Moonlit Reunion
Chapter 84
Wu Zhen was certain this was Chang'an from twenty years ago because of the towering building before her. The structure was exquisitely adorned, ablaze with lights so brilliant they made the surrounding trees appear like jade branches against the impending nightfall, dazzlingly radiant.
This building was called the Jade Tower, once a renowned landmark of Chang'an. However, the costly tower had been completely destroyed by a fire when Wu Zhen was eight or nine years old. Later, the site was purchased and transformed into the Jade Radiance Music House, a place Wu Zhen frequented.
Standing there admiring the Jade Tower, Wu Zhen found it truly breathtaking. No wonder older residents of Chang'an still reminisced about it, calling it the foremost tower of the city. Calculating the time, Wu Zhen would have been just a child then. Though she had visited the tower, her memories were too faint to recall its appearance clearly. Never had she imagined she'd get the chance to examine this long-celebrated tower in detail now.
As the sky darkened, Wu Zhen noticed the streets around her remained bustling, with even more people gathering. Chang'an had a curfew, and at this hour, people weren't supposed to roam the streets freely. The current scene suggested it must be during the three days of the Lantern Festival when the curfew was lifted.
The crowd was clad in thick winter garments, yet despite the cold, joy was evident on every face. The Lantern Festival was always lively, with distant clamor and lights merging into a vast ocean. Enormous lantern towers, Lantern Wheels, and lantern pillars stood at street intersections, visible from afar. Tall wooden frames lined the roads, adorned with various lanterns shaped like flowers and birds, some so peculiarly designed they drew crowds of onlookers.
Yet, this festivity had nothing to do with Wu Zhen, for as she walked among the throngs, no one could see her.
Amid the laughter and lantern-gazing, Wu Zhen moved slowly through the crowd, searching for the person she sought. She hadn't forgotten her purpose, but where was her husband now?
Tapping her forehead lightly, Wu Zhen crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. Suddenly, she turned her head and her gaze fixed on a spot. Beneath a revolving lantern not far away stood a small, solitary figure.
It was a child, no more than four years old, bundled in thick clothing until he resembled a round ball—the kind that would roll down the street with just a gentle kick. The child's hair was tied into two little buns, his neck encircled by a fluffy fur trim, and his cheeks plump with the baby fat characteristic of children, making him adorably chubby.
There was something familiar about the child's features. Wu Zhen stroked her chin thoughtfully. Could it be? Did her husband look like this as a child? Dressed in bright red with little buns, he almost resembled a girl.
The more she looked, the more certain she became. Wu Zhen stepped toward the child.
On such a night, a tiny child standing alone under a street lantern, frowning and looking around in confusion, was unmistakably lost. Wu Zhen leaned in to examine the child's face closely. Unseen by him, her presence went unnoticed as his eyes, with their long fluttering lashes, looked past her to the bustling street beyond.
Wu Zhen couldn't help but smile broadly, playfully pinching the child's chubby cheeks in the air. "You were so plump as a child, yet you grew up tall and slender."The child watched for a while, as if making up his mind, then chose a direction and started walking. Wu Zhen couldn't do anything at the moment, so she followed behind with her hands clasped behind her back. The child's legs were short, so Wu Zhen had to adjust her pace, walking slowly and leisurely.
Before long, Wu Zhen saw the child suddenly stop in his tracks, as if frightened by something ahead. She looked up and saw a dark shadow in the middle of the street, its gaping mouth and bright red tongue licking at the road. The crowd around paid it no mind, but the round little child was clearly terrified. Wu Zhen deliberately crouched down to observe his expression—his big eyes wide, his little mouth tightly pressed, his chubby hands clutching the hem of his clothes. Wu Zhen couldn't help but laugh heartlessly.
So even the young lord was afraid of such things when he was little.
The child pinched the corner of his clothes, wearing an expression that barely held back tears, and inched along the side of the street, sticking close to the wall to avoid the thing in the middle.
For the rest of the way, they encountered several more monsters mingling among the crowd. Some were so large they blocked the path, forcing the child to turn and find another way. After so many detours, the confusion on his face deepened—it seemed he was completely lost.
As they passed the palace walls, a long row of over a dozen grand stages had been set up in the open space before the towering walls. A dense crowd had gathered around, packed in layers upon layers, with those at the back only catching glimpses of the performers' large hats and long sleeves. The child seemed drawn by the excitement and stopped, tilting his little head up curiously. But he was too short, and the crowd was too thick—he couldn't see anything, only hearing bursts of cheers and applause.
So he stood behind the crowd for a while, pouting, rubbing his eyes, and then trudged onward.
The mix of curiosity and disappointment on his face was both pitiful and adorable. Wu Zhen crouched beside him. If she could touch him, she would have lifted the tiny young lord onto her shoulders so he could see.
But she couldn’t. Wu Zhen sighed regretfully.
Somehow, the child ended up by the river. It was still cold in the first month of the year, and the riverside wind was biting, making cheeks sting. Few people were here, and the lights were sparse. The noise and laughter were distant, and standing here, only faint sounds and blurred lights could be heard and seen.
