The cicadas were chirping incessantly on the paulownia trees outside, their proximity making the sound somewhat irritating. Wu Zhen didn’t stay in her husband’s embrace for long before suddenly rolling away to the side.
Mei Zhuyu’s arms were suddenly empty. Thinking she had accidentally fallen, he paused his writing and tried to scoop her back onto his lap. But Wu Zhen immediately jumped out of his arms again, prompting him to ask, “What’s wrong?”
Wu Zhen flopped down nearby, lazily swishing her tail as she replied, “Your embrace is too hot.”
Summer had fully arrived, and it was indeed quite warm. Nestling in someone’s arms wasn’t particularly comfortable in this weather. Mei Zhuyu suddenly recalled how, before he knew this tabby cat was Wu Zhen, the cat had tried to curl up in his arms several times, only to be set aside by him. Now that he wanted such closeness, he couldn’t have it. He mused that this was probably karma.
Pursing his lips, Mei Zhuyu pondered for a moment before getting up and rummaging through a nearby cabinet, retrieving cinnabar, yellow paper, peach wood, and other items.
Wu Zhen thought to herself that her husband truly lived up to his reputation as a Daoist priest, having such items even here. Unsure of his intentions, she remained in place, watching his actions. Mei Zhuyu carefully carved the peach wood for a while, creating a peach wood talisman, which he then affixed to the window.
Almost instantly, a cool breeze wafted in from outside, dispersing the stuffy heat in the room. Mei Zhuyu put away the materials and returned to his seat, looking at Wu Zhen with a slightly expectant expression.
Wu Zhen chuckled inwardly, then jumped back into his arms and settled down comfortably. Looking up, she caught a glimpse of her husband’s subtle, satisfied smile as he cradled her and resumed his work.
Feeling the gentle breeze on her face, Wu Zhen was utterly content. Her whiskers twitched as she asked, “How do you know about this kind of talisman? I thought your Daoist sect only knew about subduing demons and evil spirits.”
Mei Zhuyu made a sound of acknowledgment, his voice resonating above Wu Zhen’s head. “This is a demon-subduing talisman that can summon fierce winds. I thought perhaps with a slight modification, it could summon a gentle breeze instead. It seems I was correct.”
Wu Zhen felt a bit impressed by her husband’s quick thinking. She pondered for a moment before saying, “Let’s put one at home too. It’s too hot at night.”
Mei Zhuyu hadn’t considered this before, but hearing Wu Zhen’s suggestion, he realized its merit. He responded, “Alright, I’ll make one and put it up when we get home.”
After finishing a document and setting it aside, Mei Zhuyu’s gaze unconsciously drifted back to the tabby cat in his arms. Her belly rose and fell gently, the soft fur on it fluttering slightly in the breeze, making one want to stroke it. After watching for a while, Mei Zhuyu finally reached out to pet her, only to have his hand swatted by a paw.
It seemed she was telling him not to disturb her sleep, but the swat was gentle, the soft paw pad lightly tapping his hand, conveying a natural intimacy. Mei Zhuyu had to restrain himself from squeezing that furry paw.
Somehow, whereas before he had merely found this cat spirited, now that he knew she was Wu Zhen, every aspect of her seemed adorable, even the shed fur was endearing.
Picking up two cat hairs from his robe, Mei Zhuyu tucked them into a sachet. After doing so, he glanced at Wu Zhen, who still had her eyes closed in sleep, unaware of his actions. Only then did he set the sachet aside.
Wu Zhen had truly fallen asleep. When she awoke from her satisfying nap, she found a small food box beside her. She sprang up, looked at the sky outside, and circled the food box. It was already noon; her husband must have brought back food from the Ministry of Justice’s dining hall while she was asleep.
Sure enough, seeing her awake, Mei Zhuyu put down his brush and said, “I just brought back some food. Shall we eat here today?”
Wu Zhen nodded casually, “Sure.”
However, when Mei Zhuyu opened the food box, she poked her cat head in to take a look and immediately showed a disdainful expression. She said, “Is this what they feed you at the Ministry of Justice’s dining hall?”
In truth, the food wasn’t bad. There was a mix of meat and vegetables, and while the taste and presentation were lacking, it was better than what ordinary people ate. For someone of Mei Zhuyu’s rank, this treatment was normal, but to Wu Zhen, it seemed quite meager. She had always eaten and used the best since childhood, and after marrying Mei Zhuyu, she hadn’t intended to compromise, specifically assigning several cooks to their household.
Now, looking at Mei Zhuyu’s work meal, she swatted the lid closed with her paw, unceremoniously covering the food box. “How can you eat such things?”
Mei Zhuyu: “…Ah.”
Before he could speak, Wu Zhen shook her fur and said, “Wait here, I’ll bring you something good to eat. Just leave this stuff aside.”
Mei Zhuyu didn’t have time to stop her. In a flash, the cat disappeared.
Having rested well, Wu Zhen was full of energy. She quickly ran to Empress Qingning’s palace. Of course, the Empress’s palace had a kitchen where various delicacies and pastries were constantly being prepared. No matter when one came, different aromas could always be detected.
Whether in human or cat form, Wu Zhen frequently visited this place. She slipped into the kitchen of Qingning Palace as if it were her courtyard, skillfully gathering various foods and filling a large food box before sauntering out.
