Chapter 115: The Whole Night

After Zhuzhi finished speaking, she looked up to see Zhaoyi Wen staring at her with a dazed expression, as if she had said something extraordinary.

“Your Ladyship…?” Zhuzhi called out cautiously.

Zhaoyi Wen snapped back to reality, abruptly lowering her head and reaching for the teacup on the table with an unnatural motion, only to accidentally knock it over.

“Your Ladyship!” Zhuzhi quickly shielded her, preventing her from being scalded.

Zhaoyi Wen stood up, rubbing her temples wearily. “Clean this up and then leave. I’m going to read for a while.”

“Yes, Your Ladyship.”

Walking alone into the Inner Palace, Zhaoyi Wen leaned against the soft couch and sat down. She rewrote the strokes she had just drawn earlier. As Zhuzhi had said, adding one more stroke… and then another, it indeed looked like the character for “king.”

At that time, when Consort Zeng was dragged away, it seemed as though she hadn’t finished writing this character.

Could this character be “king”?

What was Consort Zeng trying to say?

“King” refers to Your Majesty—no, it shouldn’t be Your Majesty.

Consort Zeng’s tongue was cut out, undoubtedly on Your Majesty’s orders. Did she know something and tried to use it to threaten Your Majesty? Was Your Majesty worried she would spread some information, which is why her tongue was cut out?

King?

King…

Was she referring to a certain Wang family in the imperial city, or was she talking about a certain prince?

Zhaoyi Wen let out a heavy sigh, feeling that this matter was not so simple.

She remembered that after Consort Zeng was demoted to the Cold Palace, her personal palace maids were all beaten to death. Only a few unrelated servants from Zhaoyun Hall remained, and even they were sent to the Huanyi Bureau.

The night was deep, but Yilan Hall was still lit with candlelight.

Interrogating people was something Chu Mingheng didn’t need to attend personally. Now that Lan Wu hadn’t woken up yet, he couldn’t rest easy either.

The night wind was cold, but the room was warm and cozy.

Chu Mingheng had just heard Lan Wu say she was thirsty and had fed her some warm water. Seeing her drift back into a hazy sleep, he felt both annoyed and helpless.

Leaning beside Lan Wu, he gently tapped her forehead and spoke softly, “Just wait. In the future, I won’t take you out to play anymore.”

Speaking of this, his words grew more numerous.

“Flying kites made you lose your cloak. I shouldn’t have indulged you.”

“Oh, and that cat—who knows what diseases it might be carrying? Yet you were overjoyed, holding it in your arms.”

“I’ve never seen you hold me like that.”

“You little heartless thing.”

Even in her sleep, Lan Wu heard the murmuring beside her ears, assuming it was nothing good. In her deep slumber, she clearly felt her lips being kissed.

She guessed it was Chu Mingheng kissing her and was about to fall back asleep when she suddenly remembered something.

Lan Wu thought she was turning her head forcefully, but in reality, it was just a slight movement.

This faint movement made Chu Mingheng tense up, his gaze fixed intently on Lan Wu’s face, thinking she was about to wake up.

Lan Wu was indeed slightly awake. Her eyes hadn’t opened yet, but her mouth moved first. “Don’t… kiss…”

Chu Mingheng’s pupils contracted slightly, his eyes darkening as he looked at her. He couldn’t bear to hear such words of rejection. In the next moment, he gently pressed his lips to Lan Wu’s and gave a light bite.

“Don’t what? I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet, and you’re already saying such things.”

“We’ll talk about other things when you’re fully awake.”

Lan Wu couldn’t voice her grievances. Her consciousness was somewhat clear, and she knew what Chu Mingheng was doing, but she just couldn’t open her eyes.

Struggling in vain, she finally gave up and simply spoke again, expressing her good intentions. “Afraid… of infecting…”

As soon as these words were spoken, Chu Mingheng’s expression visibly improved. He kissed Lan Wu again, saying, “I’m not afraid.”

Lan Wu made no further response.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Lan Wu finally opened her eyes.

She had broken into a sweat, and even though someone had wiped her down, she still felt uncomfortable all over. As her consciousness returned, she felt as if all her bones had gone soft, with every joint aching.

Through a curtain, she vaguely saw someone sitting on a chair in the distance, but Chu Mingheng was nowhere in sight.

Ever since His Majesty left for the morning court assembly, Lian Xi and several others had taken turns keeping watch by the bedside, afraid to miss even the slightest movement from Her Ladyship. Having witnessed the commotion from the previous day, they dared not be the least bit negligent.

When she noticed movement on the bed, Lian Xi initially thought it was the wind, but she quickly approached and gently pulled back half of the curtain to find Lan Wu already awake.

“Take it slow, Your Ladyship. There’s no need to rush,” Lian Xi said, supporting her body to help her sit up and handing her a cup of warm water that had been placed nearby.

Lan Wu drank several sips in succession, quenching her thirst, before slowly turning her head to look around the empty Inner Palace.

“His Majesty watched over Your Ladyship all night. Just before dawn, when he left for court, he specifically instructed us to guard you and ensure nothing went wrong.”

Chu Mingheng had watched over her all night?

Lan Wu still felt slightly feverish, but upon hearing this, she recalled what had happened the night before.

She reached out and touched her forehead, her eyes widening as she took a slow breath—yes, that old palace maid.

Where was she?

Lan Wu lowered her hand and saw Lian Xi call someone outside to relay the message that she was awake.

Shortly after, Mujin entered the chamber.

Lan Wu hurriedly asked her, “Last night at Princess Yizhen’s villa—”

Before she could finish her sentence, she couldn’t help but sniffle and let out a light cough.

Mujin quickly patted her back to soothe her, replying, “In response to Your Ladyship, the servant named Zhu Qing has been taken to Shenxing Si by His Majesty’s order, and her identity is currently being investigated.”

“Last night, when Your Ladyship suddenly fainted, the Imperial Physician at the princess’s villa diagnosed you with a common cold. After His Majesty gave you medicine, he had you rushed back to the palace overnight.”

“Everything seemed fine at first, but shortly after returning, Your Ladyship began deliriously talking in your sleep and running a high fever that wouldn’t subside. His Majesty was furious and summoned all the Imperial Physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to examine you. Fortunately, Your Ladyship is blessed with good fortune and quickly regained consciousness. Still, His Majesty remained uneasy and stayed by your side all night, only leaving at daybreak.”

After listening to Mujin’s account, Lan Wu roughly understood that she must have caught a chill the previous day, and seeing the palace maid who had killed her in her past life had likely worsened her condition.

“Did His Majesty… did he really stay by my side all night without sleeping?” Lan Wu clutched the blanket tightly and asked softly.

Mujin shook her head. “His Majesty was likely worried about Your Ladyship. Only he and you remained in the chamber; the rest of us waited outside.”

“Did he look tired when he left this morning?”

Lan Wu thought of Chu Mingheng in her hazy memories from the previous night—he had been speaking to someone, and he sounded fierce.

It seemed he had also kissed her.

Mujin hesitated before replying, “I dare not presume to scrutinize His Majesty’s appearance, but I imagine he must have been… somewhat tired.”

Lan Wu hummed softly in acknowledgment and asked, “Did the Imperial Physician say when I’ll recover from this illness? My forehead still feels a bit warm.”

“The Imperial Physician said that once Her Ladyship wakes up, she will be fine. After that, she just needs to take a few doses of medicine. If all goes well, she may recover in a few days, but if it takes longer, it might require about ten days to half a month of rest. Her Ladyship is advised not to worry too much.”