Chapter 30: Just One Slap?

A whole day had passed, and aside from her little schemes, Lan Wu still remembered the important matter.

Chu Mingheng thought she was over her fear, but now she seemed eager to drag out the mastermind behind it all, skin them alive, and vent her hatred.

“Why did you decide to dance yesterday? Did you think I would be there?” Chu Mingheng patted her lower back, signaling for her to get off him.

Lan Wu reluctantly slid down and nodded. “I was going to go anyway, and when I heard Your Majesty might attend the banquet, I wanted to go even more. I wanted to see Your Majesty.”

These soft words of hers would slip out from time to time, especially heart-melting, but the one hearing them was Chu Mingheng.

Seeing him unmoved, Lan Wu followed him sullenly into the Inner Palace. When Chu Mingheng sat on the soft couch, she climbed up as well.

“Actually, I have some idea who drugged me.” Lan Wu knelt opposite Chu Mingheng. The low table in front of her was piled with books, placed there by the palace maids just for show—they didn’t know whether Lan Wu liked reading or not.

Lan Wu had been reborn, but she couldn’t change her brain. In her previous life, nothing like this had happened. Moreover, Aunt He Ying had always treated her normally, sometimes even looking out for her, so she hadn’t been on guard against He Ying.

On the way back from Xu Garden to the Music Bureau, when her body began to feel strange, she suddenly remembered He Ying’s slight oddness and a thought struck her—He Ying had drugged her.

“He Ying is already dead,” Chu Mingheng told her.

Lan Wu seemed to have expected this. She nodded lightly, her gaze falling on the pile of books.

In the palace, actions were about cutting the grass and pulling out the roots. The person’s methods were so clean, it didn’t seem like their first time doing something like this.

Given the current situation, the only ones with a grudge against her were Consort Shu’s faction, but it wasn’t necessarily them. Although Consort Rou had never shown herself, Lan Wu had dealt with her in her previous life, and she was no kind or gentle person either.

Thinking of this, Lan Wu let out a sigh.

The sigh was too noticeable. When Lan Wu looked up, she saw Chu Mingheng staring at her intently.

Could it be that even sighing would earn her a scolding? Was Chu Mingheng going to control even this?

Lan Wu grumbled inwardly, then moved around the low table and threw herself into Chu Mingheng’s arms the next moment. Her beautiful eyes shimmered, her voice timid as she whispered into his ear, “Your Majesty, I’m so scared. Your Majesty will stand up for me, won’t you?”

“How do you want me to stand up for you?” Chu Mingheng turned his head slightly, his voice indifferent, his gaze shifting to Lan Wu’s dark hair. They had rested late last night, and after washing, her hair had been left loose. Now it was dry, cascading down past her waist.

This question required a careful answer.

Lan Wu naturally wanted that person dead, but she also knew Chu Mingheng didn’t like her harboring malice, so she couldn’t answer that way.

“As long as… as long as we find out who it is, I must ask her why she did this to me. Did I offend her somehow, or did she simply dislike me and act out of spite…”

Lan Wu took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the corners of her eyes where no tears had actually fallen. Frowning, she stole a glance at Chu Mingheng, quickly looked away, and continued, “If possible… if possible, I’d like to… slap her once… Is that okay?”

Though she didn’t know who it was, she only asked to slap them once—she was being quite merciful.

After speaking, Lan Wu kept glancing at Chu Mingheng.

After waiting a while and listening to her pitiful, affected words, this was all he got in response.

“Just one slap?” Chu Mingheng asked in return, his indifferent gaze sweeping over her face before settling on her hand.

Was that enough or not?

Just as Lan Wu was puzzling over this, her left wrist was encircled and lifted, palm facing upward, her fingers curling naturally with a slight lack of strength.

Chu Mingheng’s finger lightly tapped her palm, and in the next moment, Lan Wu spread her hand open.

“With hands this delicate, would it even hurt you?”

Misinterpreting his words, Lan Wu thought he didn’t want her to hit anyone. Feeling frustrated, she closed her palm and gently pushed his hand away.

She was already being kind—after being schemed against like that, she only wanted to slap them openly. Couldn’t he even agree to this small bit of revenge?

Chu Mingheng was just too—too infuriating!

If that was the case, he might as well not tell her who it was. She’d find a way to deal with them herself in secret!

A flicker of killing intent flashed in Lan Wu’s eyes, but before she could conceal it, her face was cupped and turned squarely toward Chu Mingheng.

“Hmm?” Chu Mingheng saw the killing intent in her eyes and the dazed expression she hadn’t yet managed to hide. Unexpectedly, he neither scolded her nor turned cold. Instead, with a hint of indulgent amusement, he asked slowly, “Do you really only want to slap them?”

Cornered and unable to retreat, Lan Wu gritted her teeth and replied with stubborn frustration, “Slap them—slap them to death.”

Chu Mingheng chuckled softly, lifting her and carrying her toward the bed. “You certainly have a talent for inventing punishments.”

The bed was soft and spacious, the canopy enclosing a square space, the bedding warm and cozy, the wooden carvings on the bedframe exquisite and beautiful.

Once placed on the bed, Lan Wu instinctively burrowed under the covers as soon as they were lifted. After a moment, she pushed them aside slightly, as if having realized something. Lying on the bed, her bright eyes fixed on Chu Mingheng.

“Your Majesty, do you already know who did it?”

Chu Mingheng had told her that nothing in this palace could escape his notice.

Even past events could be uncovered if one was determined to investigate.

Chu Mingheng extinguished the candles and returned to the bed, only to be embraced.

“Your Majesty…” Lan Wu called out to him.

Her head was gently ruffled as she heard him say, “I’ll handle it for you. No need for you to do it yourself—be careful not to hurt your hand.”

Lan Wu was momentarily stunned by his words.

In her previous life, though she had been favored, Chu Mingheng had never spoken to her like this. More often, he had dealt with matters himself without asking how she wanted them handled, and she had simply enjoyed being the favored concubine.

But Chu Mingheng wasn’t infallible; he couldn’t guarantee absolute safety.

That was why she had died.

At this thought, Lan Wu took a deep breath, burying herself in Chu Mingheng’s embrace, and murmured, “Your Majesty, please watch over this concubine carefully. Don’t let them do bad things to me.”

Otherwise, she would have to do bad things herself.

Lan Wu thought to herself—she couldn’t just wait for others to harm her every time, could she? If she couldn’t prevent it, she would take the initiative and show everyone in the palace that she wasn’t someone to be bullied.

But when it came to actually harming others, Lan Wu truly had no ideas. After all, in her previous life, whenever she had tried to scheme in secret, Chu Mingheng had always dealt with it.

Chu Mingheng was still unaware of the deeper meaning behind her words, thinking she was merely frightened. He gently patted her back and echoed her sentiment, “I’m watching over you, sleep now.”