Early in the morning, shortly after the city gates opened, small groups of horsemen from all directions gathered in front of the gates for the collective autumn hunt of Chang’an’s young nobles. As they waited for others to arrive, those who came early chatted and joked on horseback.
“Why didn’t you bring your black hunting dog this time?” asked a youth in a jewel-blue brocade narrow-sleeved hu-style robe.
Another youth in dark blue robes flashed a bright smile, replying cheerfully, “My elder brother recently returned from Tibet and brought me a large dog. It’s fierce and bigger than ordinary dogs. I’ve specially trained it for this hunt. It’ll surely make our work easier!” He then instructed his servant to bring out the large dog to show off to the others.
A youth in crimson-purple clothes whistled dismissively. A clear bird call answered from the sky, and the youth extended his arm, wrapped in a leather bracer. Moments later, a black-feathered, golden-eyed hawk landed on his arm.
“Your ground-bound beast can’t compare to my sky-soaring Wuyun,” he boasted.
“Hah, your Wuyun is practically a parrot now. Can it still hunt?”
“…You!”
“Hey, hey, all of yours are too small. They can’t compare to mine,” a pretty girl in a hollyhock-red male-style robe interrupted the arguing boys with a grin. After drawing their attention, she clapped her hands. Two high-nosed, deep-eyed Hu servants in short brown clothes led over a leopard. The leopard moved with grace and agility, its back a smooth line, walking silently, surprising the youths.
“Ah Xiu, where did you get that leopard? It looks even better than my second uncle’s,” one boy exclaimed.
The girl proudly stroked the leopard from her horse, “My father got it for me. He dotes on me the most. Whatever I want, he naturally finds the best! Besides, you all didn’t take me last year. This is my first time hunting with Sister Zhen, and I must show her that I’m much more capable than you lot!”
The boys immediately protested, pulling their hunting companions closer and instructing them to perform well.
More and more people arrived. The noble youths, both male and female, brought numerous servants and guards for the hunt, each with hounds and falcons. Soon, a large crowd had gathered at the city gate, their laughter and chatter drawing the attention of passersby. Some newly arrived Hu merchants, unfamiliar with the scene, listened to explanations from accustomed locals and gazed enviously at the group.
Mei Si arrived with Wuzhen and Mei Zhuyu. Since Sister Zhen’s encouragement, he had shaken off his gloom. With the hunt approaching, he had focused all his energy on preparation. Now, reunited with his friends, he was once again a happy, silly boy.
Wuzhen rode on horseback, with Mei Zhuyu beside her, also on horseback. He was joining her for this hunt. Wuzhen rode at a leisurely pace, feeling she had never moved so slowly in her life. With her slow pace, the dozen or so strong servants following her could only move slowly as well.
These men were all from Duke Yu’s household, formerly personal guards of Wu Shundao. After the Duke retired from worldly affairs, these guards, unwilling to leave, became protectors in the Duke’s household. Each year when Wuzhen went hunting, the servants of Duke Yu’s household would compete for these dozen or so guard positions.
Apart from these strong servants, Wuzhen hadn’t brought lynxes or falcons like the others. She never used those before. However, this time, she did bring one animal.
When Wuzhen’s group finally arrived, the youths noticed a proud… duck. standing on her horse’s back.
A curious boy asked, “Sister Zhen, why did you bring a duck to the hunt?”
A girl with a clear voice objected, “How could Sister Zhen bring an ordinary duck? I’m sure it’s not a duck!”
Wuzhen laughed heartily and gave the girl a thumbs up, saying, “Indeed, it’s not a duck.”
The girl puffed up her chest proudly. Then Wuzhen continued, “It’s a goose.”
The youths couldn’t help but burst into laughter, though they tried to stifle it for fear of offending Wuzhen. Wuzhen waved her hand generously, “Laugh out loud, why suppress it?”
Immediately, everyone broke into loud laughter, even the girl. Lang Jun Zhao rode closer, intending to pet the small goose, joking, “Sister Zhen, did you bring the goose to roast and eat later?”
Wuzhen watched his foolish action without warning him. Consequently, Zhao Lang Jun’s laughter turned into a scream as the goose standing on Wuzhen’s horse pecked his hand fiercely. If Wuzhen hadn’t quickly grabbed the goose’s neck and pulled it back, Zhao Lang Jun might have lost a chunk of flesh from his hand.
Even so, Zhao Lang Jun held up his reddened hand, inhaling sharply from the pain. The other observing youths were dumbfounded. After a while, someone said, “How is this goose so fierce? Sister Zhen, how did you raise it? Did you feed it something strange?”
Wuzhen smiled broadly, “Its name is E Zi. I brought it back from Puzhou. As for how it became so fierce, I don’t know. Since E Zi came back, my husband has been taking care of it.”
After E Zi returned to Chang’an with them, the old servants initially wanted to build a pen for it in the backyard. However, E Zi was dissatisfied. One day, Wuzhen and Mei Zhuyu found it had settled in the small pond outside the study, even making a nest in a nearby meadow with grass it had gathered from somewhere. Wuzhen found this amusing and let it be. Usually, E Zi found its food in the pond. Wuzhen never cared for it, but she occasionally saw her husband tossing food to E Zi while reading in the study.
