Chapter 26: Just a Dream
Lan Wu was momentarily stunned by his gaze, quickly recalling the terror and helplessness of her dream.
Clutching Chu Mingheng’s robes, she spoke with a mix of truth and pretense: “Concubine dreamed of endless rain, and Your Majesty was not in the palace.”
“Lady Shufei brought people to find concubine, saying concubine was seductive and would bring disaster to the state, and she wanted to have concubine strangled!”
“Your Majesty, that white silk was so long and thin, yet when twisted together it was terribly strong. Concubine’s neck was wrapped in it, and not a single word could be uttered.”
As she spoke these words, Lan Wu’s voice trembled, clearly revealing her fear.
Chu Mingheng allowed her to cling to him without letting go. Hearing her words, he softly remarked, “Nonsense.”
What nonsense! That was clearly the truth!
Lan Wu herself had died once, yet Chu Mingheng knew nothing and still refuted her.
But she couldn’t say she had truly died.
“I said it was just a dream…” she muttered awkwardly.
Chu Mingheng glanced at her. “How could I not be in the palace? And how could imperial concubines be strangled so casually?”
There was no Empress Dowager or Empress in the palace, so Consort Shu and Consort Rou certainly had no authority to kill imperial concubines at will.
Yet in her previous life, she had truly died.
“If… concubine means if.” A thought surfaced in Lan Wu’s mind, and she asked Chu Mingheng in confusion, “If they truly wanted to strangle concubine, what gave them the confidence to dare act while Your Majesty was not in the palace?”
The question was strange, as if Lan Wu truly harbored such fears.
Chu Mingheng pulled her arms away and tucked her back under the quilt. Leaning over, he said indifferently, “In this palace, nothing can surpass my authority.”
Nothing could surpass the Emperor’s authority.
Chu Mingheng’s words were precisely telling Lan Wu that if they dared to act against her, it must have been under his orders.
The moment Lan Wu understood, her body stiffened, and a chill spread from deep within her heart.
She didn’t even dare to look at Chu Mingheng’s face, as if she were treading on a thin rope over a cliff, with icy winds mercilessly beating against her, threatening to send her plummeting.
All along, she had believed it was the scheming of the imperial concubines that had killed her, but she had never considered that the final white silk might have been under Chu Mingheng’s orders.
How could it be Chu Mingheng?
It couldn’t be Chu Mingheng.
A hand lifted her chin, raising her weakly drooping face. The moment her eyes met his deep, dark gaze, Lan Wu truly wanted to take a hairpin and pierce his eyes.
“What are you thinking so wildly?” Chu Mingheng’s voice drifted over, like melting snow in a cold stream, silently enveloping the surroundings. “Are you thinking I would kill you?”
When he asked this expressionlessly, he had already decided what lesson to teach this audacious, overthinking woman.
But Lan Wu had just cried, her eyes still red as she looked at him. Her pupils were filled with disbelief and profound sorrow and despair, as if he had truly ordered her death.
Chu Mingheng gently shook Lan Wu’s face and said irritably, “If I wanted to kill someone, it wouldn’t be so troublesome.”
Lan Wu blinked, her eyelashes timidly lowering. She bit her lip and whispered, “If it wasn’t Your Majesty’s order, then how…”
As her voice trailed off, Lan Wu thought of another possibility.
“Forging an imperial decree!?” she exclaimed in shock, her pitiful and delicate expression shattering.
Was that it?
Find a scapegoat from the Imperial Presence to falsely issue an imperial decree, and they would have no more reservations—killing her would be just that, and even if discovered later, they wouldn’t face too severe a punishment. By shifting all blame onto the one who forged the decree, it’s likely Your Majesty wouldn’t execute everyone just for her sake.
But since it was a forged decree, that person from the Imperial Presence must have been widely recognized; otherwise, the “decree” would have been useless. Who could it be? Was there such a person in the Imperial Presence?
Lan Wu herself had come up with this previously unconsidered reason, her brows furrowing even more deeply. But there was no time to dwell on it now; she could only temporarily set the thought aside.
A palace servant outside the hall brought the calming soup prescribed by the Imperial Physician.
Lan Wu hated taking medicine. This calming soup was no different from the other concoctions from the Imperial Medical Academy—a dark brown liquid exuding bitterness. As soon as it was brought into the room, the entire space was filled with its scent.
“Your Majesty, this concubine merely had a nightmare and isn’t ill. Could I not drink the medicine?”
Lan Wu wrapped her arms around Chu Mingheng, her eyes fixed on the bowl of medicine, her reluctance unmistakably conveyed.
The result was Chu Mingheng gripping the back of her neck to loosen her hold, his words exceptionally cold: “If you don’t drink it, I’ll pour it down your throat.”
Lan Wu had long known her coquetry would be useless, so she wasn’t particularly disappointed. After being scolded by Chu Mingheng, she reached out to take the medicine bowl. While waiting for it to cool, she realized her reaction during her sleep had worried the palace servants, prompting them to summon Your Majesty from the Imperial Presence—and Chu Mingheng had actually come.
Her slightest joy showed on her face, and the earlier suspicions and fears gradually dissipated.
While still drinking her medicine, Lan Wu heard a palace servant announce from outside that Jieyu Fang and Beauty He had come together to visit her.
Hearing this, Lan Wu, with half the medicine still left, nearly choked.
What Jieyu Fang and Beauty He…? She had never heard of them.
Lan Wu held the medicine bowl, wide-eyed, and looked at Chu Mingheng.
Why hadn’t anyone come when she moved into Longyu Pavilion this morning? Now that they knew Your Majesty was in her palace, they came to “visit” her. Who knew whom they were really here to see?
She downed the remaining half-bowl of medicine in one gulp and handed the empty bowl away. Lan Wu gently wiped the medicine stains from her lips with a handkerchief and asked Lian Xi to fetch some preserved fruit.
Chu Mingheng sat to the side, watching her unhurriedly finish the preserved fruit, wipe her mouth and fingers, and then approach him.
“Your Majesty, this concubine doesn’t know them. This concubine is afraid.” Lan Wu furrowed her brows, her beautiful face tinged with worry. She pressed close to Chu Mingheng, and as she turned her head toward the door, her expression shifted entirely—her eyes clearly revealing annoyance.
Hearing this, Chu Mingheng reached out to stroke her waist, gently squeezing her slender frame. “You need me to accompany you even to meet someone? Your courage is too small.”
Lan Wu was naturally pretending. She utterly despised those two unknown imperial concubines outside. What “courage too small”?
She wanted Chu Mingheng to accompany her outside, preferably letting everyone spread the word of her favored status. Since she was already a thorn in the eyes of the imperial concubines, why not make it even more pronounced and infuriate them to death?
“Your Majesty…” Lan Wu called softly to him.
“Get up.” Chu Mingheng released her, signaling for her to dress properly.
Lan Wu sat up slightly, brushed her lips lightly against Chu Mingheng’s, and smiled. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
With that, she swiftly got off the bed and went to get dressed.
Both imperial concubines had been selected through the imperial selection, but unlike Beauty Rong, they were not particularly favored. After being granted their titles, they had only seen Chu Mingheng a few times. Knowing that Lan Wu came from a dancer background and enjoyed considerable imperial favor, they had come out of curiosity, hoping to catch Your Majesty’s attention while he was present.
They had anticipated that Lan Wu might be difficult to deal with, but they hadn’t expected her to be this challenging.