Chapter 180: The Nation’s Fortune

Lan Wu couldn’t understand why the timing of her waking from dreams was always so coincidental, as if precisely calculated.

Yet no matter what, she could no longer return to the dream she had just left.

She rubbed her temples, wondering if Chu Mingheng would be disappointed not to receive her response.

He surely would be…

After that, the frequency of her entering dreams slowed again.

At the same time, she suddenly noticed something.

Looking at the two letters in her hand, Lan Wu placed them solemnly on the table before her, spreading them out side by side to compare each sentence, trying to pinpoint what felt off about them.

Even after reading them several times, she couldn’t find anything obviously wrong.

Yet these two letters still struck her as strange.

Where was the strangeness?

Lan Wu, undeterred by the trouble, pulled out the previous letters Chu Mingheng had sent her. By comparing them, she finally noticed a clue.

The two letters Chu Mingheng had sent her this time looked more and more like they were written by the same person.

Although the writer had tried their best to mimic the usual style, subtle differences could still be detected. Certain ways of speaking to her were almost identical.

But which Chu Mingheng had written these letters?

Lan Wu couldn’t tell.

Dan Shan entered the hall to bring Lan Wu some pastries. Seeing the letters spread out on the table, she smiled gently and set down the tea and snacks.

“Your Majesty, please have some refreshments. These are pumpkin shortcakes freshly made by the kitchen—soft and chewy, not too sweet. Would you like to try one?” Dan Shan said, handing over a cup of clear tea. “This hot tea is perfect for cutting through the richness.”

Lan Wu nodded, setting aside the letters in her hand. She picked up a handkerchief to wipe her hands before tasting the pumpkin shortcake Dan Shan had mentioned.

“Who made these? They really are quite good,” Lan Wu remarked after taking a bite. The flavor was different from what she usually had, but it was indeed delicious. “Does Yizhen have some too? She loves these kinds of pastries. If she doesn’t, have someone send some over to her later.”

Dan Shan shook her head lightly. “These were made by a new chef who arrived today, specially summoned by His Majesty from the imperial city. He arrived at Changyong Mountain today, along with His Majesty’s letters.”

“His Majesty said Your Majesty prefers sweet, soft pastries, so he sent this pastry chef for you to satisfy your cravings.”

Lan Wu choked slightly at this, reaching for the teacup to take a few sips. After recovering, she murmured softly, “There’s only a month left before returning to the palace. Sending a pastry chef now seems like such a hassle…”

“How can anything that benefits Your Majesty be called a hassle?” Dan Shan was the first to disagree, smiling brightly. “Since Your Majesty likes them, please enjoy more. That pastry chef knows how to make many different things.”

“We can have him accompany us back to the palace in a month.”

Speaking of which, there really was only a month left.

Lan Wu nibbled on the pumpkin shortcake, her gaze drifting leisurely toward the outside of the hall.

These past few days, she had dreamed less, but each time she entered dreams, she communicated with Chu Mingheng using candles. Though somewhat troublesome, this gesture clearly comforted Chu Mingheng a great deal. At the very least, she hadn’t seen him acting strangely in her dreams again.

Her gaze lingered thoughtfully before slowly shifting to the letters placed on the table beside her.

The separation of three months was both to cure Chu Mingheng’s illness and to show her the truth, wasn’t it?

To show her what Chu Mingheng from her previous life had actually done.

Huifan said that nothing should be done to harm the nation’s fortune. Yet in the dream, after her death in the previous life, Chu Mingheng’s harem remained as if empty, and having no imperial heir meant there was no one to inherit the throne.

Such a matter could certainly be said to have harmed the nation’s fortune.

How did Chu Mingheng resolve it?

That very night, Lan Wu learned how he resolved it.

In the dream, five years had passed. The court ministers were indeed urging Chu Mingheng to establish a crown prince as soon as possible.

And Chu Mingheng himself had no sons of his own.

He had none, but among the imperial clan, young children were always being born.

Lan Wu stood quietly to the side, watching as Chu Mingheng selected from among several still-young children one who looked utterly bewildered and clearly unaware of the situation.

“What is your name?” Chu Mingheng remained stern-faced even when speaking to a four- or five-year-old child, appearing sufficiently imposing and intimidating.

Yet the child was not very afraid. Raising his tender little face, he spoke word by word, clearly and logically: “Your Majesty, my name is Chu Jiyuan. I am not yet six years old.”

Chu Mingheng examined him, naturally knowing which family’s child he was.

Selecting a crown prince could not possibly be so simple. Besides Chu Jiyuan, who had been asked his name, several other children from different families remained in the palace. These children were all quite young and were being specially nurtured in the palace. As for whether they could be chosen by His Majesty for the position of crown prince, that naturally depended on their innate qualities.

Lan Wu watched as Chu Mingheng entered the Imperial Study. In the Imperial Study, as well as in Taichen Palace and Yilan Hall—places Chu Mingheng frequented—wherever he was, candles that never went out were often lit. This was solely for the convenience of letting him know when Lan Wu was by his side.

For Lan Wu, she would dream of Chu Mingheng every other day or every few days. But for the Chu Mingheng in the dream, the short intervals were a few days, while the long ones were over ten or even twenty days before he could once again know that Lan Wu had reappeared by his side.

He even felt he had become greedy.

In the past, when he didn’t know Lan Wu was by his side, he could muddle through his days. But since learning of her presence, he eagerly hoped every day for Lan Wu to appear. When she came, he was overjoyed; when she didn’t, he was despondent.

What had already tormented him with immense pain seemed to vanish completely whenever Lan Wu blew out the candles.

Just like now.

The flame of the candle before him extinguished, signaling that Lan Wu had once again come to his side.

A smile touched Chu Mingheng’s lips as he quickly reached for candles from a box, placing several in various directions on the table. He lit them one by one and asked, “A Wu, which direction are you in?”

Lan Wu, familiar with the routine, blew out the candle in front of her.

Chu Mingheng breathed a sigh of relief, took a few steps toward her direction, and reached out as if to touch her. Even though he couldn’t actually make contact, he delighted in making this gesture every time.

“A Wu, it took you thirteen days to come see me this time. So long,” Chu Mingheng said softly.

Lan Wu could not speak to him and did not blow out any candles.

“But it’s alright. I am the best at waiting,” Chu Mingheng smiled again. “A Wu, have you been here for a while?”

Lan Wu was surprised by his keen perception, and found the first half of his sentence somewhat familiar, as if she had heard something similar somewhere before…

Before she could think it through carefully, she bent down and blew out a candle.