On the Qixi Festival, Mei Zhuyu’s residence welcomed over a dozen guests. Since Mei Zhuyu had moved into this house, it had never received so many visitors at once. Given Master Mei’s social circle, these were not his guests, but rather those of the other mistress of the house, Wu Zhen.
In previous years, the ladies of Wu Zhen’s acquaintance would gather at a chosen location to chat and play on Qixi. They had visited each other’s homes in turn, and this year, with Wu Zhen staying at Mei Zhuyu’s place and rarely returning to the Duke of Yu’s mansion, her close friends had long been eager to visit. Now, with this opportunity presenting itself, they decided to hold their gathering here. Thus, from early morning, carriages arrived in an endless stream.
Ladies with weaker constitutions or those with children came by carriage, while the more spirited ones simply rode on horseback. The guests arrived so early that Wu Zhen was still asleep. Mei Zhuyu, overwhelmed by the laughter and attention of the group of charming visitors, retreated to the bedroom in a rare display of fluster, digging his wife out from under the pile of blankets.
Wu Zhen had completely forgotten about the gathering. Still groggy from being excavated from the bed by her husband, she clumsily kissed his hand a couple of times and coaxed, “Let me sleep a bit longer, darling. Don’t disturb me.”
Mei Zhuyu was at a loss. Just as he was about to say something more, laughter erupted from outside the door.
“Second Sister, how can you rise so late? We’re all here, and you’re still dallying with your husband.”
“Now that Sister Zhen has found her ideal husband, she’s content with everything and has forgotten all about us!”
“It’s Qixi today, we can’t let her laze about like this. Let’s go in and drag her out of bed!”
This group of ladies had long been familiar with Wu Zhen, having known each other for many years. Their relationship was close, and they behaved quite casually here. As they spoke, two ladies dressed in men’s clothing pushed open the door. One of them nudged Mei Zhuyu towards the exit, saying, “Husband, please step out. Let us sisters have some time to ourselves.”
Two more ladies, giggling, pulled the half-awake Wu Zhen up. Outside the door stood several more ladies holding children, their faces wearing teasing smiles. One of them playfully asked Mei Zhuyu, “Master, look at my child. Isn’t he adorable?”
When Mei Zhuyu nodded, all the ladies chorused with laughter, “If he’s so adorable, why don’t you have Second Sister bear you one?”
Mei Zhuyu truly couldn’t handle these ladies. It seemed that anyone who could be friends with Wu Zhen was, to some extent, uninhibited. As he struggled to fend off their teasing, Wu Zhen’s laughing shout came from inside the room: “What are you all doing? Don’t bully my husband, or I’ll go and bully your husbands in return!”
The ladies burst into laughter, quickly begging for mercy. “We wouldn’t dare, we wouldn’t dare! How could we possibly bully Second Sister’s beloved husband?”
Once Wu Zhen was ready, the group of ladies, along with their servants, set out in a grand procession. As Mei Zhuyu’s residence in Changle Ward was close to the East Market, they decided to forgo their carriages and walk.
On the seventh day of the seventh month, every ward set up Qiqiao markets of various sizes, selling fruits, flowers, colored threads, silver needles, and colored silks for women to use in their prayers for skill. The temporary Qiqiao market in the East Market was much larger than those in ordinary wards, selling not only prayer items but also hairpins, rings, cosmetics, and other items favored by women.
On this day, even the busiest ladies would take a break to go out with neighborhood women or close friends to explore the various Qiqiao markets. As a result, Chang’an was especially lively today. Smiling women could be seen everywhere, gathering in groups, their delicate voices and laughter constant. Walking through the Qiqiao market, one’s nose was filled with the scent of cosmetics.
Wu Zhen’s group didn’t stand out at all among the crowds. They went from one shop to another stall, meticulously exploring almost the entire market. The servants following them had their hands full of purchases, yet the ladies still felt unsatisfied.
Mei Zhuyu was originally by Wu Zhen’s side, but as they walked, he was gradually pushed to the back. The ladies who were holding exquisite hairpins or samples of brocade, asking Wu Zhen which was better, had eyes only for the beautiful items at this moment. Even if their husbands were present, they would have been waved away and scolded for getting in the way.
The Qixi Qiqiao market was truly a battlefield for women. When Wu Zhen managed to break free and look for Mei Zhuyu, she found him at the very back of the group, his hands full of items, almost invisible if one wasn’t paying attention. As he looked at the inexplicably excited ladies around him, there was a hint of awe in his eyes. In such a crowded place, these ladies moved as nimbly as fish, managing to squeeze through seemingly impenetrable crowds. Mei Zhuyu felt that even his own martial arts skills would be useless here, no match for theirs.
The group returned to Mei Zhuyu’s residence with a bountiful harvest. They immediately had long tables and benches brought out, laid mats on the ground, hung curtains around, suspended sachets to repel insects, and arranged the various fruits and snacks they had bought on the tables. Flowers were placed in vases, and someone found the good wine Wu Zhen had hidden at home, setting out wine cups for games.
Among the ladies present, only three seemed to have gentler dispositions, sitting to the side chatting quietly. The rest had already climbed onto tables and chairs, shouting boisterously. One lady with slightly darker skin, wearing men’s clothing with large lapels, was particularly bold, with a jug of wine set aside just for her, drinking it like water. It was said that she had previously accompanied her husband to guard a border town and had even killed enemies with her sword during small-scale foreign invasions.
