Chapter 182: The Statue
In truth, Lan Wu had already vaguely guessed some of it earlier. Since Chu Mingheng could recover during these three months of separation, it meant that the Chu Mingheng of two lifetimes would become the same person, their memories would connect, and there would no longer be a distinction between the two lifetimes.
Although the letter did not explicitly state it, it occasionally gave Lan Wu hints, as if wanting her to discover it herself.
If Lan Wu still couldn’t figure it out, she would be a fool.
Thinking of the Chu Mingheng from her previous life in her dreams, and then of the Chu Mingheng of the present outside her dreams, Lan Wu felt less sorrowful.
Since they had become the same person, it meant that Master Huifan was right—her leaving Chu Mingheng could indeed help him recover from his illness.
Yet the Chu Mingheng of her previous life had lived too pitifully. Whenever she thought of it, Lan Wu couldn’t help but sigh.
Lan Wu hadn’t yet opened the letter Chu Mingheng had sent. Only after the palace maids had left did she sit at the low table and open the letter to read it.
Outside the hall, the palace maids had been preparing to pack up these past few days, as in a few days they would be returning to the palace with Her Ladyship.
“Today is the twenty-ninth, right? In two more days, it will be April. By the time we return to the palace, the weather will have warmed, and the flowers in the Imperial Garden will surely be in full bloom.”
“How could that be? Late March and early April are precisely when spring rains fall. There will surely be a rainstorm then.”
The palace maids were whispering outside the hall when they suddenly heard the sound of something crashing to the floor inside. Without a second thought, they hurried into the hall to see if Her Ladyship was all right.
Lan Wu had been reading Chu Mingheng’s letter when, in the middle of it, she unexpectedly saw him write that he had already set out from the imperial city to fetch her.
Shocked, she grabbed the letter and rushed toward the hall’s entrance, forgetting there was a step on the floor. She stumbled and fell, knocking over a stack of books on the table as well.
When the palace maids entered the hall and saw her, they hurried forward to help her up.
Lan Wu frowned as she got up, rubbing her elbow, which felt a bit sore.
“How did Your Ladyship fall… Go quickly and summon Court Physician Chen.” Lian Xi approached, helping her sit on a chair, and immediately sent someone to call for the court physician.
Lan Wu frowned to herself as she looked at the letter in her hand, thinking: It’s all because of Chu Mingheng, suddenly writing that he had already set out. In his last letter to her, he hadn’t mentioned when he would come to fetch her.
“His Majesty said he has already left the imperial city. If he travels quickly, he should arrive in a few days,” Lan Wu said softly.
Hearing this, Lian Xi couldn’t help but smile. “Isn’t it a good thing that His Majesty is coming specifically to fetch Your Ladyship? Your Ladyship misses His Majesty so much, and in a few days, you’ll be able to see him. No wonder Your Ladyship is so excited.”
Lan Wu was about to say something when she saw Court Physician Chen arrive.
Chen Li examined her arm, feeling it gently, and said, “It’s just a bump, not on the bone. Applying some medicine will help it heal.”
Lan Wu nodded and asked her, “It’s not serious, right? Will it heal in a few days?”
Chen Li paused for a moment, then examined it more carefully and asked, “Did Your Ladyship bump into the corner of the table? Did you hit anywhere else?”
“My knee seems to have been scraped a little too…”
Chen Li applied medicine to the injury on her knee before saying, “The knee injury isn’t serious, but Your Ladyship’s arm may need a few days to recover. For the next few days, Your Ladyship should eat lighter foods.”
Lan Wu gave an “oh” and slightly bent her arm to take a look.
She hoped the injury would heal before Chu Mingheng came to fetch her, otherwise he would surely scold her again.
A light rain fell during the night, droplets dripping from the eaves onto the leaves outside the hall, creating a pitter-patter sound.
Lan Wu was awakened by the rain. Instinctively, she propped herself up on her elbow to sit, wincing in pain as she bent her arm, which immediately jolted her awake.