Mei Zhuyu didn’t have to wait long before he saw the tabby cat return with a large food box. This box was adorned with gold paint, floral designs, and cloud and phoenix carvings, looking much more luxurious than his previous small box. When he opened the lid, the array of foods and snacks inside was enough to make one’s mouth water just by looking.
Before Mei Zhuyu could ask, Wu Zhen spoke up to explain, “I got these from Her Majesty the Empress’s palace. Don’t worry, it won’t be discovered.” After all, this wasn’t the first time she had done such a thing.
She then pointed to several dishes with her paw and said, “You should like these. Give them a try.”
What else could Mei Zhuyu do but eat silently? Seeing him eating, Wu Zhen shook her head and continued, “I didn’t know you worked so hard every day and still had to eat such tasteless food. From now on, I’ll have someone send you food every day at noon.”
Mei Zhuyu put down his bowl and said, “Isn’t that a bit too…”
“It’s decided,” Wu Zhen said, brooking no argument. She smiled mysteriously, “Don’t worry, it won’t be ‘people’ delivering it. It won’t be discovered. Just be careful not to cut down the little spirit helping to deliver your food with one sword stroke.”
Mei Zhuyu swallowed his food and said seriously, “I won’t act recklessly in Chang’an. Don’t worry.”
Seeing his serious demeanor, Wu Zhen was unconcerned and laughed, “Why so tense? Even if you did act recklessly, it wouldn’t matter. With me around, I can cover for you. I might hold grudges against others, but never against you, my dear husband.”
Mei Zhuyu suddenly felt that the soup he had just eaten was a bit too sweet. He coughed lightly twice, “The Chang’an Spirit Market has existed for a long time, and some rules shouldn’t be broken. I had no intention of violating the taboos here, to begin with, and now that I know you’re the Cat Lord, I’m even less likely to do anything out of line that would trouble you.” He paused before adding, “However, if you have any issues, feel free to tell me. I can help, like with the plague god this time. If there’s a next time, make sure to let me know.”
Wu Zhen was amused. She had been thinking that since it was her territory, her husband could live more freely. Who knew he would be even more rule-abiding than her? And not only that, his last words seemed to indicate he was volunteering to help her with her work.
Wu Zhen thought for a moment and gladly agreed.
She asked with a smile in her voice, “You want to help me?”
“Of course,” Mei Zhuyu replied, not at all joking.
He understood that being the Cat Lord required certain abilities, but thinking back to the recent plague god incident, he couldn’t help but worry. Before, when he didn’t know Wu Zhen’s identity, even though he knew Chang’an Spirit Market had the Cat Lord and Snake Lord protecting it, and knew they had to deal with many evil spirits, he had no intention of interfering. But now, just thinking about Wu Zhen having to face countless malicious spirits and monsters coveting the spirit market and causing trouble in Chang’an, Mei Zhuyu felt a surge of anger and heartache.
This won’t do, he thought. How could she rest properly with such exhausting work?
Daoist Mei imagined scenes of his wife battling evil spirits, thinking she might get injured like this time, and couldn’t help but frown. He began to irrationally resent those troublemaking evil spirits.
Wu Zhen had no idea what violent and terrible things her husband was imagining. She was busy planning when to take him to the spirit market for a night out.
The two, each lost in their own very different thoughts, spent a harmonious afternoon together. For the first time, Wu Zhen didn’t transform into a cat and run off on her own but waited for Mei Zhuyu to finish work and carry her home.
Along the way, Mei Zhuyu, carrying the cat, received many surprised and bewildered looks. It was well known that he was the Ministry of Justice’s famously stern official, maintaining a calm and unperturbed demeanor even when faced with the most horrific cases, corpses, and criminals. He was considered the most steady and reliable person in the ministry. Many colleagues who tried to give him trouble did so out of jealousy of his excellence and dislike for his impassive demeanor.
In his daily life, he neither enjoyed making friends and carousing nor did he like to curry favor with superiors. He always kept to himself, maintaining the same indifferent attitude whether people treated him poorly with cold sarcasm or tried to befriend him with kindness.
For such an impenetrable official to be seen openly carrying a cat with such affection was completely at odds with his usual behavior, leaving people in disbelief.
In the following days, not only did the officials of the Ministry of Justice frequently see Mei Zhuyu coming and going with a cat, but even officials from nearby departments noticed. People couldn’t help but remark that Mei Zhuyu was indeed a cat lover.
Some people thought to use this as an opportunity to find fault with Mei Zhuyu and reprimand him, but before they could, the Minister of Justice himself praised Mei Zhuyu’s cat profusely and began bringing his cat to work. With the top official doing so, no one dared to say it was inappropriate.
After this, for some reason, petting cats became a trend in the Six Ministries. One day, even the Censor-in-chief Liu, who was known for his love of finding faults and submitting memorials against others, unexpectedly brought cats to work. He brought two, one perched on each shoulder, nearly shocking the group of stubborn officials at the Censorate.
When asked about it, Censor Liu sternly rebuked, “What’s wrong with cats?!”
No one dared to argue with the iron-headed Censor Liu, and thus, no one dared to say another word on the matter.