Moonlit Reunion

The noble youths of Chang'an City gathered for their collective autumn hunt. Early in the morning, shortly after the city gates had opened, small mounted groups from all directions converged before the gates. As some companions had yet to arrive, those who came first gathered their horses together, chatting and laughing.

"Why didn't you bring that Black Hunting Dog this time?" asked a youth dressed in sapphire-blue narrow-sleeved Hu attire embroidered with floral patterns.

Another youth in dark blue robes flashed a bright smile and answered cheerfully, "My elder brother recently returned from Tibet and brought me a massive hound. Fierce and larger than ordinary dogs, I've specially trained it for this hunt—it'll double our efficiency!" With that, he ordered his servant to bring out the hound, showing it off to the surrounding crowd.

A youth in deep purple clothes pursed his lips and whistled sharply. A clear bird cry echoed from the sky as he extended his leather-braced forearm. Moments later, a black-feathered eagle with golden eyes landed on his arm.

"Your hound can only run on the ground—how can it compare to my Black Cloud soaring in the sky?"

"Pfft, you've practically turned that Little Cloud of yours into a parrot. Can it even hunt anymore?"

"You—!"

"Ah, ah, ah, all of yours are too small—none can compare to mine." A strikingly beautiful girl in mallow-red men's robes interrupted the bickering youths with a giggle. Once she had their attention, she clapped her hands, and two deep-eyed, broad-nosed Hu servants in short brown attire led forward a leopard. Sleek and silent, its powerful frame and fluid movements drew astonished gazes from the youths.

"A-Xiu, where did you get this leopard? It looks even better than my second uncle's."

The girl proudly leaned down from her horse to stroke the leopard. "My father found it for me. He dotes on me the most—if I ask, of course he'll get me the best! Besides, none of you took me last year. This is my first hunt with Sister Zhen, and I’ll make sure she sees I’m far better than all of you!"

The youths erupted in jeers, each tugging at their own hunting companions and urging them to perform well.

As more arrived, the noble youths—both boys and girls—brought along numerous servants and guards, each leading hounds or carrying falcons. Soon, a bustling crowd had gathered beneath the city gates, their boisterous laughter drawing curious glances from passersby. A newly arrived Hu merchant, bewildered, listened to a local's explanation before gazing enviously at the group.

Mei Si arrived with Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu. Since Wu Zhen's encouragement last time, he had shaken off his despondency. With the autumn hunt approaching, he threw himself into preparations, and now, reunited with his friends, he quickly reverted to his cheerful, carefree self.

Wu Zhen rode leisurely on horseback, accompanied by Mei Zhuyu, who was joining her for the hunt. She felt as though she had never moved so slowly in her life. Trailing behind her were over a dozen Stout Servants, forced to match her sluggish pace.

These men were all from Duke Yu's estate. Originally Wu Chundao's personal guards, they had refused to leave when the duke renounced worldly affairs, instead becoming estate guards. Every year, when Wu Zhen went hunting, the servants of Duke Yu's household would compete fiercely for the privilege of accompanying her as part of this elite guard.Apart from the dozen or so stout servants, Wu Zhen didn’t bring along lynxes or falcons like the others—she had never used those before. However, this time, she did bring an animal.

When the group of young men and women finally caught sight of Wu Zhen and her party, they noticed that perched proudly on Zhen-jie’s horse was a… duck?

Almost immediately, one of the curious youths asked, “Zhen-jie, we’re going hunting—why did you bring a duck?”

A girl with a crisp voice retorted, “Do you really think Zhen-jie would bring an ordinary duck? I bet this isn’t just any duck!”

Wu Zhen burst into laughter and gave the girl a thumbs-up. “You’re right, it’s not a duck.”

The girl puffed out her chest, looking quite proud—until Wu Zhen added, “It’s a goose.”

The youths couldn’t help but snicker, though they tried to stifle their laughter for fear of offending Wu Zhen. She waved a hand dismissively. “Go ahead and laugh out loud—what’s the point of holding it in?”

Immediately, a chorus of hearty laughter erupted, even from the girl. Zhao Langjun rode closer, reaching out to pet the little goose as he joked, “Zhen-jie, did you bring this goose along so we can roast it later?”

Wu Zhen watched his reckless move without warning him, so Zhao Langjun’s laughter soon turned into a yelp of pain—the goose standing on Wu Zhen’s horse had viciously pecked his hand. If Wu Zhen hadn’t swiftly grabbed the goose by the neck and pulled it back, Zhao Langjun might have lost a chunk of flesh from his hand.

Even so, Zhao Langjun winced as he held his reddened hand, while the other onlookers stared in shock. After a long pause, someone finally said, “This goose is so fierce! Zhen-jie, how did you raise it? Did you feed it something strange?”

Wu Zhen grinned. “His name is Goose-zi. I brought him back from Puzhou. As for how he got so fierce, I have no idea—after we returned, my husband was the one who raised him.”

After Goose-zi came back to Chang’an with them, the old servants had planned to build him a pen in the backyard. But Goose-zi wasn’t satisfied. One day, Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu discovered that he had moved himself to the small pond outside the study, where he had even gathered dry grass to make a nest in the nearby meadow. Amused, Wu Zhen let him stay.