Among these people, Mei Zhuyu only recognized one – the round-faced Madam Fu, from the household where Wu Zhen had taken shelter and changed clothes during the rain.
After thoroughly examining Mei Zhuyu, the ladies directly chased him into the room, saying that he wasn’t allowed to interfere with the women’s private gathering. Mei Zhuyu obligingly retreated, leaving the space to the group of ladies. However, his room was very close to where they had set up the tables, separated only by a wall, and he could hear various bursts of laughter coming from their side.
Mei Zhuyu was reading through some documents, occasionally pausing to listen carefully when he heard Wu Zhen’s voice. When she fell silent, he would return to his reading.
After a while, Mei Zhuyu suddenly felt something flying towards him. Before he could even look up, his hand shot out to catch it – a palm-sized, bright red peach. Mei Zhuyu looked up to see his wife smiling at him from atop the wall.
She was holding a fruit platter, and seeing Mei Zhuyu look her way, she threw another peach at him.
“These peaches are very sweet. Try one, husband,” Wu Zhen said with a smile, perched on the wall.
Mei Zhuyu took a bite as instructed, and indeed, it was deliciously sweet. Just then, Wu Zhen let out a startled cry, her body swaying precariously as if someone on the other side was trying to pull her down. Seeing this, Mei Zhuyu leaned forward, instinctively wanting to stand up and support her, but Wu Zhen had already fallen to the other side, cursing loudly.
“You rascal, Wang Aman! You almost tore my skirt off! Just wait, stand right there, and don’t run!”
Laughter and footsteps could be heard, and someone said, “Hey, that’s not fair! We agreed that today was for us girls to play. How come you can’t bear to be apart from your husband for even a moment, climbing the wall to talk to him? That won’t do!”
“That’s right, that’s right! If Sister Zhen climbs the wall again, we’ll all pull her down!”
Wu Zhen cursed a couple more times but indeed didn’t climb the wall again. Mei Zhuyu slowly sat back down and ate the two peaches Wu Zhen had thrown over.
The other side of the wall remained lively throughout. When the napping children woke up, it became even noisier. Children of a few years old are at their most disobedient stage, and it seemed that several of them had started quarreling. Crying voices rose and fell, along with the scolding of the ladies, but to no avail. One boy in particular kept wailing at the top of his lungs, getting louder and louder, almost deafening.
After a while, Mei Zhuyu saw a figure flash over the top of the wall – it was Wu Zhen, carrying a still-struggling boy as she jumped over.
Wu Zhen ran to Mei Zhuyu, placing the boy, who had momentarily stopped crying to assess the situation, in front of him. “This little rascal was bullying two little girls. He’s very naughty and making a racket. Husband, you watch him.” With that, she ran off, completely oblivious to the trouble she had just dumped on her husband.
With this troublemaker gone, laughter and chatter resumed on the other side of the wall. The boy, realizing he had been abandoned by his mother and aunties, paused for a moment before starting to roll on the ground, crying and throwing a tantrum, determined to cause a scene.
Mei Zhuyu watched him coldly, suddenly putting down the document in his hand. When it came to unruly children, apart from Wu Zhen’s little sister that one time, he had never encountered one he couldn’t handle.
On the other side of the wall, while the ladies were chatting and laughing, their ears were all perked up, listening to the commotion on Mei Zhuyu’s side. Hearing the boy’s loud cries, one lady furrowed her brow. She was the boy’s mother. Meeting the sympathetic gazes around her, she rolled her eyes and said in a low, exasperated voice, “He’s just too naughty. It’s infuriating. I’ve half a mind to give him away.”
Though she spoke of giving away her mischievous child, her eyes betrayed her worry. She asked Wu Zhen softly, “Maybe I should bring him back. We shouldn’t disturb your Master Mei.”
Wu Zhen, leisurely sitting with her legs crossed, took a sip of wine and shook her head. “It’s fine, just wait. My husband is excellent with children, don’t worry.”
Just then, the crying abruptly stopped and didn’t resume. The ladies looked at each other in confusion. One asked, “What happened? That little rascal usually cries loud enough to bring the roof down and goes on for ages. How did he suddenly stop? Your husband didn’t knock him out, did he?”
After waiting for quite a while with no sound, several heads slowly peeked over the wall to sneak a look at the other side. What they saw left them dumbfounded. The naughty boy was sitting in front of Mei Zhuyu, leaning over a small table, gripping a brush and writing characters. His shoulders shook with occasional sobs. His jade-white little face was scrunched up, his large eyes like black grapes, brimming with tears, looking utterly pitiful and adorable. Mei Zhuyu showed no sign of softening, saying coldly, “Sit up straight.”
The boy hiccupped a sob and tried his best to straighten his back.
The ladies all turned to look at Wu Zhen, their faces showing envy. “So Second Sister wasn’t joking. Master Mei is good with children. How did he do it?”
Wu Zhen smiled, “Perhaps it’s because my husband works in the Ministry of Justice. His stern face must be quite frightening.”
It wasn’t until all the ladies had left, satisfied with their gathering, that Mei Zhuyu finally released the boy. Feeling as if he had suffered a great injustice, the child rushed towards his mother, clinging to her leg and about to burst into loud sobs again. But then he seemed to remember something, looked back, met Mei Zhuyu’s gaze, and as if he had seen the King of Hell himself, immediately stopped crying and obediently stuck close to his mother’s side.
Seeing her son so well-behaved, his mother was secretly amazed and pleased, mentally noting that the next time he misbehaved, she would send him here for a day.