Moonlit Reunion [子夜归]

Chapter 17

Two men were chatting idly in the corridor. One was a middle-aged man in a crimson robe, likely a minister at the Ministry of Justice, while the other wore a green robe and seemed to be a clerk. Rather than a conversation, it was more like the middle-aged man was badmouthing Mei Zhuyu, with the clerk chiming in agreeably.

"That Chief Mei is truly cunning, leaving no weaknesses behind. Let's see if he's always so lucky next time."

"Minister Xu, there's no need to be so upset. Even if you can't catch Chief Mei slipping up, you can still make things difficult for him and spoil his day. After all, your rank is higher than his. If you wanted to trouble him, it would be easy."

"It's not that simple. He may look virtuous, but he wouldn't be a Section Chief here at the Ministry without his connections to the Noble Consort. You think he's some simple-minded man? Who knows what unsavory things he's involved in. Besides, do you think a man like him could have married Lady Wu of Duke Yu's household without a powerful connection? She's the younger sister of Her Majesty, the Empress."

"Well, I do have to admire Chief Mei for this. To curry favor with Duke Yu and Her Majesty, he even pinched his nose and married that Lady Wu. Just for this, we small folks can't compare with him. I wouldn't be surprised if he has to swap his black headscarf for a green one." The clerk's tone was full of scorn and disdain.

Wu Zhen, crouched nearby on a rock by the fake mountain, swished her tail.

Minister Xu sneered, touching the two tufts of his short mustache. "I think the two of them are a perfect match. Our Chief Mei never visits any music halls or brothels—tell me, what man acts like that? I'd bet he's got a liking for men. And that Wu Zhen—always wearing men's clothes, barely resembling a lady, and mingling so shamelessly with brothel girls, frequently taking them out for fun. Years ago, every marriage proposal she had fell through one after another. It wouldn't surprise me if she's into women herself. Those two—they're both sick in the head, the perfect pair."

Wu Zhen rested her head on her paws, gazing at the two men... and their mustaches. Recently, it had become fashionable for men in Chang'an, young and old alike, to grow identical-looking mustaches. She'd heard that many men secretly competed over their facial hair. Wu Zhen couldn't understand what was so attractive about mustaches that resembled downward-pointing eyebrows. To her, they were an eyesore. Thankfully, her little scholar didn't have one; otherwise, she might have insisted he shave it off.

Unimpressed by the two men's mustaches, Wu Zhen listened calmly as they continued chatting.

"If Minister Xu really wanted to make things hard for Chief Mei, he could assign him that buried case. That would definitely wear him down."

"Hmph, I'd like to, but if I push Chief Mei too hard, he might go crying to his Noble Consort aunt. Then I'd end up with a whole heap of trouble."

"Well... that's true. Even if he doesn't turn to the Noble Consort, he could still appeal to Lady Wu. With her personality, dealing with her meddling could be worse than dealing with the Noble Consort. But... um... do you think Lady Wu would actually care?"

Minister Xu looked smug, as if he'd seen through the situation. "I doubt she would. She doesn't have the time. This marriage is just for appearances. Duke Yu was embarrassed that his second daughter was still unmarried, so he found a man he could control to marry her. And Chief Mei, being spineless, wanted a powerful backer. It's a perfect match of convenience. Do you really think there's any affection between them? Look at Lady Wu—even after getting engaged, she's still frequenting the brothels. I bet she hasn't even looked at Chief Mei."

The two continued speaking, but Wu Zhen lost interest. They were just repeating the same things with no fresh twists. Bored, she stretched on the rock and then leaped up onto the wall, leaving the Ministry grounds.