The lost child sniffled, his cheeks flushed red from the cold. Then, snow began to fall. Light flakes landed on his head, and he looked up for a moment before lowering his face again. Wu Zhen saw tears welling in his eyes, but he stubbornly held them back.
For such a small child to be lost, unable to find any adults, and frightened by those strange things—yet still not cry—it was clear the young lord's composed nature had been ingrained since childhood.
Wu Zhen was enjoying observing the little lord when, suddenly, disaster struck. A dripping wet strand of riverweed shot out from the water, wrapping around the child's leg like a living thing, and yanked him into the river.With a splash, the child fell into the water before he could even cry for help. Wu Zhen saw the stunned expression on his little face and instinctively lunged forward to grab his hand, but her fingers passed right through his small palm. She could only watch helplessly as the child was dragged into the icy water by a tiny water monster.
Cursing under her breath, Wu Zhen burned with fury. She was merely a spectator now, powerless to do anything. Yet despite her anger, she knew this was just a scene from her husband’s past. Since it had already happened, it meant he had survived—someone must have saved him.
No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than she heard approaching footsteps and voices.
"Don’t worry, Madam. The Second Young Miss has always been clever. She’ll be fine."
"This child, really… Ah, we must find her quickly." A gentle woman’s voice sighed, laced with worry.
A kind-faced young lady approached, accompanied by several servants. The moment Wu Zhen saw her, she froze. Though her mother had passed away when she was just a child, she had never forgotten her face.
This was her mother—the woman who had protected and doted on her in her memories, the person she had relied on most before becoming the Cat Official, back when she had still feared monsters. As the woman drew near, Wu Zhen felt a surge of bittersweet joy that wiped the smile from her face and tightened her throat.
The woman couldn’t see her. She brushed past Wu Zhen and reached the riverbank, where she soon heard the commotion in the water. Startled, she cried out in alarm, "There’s a child in the river! Is it Zhen’er? Quick, hurry—" She even tried to jump in herself, only to be held back by her servants.
"Madam, let us handle this. You mustn’t go into the water in the dead of winter!"
As they spoke, a servant had already plunged in and lifted the child out. Only then did the woman and her attendants realize the child wasn’t the one they were searching for. But after only a brief pause, the lady swiftly removed her cloak, wrapped the shivering boy in it, and cradled him in her arms.
"How could such a small child end up alone in the water?" she murmured pityingly, holding the blue-lipped, trembling boy close. She hurriedly instructed her servants, "Let’s find a place to change his wet clothes and get him some warm broth. Some of you, ask around nearby to see if any family has lost a child."
Silently, Wu Zhen followed them, watching as her mother rescued her future husband, cleaned him up, and held him by the fire in an inn to warm him. Beautiful and soft-spoken, the woman even coaxed the frightened child into drinking a bowl of hot, sweet porridge.
Stroking the boy’s head, she sighed affectionately. "So young, yet so well-behaved and sensible." Her expression then clouded with worry as she glanced toward the door. "If only Zhen’er were half as obedient as this child."
Wu Zhen finally smiled. Scratching her cheek, she boldly sat down beside her birth mother, leaning against her shoulder before reaching out to pinch the little boy in her arms.The maidservant beside the woman comforted her, "Don't worry, madam. The servants have already gone to search, and they'll find the second young lady soon."
After a while, a man followed the Wu family servant inside. The moment the child in the woman's arms saw him, his eyes lit up as he called out, "Father!"
Hearing this, Wu Zhen straightened up and carefully examined the man who had entered. So this was the previous Cat Official? It seemed her husband's looks might have taken more after his mother.
The father who had lost his child took his son into his arms, wearing an expression of relief after surviving a disaster, then bowed solemnly to his savior.
"Madam, you saved my son's life today. I am eternally grateful and will surely repay this kindness in the future!"
The woman smiled politely, dismissing the matter. But Wu Zhen was startled, suddenly realizing—could it be that because her mother had saved this man's life back then, the previous Cat Official had appeared when she was near death, saving her life by passing on the Cat Official position? So this connection was about repaying kindness?
As Wu Zhen pondered, the man left with his son in his arms, and the woman also stepped out of the inn, determined to continue searching for her daughter in person. Just then, a servant came forward leading a little girl. The girl wore a fearless, beaming smile as she bounded into the woman's arms, sweetly calling her "Mother" and planting a kiss on her cheek.
The woman's initial anger melted into helpless tenderness as she held the girl close, softly admonishing her not to run off again.
Wu Zhen stood at the inn's entrance. To her left was the previous Cat Official carrying his son away; to her right, her mother departing with her daughter in her arms. Caught between them, she watched as little Mei Zhuyu peeked over his father's shoulder, curiously glancing in their direction. Meanwhile, the grinning little girl—Wu Zhen herself—instinctively looked his way. For a brief moment, their gazes seemed to meet before both children turned away indifferently. One animatedly gestured about something in her mother's arms, full of excitement, while the other silently clung tighter to his father's neck, still shaken from his earlier fright.
Wu Zhen didn't remember this incident from her childhood, so at this age, she likely never imagined that one day she would marry the quiet little boy she'd glimpsed that snowy Lantern Festival night—just as he probably hadn't either.
The two groups walked farther and farther apart, eventually disappearing into opposite ends of the night, their paths never crossing again.