Moonlit Reunion

When Mei Zhuyu woke up, he felt slightly dizzy. He had slept fully clothed on the couch, his legs too long to fit comfortably, dangling off the edge for so long that it left him rather uncomfortable. As he reached up to rub his forehead, he noticed something unusual—a warm, heavy weight pressed against his chest. When he touched it, his fingers met soft fur. Looking down, he found a Tabby Cat curled up in his arms, the same familiar Tabby Cat he had seen before.

Sitting up, he placed the still-sleeping cat on his lap and closed his eyes, quietly regulating his breathing as was his habit. Suddenly, the weight on his knees lightened. Opening his eyes, he saw the cat had woken up, stretching lazily before flicking its tail against his wrist without a hint of shyness, then leaping to the floor and darting out the window.

Whose cat was this? It had appeared in his room three times now, and he occasionally spotted it at the Ministry of Justice as well. Mei Zhuyu pondered for a moment but didn’t dwell on it too much. Standing up, he retrieved a wooden sword from the cabinet and headed to the backyard to stretch his limbs.

He was deeply dissatisfied with himself—getting utterly drunk after just a small jar of supposedly mild wine was unacceptable. With such a low tolerance, how could he live up to Wu Zhen’s expectations? From now on, he resolved to drink a jar every day to build up his endurance as quickly as possible!

The night was deep. Mei Si set down his brush and admired the fruits of his day’s labor under the glow of a dozen bright lamps. The pristine paper was now covered in varying shades of ink—Evil Spirits riding sinister black clouds and eerie mists, their expressions so ferocious and lifelike they seemed ready to leap off the page at any moment.

Mei Si gazed at his work with satisfaction, convinced his skills had improved yet again. After pressing the painting flat with a paperweight to dry, he smugly retired to bed. The Thousand Ghost Painting was only a fraction complete, and he needed to rise early the next day to continue. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could show it off to his friends.

What Mei Si didn’t know was that after he fell asleep, the Evil Spirits he had painted that day emerged from the paper once more at the sound of a faint ringing bell, slipping through the window cracks and out into the night.

Freed from the confines of the page, the inky Ghost Monsters appeared even more vivid and terrifying, their ghastly forms enough to scare a man to death. They left Mei Si’s residence and drifted straight toward the imperial palace like a silent black cloud, dissolving into the darkness.

A faint, almost imperceptible chime echoed through the streets and alleys, yet the patrolling night guards seemed oblivious, allowing the sound to guide the black cloud toward the palace walls like an invisible thread.

These Evil Spirits, now condensed into an inky cloud, carried no trace of ghostly aura, nor the usual malevolent energy of dark entities—only a faint scent of ink. They passed effortlessly through the thick palace walls, entering the labyrinthine depths of the inner palace.

Beneath a locust tree outside the palace walls, a man wearing a long veil chuckled softly as he pocketed a silver bell. Tilting his head, he gazed up at the towering palace walls.

"Go on then. Let’s see what chaos you can stir up."The inky Evil Spirits entered the inner palace. Having lost the guidance of the bell chimes, they soon found something else to attract them. The empress's palace was still brightly lit, yet these Evil Spirits showed no fear of the light, ferociously charging toward the hall. However, they were quickly blocked midair, unable to advance even half a step further. The spirits roared angrily in the sky for a while before reluctantly retreating to seek other targets.

To the right of this hall, past two palace alleys, stood a slightly smaller palace that also emitted an aura irresistible to the Evil Spirits. At this moment, the lights in that palace were extinguished, and there was no invisible barrier—the spirits easily reached the palace doors, on the verge of invading. Suddenly, a gust of wind rose from the ground, rustling the two-person-tall tea tree in front of the palace.

A white figure coalesced like mist from the tea tree. With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind pushed the Evil Spirits away, preventing them from approaching the palace.

Thwarted repeatedly, the Evil Spirits refused to give up. Seeing the white-clad man standing firmly before the palace doors, blocking their path, they glared furiously and surged toward him.

Faced with countless ghostly claws and sharp fangs, the white-clad man neither retreated nor yielded, steadfastly guarding the palace entrance. Even if injured, he refused to let the spirits advance an inch. Realizing how troublesome he was, the Evil Spirits split into two groups—one engaged him in battle while the other attempted to slip through the door cracks.

Seeing this, the man swung his long sleeves, and the wind grew fiercer. The howling gale forced its way through the cracks in the doors and windows, producing a mournful wail and squeezing the inky Evil Spirits back out.

Enraged, the spirits abandoned their attempt to enter the palace and focused solely on attacking the white-clad man.

As the night passed, the crowing of roosters and the first toll of the bell echoed through Chang'an. The Evil Spirits, having battled the white-clad man all night, appeared exhausted. The bell's chime further weakened them, and they hastily retreated from the palace, vanishing into the whitening horizon.