Peering through the bed curtains, she saw the dark sky and the faint, hazy glow of palace lanterns.
It was raining?
Lan Wu pressed her other hand against her forehead—she had once again failed to enter her dreams today.
Listening to the steady patter of rain, Lan Wu felt increasingly agitated.
It felt as though a taut string were stretched across her mind, and each raindrop was like a sharp stone dancing upon it, disturbing her peace.
In the days before her death in her previous life, it had rained like this too.
Lan Wu’s hand stilled.
Thinking back carefully, was the day she died in her past life the second day of the fourth month? Or the third?
A shiver ran through Lan Wu’s entire body.
In the stillness of the deep night, her thoughts wandered even more freely. She thought of everything, and the more she tried to forget, the more vividly those unwanted memories surfaced in her mind, refusing to fade or leave.
It should have been the second day, a rare sunny day after so long.
No, why was she thinking about this? None of it mattered anymore. Those people could no longer harm her. She had been reborn and now knew the truth.
Besides, she was now at Changyong Mountain and would soon pass the anniversary of her death in her previous life without any mishaps.
Lan Wu lowered her gaze slightly and lay back down on the bed, curling up beneath the covers. She kept telling herself not to think about it, but she couldn’t help recalling it over and over again.
The rain outside the window didn’t stop until dawn was approaching, and it was only then that Lan Wu managed to drift into a fitful sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, it was almost noon.
Lan Wu felt listless, and in the afternoon, she didn’t even go to Wuji Temple. She simply stared at the gloomy sky outside the hall, growing more and more irritable the longer she looked.
Lounging on the Guifei couch, she draped a fleece blanket over herself. Feeling drowsy in the afternoon, she held a book in her hand but lacked the energy to read it. Before she knew it, she had tilted her head to the side and gradually fallen asleep.
Just yesterday, she had said she hadn’t entered her dreams, and today, her wish was granted.
As the surrounding white mist dispersed, the familiar scene before her made her pause in her steps.
This was Changyong Mountain.
More precisely, this was Wuji Temple.
The sound of sutra chanting grew clearer in her ears, identical to the recitations she heard on the path she usually took to Changsheng Hall for prayers.
Lan Wu glanced around but didn’t see Chu Mingheng, so she stepped forward along the path.
She walked all the way into Changsheng Hall.
The Golden Hall was still sparsely furnished and mostly empty, but this time, there was an additional person inside.
Chu Mingheng was kneeling on a cushion in the hall, and the sound of dripping water echoed within, particularly jarring in the otherwise silent space.
Lan Wu called out to him, not noticing the slight tremor in his posture. She quickly walked around him and stood before him.
Only when she was in front of him did Lan Wu notice his noticeably aged appearance and his excessively pale complexion.
Chu Mingheng kept his head bowed, staring at the ground as if unaware of anything around him.
Lan Wu didn’t dare to think about how much time had passed, but judging from the glimpse she had caught of Chu Mingheng’s face, it must have been a considerable amount.
She didn’t have time to linger in shock. Instead, she looked around, searching for candles she could extinguish.
But whether Chu Mingheng had forgotten or already believed she would never appear again, not a single candle was lit in this Golden Hall.
No candles, but perhaps incense sticks could work as well?
Before her was a thick curtain, obscuring the deities enshrined ahead.
Lan Wu attempted to find incense sticks behind the curtain. The moment she stepped inside, she seemed to sense something and looked up, only to see a gilded statue. The statue depicted a woman, beautiful and gentle, charming and elegant—it was clear how deeply the one who sculpted her must have adored her.
But upon clearly seeing that face, Lan Wu felt as if her bones were about to be shattered by an invisible wind. Her heart pounded like a drumbeat, uncontrollably stirring feelings of unease, confusion, and even terror. At the same time, she roughly guessed why Chu Mingheng had come here.
The statue was of herself.