Chapter 49: I Should Not Have Seen You
Just after the morning court assembly, Chu Mingheng arrived at the Imperial Study but did not immediately attend to state affairs.
Yesterday, he had not pressed Lan Wu about where she had obtained the information. However, with the warmth and softness of her presence beside him, he had tasted something sweet and lingering, and by the end…
In the morning, light streamed through the bright windows of the Imperial Study, sunlight filtering in and casting rays across the desk. Observing those beams, one could still see dust particles dancing within the light.
She was bound to make a fuss.
Given Lan Wu’s temperament, being forced to learn etiquette would likely lead to an uproar.
Thinking of this, Chu Mingheng leaned back lazily, his gaze darkening as he stared at a corner of the desk, already considering whether this decision had been a mistake.
Before he could fully ponder the matter, someone hurriedly arrived outside the hall.
Soon, Chen Kangan entered the hall with a troubled expression. Standing below, he cautiously reported, “Your Majesty, something has happened at Longyu Pavilion…”
Chen Li was hurriedly pulled along toward Longyu Pavilion. Upon arrival, she saw Zhen Jieyu sitting calmly in a chair, though her brows were furrowed with worry, and the hall was slightly disordered.
The palace maids quickly tidied up the hall, leaving only Nanny Gu standing to the side, her expression quite unpleasant.
“Court Physician Chen, please examine Her Ladyship quickly. Is the injury on her hand serious?” Lian Xi urged anxiously.
Chen Li promptly set down her things and stepped forward to inspect the injury on Lan Wu’s arm. With just one glance, she knew the issue was not severe.
However, the wound…
Chen Li glanced at the feet of the person standing nearby and spotted the ruler lying on the floor.
But the wound looked as though it had been self-inflicted.
Chen Li remained silent as she applied ointment to Lan Wu’s injury, saying softly, “Her Ladyship’s injury looks severe and has already swollen, but fortunately, the skin is not broken. Otherwise, with the heat, it could fester, and Her Ladyship would suffer.”
Lan Wu glanced sideways at the injury on her hand, indifferent. “Severe, you say… Then I must thank Nanny Gu for not beating me to death.”
“You—” Gu Min took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and tried to reason with Lan Wu while also distancing herself from the matter. “Jieyu, you inflicted this injury yourself. How can you falsely accuse this servant?”
Lan Wu blinked. Without her needing to say anything, Lian Xi had already begun arguing on her behalf.
“As soon as I entered the hall, I saw Nanny Gu holding the ruler against Her Ladyship. Now you’re twisting the truth. If this matter spreads, you won’t be in the right. And now you’re trying to claim that Her Ladyship did this to herself? Hmph! Her Ladyship’s body is of utmost importance. How could she possibly do such self-damaging things?”
Yes, she was an imperial concubine, a consort vying for favor. How could she harm her own body? That was a matter that could easily lead to losing the Emperor’s favor. How could she possibly do such a thing?
Lan Wu lowered her head, lost in thought.
Nanny Gu, seeing she was no match for Lian Xi’s arguments, grew so angry her face darkened. Just as she was about to invoke the Emperor’s authority, a eunuch outside the hall announced that His Majesty had arrived.
Everyone snapped back to attention, kneeling and bowing toward the entrance of the hall.
Lan Wu hid slightly behind Lian Xi, one arm protectively covering the injured one. Before long, she heard the sound of Chu Mingheng entering the hall.
Her arm was gently grasped and lifted.
Lan Wu’s body still felt somewhat weak and sore. As she rose, she staggered slightly, nearly falling into Chu Mingheng’s embrace.
She looked up, her eyes meeting Chu Mingheng’s for a moment before immediately looking away, her emotions churning inside.
“How is Zhen Jieyu’s injury?”
Chu Mingheng had Lan Wu sit down, feeling her soft yet cool palm, he couldn’t help but give it a gentle squeeze. Standing to one side, he tilted his head slightly, his tone somewhat heavy as he asked.
Chen Li immediately replied, “Your Majesty, the injury is a bruise from the Ruler, somewhat swollen. I have already applied medicine for Her Ladyship, but it will take some time for the bruise to fully heal.”
Upon hearing this, Chu Mingheng released Lan Wu’s hand and walked toward the other main seat beside her, speaking as he went, “Someone, take this old servant away. Cut out her tongue, chop off her hands, and expel her from the palace.”
His tone was casual, showing no regard for the fact that this was a servant from the late Empress Dowager’s side, nor did he ask what had happened.
But imperial authority was like this—the higher-ups held power over the life and death of those beneath them, let alone this being merely a servant.
Regardless of whether Gu Min had the audacity to injure Lan Wu today, the fact remained that Lan Wu’s hand was injured. This was the result, and someone had to pay the price.
“Your Majesty, have mercy!” Nanny Gu’s face turned ashen as she kowtowed repeatedly, even crawling forward, but her arms were seized by the imperial guards behind her, dragging her back. She hurriedly cried out, “It was Her Ladyship—Her Ladyship did it herself!”
The imperial guards knocked her unconscious and dragged her away.
The hall fell silent.
Soon, Chu Mingheng ordered everyone to leave.
Lan Wu hadn’t expected Nanny Gu to be dealt with so easily. Wasn’t she said to be a servant from the Empress Dowager’s side?
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice Chu Mingheng’s gaze fixed on her until it became too obvious, and she instinctively avoided it.
“Will Your Majesty still send another Instruction Matron to teach this concubine?” She clenched her robe, attempting to confront Chu Mingheng.
But Chu Mingheng simply said no.
Lan Wu looked up in surprise, bewildered as she stared at him.
“I knew you would cause trouble, but I didn’t expect you to use yourself to stir things up. Now that you’ve lured me here, what else do you have to say?” Chu Mingheng’s voice was calm, his eyes dark and deep, like a still, unfathomable pond, chilling even without a touch.
Lan Wu sensed something, as if she knew he was about to make a decision.
She didn’t understand. In her previous life, when she first became an imperial concubine, Chu Mingheng hadn’t been so inscrutable. Whether he favored her or not, he was always straightforward, never speaking much to her. But in this life, he often uttered heartless words, as if… as if he didn’t care about her at all, as if he might abandon her completely at any moment.
But what had she done wrong?
That Nanny Gu used Chu Mingheng’s orders to pressure her, and she was from the Empress Dowager’s side. If she hadn’t drawn Chu Mingheng here, should she have defied the imperial decree herself?
“Why are you crying?” Chu Mingheng watched as her tears fell one by one, hitting the ground. In her eyes, there was sorrow and confusion, but no sense of wrongdoing.
Lan Wu wiped away her tears, her voice slightly hoarse as she whispered, “What does Your Majesty wish to say? Does Your Majesty think this concubine is scheming, willing to harm herself to achieve her goals… Does Your Majesty also intend to ignore this concubine from now on? Does Your Majesty no longer want this concubine?”
At this point, she glared at Chu Mingheng with reddened eyes, feeling utterly wronged. She bit her lip and continued, “You knew… you knew my background was poor, yet you still sent someone to teach me. I couldn’t even speak my mind when I was unhappy. Do you think… do you think I wanted to be beaten?”
“I’m just a Jieyu. Even a Zhaorong could be ordered to kneel on the palace path and be gossiped about. I don’t even dare to step outside, and yet you still want to tame me…”
“I’m in so much pain and so tired. I just want to sleep, but she came in with your decree, ordering me to work and even to stand.”
Tears welled up in Lan Wu’s eyes, blurring her vision, and the choked sobs in her throat were low and unstoppable.
“I should never have met you—”