Chapter 192: Where’s the Evidence
Lan Wu realized one fact: Chu Mingheng, having merged his memories, had become even more difficult to deal with.
If the Chu Mingheng of her past life was cold-blooded and ruthless, the Chu Mingheng of this life had harbored a soft spot for her from the beginning due to the dreams, which led her to act somewhat recklessly later on.
But now…
Lan Wu stared at him, swallowing silently. The current Chu Mingheng seemed gentle, yet also more dangerous.
His heart had grown even colder.
“You’ve changed—” Lan Wu accused him. “Do you no longer love me?”
Chu Mingheng smiled, kissed the tip of her nose, and told her, “Being unreasonable won’t work, A’Wu. Considering how long I’ve endured, even going mad once, how can you still act as if you don’t know?”
“Shall I help you with your makeup? I’ve become quite skilled at it.”
Lan Wu was utterly defeated, feeling both angry and stifled. She reached out and lightly poked Chu Mingheng’s chest. “Why don’t you take these matters to heart at all? I tried my best not to bring them up, yet you speak of them so seriously…”
Chu Mingheng caught her hand, closed his eyes gently, and kissed her fingertips, soothing her. “There’s no need to be so cautious. After all we’ve been through, now that we’re finally reunited again, I’m overjoyed.”
“You don’t have to cater to my feelings or worry that I’ll be hurt or sad—I’ll only be saddened by your sorrow.”
“So, A’Wu, all you need to do is love me well and be happy.”
Speaking of their past life, Lan Wu still couldn’t be as indifferent as Chu Mingheng. She leaned gently against him and murmured, “If I’m happy, will you be happy too?”
“Of course. A’Wu is the most important.” Chu Mingheng stroked her hair softly and spoke slowly.
Lan Wu hummed in acknowledgment, then suddenly brought up, “Then Your Majesty should rest for a while.”
Chu Mingheng was visibly taken aback by her words for a moment but quickly regained his composure. “Didn’t we just get up not long ago? Do you still want to sleep, A’Wu?”
Lan Wu shook her head and looked at him. “Your Majesty rushed here in the rain last night and took care of me for a long time. Last night was the first time you saw me in three months, so I’m sure you didn’t sleep.”
Every word she spoke was logical and well-reasoned, accurately predicting Chu Mingheng’s reactions.
“So, Your Majesty should sleep. I won’t.”
After listening to her analysis, Chu Mingheng even nodded approvingly. “A’Wu is so clever.”
He hadn’t slept much last night. How could he rest peacefully without seeing Lan Wu awake and alert?
“Then Your Majesty should sleep quickly.” Lan Wu lifted her head and brushed her lips against his chin. “I can watch you sleep.”
Since she said so, how could Chu Mingheng waste her thoughtful intentions? He gently ruffled Lan Wu’s hair, pressed her into his embrace, and closed his eyes.
The entire morning, the hall remained quiet, with no other sounds to be heard.
Having woken up too early in the morning, Lan Wu soon grew drowsy again while lying beside Chu Mingheng. She drifted into a hazy sleep herself, though it wasn’t restful, filled with bizarre and disjointed dreams.
It wasn’t the same as entering dreams before—just ordinary dreaming.
Since Chu Mingheng had come to fetch her, there wasn’t much else to do. In a few days, once Lan Wu was fully recovered, they would prepare to return to the palace.
But before returning to the palace, the two of them visited Wuji Temple once more.
“Why go there? There’s nothing much to see.” Chu Mingheng frowned slightly, but didn’t refuse outright.
Lan Wu pondered for a moment before saying, “It feels like it’s destined by fate, something even gods and buddhas shouldn’t delay. We should go pay our respects.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Seeing Chu Mingheng standing there unmoving, Lan Wu went to pull his arm, stood on tiptoe to kiss him, and said with a smile, “If you won’t go, I’ll go by myself.”
Chu Mingheng helplessly pinched her cheek. “Would I really let you go alone?”
In the end, he went along with her wishes and visited Wuji Temple.
The scriptures Lan Wu had previously copied at Wuji Temple were still stored in Changsheng Hall. Since ordinary people couldn’t enter this hall, her scriptures remained exactly where she left them, seemingly untouched.
Chu Mingheng stood nearby and flipped through one of the books. He could see that every character Lan Wu had written was done with great care, and upon closer inspection, her calligraphy had even improved.
Had Lan Wu been coming here to practice her handwriting?
If Lan Wu knew what he was thinking, she’d probably be the first to protest.
Just as he was smiling at the thought, he heard Lan Wu’s soft voice beside him. Following the sound, he saw her kneeling on a prayer cushion, her profile facing him. She had one eye open peeking at him while the other remained closed in pious devotion toward the altar.
Sneaky, like a little cat.
Lan Wu was signaling for him to come over.
Truth be told, Chu Mingheng had never knelt before gods or buddhas in either of his lifetimes, but he also knew full well that what stood above them now wasn’t any deity.
It was just a mirror.
The mirror reflected one’s true heart, showing only themselves.
If Lan Wu wanted him to kneel, then kneel he would.
So he knelt on the cushion, though he didn’t close his eyes. His gaze remained fixed straight ahead, as if looking through the curtain at their reflections in the bronze mirror.
Lan Wu, however, knelt with genuine devotion, keeping her eyes closed for quite some time before opening them. In a daze, she was pulled up by the arm by the person beside her.
“Are we leaving?” Chu Mingheng was asking for her opinion.
Lan Wu paused, then nodded slightly.
After leaving Wuji Temple and settling into the carriage, Lan Wu found herself pulled against Chu Mingheng, her waist encircled by his arm as she leaned halfway against him.
“Why is there a bronze mirror there?” This was something she had always been curious about, but the young monks at Wuji Temple didn’t know, and she guessed Chu Mingheng might.
Chu Mingheng did indeed know, though the story was rather mysterious.
“That mirror was found by the founding ancestor of the Chu family in the sacred western lands when he was establishing the dynasty. Later, rumors spread that the mirror contained protective spirits. After the ancestor brought it back, it was kept at Changyong Mountain.”
Seeing Lan Wu’s dazed expression as he spoke, it was clear she believed about seventy percent of it.
Chu Mingheng lowered his head to kiss her hair. “Don’t think too much about it. It’s just a mirror. If you start pondering illusions and deceptions, you’ll only trap yourself in a cage.”
“You’d be better off focusing your thoughts on me, thinking more about me.”
It had to be said that Chu Mingheng truly understood Lan Wu. With just one expression from her, he knew what she was thinking, and his words happened to dispel her worries.
Lan Wu’s wandering thoughts were completely disrupted by him, so she simply said, “I am, I am thinking of you.”
Chu Mingheng smirked and asked, “Are you just humoring me?”
“Not at all—” Lan Wu retorted, then remembered she still had something to give Chu Mingheng. She glanced at him. “Your Majesty didn’t see me for three months. How did you think of me during that time?”
“What do you think?” Chu Mingheng’s gaze was intense, unwavering, as he spoke slowly.
Lan Wu felt her whole body grow warm under his stare and was the first to look away, taking the initiative: “Evidence?”
“What evidence?” Chu Mingheng was slightly puzzled.
“You say you miss me, but is it just with your mouth? Where’s the evidence? When I miss you, I always have proof.” Lan Wu tilted her head slightly, confident in her plan.