The moment she was lifted, Wu Zhen felt like a meatball or a bird, for the young lord held her with such ease, as if she were weightless, completely disregarding her swollen belly.
As her eyes darted around, Wu Zhen suddenly spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd. To her left was her elder sister, the Empress; to her right, the beautiful and refined Concubine Mei; and in the middle, her brother-in-law, the Emperor, who shared her passion for song, dance, and poetry. Beside her elder sister stood a young lady adorned with a white camellia hairpin—Princess Yuan Zhen. In Concubine Mei’s arms was the chubby, soft little Prince.
This family, the noblest in the land, had ventured out like any ordinary household to mingle with the crowd and watch street performances. Wu Zhen noticed the obvious guards surrounding them but wasn’t concerned. The current dynasty’s open atmosphere made it quite normal for these royal personages to go out during festivals and enjoy themselves among the common people.
Although the crowd was dense, Wu Zhen became conspicuous when lifted by the tall Mei Zhuyu. Her gaze lingered a moment too long on Empress Wu, who immediately noticed her presence and turned to look. Then the others followed the Empress’s gaze and spotted Wu Zhen at the back of the crowd.
The Emperor smiled and waved at Wu Zhen, taking the little chubby Prince from Concubine Mei’s arms. He led his wife, children, and a large group of guards and attendants through the crowd to Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu’s side.
Wu Zhen, now set down by Mei Zhuyu, didn’t perform any grand courtesies. Everyone exchanged greetings according to their familial ranks.
Princess Yuan Zhen, grinning, linked arms with Wu Zhen and called her “Aunt,” then addressed Mei Zhuyu as “Uncle.” The Little Prince also called Wu Zhen “Aunt,” but when he looked at Mei Zhuyu, he called him “Cousin.” From Concubine Mei’s side, Mei Zhuyu was indeed his cousin. The relationships seemed a bit confusing, but no one minded, and they all began to explore the lantern market together.
“Second Sister, why didn’t you bring some servants or guards when you and your husband went out?” the Emperor asked in a casual tone.
Wu Zhen replied, “It’s too troublesome. Just the two of us are more comfortable.”
The Emperor nodded in understanding. “It is troublesome, but you still need to be mindful of safety.”
The Empress interjected, “Si Lang is right. You’re heavily pregnant now; you must bring servants when you go out. And what were you doing earlier, being lifted so high? What if you had fallen? You have no one around to keep you in check, you don’t care about anything, and you’re becoming more and more unruly.”
Seeing the Empress about to lecture, the Emperor quickly intervened, “Come now, it’s a wonderful festival today, and we rarely get to come out like this. Why don’t we let Second Sister take us to that famous Yuzhu Music Hall to listen to some tunes?”
Yuzhu Music Hall was the establishment run by those demon servants Wu Zhen had brought back. It had gained widespread fame, attracting countless visitors daily, and Wu Zhen was naturally familiar with it.
Concubine Mei remarked, “So that’s why Si Lang was so interested in coming out to see the lanterns this time. The drinker’s heart is not in the cup, indeed.”
The Emperor laughed it off, giving Wu Zhen a meaningful look. Wu Zhen smoothly picked up the cue, “Actually, I had already planned to go there today. I heard they’re setting up a stage on Yinyue Lake and have prepared a new dance performance. It would be a shame to miss it. Let’s all go and enjoy the festivities together.”
Hearing this, the Emperor was overjoyed. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu walked at the back of the group. Mei Zhuyu watched as Wu Zhen pulled out a small demon from under her feet and quietly instructed it to go to Yuzhu Music Hall and arrange a quiet place to watch the performance.
Mei Zhuyu asked, “You hadn’t made any arrangements beforehand?”
Wu Zhen replied, “Of course not. I was planning to spend the whole evening watching lanterns with you. We can go to that music hall any day. How can watching their songs and dances compare to enjoying the lanterns with my husband?”
Despite her words, when they arrived at Yuzhu Music Hall, it was Wu Zhen and the Emperor who were the most enthusiastic, cheering loudly and giving generous tips. Every time the flower boat came to collect tips at the foot of their small platform, these two would shower them with money, occasionally commenting on a particularly good singing technique or praising the konghou playing. Their similar mannerisms and actions were so alike that one might have thought they were blood relatives.
The Empress looked at the two of them with an expression of utter exasperation, as if the sight pained her eyes, and turned her head away.
During an intermission, Wu Zhen stepped out, and Princess Yuan Zhen quickly followed.
“Aunt, I thought you hadn’t noticed my hint!” Li Yuan Zhen said.
Wu Zhen rubbed her forehead. “Your eyes were blinking so much they were about to cramp. How could I not notice? Tell me, what’s the matter? Surely it’s not about your little Camellia again?”
“Of course not, he’s doing just fine!” Li Yuan Zhen snorted. “It’s about Mother and the others trying to find me a consort recently!”
Wu Zhen asked, “Have they already chosen someone?”
Li Yuan Zhen nodded, “They have. It’s last year’s top scholar, someone called Pei Jingxuan!”
Wu Zhen had some recollection. He seemed to be a talented young man from a commoner background. One of the young lords from the Yang family she used to play with had placed third in the imperial examinations and was quite disgruntled about this Pei Jingxuan. During a previous hunt, they had discussed this top scholar, reportedly so poor that he couldn’t even afford to rent a house in Chang’an and was staying in some dilapidated temple.
“So what do you want me to do? Just to be clear, anything involving murder or silencing people is off the table,” Wu Zhen joked.
Li Yuan Zhen blinked, “How could I possibly kill someone over this? Aunt, you’re joking again. I’ve already talked to Father about it, and he’s agreed to let me not marry.”