Usually, Goose-zi found his own food in the pond, and Wu Zhen never bothered with him—except when she occasionally saw her husband tossing him some scraps while reading in the study.

At Wu Zhen’s words, everyone’s gaze shifted to the silent Mei Langjun beside her. None of them were very familiar with Mei Zhuyu, so they weren’t as at ease with him as they were with Wu Zhen. The main reason, of course, was that Mei Zhuyu simply didn’t seem like the type to join in their fun, so the topic of Goose-zi was quickly dropped.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s head out of the city!” one impatient young man declared. “If we reach the Western Hills early enough, we can start hunting today and not have to wait until tomorrow!”

Wu Zhen nodded. “Alright, let’s go!” At her command, the group spurred their horses and galloped out of the city, with many of the youths racing to be first. But as they rode, they realized something was off—where was Zhen-jie? Why hadn’t she caught up?

During past hunts, Wu Zhen had always been the one leading the charge. The group reined in their horses and waited by the roadside, while the two fastest riders turned back to look.

“Where’s Zhen-jie?”"It seems they're still behind."

Everyone craned their necks to look back, faintly spotting about twenty horses near the city gate, moving slowly.

"Why is Sister Zhen so slow?"

"Could it be because of Brother Mei? Maybe he can't ride, so Sister Zhen is waiting for him?"

Zhao Langjun suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot—Sister Zhen is pregnant now. She definitely can't ride fast."

Wu Zhen's pregnancy hadn't been widely announced. Apart from the few young men who had visited her recently, no one else knew. Hearing this news suddenly, they all widened their eyes in disbelief, exclaiming in shock.

"What? Sister Zhen? Pregnant? What pregnancy? How is Sister Zhen pregnant?" one dazed youth asked foolishly.

"She's actually pregnant—why didn't Sister Zhen tell us!" This was from someone who had processed the news and was now upset.

"Ahhh! Are we going to have a little nephew or niece?" This was from someone suddenly overcome with excitement.

The group turned their horses around and galloped back toward Wu Zhen, kicking up a cloud of dust. As the crowd of faces—some unhappy, some excited, some worried—charged toward her, Wu Zhen waved a hand to clear the dust from her eyes.

"Sister Zhen, you're having a baby?"

"Sister Zhen, am I going to be an uncle?"

"Sister Zhen, can I touch your belly?" one bold girl asked. The young men exchanged glances, thinking, How dare she break ranks and make such an outrageous request! Since Mei Zhuyu was present, they couldn't very well ask to touch Sister Zhen's belly themselves. Instead, they silently agreed to push the girl aside—if they couldn't touch it, then no one could. They absolutely couldn't let the girls have all the fun!

Because of Wu Zhen's pregnancy, the entire group rode at a leisurely pace. By the time they reached the foot of the Western Hills, it was already quite late. There were several manors in this area, and every year when they came here for the autumn hunt, they would stay at one of them. The hunt usually lasted seven or eight days, after all.

They settled into the manor as usual, but a few of the young men grew restless. Seeing that it wasn't yet dark, they decided to take a small group out to scout the nearby area and maybe bring back some small game for a fresh meal that evening.

They left without disturbing the others. Wu Zhen only realized they were missing when she didn’t see them at dinner. They still hadn’t returned by then.

"It was Xie Daopu, Wang Xian, Wang Jian, and Wei Xi—he went along because he was worried. They said they’d just look around nearby and come back soon..."

Wu Zhen’s frown deepened as she listened, and the speaker quickly fell silent. Setting down her chopsticks, she stood up. "You all eat. I’ll take some people to look for them."

Though these boys loved to have fun, they weren’t reckless—especially Wei Xi, who was more mature and sensible than the others. If they hadn’t returned by now, something must have happened.

"Sister Zhen, I’ll go too!" Several of the youths stood up as Wu Zhen prepared to leave.

Wu Zhen glared at them. "Stay put, all of you!"

Reluctantly, they sat back down.

Just then, Mei Zhuyu entered. After hearing what had happened, he glanced at the darkening sky outside and said to Wu Zhen, "You wait here. I’ll bring them back."

Wu Zhen: "I’ll go—"

Mei Zhuyu: "No. You wait."

Wu Zhen: "..."Wu Zhen, who had just intimidated her younger followers with her imposing presence, was successfully persuaded by Mei Zhuyu to stay and have a meal with the remaining youths.

The young men watched as Sister Zhen ate her meal with complete composure, secretly admiring her. Truly worthy of being Sister Zhen—unfazed by praise or blame!

"Um, Sister Zhen, Physician Mei... I mean, Brother-in-law... he doesn't seem like the martial arts type. Will he be alright going alone?" one of the youths couldn't help but ask.

Wu Zhen swiftly poured herself a cup of wine from Zhao Langjun's table, taking advantage of Mei Zhuyu's absence to savor the long-missed taste of alcohol. Casually, she replied, "All of you combined might not even be a match for him."

The youths wore expressions of disbelief—she must be lying.

The only one in the know, Zhao Langjun, thought to himself: I know the truth, but I won't say a word.