Chapter 27: Where to Sit

Lan Wu was dressed in a light purple gown, her hair hastily styled yet exuding a lazy sort of beauty. Her eyes sparkled like stars, bright and observant.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the two seated in the hall, quickly discerning who was the Jieyu and who was the beauty. Seeing that Fang Jieyu remained seated, Lan Wu pursed her lips and walked out.

Chu Mingheng sat in the main seat. Lan Wu glanced down and noticed that the two frontmost positions below had been taken, one by each of them. Unhurried, she walked to Chu Mingheng’s side, touched her forehead, and spoke softly as if ignoring those below: “Your Majesty, this concubine feels a bit dizzy, as if she slept too long.”

He Beauty had already risen to greet her, but Lan Wu’s words interrupted her, leaving her half-crouched, uncertain whether to rise.

Chu Mingheng had already agreed to accompany her. Seeing her little tricks, he didn’t bother guessing her intentions and simply watched quietly.

Before Lan Wu could speak again, another voice reached her ears, carrying a natural familiarity: “If Zhen Jieyu is dizzy, why not try boiling mint leaves in water? It’s a method commonly used in my palace, excellent for refreshing the mind and clearing the eyes.”

Chu Mingheng saw the displeasure on Lan Wu’s face. Standing beside him, she turned to the speaker with a smile: “Is Fang Jieyu also dizzy? But thank you for your kind suggestion. I detest the smell of mint—it makes me uncomfortable…”

“Ah, Fang Jieyu, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean to imply that you carry the scent.”

“However, if your palace often boils mint water, you should be careful not to let the scent linger on you.”

Lan Wu finished her words, watching as Fang Jieyu’s fingers tightened on the armrest of her chair, her face flushed with suppressed anger. He Beauty, still crouched on the floor, remained silent, trying to make herself invisible. She marveled at Zhen Jieyu’s sharp tongue while wondering if His Majesty would intervene.

Although His Majesty favored Zhen Jieyu, would he tolerate such blatant provocation? After all, His Majesty despised imperial concubines who acted coy or flirtatious.

To her surprise, His Majesty did speak, but his words clearly favored Zhen Jieyu. “Sit down and rest for a while to clear your head.”

Lan Wu’s eyes darted around, looking at the two seats below. She tugged at Chu Mingheng’s sleeve: “Your Majesty, look—they’ve taken the seats on either side. Where should this concubine sit?”

By now, Chu Mingheng understood what she was fussing about. A mere seat—was it worth clinging to so stubbornly?

Just as he was about to frown and speak, he noticed Lan Wu’s fingers clutching only a small piece of his sleeve, holding on tightly. Her eyes were earnest yet filled with stubbornness and unwillingness. For some reason, seeing Lan Wu like this stirred a strange feeling in him.

He composed his expression and spoke coldly to the two below: “No manners. Rise at once.”

He Beauty, already crouching, could easily rise and move aside. Fang Jieyu, however, turned pale and weakly stood up to vacate her seat.

Yet Lan Wu still didn’t move. Her eyes lingered on the seat beside Chu Mingheng, filled with reluctance.

Chu Mingheng understood her gaze, his fingers gently encircling her wrist as he guided her from in front of him to the seat beside him: “If you don’t want to drink any more medicine, sit here obediently for me.”

Lan Wu was overjoyed. She thought Chu Mingheng was truly perceptive—he didn’t even need her to say where she wanted to sit.

It was just that his words were too sharp, threatening her again.

“This concubine understands,” she pretended to be shy yet sat steadily in the seat next to Chu Mingheng. Her head no longer ached, her dizziness was gone, and she felt refreshed and clear-minded.

A palace attendant came over to serve tea.

Only then did Lan Wu think about the faces of these two women in her mind, realizing she had no impression of them in either her previous life or this one.

Didn’t that mean these two couldn’t stir up much trouble?

Just as she was pondering this, Lady He spoke softly: “Earlier, I heard from the palace attendants that Sister moved into Longyu Pavilion this morning and must have been busy, so Sister Fang and I thought to come see you together in the afternoon.”

“Unexpectedly… Your Majesty is also here.” This last sentence was spoken much more softly. As she spoke, Lady He stole a glance at Chu Mingheng before quickly lowering her eyes, putting on an air of feigned reluctance.

Lan Wu immediately laughed out loud.

“You’ve come at just the right time, Sister. One might think you timed it perfectly, but since I’ve never met you before, when the attendants said you were here, I really tried hard to recall.”

“Only, I still couldn’t remember.”

It was normal for Lan Wu not to remember, as she had only become an imperial concubine today. The few imperial concubines she had met before were either of higher rank or had gained the emperor’s favor and attracted attention.

She almost outright said they had come specifically when the emperor was here.

Lady He looked embarrassed and murmured hesitantly, “It’s no matter. After all, this is the first time Sister and I have met.”

First time meeting…

Lan Wu was about to say something more when Chu Mingheng lightly tapped the table, shifting his gaze toward her, clearly signaling her not to speak recklessly.

Fine, if he says not to speak, then she won’t.

She huffed inwardly, her gaze toward the two women below less than friendly. These two had come uninvited, and who knew how long they intended to stay? Surely they wouldn’t have the nerve to overstay their welcome?

If they weren’t going to leave, it might as well be Chu Mingheng who left.

Lan Wu sipped her tea and glanced outside at the sky, thinking it was still early.

“Your Majesty, this concubine has heard that many flowers are blooming in the Imperial Garden this season. This concubine would like to go see them.”

She truly couldn’t sit still.

Chu Mingheng swept a cool glance over her and suddenly smiled. “Ah Wu wants to go play?”

He asked this way.

Lan Wu instinctively felt there was an underlying meaning to his words. Having followed Chu Mingheng for a year, she had a keen sense for the dangerous implications in his speech.

So she immediately wanted to shake her head and say she wouldn’t go.

Unexpectedly, Chu Mingheng had already risen first, saying lightly, “Ah Wu is still a young girl—it’s normal for her to love to play. Today, I’ll take you to have a good time.”

As Chu Mingheng’s words fell, a chilling sensation crept up Lan Wu’s spine, making her shudder with dread.

The last time she felt this way was in her previous life, when she was caught setting a trap for Consort Shu and Chu Mingheng said he would teach her a proper lesson.

Lan Wu quickly stood up, guiltily following him, still wanting to change her mind. But then she saw the two imperial concubines below looking delighted, clearly intending to join them.

She forgot the danger of a moment ago in her displeasure, lightly lifting a smile as she spoke with joyful excitement: “Your Majesty is so good, only taking this concubine alone to the Imperial Garden!”