“Old man, do you really think this will work out?” Sixth Master was restless, tossing the paperweight on his hand around for a few circles before clattering it onto the table. He turned to Loyalty Uncle, who was sitting calmly nearby.
Loyalty Uncle leisurely sipped his tea from a blue-and-white porcelain teacup, unfazed as he replied, “Why are you so anxious? The Young Master said that regardless of the outcome, he would personally come and explain everything to you. Just wait patiently.”
Sixth Master snorted but stood up restlessly, only to sit down again, clearly agitated.
The two sat in silence, waiting. Finally, they heard a sound from the secret door. Sixth Master shot up, then quickly sat back down, trying to appear as steady as a rock.
It was indeed Mei Qing entering. His expression was calm, revealing nothing.
Sixth Master pretended not to notice, deliberately looking elsewhere. Loyalty Uncle asked instead, “You finally showed up. If you had been any later, our Sixth Master might’ve taken his anger out on my old bones. So, how did it go? What did Bi girl say?”
Mei Qing remained silent. He slowly stepped into the room and moved aside, revealing the delicate figure of Bi Zhen, who quietly walked in behind him.
Upon seeing her, Sixth Master froze for a moment before slowly rising to his feet.
Bi Zhen kept her head lowered, stealing a couple of glances before softly calling out, “Father.”
Sixth Master was struck as if by lightning, motionless for a long while.
After a considerable pause, he finally managed to say, “Good… good!” Without realizing, he turned his head slightly to wipe away two unexpected tears.
Bi Zhen bit her lip, tugged at Mei Qing’s sleeve, and whispered, “There, are you satisfied now?”
Mei Qing glanced at Sixth Master. He saw him gently shaking his head, then nodding slightly when their eyes met.
Mei Qing had originally intended for Bi Zhen to speak more with Sixth Master, but sensing her reluctance to stay longer, he sighed and said, “Alright then, I’ll walk you back.”
Bi Zhen turned around and murmured, “Actually… I just don’t feel comfortable staying here.” With that, she quickly stepped into the secret passage, and Mei Qing hurried after her.
Sixth Master remained frozen in place, somewhat dazed as he asked, “What did the girl mean by that last remark?”
Loyalty Uncle chuckled, “Don’t you understand yet? Bi must have already accepted you as her father in her heart. She’s just a bit awkward about it. When she said she wanted to leave earlier, she saw you were upset, so she said that to ease your feelings. Tomorrow I’ll have the Young Master host a banquet at home and invite you to the back garden to enjoy the plum blossoms. I guarantee there won’t be any more distance between you and your daughter.”
“Really?” Sixth Master still sounded doubtful. “You old trickster, don’t you dare deceive me again this time!”
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the Mei household was filled with joy and festivity, with colorful lanterns hanging everywhere. It was indeed a happy day for Mei Qing.
Mei Qing’s marriage had come somewhat unexpectedly. Previously, his colleagues at the military station knew that Mei Qing was already quite old but still unmarried. Later, those who tried to learn about his youth found people reluctant to talk about it. When they suddenly heard that Mei Qing was getting married, they were delighted and quickly inquired which young lady it was. Upon learning it was Sixth Master’s daughter, everyone wore expressions of sudden realization.
When Mei Qing first joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, everyone knew that Sixth Master had always been especially considerate of Mei Qing, but no one understood why. Now that this news had come out, they all secretly thought it made perfect sense—of course a future father-in-law would look after his son-in-law. It was only natural.
However, Sixth Master’s identity remained extremely mysterious. No one knew exactly where he came from or what his family background was. Now that he suddenly had a daughter, no one dared to ask too many questions. Instead, they all enthusiastically congratulated Mei Qing, showing even more warmth than before.
Once everyone understood this relationship, the wedding gifts became even more generous. Especially Zhao Dayou and others, who busied themselves preparing gifts. Huang Pocky gave the most extravagant present—ten large silver ingots, which even startled Mei Qing.
“Don’t worry,” Huang Pocky grinned, “I just got a lucrative post. There’ll be plenty of silver coming my way. Brother, you’re probably only going to get married once in your life, so this won’t even dent my wealth!”
Bi Zhen’s dowry had already been delivered early. Although it wasn’t ostentatious, it was still quite generous. Among the items was even a pair of vases, specially awarded by the Emperor as a wedding gift in recognition of Sixth Master’s years of dedicated service. When Mei Qing opened the box late that night, he was stunned to find a pair of Song Dynasty Ru kiln plum blossom vases.
Mei Qing staggered into the bridal chamber, slightly tipsy. He saw Bi Zhen had already removed her veil and was sitting on the bed, smiling at him mischievously. He hurried forward and scolded, “What kind of disrespectful bride takes off her veil herself? Hurry up and put it back on! Let the groom do it properly!”
Bi Zhen giggled, “You’re the one who’s drunk! Look at you, swaying as you walk. My esteemed Master Mei, how’s your cultivation coming along? Can’t even handle a few cups of wine?”
“You silly wife,” Mei Qing teased, “if I hadn’t pretended to be tipsy, do you think those guys outside would’ve let me come back to be with my wife? Today Father-in-law and Uncle Loyalty were in such high spirits, so let them drink a bit more. Stop interrupting me—hurry up and put the veil back on, I’m going to lift it!”
