Chapter 111: Enemy

During the evening meal, Lan Wu couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but she felt as if a faint, cold plum fragrance lingered in the air.

It was far from the season for red plum blossoms, yet she could still smell it.

Yet it wasn’t entirely the scent of plum blossoms—it seemed mixed with a faint, bitter aroma of medicinal herbs.

“What are you looking at?” Chu Mingheng called out to Lan Wu, noticing her curious gaze, and drew her attention back.

Sitting beside him, Lan Wu gently lifted her head and asked, “Your Majesty, do you smell plum blossoms?”

“I do,” Chu Mingheng replied, reaching out to touch her cheek. As he spoke, he frowned slightly. “Why is your face a little flushed?”

Princess Yizhen, seated at a nearby table, overheard their conversation and smiled. “Your Highness must be referring to the fragrant wood placed in my hall.”

Fragrant wood?

Intrigued, Lan Wu brushed aside Chu Mingheng’s hand and followed Princess Yizhen’s gesture to a withered branch displayed on a shelf.

Even as a decorative piece, the withered branch exuded elegance, with an additional red maple branch artfully inserted into one of its protruding twigs.

“This fragrant wood originally had no scent, but there is an auntie in my villa who once served in the palace and is exceptionally skilled in incense-making. The fragrance on this wood was crafted by her.”

“However, she is a very low-key person, solitary and aloof. I have repeatedly invited her to my princess residence, but she refuses, preferring to stay in this secluded villa.”

“From the palace?” Before Lan Wu could say anything, Chu Mingheng interjected with interest, raising his voice and instructing Yizhen to summon the woman for a reward.

Lan Wu glanced at Chu Mingheng suspiciously, sensing something unusual about him at that moment.

What was so special about someone from the palace? Was there something wrong? She felt as though Chu Mingheng seemed somewhat interested in palace maids who had once served there.

“Look at your face—you haven’t even had any wine, yet your cheeks are flushed,” Chu Mingheng teased, lightly tapping Lan Wu’s chin.

Lan Wu frowned and quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. This was a public setting, not their own palace, and Chu Mingheng seemed completely unaware of the occasion.

“Perhaps the charcoal fire is too close. I’ll step outside for some fresh air later.”

The evening meal was nearly finished, and they would likely return to the palace soon.

Just as they were speaking, a servant outside announced that Auntie Zhu Qing had arrived.

“Let her in.”

A slender woman dressed in indigo coarse cloth entered the hall. She kept her head lowered, revealing only a plain silver hairpin in her bun, her face hidden from view.

But as she walked into the hall, Lan Wu instinctively fixed her gaze on her, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

When the woman knelt to pay her respects and spoke, Lan Wu’s entire body tensed. An invisible chill swept over her, from head to toe, as if sharp blades were piercing her skin. A fine, stinging pain began to spread around her neck.

Zhu Qing knelt respectfully, showing no sign of impropriety.

At that moment, chaos erupted above.

“Zhen… Zhen Zhaorong?” Princess Yizhen, seeing Lan Wu’s reaction, stood up in alarm and ordered someone to summon the Imperial Physician from outside.

“A’Wu!” Chu Mingheng, sitting beside Lan Wu, naturally noticed her abnormal reaction.

First, he noticed her body tense up, like a small animal facing a predator in an instant, filled with resistance and disgust when its life was threatened. Then, she began trembling, her lips quivering, her face turning deathly pale, her fingers clawing at the skin on her neck with such force that it seemed she wanted to tear the flesh apart.

Chu Mingheng had to restrain her hands. Seeing that she was almost forgetting to breathe, he urgently called out to her loudly by her ear, trying to bring her back to her senses.

In her confusion, Lan Wu caught sight of the face below—the same face that, in the previous life, had stood at the doorway on a rainy night and ordered her execution.

The hair was gray, the face weathered and aged, but the eyes held boundless indifference and malice.

She clenched her teeth and, just as the person below began to suspect something, forcefully turned her head away, burying it in Chu Mingheng’s embrace so she could no longer see.

Not seeing made it a little better…

“A-Wu—A-Wu!” Chu Mingheng held her hands to prevent her from clawing at her own skin, while his free hand pressed firmly against the back of her head, complying with her wish to keep her from looking elsewhere.

Lan Wu’s body continued to tremble lightly. Even exhaling required immense effort, leaving her utterly disheveled.

Why—why was this woman here! Why was she hiding in the princess’s villa instead of in the palace—no wonder they hadn’t found her during the search in the palace; she wasn’t even there! What connection did she have with Princess Yizhen?!

Seeing the person who had killed her in her previous life again, Lan Wu’s reaction now was one of extreme fear—since this person had been able to enter the palace in her past life and kill her with a forged imperial decree, she could not possibly be just a palace maid who had been released from the palace.

At this moment, she feared both that this person had a mastermind behind her, worried that her own reaction might have exposed something, and that this person might escape!

Her head throbbed unbearably, as if her skull were being shattered, making it almost impossible for her to speak, her face pale as a sheet.

A cacophony of noise filled her ears. She seemed to hear Chu Mingheng shouting, demanding why the Imperial Physician hadn’t arrived yet.

She struggled desperately to open her eyes, her lips moving, unsure if she had managed to utter the words she wanted to say. But moments later, darkness enveloped her vision.

Chu Mingheng felt Lan Wu’s body go limp. When he touched her forehead, he found it covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, yet her body was burning with fever.

Only then did the Imperial Physician finally arrive.

Chu Mingheng glanced up, his eyes as cold and sharp as arrows, scrutinizing the person below.

“Guards, take this servant away and keep her under close watch.”

Even without knowing the reason, Lan Wu’s reaction had clearly occurred upon seeing this servant. Moreover, the servant’s age, build, and even appearance matched the description of the wicked servant Lan Wu had mentioned in her dream.

They had searched for so long without success, only to coincidentally encounter her here.

Even if Lan Wu hadn’t explicitly said this person was suspicious, Chu Mingheng would not have let her go.

Especially now, with Lan Wu frightened into illness.

Zhu Qing was startled by the sudden order. She had always remained inconspicuous in the princess’s villa, and now, having just met Chu Mingheng for the first time, she happened to witness his favored consort falling ill. She didn’t think she had exposed anything; instead, she felt the emperor was overly indulgent toward his favored consort.

“What have you found from the pulse diagnosis? There’s been no response for so long. If her condition worsens due to the delay, I will hold you accountable.” Seeing that the imperial guards below had already gagged Zhu Qing and were dragging her away, Chu Mingheng lowered his head, coldly staring at the Imperial Physician who was still taking the pulse, and demanded in a deep voice.

The Imperial Physician was startled and quickly knelt to reply, “Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Her Ladyship has caught a chill. At this time of year, with the alternating cold and heat, it is extremely easy to fall ill if one is not careful…”

“Another word of nonsense, and I will take your life.” The voice was filled with murderous intent, clearly showing no patience.

The Imperial Physician hurriedly kowtowed, “I will go prepare the medicine at once—”