The small boat glided into a wider expanse of water—a small lake surrounded by trees. The lake was shaped like a full moon, with countless lanterns hanging from the surrounding branches, illuminating this small space. The scattered lights on the trees resembled stars in the sky, reflecting on the mirror-like surface of the lake, creating an inverted celestial scene. Immersed in this environment, one felt a unity between heaven and earth, with bright lights encompassing everything in sight.
Even Mei Zhuyu was momentarily stunned by this spectacle. He turned to look at Wu Zhen beside him. Her face was filled with self-satisfaction, her eyes and brows brimming with mirth as if saying, “Are you pleased with what you see?” Mei Zhuyu shook his head with a smile, one arm around Wu Zhen’s neck, pressing her forehead against his chin, almost enveloping her entire being in his embrace. He whispered, “I should have known you’d prepare something like this.”
Wu Zhen scratched his chin lightly, pushing him away slightly, and raised an eyebrow. “What, don’t you like it? I put a lot of thought into this preparation.”
Mei Zhuyu gazed at her, “I love it.”
“I love everything,” Wu Zhen said as she was pulled back into his embrace.
The night was as still as water. The two, wrapped in a large fur cloak, sat quietly in the small boat at the center of the lake, watching the surrounding lights until they gradually burned out, extinguishing one by one. The distant horizon slowly tinged with a pale blue, like the ending of a vivid, beautiful dream.
As daylight fully broke, the scene revealed another kind of beauty. The surrounding trees were covered in white frost, truly resembling jade trees and crystal branches, reflected in the clear, pristine lake that seemed untouched by a speck of dust in the daylight.
Wu Zhen had fallen asleep at some point, cradled in Mei Zhuyu’s arms, her head wrapped in the fur cloak. Warm and comfortable, she could barely open her eyes. Vaguely sensing that dawn had broken, she yawned and lifted a corner of the fur, poking her head out. With the movement, she exhaled a large puff of white breath.
Mei Zhuyu, who had been gazing at the horizon, looked down as he felt movement in his arms.
He hadn’t rested all night, but his spirits remained high. White frost had settled on his forehead hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, accentuating the calm tenderness in his eyes.
Wu Zhen reached out to wipe his eyebrows, then nibbled on his pale lips. They were ice-cold, like biting into snow.
“Why didn’t you rest in the cabin? You sat out here all night?”
“Mm,” Mei Zhuyu wiped away the tiny water droplets on his eyelashes, remnants of the melting frost.
“Your hands and feet must be numb. How foolish,” Wu Zhen commented.
Mei Zhuyu didn’t respond but smiled slightly. He had wanted to admire the beautiful scene she had prepared for him a little longer, and before he knew it, dawn had arrived.
Touching Wu Zhen’s belly, Mei Zhuyu suddenly said, “The child will be born soon. I’ve heard that childbirth is extremely painful for women. When the time comes, let’s switch places. I’ll endure it for you.”
Wu Zhen remained silent, staring at his face. After a while, she smiled and said, “Alright then.”
However, while Wu Zhen agreed so generously and readily at this moment, two months later when the child was born, she had no intention of keeping her promise.
On the day of the child’s birth, the sun shone brightly, dispelling some of the winter cold. Wu Zhen seemed to have a premonition and didn’t go out, planning to stay at home and bask in the sunlight. In the morning, when Mei Zhuyu left for his duties, she smiled and waved at him, showing no signs of discomfort.
Not long after Mei Zhuyu left, Wu Zhen stood up from her chair, rubbing her brow, and instructed, “Prepare everything. I’m about to give birth.” She then cursed softly, likely due to pain.
So when Mei Zhuyu returned home from his duties as usual, the child had already been born.
“Congratulations, my lord! The madam has given birth to a young master!” the maidservants congratulated him cheerfully. Physician Mei was stunned for a moment before rushing into the room. Upon opening the door and turning past the screen, he saw Wu Zhen sitting up in bed with disheveled hair, gulping down large amounts of wine. She showed no signs of weakness typical of someone who had just given birth; in fact, she looked radiant.
The look of anxiety and concern on Mei Zhuyu’s face dissipated at this sight. Wu Zhen finished a jar of wine, as if satisfying a years-long craving, and contentedly praised, “Good wine!”
Turning to see Mei Zhuyu standing dumbfounded at the door, she felt a bit guilty but quickly became righteous, smiling, “Now that the child is born, I can finally indulge my craving for wine. Don’t worry, I didn’t drink much, just one jar.”
The wine jar was decorated with a small plum blossom, which Mei Zhuyu remembered bringing back from the plum garden. Wu Zhen had insisted on saving it for the child’s one-month celebration, so when exactly had she hidden this wine under the bed?
Seeing his gaze fixed on the wine jar, Wu Zhen diverted his attention by mentioning the child, “Come quickly and look at the baby. I don’t know how it turned out, but it looks quite odd.”
Mei Zhuyu snapped back to reality, no longer pursuing the matter of the wine. He quickly walked to the bedside and peered at the child placed on the inner side of Wu Zhen’s bed. The baby was well-swaddled, its mouth moving slightly as it slept soundly, not even half the length of his arm. As Wu Zhen had said, the child was wrinkly and red all over, indeed… not very attractive.