Wu Zhen was curious, “Although His Majesty has always been quite free-spirited, how did you manage to get him to agree to this?”
Li Yuan Zhen smiled, “I told him, ‘I am the only princess of our dynasty, of noble status, and naturally should be matched with the most noble man in the world. But the noblest man in the world is Father, and the second noblest is my brother. How can other men be worthy of me? Does Father want his daughter to settle for ordinary men?'”
The little princess giggled as she touched the white camellia hairpin on her head. “I don’t want ordinary men. I already have the best!”
Wu Zhen could imagine the Emperor, upon hearing his daughter’s words, proudly declaring something like, “If that’s the case, we can’t wrong my daughter. You’re right, you’re a princess of noble status, how can you be matched with ordinary men? We’ll set up a princess’s mansion and choose carefully. We’ll talk about it again when you find someone you like.”
“If you’ve already talked it over with His Majesty, why did you call me out here?” Wu Zhen asked.
Li Yuan Zhen finally put away her smug expression and said nervously, “Aunt, you know my mother’s temper. She’s going to give me a good scolding. So when the time comes, you must help plead for me!”
“No problem,” Wu Zhen agreed generously. When it came to dealing with an angry Empress, there was probably only one person in the world more skilled than her, and that was Concubine Mei. Thinking of Concubine Mei, she asked, “Besides me, have you talked to Concubine Mei about this? If she’s willing to help persuade, it would be twice as effective.”
Li Yuan Zhen pouted, “Aunt Mei always listens to my mother. How could she persuade her for me? She’s more likely to persuade me for her.”
When the two returned, the Empress looked at them suspiciously. “What were you two talking about outside?”
Wu Zhen naturally sat down beside the Empress and smiled, “Yuan Zhen was asking me when the baby would be born.”
The Empress looked at her belly, her gaze softening. Suddenly, she sighed and stroked Wu Zhen’s head. “You silly child, I don’t know if you’ll be able to take good care of the baby when it’s born. You’re so grown up now, but you can’t even take care of yourself properly. If only Mother were still here, I wouldn’t have to worry about you so much in the palace.” She then asked Wu Zhen, “How was your New Year? There are so many rituals in the palace, and with you being pregnant, I was afraid you’d be tired, so I didn’t summon you to the palace these days. Have you been eating and sleeping well? Are the people sent from Duke Yue’s mansion taking good care of you? And those doctors I chose for you, you don’t like seeing them…”
Wu Zhen’s head was buzzing as she listened to the Empress’s endless chatter. Strategically, she began to divert the conversation, “I’m doing very well. Oh, by the way, Father came back during the New Year, but he only stayed at home for one day, ate two meals, and then went back to the temple.”
At the mention of their father, the Empress’s anger immediately shifted. She reproached, “Father is also to blame. He went off to become a monk for no good reason, leaving you alone at home. If he had been watching over you all along, you wouldn’t have turned out like this. Even if he didn’t discipline you, just staying at home would have been company for you, so you two wouldn’t be so lonely.”
Seeing that her sister was no longer talking about her, Wu Zhen, quite shamelessly, began to join in criticizing their father.
Wu Zhen thought to herself: Anyway, Father isn’t here now, so he won’t know if we say a few words about him.
After seeing off the royal family, Wu Zhen rubbed her waist and said to her husband, “Come on, let’s continue looking at the lanterns.”
Mei Zhuyu disagreed, “It’s so late, let’s go back and rest.”
Wu Zhen pulled him towards the street, “How can we? We haven’t seen the best lanterns yet today.”
Mei Zhuyu: “We can see the lanterns tomorrow. There will be lanterns tomorrow too. It’s late, and it’s cold outside.”
Without another word, Wu Zhen led him to the edge of Yudai Pool. It was late, and with the wind stronger by the water than on the streets, there were hardly any people left there. Only the colorful lanterns hanging on the trees on both banks still emitted a soft glow.
“Come, there’s a boat here. Get on.”
Wu Zhen expertly went under the bridge, where a small boat was indeed moored in the darkness. The cabin had a sleeping couch and even quite a few snacks, hot food, and tea. Though the exterior of the small boat looked plain, the interior was exquisitely furnished. One look and it was clear that this was Wu Zhen’s doing.
Wu Zhen lit the lamp hanging in the cabin, then wrapped herself in a thick cloak and pulled Mei Zhuyu to sit at the bow, lighting a flower-shaped lantern there. The small boat, with its two solitary lights, slowly emerged from under the bridge and drifted towards the distance under the cold starry sky.
Mei Zhuyu noticed a faint demonic aura under the boat as if there were water demons. Wu Zhen handed him a cup of hot tea and said with a soft laugh, “I caught a few water demons who made mistakes and punished them by making them push the boat for me.”
Mei Zhuyu: “…”
The boat moved slowly forward, gradually leaving behind the main road with pedestrians and entering a tributary. Soon, both banks were lined with only dense, dark forests, without a single light. Even the light from the distant street lamps couldn’t reach here.
After passing through the initial darkness, the true colors of heaven and earth slowly emerged. The sky wasn’t pitch black but had a tinge of brocade navy blue. The water wasn’t dark and murky either but reflected the blue light from above, clear and bright.
There must have been wild plum blossoms in the bushes on both banks, as Mei Zhuyu caught a faint scent of plum blossoms.
The small boat turned past a stretch of bushes that almost covered the narrow river channel, and suddenly the view opened up. Twinkling, brilliant lights suddenly came into view, as if the sky had broken open and stars had poured down, covering the trees in splendor.