Chapter 29: Who Taught You
Lan Wu endured quite a lesson by that bright window. Unfortunately, having already slept once, she simply couldn’t faint again. As the light filtering in from outside gradually dimmed, she could no longer bear it and clung to Chu Mingheng’s shoulders, begging for mercy.
Chu Mingheng acted as though he hadn’t heard, lifting her up and pressing her against the pillar beside the window, whispering for her not to slip down.
As soon as these words fell, Lan Wu lost all strength.
Chu Mingheng kissed the corners of her eyes one by one, then nibbled her earlobe with a low chuckle.
…
By the time it was completely over, the sky had already darkened.
Lan Wu, soaking in the bathtub, was still dizzy and disoriented.
The bathtub was already quite large, but it couldn’t compare to the bathing pool in Taichen Palace. Yilan Hall also had a bathing pool, which she loved very much.
On the first day of her conferment, she and Chu Mingheng had spent the entire afternoon entangled in the hall.
Lan Wu lowered her head to look at her reflection in the water. The rippling surface distorted her face along with it.
An arm wrapped around her waist, and her back pressed against another person. Amidst the intimate closeness, she heard Chu Mingheng’s voice.
“Has A’Wu been driven silly by Zhen?” Chu Mingheng gazed at her nonchalantly and continued, “Zhen told you to clean up.”
What?
Lan Wu was stunned for a moment before coming back to her senses and instinctively reaching down with practiced ease.
In her previous life, she had often wondered why, after His Majesty had been on the throne for so long, there were no heirs aside from the eldest princess born to the late Noble Consort Liang.
Whenever he ordered her to do such things, she had been puzzled at first but later came to understand.
So His Majesty did not want heirs.
There had been imperial concubines who were rumored to be pregnant, but without exception, none of them gave birth.
When Chu Mingheng said these words, he seemed particularly heartless. Not long before, they had been entwined in intimacy, yet in the blink of an eye, he could utter such words.
Even though Lan Wu was already accustomed to it, carrying out his demands still left her feeling somewhat distressed.
She lowered her head and silently completed what Chu Mingheng had asked of her.
Today, she was truly exhausted, to the point where she could barely muster the energy to deal with Chu Mingheng. After shaking her hand, she turned and leaned against him, her voice hoarse as she said she wanted to sleep.
“That won’t do.” Chu Mingheng stroked her smooth back. “Eat something first, then sleep.”
Lan Wu pretended not to hear, closing her eyes and preparing to feign sleep, only to have her cheek pinched.
“Mmm—”
Her lips were pressed shut, forced to endure a kiss that was far from gentle. Even a sleeping person would be roused by it.
Lan Wu opened her eyes, her vision obscured by shadows. She tilted her head back weakly, exposing her slender neck, where crimson marks were visible.
Stop kissing! She could hardly breathe!
Lan Wu struggled with her hands and feet, letting out soft whimpers until she was finally released.
She quickly escaped from Chu Mingheng’s side, trembling as she leaned against the edge of the bathtub, gasping for air.
After taking a few breaths, she realized something and slowly turned her head to look behind her.
Behind her, Chu Mingheng leaned against the edge of the bathtub, his gaze deep and fixed intently on her figure. The intensity of his stare made Lan Wu’s heart flutter with unease.
“A’Wu, why are you running?” he asked.
Lan Wu gently gripped the edge of the bathtub and cautiously moved back, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder. Softly, she said, “This concubine wasn’t running. It was because I couldn’t breathe… Your Majesty, let’s get out.”
Chu Mingheng didn’t dwell on what had just happened, lifting her out of the water.
The evening meal was prepared with exceptional richness, likely because the Yushan Fang considered Lan Wu a promising and favored mistress, not to mention that His Majesty was also dining at Longyu Pavilion tonight, making the preparations even more elaborate.
Lan Wu’s waist was sore, and sitting at the table was a struggle. Though the table was laden with delicacies that looked delicious, her exhaustion left her without the strength to eat.
She picked up a fried meatball coated in sauce with her chopsticks, but just as it was about to reach her mouth, it slipped and rolled away across the table.
The attending palace servants quickly stepped forward to clean the table, but the atmosphere around them grew somewhat strange.
Chu Mingheng watched as Lan Wu lowered her head and slowly ate her food. Though she hadn’t done or said anything, he inexplicably felt as though he had wronged her.
“I’ll have someone fetch you a soft cushion,” he suddenly spoke.
Hearing that the words were directed at her, Lan Wu looked up in confusion. From not too far away, the redness from crying in her eyes had not yet fully faded. Though her face had been flushed from the steam of her recent bath, the color had now receded after being exposed to the air.
Realizing what he meant, Lan Wu softly refused, “No need.”
No need?
Chu Mingheng slightly furrowed his brows.
The palace servants in the hall nearly knelt on the ground in shock at their mistress’s words.
At worst, this could be considered defying an imperial decree; at best, their mistress had not used the proper self-address and had bluntly uttered the words “no need.”
“Then what do you want?” Chu Mingheng asked, his gaze fixed on her.
In an instant, all the palace servants in the hall knelt on the ground.
Lan Wu pressed her fingers against the edge of the table, pursed her lips, but before she could speak, her stomach rumbled.
Chu Mingheng shifted his gaze downward, landing on Lan Wu’s hand covering her stomach. Seeing her embarrassed, tearful expression, he turned his eyes away, waited a moment, and then spoke in a resigned tone, “All of you, leave.”
The palace servants exchanged glances, not daring to say a word, and one by one rose from the ground, bowing as they retreated from the hall.
Once no one else remained in the hall, Chu Mingheng extended his hand toward her. “Come here.”
Lan Wu’s eyes brightened. She rose from her seat and took two steps to stand before Chu Mingheng.
Chu Mingheng pulled her to sit on his lap, his movements exceptionally natural, as if he had done this hundreds of times before.
And Lan Wu showed no discomfort either. She leaned her waist against him, reached for her bowl and chopsticks.
Chu Mingheng placed a few meatballs into her bowl for her to scoop up with a spoon.
“Who taught you this bad habit of needing to be held while eating? Are you still a child?”
By the end of the meal, Chu Mingheng couldn’t help but chide her.
Lan Wu mentally cursed Chu Mingheng—who taught her, what bad habit, still a child!
Let Chu Mingheng argue with his past self.
“…Then this concubine will eat by herself next time,” Lan Wu said, raising her chin slightly, her tone sullen. “This concubine’s waist doesn’t hurt at all, nor does her bottom. This concubine is very strong, her arms aren’t sore, her legs aren’t—”
Chu Mingheng covered her mouth with his hand. “Understood. I’ll be gentler next time.”
After a moment’s thought, he added, “I’ll hold you while you eat next time too.”
Why the change? Did it mean he wouldn’t be gentler next time either?
Lan Wu’s drowsiness faded considerably. Taking advantage of her clear-headedness, she clung to Chu Mingheng and asked about the incident from the previous day when she had been drugged.
“Your Majesty, who exactly wanted to harm this concubine? The thought that someone could be so malicious toward this concubine makes me too afraid to sleep.”
As she spoke, Lan Wu shivered twice, wishing she could wrap herself into Chu Mingheng’s embrace.