Moonlit Reunion Episode 11 Recap
> Moonlit Reunion Recap
Wu Zhen transferred her demon powers to Mei Zhuyu through her mouth, her face paling but her hands not stopping until his breathing stabilized. She acknowledged that he had saved her life and felt compelled to prevent him from being crippled. An attendant urged her to be careful with her body after dealing with the Unrotted Bone Demon and now healing Mei Zhuyu, but Wu Zhen insisted she was fine and strong. The next morning, Mei Zhuyu awoke.
An imperial physician was summoned, who marvelled at Mei Zhuyu's remarkably fast recovery, attributing it to him being "blessed by the stars." The physician advised him to rest for a while longer for full recovery and prepared a prescription. Mei Zhuyu thanked him. After the physician left, Mei Zhuyu tried to leave, expressing concern about causing gossip and damaging Wu Zhen's reputation.
However, Wu Zhen stopped him, feigning indifference by claiming she was only worried about him dying in her manor, which would be unlucky. She had already arranged a guest room for him to recuperate, and informed him that she had notified the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, assuring him there were no urgent cases and no need for an injured man to hobble to work.
Wu Zhen dismissed his concerns, stating that as a County Princess, she could easily support ten young masters like him, and further joked about his leg injury affecting his brain, causing him to only listen to half of what she said. Mei Zhuyu, realizing her true concern, thanked her for her careful attention. Hu Zhu later confirmed to Mei Zhuyu that she had sent word to his family, assuring him they were aware and not to worry.
The incident, which should have been a tale of heroism, morphed into absurd gossip circulating throughout Chang'an. Some claimed Princess Qinghe tried to force Mei Zhuyu, and upon his refusal, angrily broke his leg, an act that supposedly angered the heavens, causing a lantern to fall and start a fire. Others, from different palace sources, countered that Mei Zhuyu was the one pestering Princess Qinghe, threatening his own life to be taken into the Duke’s manor.
These wildly varying accounts led people to conclude that palace gossip was unreliable, as those working in the palace often had "poor hearing." Meanwhile, at Mei Zhuyu's residence, Wenhua and Shuangjiang were worried about their young master. Wenhua blamed Shuangjiang's excessive eating for Mei Zhuyu's overwork and subsequent injury. Shuangjiang retorted, calling Wenhua a "cheeky servant," while Wenhua accused Shuangjiang of being a "jinx."
While they were squabbling, Hu Zhu arrived to deliver news: Mei Zhuyu had injured his leg and would be recuperating at the Duke's manor for a while. Wenhua, concerned, asked if the fall was real and if the injury was severe enough to affect Mei Zhuyu's ability to earn money. Hu Zhu reassured them that Mei Zhuyu was not seriously hurt and was being well cared for by Wu Erniangzi, promising he would return "chubby and well-fed."
This news brought great relief to Wenhua and Shuangjiang. After Hu Zhu returned to the manor, she noticed Wu Zhen's exceptional care for Mei Zhuyu, which made her suspect that Wu Zhen was falling for him. Wu Zhen did not deny it, confiding that after the recent Unrotted Bone Demon incident, her demon powers had not yet fully recovered.
She explained that if Mei Zhuyu hadn't risked his life to save her, she would likely have perished in the fire again, adding that even as the Cat Demon, she still feared pain and death. Hu Zhu questioned her, reminding her that the Cat Lord wasn't so fragile and Mei Zhuyu was just a mortal, but Wu Zhen insisted on her vulnerability. A complex emotion flickered in Wu Zhen's eyes as she spoke.
She then decided to visit Wu Zishu, who had just awakened. Wu Zhen had brought candy from the human world to help Wu Zishu with his medicine. As they sat together, Wu Zishu reminded her of her childhood when she hated bitter medicine, and he would always prepare candy to coax her. He jokingly warned her to eat less or she would become "Fat Zhen," also mentioning how she had avoided taking her body-nourishing medicine, preferring only candy.
Wu Zhen recounted how the candy shop was far away back then, and Wu Zishu had even persuaded the owner to move it next to the library for her. Wu Zishu confirmed this, stating that he would always fulfill her wishes, but still advised her to eat less candy. Shortly after, Liu Taizhen, who had been waiting outside, joined Wu Zhen to discuss official matters.
Wu Zhen inquired about Xuanhui, and Liu Taizhen explained that she had lured him to the east side of the city but he had escaped. Wu Zhen emphasized the need to prevent him from harming Chang'an's citizens. Liu Taizhen believed Xuanhui, despite his mischievous nature and repeated escape attempts, had never harmed mortals and was currently injured, so he likely wouldn't cause much trouble.
However, she suspected someone helped him escape the Demon Prison and appear at the Sky Lantern Festival. Wu Zhen agreed, deducing that someone used the power of heavenly thunder to break the barrier, and only the imprisoned Elder Hui could do this, suggesting a deal had been made. Liu Taizhen confirmed Elder Hui was still in the Demon Prison under restriction, with increased surveillance. Wu Zhen stated that Elder Hui’s repeated disturbances were always aimed at her.
She resolved to settle this long-standing grudge with him after the current busy period, which she revealed was "taking care of a patient" (referring to Mei Zhuyu). In the following days, Wu Zhen personally oversaw Mei Zhuyu's care. Whenever he tried to leave the manor, she would gently but firmly stop him, asking where he was going. Hu Zhu observed this, remarking to herself that she had never seen the Cat Lord so attentive to anyone.
One day, as Mei Zhuyu prepared to bathe, Wu Zhen intercepted the maidservants who were bringing him fresh clothes, insisting that it was improper for them to go in while he was bathing. She then personally carried the clothes to him. Seeing his awkwardness, Wu Zhen mischievously recounted a story from an old storybook about a mortal man who, advised by a miracle, stole a goddess's clothes while she bathed, leading to her becoming his wife.
