Chapter 3: Her Ladyship Wants to See You
Whether Chu Mingheng believed her or not, Lan Wu did not know, but his hand gently pulled her outer garment to cover the skin at her neck.
“Someone like you, what?” he seemed determined to get to the bottom of it, forcing Lan Wu to speak.
Lan Wu turned her head aside, her lips pressed tightly together, finally uttering a few words.
“A seductive, lowly servant.”
In her previous life, Lan Wu had heard far worse. After performing that dance, she often heard such remarks. She dared not vent her anger on the imperial concubines, so she endured it herself. She endured until she became Lan Meiren, then wrote down the names of everyone who had said such things. Later, when she became a Jieyu, she made those concubines of lower rank kneel before her. Yet even kneeling could not fully appease her anger. When her rank rose again, she could slap a few concubines who never learned their lesson.
But after slapping them, her actions became known to Chu Mingheng.
If before she had vaguely sensed that Chu Mingheng disliked her wickedness or vengeance, then after that day, she truly understood: Chu Mingheng indeed did not like her doing such things.
That night, Chu Mingheng bound her. While reciting Buddhist scriptures to her, his hand would occasionally deliver a light slap on her most tender skin. He did not demand an apology from her. By the end, the bedding was soaked, and he still asked with a soft laugh whether she had listened to the scriptures.
Sure enough, upon hearing those words from her mouth, Chu Mingheng frowned slightly.
He pointed to the teacup on the table, signaling Lan Wu: “Drink it.”
Lan Wu happened to be thirsty. She softly acknowledged and reached out to take the teacup. Testing the temperature with her lips and finding it not too hot, she drank the entire cup in small sips.
After finishing the tea, Lan Wu still did not understand why she had been summoned here today.
“Dismissed.”
Hearing him say this, Lan Wu wondered inwardly; she truly could not fathom what Chu Mingheng was thinking. But since he told her to leave, of course she had to go.
She respectfully withdrew from the hall and quickly left Taiqing Palace.
After she left, Chu Mingheng glanced at the teacup Lan Wu had used. The tea inside had been completely consumed. He wondered who had taught her—she was quite skilled at acting obedient.
Shortly after, Chen Kangan entered the hall and bowed to report.
“Your Majesty, this servant has discovered that this Lan Wu girl began preparing this dance as early as two months ago. According to reports from the palace maids around her, Lan Wu often practiced the dance late into the night in her quarters.”
Chen Kangan truly admired Lan Wu. Two months ago, the weather was still quite cold. The Music Bureau was not a place where masters resided; it was already fortunate if the dancers occasionally had charcoal fires for warmth during practice. Late at night, there was certainly no charcoal provided. Yet this Lan Wu girl, in order to master today’s dance thoroughly, had indeed worked extremely hard.
However, such effort had unsurprisingly borne fruit. Hadn’t His Majesty taken notice?
Thinking of this, Chen Kangan estimated that the palace would soon have one more mistress.
“Your Majesty, there is one more matter.”
Chu Mingheng’s expression remained unchanged as he listened to him continue.
“Lady Lifei’s personal palace maid, Yuzhu, went to the small hall earlier to look for Lan Wu but could not find her. She has now returned.”
Of course they couldn’t find her. His Majesty had already ordered Lan Wu to be brought to this hall beforehand. Such a secret matter would not be known to anyone except those in the Imperial Presence.
When Chu Mingheng heard the words “Consort Li,” a flicker of depth passed through his eyes. He stood up, casually brushing his robes. “Return to Taichen Palace.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
In the night, the palace banquet ahead had already concluded. The imperial concubines had each returned to their own palaces, but traveling through the deep darkness inevitably brought some unexpected incidents.
Lan Wu only learned about the palace maid who died in the Thousand Carp Pond three days after the Longevity Festival.
The Thousand Carp Pond featured artificial rockeries and landscapes. In spring, the carp in the pond would compete for food, creating a lively scene. Many playful imperial concubines, seeking novelty, would go there to feed the fish.
The news Lan Wu heard was that the newly entered palace Beauty Feng had gone to the Thousand Carp Pond to feed the fish when she spotted a white figure in the water amidst the morning mist. Unable to see clearly, she thought white lotuses had bloomed in the pond and excitedly ordered someone to pick them. Unexpectedly, they fished out a bloated corpse floating in the water.
Beauty Feng fainted from fright. Soon after, Consort Shu and Consort Rou arrived at Jinghua Palace—not only because Beauty Feng resided in the side hall Zhihua Pavilion of Jinghua Palace, but also because the identity of the deceased had been uncovered: she was Yuzhu, Consort Li’s personal palace maid.
As early as the previous day, Consort Li had noticed Yuzhu’s disappearance.
In this palace, it was all too common for a servant to die silently and unnoticed. But when the deceased was a personal palace maid of a high-ranking imperial concubine, the matter became somewhat serious.
As expected, Consort Li made a scene.
Consort Shu and Consort Rou sat on either side of the upper seats, listening to Consort Li weep and demand justice.
Justice?
At present, the only one who could administer justice in the rear palace was His Majesty, who had just delegated the authority to manage the six palaces to Consort Shu and Consort Rou. In the previous days, Consort Rou alone had organized the Longevity Festival, which she executed flawlessly, gaining considerable prestige for a time. Yet, coincidentally, on the third day after the Longevity Festival, a floating corpse appeared in the Thousand Carp Pond. It was still unknown on which day she had fallen into the water. If it happened to be on the very day of the Longevity Festival, His Majesty might even assign blame.
At this moment, the one feeling most at ease was undoubtedly Consort Shu.
Her features were striking and beautiful. Dressed in a palace gown of sunset red embroidered with chrysanthemums, the golden hairpin in her bun swayed slightly. Her expression remained neutral as she nodded slightly, instructing someone to help Consort Li up.
“Why are you crying? Since we are here, we will naturally investigate who was behind this.”
Consort Rou slowly brushed her sleeve and nodded toward Consort Li, seemingly agreeing with Consort Shu’s words. “Indeed, since we are here, we must also determine how this person accidentally fell into the pond.”
These two—one implying, both overtly and covertly, that someone had committed murder, while the other suggested an accidental drowning—created a scene that appeared peaceful on the surface but was actually fraught with undercurrents. It all depended on what the investigation would reveal.
Lan Wu did not know who had died. Her mind was entirely focused on leaving the palace. Previously, she had tested Chu Mingheng in the Imperial Presence but failed to discern his intentions. If she could leave the palace openly and honorably, that would be best. But if that proved impossible…
Would she have to waste years in this deep palace? Who knew if she would even survive that long.
She had thought that by behaving properly and not reaching for that lofty branch, Consort Li would no longer trouble her. Yet, seven days later, a palace maid from Consort Li’s side came to the Music Bureau.
“Her Ladyship has been feeling unwell lately and wishes to enjoy some dance and music. Is the dancer Lan Wu, who performed at Taiqing Palace last time, available? Our lady requests her presence.”