Upon hearing this, everyone’s gaze turned to the silent Mei Lang Jun beside Wuzhen. The group wasn’t very familiar with Mei Zhuyu and didn’t interact with him as naturally as they did with Wuzhen. The main reason was that Mei Zhuyu didn’t seem like someone who knew how to have fun. The youths felt they couldn’t joke around with him, so the topic of E Zi was dropped.
“Everyone’s here, let’s head out of the city,” an impatient young man said. “If we reach the Western Mountains early, we might even start hunting today instead of waiting until tomorrow!”
Wuzhen nodded, “Alright, let’s go!” At her command, everyone galloped out of the city, with several youths competing for the lead. However, as they rode, they realized something was amiss. Where was their Sister Zhen? Why hadn’t she caught up?
Usually, Wuzhen would be at the front during hunts. The group stopped their horses by the roadside, and the two fastest riders turned back.
“Where’s Sister Zhen?”
“She seems… to still be behind.”
Everyone craned their necks to look back, vaguely seeing about twenty horses moving slowly near the city gate.
“Why is Sister Zhen so slow?”
“Could it be because of Mei Lang Jun? Perhaps he can’t ride well, so Sister Zhen is waiting for him?”
Zhao Lang Jun suddenly slapped his forehead, exclaiming, “Oh, I forgot! Sister Zhen is pregnant now, so she certainly can’t ride fast.”
Wuzhen’s pregnancy hadn’t been widely announced. Apart from the few youths who had visited her recently, others were unaware. Hearing this news suddenly, they widened their eyes in disbelief, exclaiming in surprise.
“What? Sister Zhen? Pregnant? What pregnancy? Why is Sister Zhen pregnant?” asked a dumbfounded youth.
“She’s pregnant, why didn’t Sister Zhen tell us!” This came from someone who had processed the information and was now angry.
“Ah! Does this mean we’ll have little nieces and nephews soon?” This was from someone who suddenly became excited and happy.
The group turned their horses and galloped back towards Wuzhen, raising a cloud of dust. Seeing these faces with various expressions – unhappy, excited, worried – rushing towards her, Wuzhen waved her hand to disperse the dust in front of her.
“Sister Zhen, you’re having a baby?”
“Sister Zhen, am I going to be an uncle?”
“Sister Zhen, can I touch your belly?” A girl boldly made this request. Hearing this, the boys thought to themselves, how dare she break ranks and make such an excessive demand! In Mei Zhuyu’s presence, they didn’t dare ask to touch Sister Zhen’s belly. They could only exchange glances and pull the girl who made the request away. If they couldn’t touch, then no one should be able to touch – they absolutely couldn’t let the girls have this advantage!
Due to Wuzhen’s pregnancy, everyone rode at a leisurely pace. By the time they reached the foot of the Western Mountains, it was already late in the day. There were several estates near the Western Mountains where the group stayed during their annual hunts, as the autumn hunt usually lasted seven or eight days.
The group settled into the familiar estate. A few impatient youths, seeing that it wasn’t dark yet, decided to go out with some people to scout the area and perhaps bring back some small game for a fresh taste that night.
They left without alerting the others. Wuzhen only realized they were missing when they didn’t show up for dinner and still hadn’t returned.
“It was that boy Xie Daopu and the Wang brothers, Wang Xian and Wang Jian. Wei Xi was worried and went with them. They said they were just going to look around nearby and would be back soon…”
Wuzhen’s frown deepened as she listened. The youth speaking didn’t dare say more. Putting down her chopsticks, Wuzhen stood up, “You all eat. I’ll take some people to look for them.”
Although these boys loved to play, they weren’t brainless, especially Wei Xi, who was more mature and sensible than the others. If they hadn’t returned by now, they must have encountered some trouble.
“Sister Zhen, I’ll go too!” Seeing Wuzhen about to leave, several youths stood up as well.
Wuzhen glared at them, “All of you stay put!”
The youths reluctantly sat back down.
At this moment, Mei Zhuyu entered. After hearing what had happened, he looked at the dark sky outside and said to Wuzhen, “You wait here. I’ll go bring them back.”
Wuzhen: “I’ll go…”
Mei Zhuyu: “No, you wait.”
Wuzhen: “…”
Wuzhen, who had just intimidated her younger brothers with her authority, was successfully detained by Mei Zhuyu and left to eat with the remaining youths.
The youths watched as Sister Zhen ate calmly, secretly admiring her composure. As expected of Sister Zhen, unperturbed by favor or disgrace!
“Um, Sister Zhen, Mei Lang Zhong… brother-in-law doesn’t seem like he’s skilled in martial arts. Will he be alright going alone?” One youth couldn’t help but ask.
Wuzhen quickly poured a cup of wine from Zhao Lang Jun’s table beside her, taking advantage of Mei Zhuyu’s absence to taste the long-missed flavor of alcohol. She casually replied, “All of you together probably couldn’t beat him.”
The youths’ faces showed disbelief: Surely that’s a lie.
The only one in the know, Zhao Lang Jun, thought to himself: I know, but I won’t say anything.