She asked if he was moved by the tale. Mei Zhuyu, however, found the story absurd, questioning how such an "absurd story" could be in a storybook. He questioned the goddess's decision to fall for someone who stole her clothes, and criticized the man for relying on marriage to change his destiny instead of self-improvement.
He asserted that true love required a man to be stable and settled before seeking to marry the woman he loved, rather than dragging her into his own unstable situation. Wu Zhen conceded that the story might have its flaws and that she might have remembered it wrong.
Mei Zhuyu then asked if she was mocking him, but Wu Zhen replied that they were different from the people in the story, implying their situation was more complex, and teasingly asked if he truly wanted to continue their conversation in such a state. On the night of the Sky Lantern Festival, Mei Si, while pursuing Liu Taizhen to the lakeside, was inexplicably splashed with cold water. In his confusion, he accidentally sat on Xuanhui, knocking him unconscious.
Seeing Xuanhui transform into a small black snake, Mei Si simply tucked him into his embrace and took him home. Although Xuanhui had lost his powers, he could still speak. Upon being rescued by Mei Si, Xuanhui was reminded of an incident a hundred years prior when Liu Taizhen had saved him. Mei Si was initially nervous encountering a demon, but he quickly became fascinated by the strange encounter.
After a brief conversation where Xuanhui insisted he was the "mighty Xuan Snake" and not a "loach spirit," and expressed his annoyance at being treated as a "little demon" and told Mei Si he would bite him to death once recovered, Mei Si's interest in the supernatural grew even stronger. Xuanhui recounted how he was injured while transforming, hit on the head by a heavy object by a despicable villain, and vowed revenge.
Mei Si offered him cabbage and suggested he bathe because he looked dirty, which Xuanhui rejected indignantly, stating he wouldn't bathe even if Mei Si didn't touch him. Since their prolonged stay at the Duke’s manor, Wenhua’s cooking had become increasingly perfunctory, leading to constant complaints from Shuangjiang.
A colleague from the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs delivered Mei Zhuyu’s monthly salary and, in doing so, hinted at the possibility of Mei Zhuyu marrying into the Duke’s family, even stating that people were betting on whether Princess Qinghe would marry into the Mei family or if Mei Zhuyu would marry into the Duke's manor. Upon hearing this, Wenhua and Shuangjiang were alarmed, immediately resolving to prevent such a thing and rushing to the Duke’s manor.
They burst in, frantically checking if Mei Zhuyu was injured, taken advantage of, or had "lost his innocence," as Wenhua put it, while Shuangjiang worried if he still remembered them after his fall. Mei Zhuyu assured them he was perfectly fine and remembered them. When asked if he disliked Wenhua’s cooking, Mei Zhuyu explained it was simply difficult to leave the manor.
Shuangjiang then asked Mei Zhuyu about the recent chaos at the Sky Lantern Festival, and Mei Zhuyu suggested it wasn't human-caused, proposing it might lead them to the Beast Market and offer a chance to locate it. As his leg was still healing, he tasked Shuangjiang with investigating clues about the strange phenomena.
Shuangjiang, while confirming that rumors of Mei Zhuyu breaking his leg and marrying into the Duke's family were rampant, scoffed at them, stating he knew it was nonsense and that Mei Zhuyu and the County Princess clearly had nothing going on. However, Mei Zhuyu then confessed to Shuangjiang that he felt affection for Wu Zhen.
He elaborated, quoting a poem, that he sought "the cause, not the result," acknowledging that as a celestial master from Changxi Palace, he was forbidden to experience such emotions and had unresolved matters, thus he dared not aspire to marriage. Shuangjiang was deeply concerned, reminding Mei Zhuyu that those from Changxi Palace must not fall in love, and predicting that he and Wu Zhen would have no future.
He also noted Mei Zhuyu's change in character, as he now read poetry. Mei Zhuyu responded that he had not forgotten his vows and had no intention of marrying her; he was merely being honest about his feelings. He explained that perhaps the "nights were too cold," and he longed for "a ray of light."
After Mei Zhuyu bid farewell to Shuangjiang and Wenhua, he turned to find the calico cat, a form Wu Zhen often took to accompany him, secretly observing him while wondering if he was afraid of cats and if he recognized her. Later, contemplating Mei Zhuyu’s newfound affections, Shuangjiang agonized over whether to inform his Senior Brother. After much internal debate, he decided against revealing the full truth to spare Mei Zhuyu from sect punishment.
Instead, he planned to write to his Senior Brother, using the presence of demons in Chang'an and Mei Zhuyu's injury as a pretext to request his return for recovery. This, he reasoned, would separate the two of them without him having to lie, satisfying everyone. Soon, Mei Zhuyu’s injuries were completely healed, and Wu Zhen finally felt at ease.
With her affairs in the human world resolved, she personally returned to the Beast Market and went to the Demon Prison to meet Elder Hui. Mei Zhuyu, seeing her busy, gently asked why she was working again so soon after healing. Inside the prison, Elder Hui feigned ignorance about Xuanhui’s escape, even asking if Wu Zhen had come for his matter and needed his help, but Wu Zhen immediately saw through his pretense.
She openly mocked him, pointing out his refusal to accept her as the Cat Lord and his cowardice in avoiding a direct confrontation, instead resorting to "petty, sneaky things like a rat." She even explicitly called him a "rat." Wu Zhen then reminded Elder Hui that their long-standing animosity needed to be settled and declared that, as he himself once said, "winner takes all, loser is nothing." She challenged him directly, ready to finally put an end to their feud.