However, Physician Mei didn’t mind at all. He bent down to touch the baby’s soft cheek, withdrawing his hand quickly as if afraid of breaking it. Then he turned to Wu Zhen, snatched the wine jar from her hand and set it aside, and kissed her forehead, and then her lips, looking somewhat fierce.
“You didn’t keep your word. Were you deceiving me earlier?” Physician Mei questioned sternly.
Wu Zhen showed no fear, even caressing his face mischievously as she smiled, “That wasn’t deception, that was just coaxing you.”
Seeing her unrepentant attitude, Mei Zhuyu was at a loss for words for a while. Finally, he could only wipe her cheek and say, “You’ve been through so much.”
Wu Zhen held the hand that was caressing her face, “You’ve also been worried and tired.”
The previously unnoticed child suddenly let out a cry, breaking the intimate moment between the parents. Wu Zhen’s expression instantly became blank as she picked up the child and thrust him into Physician Mei’s arms, “We agreed earlier that I’d be responsible for giving birth, and you’d be responsible for raising the child. He’s all yours now, my lord.”
Mei Zhuyu: “…?” When did we agree to that?
The child was born just as the weather was beginning to warm. By the time the peach and pear blossoms along Yudai Pool had bloomed into a sea of flowers, he had grown into a jade-like doll. His mother finally stopped finding him so disagreeable and often took him out to meet people.
The once slender and dashing figure in Hu-style men’s clothing reappeared on the streets of Chang’an, once again frequenting the various pleasure houses of the city. However, this time she was accompanied by a child.
The courtesans familiar with Wu Zhen, upon seeing her after such a long absence, had barely begun to catch up when their attention was completely stolen by the child in her arms.
“Oh my! What an adorable child! Is this your baby?”
“The young master is so delicate and charming at such a young age. He’s sure to grow into a handsome gentleman!”
“Second Sister, he’s truly adorable. May I hold him for a bit?”
“Me too!”
“Let me!”
“Be careful, don’t drop the child!”
A group of courtesans clamored to see the baby, even abandoning their instruments and losing a couple of silk shawls in the chaos without anyone noticing. Wu Zhen stood behind the crowd with her arms crossed, waiting. She thought to herself that while the child looked cute, all crying babies could make one want to end it all. She silently counted to three, and sure enough, a loud wail erupted from the crowd, startling the courtesans.
“Oh no! Why is he crying? Ruiniang, did you hold him too tightly?”
“How could that be? Maybe he’s hungry?”
“How can we make him stop crying?”
“Why don’t I sing him a little tune to soothe him?”
“That’s a good idea, let’s try it.”
A group of courtesans surrounded the wailing infant. One of them, looking as gentle as flowing water, sat nearby with a pipa and began singing a soft lullaby. Gradually, the child stopped crying and opened his eyes, which were as big and round as black grapes, seemingly listening intently.
Wu Zhen had been observing, waiting for the crying bundle to scare them off. Now, unexpectedly discovering that singing and playing music could stop the child from crying, she was delighted. As a result, she began appearing at various pleasure houses more frequently. The more they went out and the more music the child heard, the more discerning he became. If the singing wasn’t to his liking, he wouldn’t be courteous and would continue crying.
The child was intelligent and precocious, learning to speak early. After being taken to pleasure houses by his mother for several months, when he began to speak, his first word wasn’t “Papa” or “Mama,” but—
“Reward!”
At that time, Mei Zhuyu was holding the child while Wu Zhen sat across from the father and son, playing the pipa. She rarely had this interest, but since the pipa was a recent gift from Mei Zhuyu, she often took it out to play a tune or two.
Just as she finished a piece, the child sitting in Mei Zhuyu’s lap uttered the word “reward.” At first, Mei Zhuyu didn’t realize what his son had said, but Wu Zhen understood. She smiled broadly at her son and said, “Thank you for the reward, young master!”
It was then that Mei Zhuyu realized what that word meant. When Wu Zhen listened to music and thought the performers sang well, she often gave them some reward money. How had their young son already learned this?
If Wu Zhen continued to teach him like this, it could be problematic. Mei Zhuyu realized the gravity of the situation.
After calming down, Mei Zhuyu glanced at the child’s mother, feeling it wasn’t his place to criticize her. Instead, he lifted his son to face him, making eye contact.
The little one burst into tears, frightened by his expressionless father.
Wu Zhen: “Oh my, the child is still young. Why are you being so stern with him?”
Mei Zhuyu: “I haven’t said a word yet.” Although his tone hadn’t changed, Wu Zhen could hear the hint of grievance.
She quickly changed sides, saying to Mei Zhuyu: “No, I’m not blaming you. Go ahead, and discipline him however you see fit. I promise I won’t take this little one’s side.” She even gave the child’s round bottom a light smack, putting on a fierce face and saying, “Don’t bully your father!”
The little one didn’t understand, but that didn’t prevent him from sensing impending doom.