Mei Si's room was silent. The defeated Evil Spirits, like dejected roosters, slipped back through the window cracks, their once-mighty demeanor gone. One by one, they slunk back into the painting. On the bed, Mei Si muttered a few words in his sleep, chuckled foolishly, turned over, and fell back into deep slumber, completely unaware of his painted Evil Spirits' nightly escapade.

After the Evil Spirits retreated, the white-clad man before the princess's palace grew faint. He glanced at the tightly shut palace doors but could not hold on for long, dissipating into a wisp of smoke that drifted back to the tea tree.

The tea tree, which had been lush and thriving the day before, now stood bare, its unopened buds scattered across the ground.

A palace maid, rising early to attend to her mistress, opened the palace doors and gasped in horror at the sight of the white tea tree's pitiful state.

"N-no! The princess's favorite white tea tree—it looks like it's dying! Who could have done this?"

The maidservants inside the princess's chambers, hearing the commotion, rushed out to see. Their faces paled at the sight of the withered tree.

"How could this happen? Who would do such a thing? Quickly, summon the night guards and the eunuchs patrolling nearby—find out what happened! If the princess wakes and sees the tree like this, there will be trouble!"

"Y-yes!" The young maid hastily lifted her skirts and ran off.The current emperor has few children, and there is only one princess in the palace, born to Empress Wu, named Li Yuanzhen. This princess is of noble status and has a somewhat innocent and carefree temperament. Remarkably, despite being showered with affection, she has not developed any spoiled or willful habits. Even when palace maids serving her make minor mistakes, she never holds it against them. But this time, even the maids who have cared for her since childhood dare not imagine how furious the princess would be if she saw the state of the tea tree.

With a worried glance at the tea tree, the maid sighed and entered the hall, wondering how to break the news to the princess when she woke up. If handled poorly, she might face punishment today.

Wu Zhen entered the palace in the afternoon to see the empress. As soon as she stepped into the hall, she heard someone crying. Then the empress's voice rang out, "What's the use of crying to me? Do you think your tears will magically heal that tea tree?"

This was followed by Consort Mei's gentle coaxing, "Alright, Yuanzhen, you've been crying for so long. Your eyes are swollen, and your mother and I are heartbroken to see it. Stop crying, dear child, stop crying."

Wu Zhen saw her usually cheerful niece burying her head in Consort Mei's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably, while her elder sister, the empress, sat nearby with a helpless expression, holding a brush as she reviewed documents.

Wu Zhen bowed and, glancing at her niece, asked, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with my niece? Why is she crying like this?"

Hearing her voice, the weeping girl immediately lifted her head, revealing eyes swollen like walnuts, and rushed toward her, crying out pitifully, "Auntie!"

Wu Zhen let her cling to her arm and gently rubbed her flushed cheeks. "Oh dear, crying so miserably. What's the matter? Tell your auntie, and I'll fix it for you."

The empress scoffed, "Don't make promises you can't keep. If you fail, she might drown you in her tears."

Li Yuanzhen, her eyes red, whimpered, "Auntie, my white tea tree is dying... I... I had all the palace gardeners look at it, but no one knows what to do. What should I do...?"

Wu Zhen was surprised. "The white tea tree you insisted on bringing back from Mount Mang when you were six?"

Li Yuanzhen nodded, her voice choked with sobs. "Yes, that one. It was fine yesterday, but overnight, half of it withered for no reason."

Almost everyone in the palace knew about this white tea tree—it was the little princess's most treasured possession. She forbade anyone from plucking even a single branch or leaf, guarding it jealously.

Ten years ago, the emperor and empress went to the Mount Mang retreat to escape the summer heat. The six-year-old princess, playful and restless, wandered off one day and ended up in the mountains behind the retreat. The mountains were teeming with wild beasts, and after she was lost overnight, everyone assumed she must have perished. Yet the next day, she was found unharmed beneath a wild white tea tree.

What happened that night, the little princess refused to say. She only stubbornly demanded that the wild tea tree be dug up and transplanted to her palace. The emperor, doting on his youngest daughter, agreed without hesitation when she clung to his arm and pleaded, ordering the tree to be uprooted and brought back.In front of the princess's palace hall, where blue stone tiles had originally been laid, the young princess insisted on planting the white tea tree as close to her as possible. She stubbornly had the large stone slabs removed and replaced with soil transported from the mountains, carefully planting the white tea tree there.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. The tea tree, originally grown in the mountains, had been transplanted within these deep palace walls yet never withered. Under the young princess’s loving care, it flourished with lush branches and leaves, blooming abundantly with flowers every year.

"I wanted Mother to issue an edict to find someone among the common folk who could cure this tea tree, but she refused. Auntie, please… help Yuanzhen persuade her. I really can’t bear to watch this white tea tree die." Li Yuanzhen’s swollen eyes shed large teardrops, her gaze filled with genuine despair and sorrow as she pleaded with Wu Zhen.

Wu Zhen’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly before smoothing again. She comforted, "Come now, wipe your tears. First, take Auntie to see the white tea tree. Who knows—perhaps Auntie can think of a way to help."