At the Ministry of Justice, after a busy morning of work, officials were massaging their sore necks and chatting idly when someone suddenly brought up Mei Zhuyu.
“Are you serious?” A middle-aged official in blue robes looked at his colleague incredulously.
The bearded middle-aged man sitting next to him stroked his facial hair and smiled, “Of course it’s true. Why would I lie? Try it yourself and you’ll see.”
The blue-robed official glanced around and lowered his voice, “What if he shows up?”
The bearded man also spoke softly, “So what if he does? He’s just unsociable, not violent. I’ve never even heard him curse. What are you afraid of?”
The blue-robed official inwardly scoffed. If there’s nothing to fear, why are you whispering too? Nevertheless, intrigued by his friend’s words, he cleared his throat and deliberately raised his voice, “When my wife was pregnant, she loved a dish called ginger flower perch. The perch is fried in clear oil, then stuffed with ginger, garlic, and other seasonings…”
As he spoke, his eyes discreetly scanned his surroundings. Suddenly, a male voice came from behind, “Excuse me, where can one find this ginger flower perch dish you mentioned?”
The blue-robed official jumped, clutching his chest and catching his breath. He thought to himself, how did Lang Zhong Mei appear so silently? After the initial shock, he realized his friend was right – mentioning pregnancy cravings did summon Mei Zhuyu.
After Mei Zhuyu got his answer and left with thanks, the blue-robed official chuckled, shaking his head at his friend, “Lang Zhong Mei has been at the Ministry for over a year, and I’ve never spoken to him. I’ve only heard he’s unapproachable, but now it seems he’s just an ordinary husband afraid of his wife. It’s not as exaggerated as others say.”
Recently, a rumor had been circulating within the Ministry of Justice – supposedly, if one publicly discussed pregnancy cravings, the reclusive Lang Zhong Mei would suddenly appear.
Many bored and curious officials, disbelieving this, deliberately engaged their colleagues in such topics. Without fail, each time Mei Zhuyu would silently appear, quietly ask for details, and then retreat just as silently.
Over time, this became an open secret within the Ministry, even evolving into an amusing game. With increased interactions, many officials who previously thought Mei Zhuyu arrogant and unapproachable began to change their opinion, realizing he was simply quiet rather than intentionally distant. The image of Lang Zhong Mei scouring the city for recipes for his pregnant wife made him seem more human in his colleagues’ eyes.
As a result, Mei Zhuyu noticed more colleagues approaching him for conversation, with several greeting him on the street instead of pretending not to see him as before. Some even invited him out for drinks, and when he declined, they cheerfully told him about good places to eat instead of taking offense.
Mei Zhuyu didn’t understand this change, ultimately attributing it to the good weather improving everyone’s mood.
Wuzhen had also been in good spirits lately. Having overcome the initial panic and caution of early pregnancy, she had regained her former carefree attitude, feeling that aside from a larger belly requiring looser clothing, there wasn’t much inconvenience. Historically, it’s often been the case that those around a pregnant woman are more anxious than the woman herself. While Wuzhen had started to relax, Mei Zhuyu still watched her belly with trepidation daily.
Besides seriously monitoring Wuzhen’s belly, Mei Zhuyu was also overly concerned about her meals. Since becoming pregnant, Wuzhen’s appetite has decreased significantly. Starting with the incident of Wang Er’s pickles, Mei Zhuyu had been constantly bringing home various foods.
After forcing herself to eat Wang Er’s pickles for two days, on the third day, Wuzhen couldn’t help but tell her husband, “I don’t want to eat these pickles anymore.”
Mei Zhuyu asked, “Why? Is today’s pickle not good?”
Wuzhen solemnly informed him, “A pregnant woman’s tastes aren’t constant. We tend to lose interest in foods after a couple of days.”
Understanding this, Mei Zhuyu believed her without hesitation and began searching for a variety of foods that pregnant women might enjoy. Although he didn’t know exactly what Wuzhen wanted, he figured that among the many things he brought home, she would like some of them.
Sometimes he brought home ingredients, sometimes pre-prepared dishes from restaurants, and other times fruits and desserts.
Every day when Wuzhen returned home, her first question was whether her husband had returned. If the servants said he had, her next question was always about what he had brought back.
“Madam, today he brought back two large softshell turtles!”
“Madam, today the young master brought back vinegar-braised fish intestines from Li’s restaurant.”
“Madam, the young master brought a large basket of autumn pears today, each only as big as a child’s fist. We’ve never seen such small autumn pears before. The young master said they’re for stewing in sweet soup.”
These were manageable, but one day when Wuzhen returned, the servant at the gate told her, “Madam, madam, today the young master brought back a bear!”
Wuzhen: “…What bear?”
Curious, she went to the kitchen to see a dead bear sprawled on a hastily assembled chopping board, with several kitchen maids unsure how to proceed.