Bi Zhen kept laughing but finally grabbed the veil from the side and covered her head, saying playfully, “Alright, go ahead and lift it. But if it turns out ugly, don’t blame me.”
Mei Qing laughed heartily and dramatically lifted the veil, examining her carefully from all sides. Suddenly, he stepped forward and hugged Bi Zhen, exclaiming, “Oh my, I’ve finally brought you home. Now I can rest easy.”
As the newlyweds were chatting and laughing, Duoyun and Wu’er brought in the wedding wine. After drinking it, Duoyun picked up a tray and scattered red dates, chestnuts, and candies while chanting auspicious phrases. Then she came forward to ask for a reward.
“A reward?” Mei Qing said somewhat discontentedly, “Sister Duoyun, do you really need one? After all, I’m going to marry you in a couple of days anyway…”
“Master!…” Duoyun blushed furiously, both shy and pleased yet annoyed at the same time, “What are you saying!”
She turned to Bi Zhen, saying, “My Lady, I…”
Bi Zhen nodded and said, “Master Qing is right. We should arrange your wedding before the end of the year. I definitely won’t have children, so the future children of our family will depend on you.”
Wu’er, listening nearby, was so stunned that the candies in her hand scattered to the floor. Duoyun’s eyes widened, her mouth agape, unable to say anything for a long while until she finally snapped out of it. Deeply embarrassed, she suddenly threw the tray aside, covered her face with both hands, and ran off in a flash.
Half a month later, the Mei household held a second wedding ceremony—this time for Mei Qing to take Duoyun as his concubine. Though this ceremony was not as grand as the first one for Bi Zhen, the impact among the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Mei Qing’s friends seemed even greater.
“You’re really something,” Huang Pocky said, clicking his teeth, “Just half a month ago you married Sixth Master’s daughter, and now you’re taking a concubine? You… you… never mind, I originally thought one gift would be enough, but now I guess I have to prepare another one!”
It wasn’t just Huang Pocky. Others also looked at Mei Qing with a mixture of surprise, shock, and admiration. Who was Sixth Master? Anyone who knew him would be filled with awe and fear. Now Mei Qing had just married Bi Zhen and immediately took a concubine. Such boldness was truly remarkable. Especially since Sixth Master didn’t even react—it left many people pondering the deeper implications.
As a result, many people ended up giving gifts this time that were just as generous as the first time, leaving Mei Qing scratching his head in bewilderment.
In fact, Sixth Master had been secretly furious, but Bi Zhen was quite enthusiastic about the matter, personally overseeing the arrangements. Knowing that Duoyun had already been Mei Qing’s personal maid and had been intimate with him for a long time, he could only accept it passively, pretending not to notice.
Before they knew it, the Lunar New Year had arrived. Compared to previous years, the Mei household was much livelier. Although only Bi Zhen had joined the family, with a proper mistress now in charge, the house finally felt like a real home. Unfortunately, Bi Zhen wasn’t exactly an ideal mistress—she had delegated all financial and personnel authority to Duoyun, making Duoyun somewhat embarrassed.
Fortunately, Duoyun had, in fact, been managing the household affairs for many years, so everything ran smoothly.
“I still feel a bit awkward about going to visit Father tomorrow for the New Year,” Bi Zhen said with some concern.
Mei Qing secretly chuckled. In recent days, Sixth Master had practically been living at the Mei residence, idling around, feasting, and chatting with Loyalty Uncle. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Mei Qing would never have believed that the usually stern Sixth Master could have such a side to him.
“Zhen’er,” Mei Qing hesitated slightly before speaking.
“What is it? There’s nothing you can’t tell me, right?” Bi Zhen asked curiously.
“After the New Year, I want to go to Anlu for a while,” Mei Qing said honestly. “I want to investigate my origins.”
Bi Zhen looked surprised, “Your origins? Weren’t your parents already passed away long ago? Why do you still need to investigate?”
Mei Qing shook his head, thought for a moment, and then told Bi Zhen in detail everything that Sixth Master and Loyalty Uncle had told him.
“Oh,” Bi Zhen exclaimed in shock, “So that means you should actually be surnamed Zhu…”
“No, I’m surnamed Mei,” Mei Qing replied. “Regardless of whether it’s true or not, my mother was surnamed Mei, so I’ll be surnamed Mei too.”
Bi Zhen lowered her head, “Actually, I don’t know how to say it either. Before, I hated Father for being heartless, abandoning us mother and daughter, and I always thought I’d never forgive him in my entire life. But thinking back now, why bother? Qing…”
Mei Qing shook his head, “It’s different for me, Zhen’er. Even if I wanted to acknowledge him, he might not even want to acknowledge me. Let’s not talk about this for now. But as a child, I can’t just ignore the fact that my birth mother’s whereabouts are unknown. Besides, I always feel there’s a huge secret behind what happened back then. Until I get to the bottom of it, I’ll always feel uneasy.”
Bi Zhen nodded, “You’re right. Tomorrow, we’ll go talk to Father and I’ll go with you.”
Mei Qing gently pinched Bi Zhen’s nose, “You keep saying ‘you’ and ‘you.’ Why don’t you call me ‘husband’ once? My good wife, you don’t have to go. Why don’t you just stay home comfortably?”
“No,” Bi Zhen insisted, “It’s so boring staying at home. I haven’t returned to my hometown since coming to the capital. This is the perfect opportunity for me to take you to meet my mother. Don’t even think about going back home without me—there’s no way!”
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