeful gaze, he got up and went to search through Wu Zhen’s two cabinets.
He usually didn’t touch Wu Zhen’s cabinets, only occasionally helping her fetch a few pieces of clothing when she was feeling lazy. Now that he needed to find something, he opened each compartment carefully, searching thoroughly and then putting everything back in its original place.
While he was searching, the little girl jumped down from the bed and came closer to look inside the cabinets. She saw various women’s clothes and dresses, some jewelry, and some small trinkets. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and suddenly she said generously, “If you can’t find it, it’s okay. I don’t want the little sister anymore.”
There had never been a so-called little sister doll.
She returned to the bed, but still couldn’t settle down and started fidgeting again. Mei Zhuyu heard her grunting and shifting around on the bed, and asked again, “What’s wrong?”
The little girl sat up again and said, “I’m thirsty.”
Mei Zhuyu stood up, ready to pour her some water, but the little girl loudly declared, “I don’t want water, I want Three Treasures Tea!”
Three Treasures Tea was a tea brewed with dried orange peel, dried osmanthus flowers, and dried hawthorn, finally adding sugar and mint leaves. It was a common summer drink among the common people of Chang’an.
Mei Zhuyu silently complied with the little girl’s request, going out to brew the Three Treasures Tea. After a while, he returned with the tea and placed it in front of the little girl. She sat on the edge of the bed, holding the tea and sniffing it, but didn’t see any mint leaves in the bowl.
Her eyes darted around, and she looked at Mei Zhuyu with a grin, “You didn’t add mint leaves.”
Mei Zhuyu was taken aback, “You don’t like the taste of mint, so you never put mint leaves in your Three Treasures Tea.”
The little girl gulped down the bowl of Three Treasures Tea, wiped her mouth, and said, “You’re right.” Then she rolled back onto the bed.
Mei Zhuyu suddenly realized that she had been deliberately testing him, to see if he knew this habit. How could someone so young have such cunning?
Mei Zhuyu thought for a moment, then suddenly patted the little girl’s head. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not a bad person, and I won’t harm you. I’ve already promised to take you to see your father tomorrow. It’s so late now, you should sleep peacefully.”
Using such little tricks to test him meant that the little girl was feeling insecure. This was natural – although Mei Zhuyu knew her identity, from the current little girl’s perspective, she was in a strange place, and he was a stranger.
Thinking of this, Mei Zhuyu felt that his miniaturized wife was pitiful and adorable, and he wanted to do something immediately to reassure her. But he didn’t know what to do, his heart tangled in a mess of worry and confusion. He could only continue to stroke the little girl’s head, his movements becoming increasingly gentle.
The little girl observed his expression and suddenly grabbed his hand, saying with an obedient face, “I can’t sleep. Can you take me out for a look, big brother?”
Mei Zhuyu was nearly sent into a tizzy by this soft, sweet “big brother.” He barely managed to steady himself and asked, “Go out… go out to see, see what?”
The little girl was being very well-behaved, looking at him with those shining eyes. “Father, Mother, and big sister never let me go out at night. I just want to see what it’s like outside at night. Big brother, I’ll be good, just one look, please?”
She held up one finger in the promise and gently shook Mei Zhuyu’s hand.
Mei Zhuyu, known as the fierce little Daoist master who never showed mercy to mischievous children, felt all his bones turn to jelly from this gentle shake from his little wife. The cuteness nearly knocked him off his feet.