Seeing the fresh wounds on the bear, Wuzhen thought, surely her husband hadn’t hunted this himself? But when she returned to their room and saw Mei Zhuyu freshly bathed and changed, she realized he indeed had gone hunting. But how did he find time to go to the mountains outside the city to hunt bears? There weren’t any bears in the small hills within Chang’an.
As she pondered this, Mei Zhuyu came over and said, “I brought back a bear. I heard that steamed bear gallbladder with chrysanthemum is good for pregnant women, especially when the gallbladder is fresh.”
Wuzhen: “…Ha ha, is that so.” Thinking about how bitter bear gallbladder was, Wuzhen inwardly cursed, wondering which busybody had given her husband this awful recipe. Were the officials at the Ministry of Justice too idle?
Despite her reluctance to eat it, considering her husband’s outrageous act of secretly going bear hunting, Wuzhen didn’t refuse his good intentions. She put on a brave face and ate the bear gallbladder dish. Of course, to share the experience, she made sure her husband also ‘savored’ the lingering bitterness afterward.
Yellow leaves from the elm and locust trees by the street were swept up by horse hooves, flying past the high walls. The dense summer canopy of Chang’an gradually gave way to red and yellow hues, with the mountains outside the city showing large patches of red leaves. It was the perfect time for autumn outings, with clear weather prompting both nobles and commoners to enjoy the season. The young aristocrats, in particular, had been eagerly anticipating the autumn hunt since before the leaves had even begun to turn.
Zhao Lang Jun and his group had visited the Mei residence several times to discuss the autumn hunt with Wuzhen. After she set a date, they excitedly went home to prepare. The young men laughed and joked, with some loudly declaring their intention to bring back more games this year to make up for last year’s disappointment.
Wuzhen called out to Zhao Songyan, asking, “Why haven’t we seen Mei Si out lately? Is he still cooped up at home painting?”
Since Wuzhen and Cui Jiu had gotten married, the group had been led by Mei Si and Zhao Songyan. But since Wuzhen’s return to Chang’an, she hadn’t seen Mei Si out at all, with only Zhao Songyan and the others visiting.
Zhao Songyan seemed unconcerned, “Oh, him? We haven’t seen him either. We’ve invited him out several times recently, but he just stays at home. You can guess he’s probably painting. What else would he be doing? Sister Zhen, you should talk to him. He might go crazy with all that painting. We can’t control him.”
Zhao Songyan was easygoing and not as observant as Cui Jiu. Wuzhen didn’t expect him to know if something was wrong with Mei Si, so she decided to visit Mei Si herself to inform him about the upcoming autumn hunt.
Upon seeing Mei Si, Wuzhen looked him up and down and said, “Why do you look so drained? Where have you been exerting yourself?”
To her surprise, Mei Si’s eyes reddened upon seeing her, and he lowered his head, saying, “Sister Zhen, I’ve let you down.”
Wuzhen was baffled by this sudden outburst. How on earth had he let her down?
“How have you let me down? Let’s hear it,” Wuzhen poured herself a cup of water, preparing to listen to the young man’s troubles.
Mei Si remained silent for a long time, wearing an expression of difficulty in speaking. When he met her gaze, he looked even more guilty and dejected.
“Speak,” Wuzhen dropped the word heavily.
Having been disciplined by her often as a child, Mei Si immediately stopped hesitating upon hearing her tone. He mumbled, “I think I’ve fallen for someone, but it’s someone Sister Zhen dislikes.”
Someone I dislike? Who? Wuzhen didn’t immediately understand, but soon she had an idea and tentatively asked, “Liu Taizhen from the Liu family?” Her young followers all believed she and Liu Taizhen were sworn enemies. Liu Taizhen was too lazy to explain, and Wuzhen had given up after explaining and not being believed, so the misunderstanding persisted.
Mei Si nodded shamefully.
Although Wuzhen had previously teased Liu Taizhen, she hadn’t thought anything would happen between them. She found Mei Si’s confession quite surprising and couldn’t help but ask, “How did you come to think you like her? Have you seen her again recently?”
Mei Si shook his head, “No, but lately I’ve been having dreams… dreams of her bathing in water. Having such dreams must mean that I… that I…”
Mei Si couldn’t continue. As an art enthusiast who preferred ghosts and monsters to beauties, this was the first time in his life he had such dreams. He was utterly ashamed, and the fact that the subject of his dreams was at odds with his leader made him feel even more like he had betrayed the group, leading to his recent melancholy.
Poor Mei Si didn’t know that the scene he dreamed of wasn’t due to any romantic feelings, but because he had witnessed it. His memory had been erased, but for some reason, he had vaguely recalled certain scenes, leading to this misunderstanding.
Unaware of the true situation, Wuzhen patted Mei Si’s shoulder, “It’s nothing. Sister Zhen doesn’t care about that little grudge. If you like her, that’s fine.”
Mei Si was deeply moved, unaware that his revered Sister Zhen was internally laughing hysterically at that moment.