Chapter 157: Sorrow

As expected, by the next day, the person had changed once again. The promised arrangement of having female officials come to teach etiquette had turned into Chu Mingheng watching closely from the side.

The female officials had never seen such a situation before—Your Majesty standing guard beside her, not shifting his gaze even half an inch, as if afraid that in the blink of an eye, the consort would vanish from sight.

Learning rules and etiquette naturally wasn’t done in the Inner Palace. Lan Wu had everyone move to the side hall, which was spacious and more convenient for learning.

That was the original plan, but now…

“When Your Ladyship hears the female official’s command to kneel, you should kneel. Generally, it’s done three times…”

“Skip this rule.” Before the female official could finish speaking, Chu Mingheng, who had been watching from the side, spoke up, unceremoniously altering the rule.

From the beginning until now, Chu Mingheng had already changed three rules.

Lan Wu turned her head to look at his calm, determined eyes and felt nothing but a headache.

The female official was already under immense pressure teaching the newly appointed Guifei the etiquette for the investiture ceremony, let alone with Your Majesty watching from the side. She hardly dared to speak, and with the rules being changed back and forth, it hardly seemed like an investiture ceremony at all.

But she didn’t dare to mention it, for the Son of Heaven was supreme, and naturally, whatever he said went.

“Enough, changing so many rules will only invite ridicule. I’m not of noble birth anyway—what’s the harm in kneeling a couple of times?” Lan Wu waved her hand, signaling the female official to withdraw first, then walked over to Chu Mingheng and drank the tea he had prepared for her.

“Who would dare to ridicule you?” Chu Mingheng wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his embrace, resting his chin on her neck as he lowered his eyes and whispered, “If anyone dares to ridicule you, I will—”

“You will what?” Lan Wu set down the teacup, cupped his face, and looked at him seriously. “What will you do?”

Chu Mingheng averted his gaze and changed his words. “Nothing.”

Lan Wu breathed a slight sigh of relief, afraid he would say something about killing this person or that.

“There’s no need to learn these rules anyway. In my opinion, let’s just skip the learning. Have someone go through the motions, and you can wait inside. It’s cold outside.” Chu Mingheng had been watching for a while, and the more he saw, the more he frowned. In such freezing weather, Lan Wu had to go outside the hall to receive the decree and kneel. What kind of ridiculous rule was that? It should have been changed long ago.

Lan Wu tilted her head slightly, amused. “Then my position wouldn’t be legitimate. Who told you to issue a decree appointing me as Guifei?”

At this, she added, “Oh, it wasn’t you. You only gave me the rank of Shuyi.”

Speaking of her past life, Lan Wu was filled with deep resentment and didn’t even bother to look at Chu Mingheng, struggling to break free from his embrace. Yet, Chu Mingheng’s arms were like walls of bronze, holding her tightly in place.

Chu Mingheng knew he was in the wrong but couldn’t bring himself to say a word.

He didn’t even dare to ask Lan Wu again if she preferred him in this life.

Lan Wu was always the one who softened easily. After saying that one sentence, she didn’t dwell on it and instead brought up another matter.

“So, you’ll agree to the matter of Changyong Mountain, won’t you?”

“You can send people to protect me. That way, you won’t have to worry. Besides, I can write to you. It’s only three months—three months in exchange for all the years we’ll spend together in the future. It’s worth it.”

Chu Mingheng remained silent, quietly holding Lan Wu.

“Don’t pretend to be mute. Say something.”

Annoyed by his stubborn resistance, Lan Wu gave him a light push.

This push sent him leaning back against the chair, slanted and supported, his breathing slightly heavy.

“Your Majesty?” Lan Wu hurriedly got off him, calling out anxiously.

Chu Mingheng raised a hand to cover his lips, turned his head aside, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Your Majesty…” Lan Wu stared at him blankly, a sudden surge of indescribable sorrow welling up in her heart. After finally being granted a second chance at life, must she once again allow mistakes to take something away?

Spitting out that mouthful of blood seemed to make Chu Mingheng feel much better, though his complexion appeared even paler.

He wiped the blood from his lips with a handkerchief, then cleaned his hands. Seeing Lan Wu’s troubled expression, he wanted to comfort her, but his words couldn’t help but carry a hint of guilt:

“Ah Wu, I’m fine. It must be what the Imperial Physician mentioned the other day… a surge of qi and blood. I’m perfectly fine.”

As he finished speaking, he saw Lan Wu’s eyes suddenly redden. She turned around, crouched on the ground, and began sobbing softly.

Chu Mingheng quickly went over, pulled her up, and without a second thought, frantically wiped away her tears.

“Really, I don’t feel unwell anywhere,” Chu Mingheng repeated.

Lan Wu crouched on the ground like a wilted mushroom, dejected, but soon gathered herself. She stood up, wiped away her tears, and instead pressed Chu Mingheng back into the chair. Choking back sobs, she said, “Lying is wrong.”

Now that he was already spitting blood, at some unknown time, Chu Mingheng might collapse and never wake again, just as Master Huifan had said.

Chu Mingheng gently touched her face, urging her not to be afraid.

“How can you be fine after spitting blood?” Lan Wu lowered her head, covering her face, no longer believing his words.

Since Chu Mingheng stubbornly refused to agree to Master Huifan’s method, the only option left, after much thought, was to force his hand.

Lan Wu took a deep breath, then turned to look at Chu Mingheng. Her tear-filled eyes fixed on him, as if she had made up her mind.

Until nightfall, Chu Mingheng showed no further reactions, as if the blood he spat that afternoon was merely an accident.

But Lan Wu observed him frequently and noticed that he sometimes pressed his forehead, clearly due to a headache. Yet his expression remained natural, as he endured the discomfort brought on by the pain.

Sleeping tonight meant waking up tomorrow as another person.

The key was whether Chu Mingheng could even fall asleep.

Lan Wu glanced at the calming incense burning in the hall, then at Chu Mingheng, who had finished washing up and was leaning against the soft couch with his eyes lowered, reading a book.

A teacup sat on the table before him.

Lan Wu walked over, lifted the lid of his teacup, and saw the strong tea inside.

Indeed, Chu Mingheng already knew about the calming incense.

He did not want to sleep.

“…Ah Wu.” The teacup was moved aside as Chu Mingheng couldn’t help but call out to her.

Lan Wu looked at him, then drank all his tea.

“If you don’t want to sleep, then don’t. We can stay awake and watch each other all night,” Lan Wu’s voice was calm and unhurried, yet inexplicably resolute, as if she had run out of options. “If you don’t sleep today or tomorrow, I’ll stay with you.”

“But you know, my health isn’t that good. If I fall ill, it will be hard to bear,” Lan Wu murmured softly. “I won’t take medicine either. If… if I die like this, then it’s just our respective fates. You needn’t dwell on it.”

With that, she looked at Chu Mingheng’s bloodshot eyes, turned, and walked away.