Chapter 55: Fear
Yunqing’s presence here meant Consort Shu was inside the hall.
Only then did Lan Wu calm her mind, turning to look at Lian Qiao. “You could recognize her from so far away—your eyesight is quite sharp.”
Lian Qiao felt a little embarrassed, then remembered that Consort Shu and her own mistress were at odds, so she spoke cautiously: “Replying to Your Ladyship, this servant previously served in the Inner Court Administration and met Yunqing a few times, exchanging some words, which is why I am more familiar with her.”
“You…” Lan Wu frowned, about to ask more, when she saw Chen Kangan already walking out.
Chen Kangan approached and respectfully bowed toward Lan Wu. “Your Ladyship has waited long. His Majesty says you may enter.”
Meanwhile, Consort Shu also emerged from the doorway of the hall.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Lan Wu. As if unwilling to spare another glance, she turned her head away and led Yunqing toward the side chamber of the Imperial Study.
With such heavy rain, naturally, traveling was out of the question. Consort Shu had received special permission to stay longer in the side chamber, waiting for the rain to stop before returning to her palace.
If not for Lan Wu, she could have spoken longer with His Majesty in the main hall. She wondered if this tactless creature had come specifically to spoil her mood.
Consort Shu truly felt displeased at the mere sight of Lan Wu, so she simply chose to ignore her.
In such heavy rain, what was this little wretch even doing here?
Lan Wu entered the Imperial Study.
She was already familiar with this place and soon made her way to where Chu Mingheng was.
Chu Mingheng had his back turned, searching for something on a nearby bookshelf. Hearing footsteps, he did not turn his head, immediately asking Lan Wu, “In such heavy rain, who told you to come running…”
Before he could finish the sentence, Lan Wu rushed over and embraced him.
“Your Majesty…” She tightened her arms around Chu Mingheng’s waist, pressing close to his back, her voice carrying a muffled tone of grievance that clearly conveyed her fear.
Chu Mingheng pushed the half-retrieved book back into the shelf, pinched Lan Wu’s tightly clasped wrist to make her loosen her grip slightly, then turned around to look at the top of Lan Wu’s head.
Outside, a loud rumble of thunder sounded. Lan Wu’s body trembled, and as Chu Mingheng lifted her face, tears rolled down her cheeks at just the right moment.
Chu Mingheng instantly recalled the day after her conferment, when she woke from a nightmare and immediately asked, “Is it raining?”
Yet during these past few months, it had rained again, and Lan Wu’s reactions had never been as fearful as today.
Could it be… the thunder?
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, suddenly illuminating even the tightly closed window frames, followed immediately by Lan Wu’s abruptly constricted pupils.
The thunderclap struck right then.
Chu Mingheng lowered his head, his fingertip brushing past the corner of Lan Wu’s eye, as if kissing beside it, exceptionally gentle.
He did not speak. After calling out “Your Majesty,” Lan Wu also said nothing more, allowing Chu Mingheng to hold her in his arms as he sat on the dragon throne.
The sound of rain outside did not cease. Chu Mingheng held her, reaching out to touch her dress, then brushing her hair.
As if knowing what he was doing, Lan Wu softly spoke up herself to tell him, “I didn’t get wet. It had just started raining when this concubine arrived.”
“Mm.” Chu Mingheng touched her palm. Compared to hers, his hand was even colder, but he withdrew it after a brief touch.
Instead, Lan Wu took Chu Mingheng’s hand herself, pressing it against her neck, and comfortingly whispered to him, “This concubine will warm Your Majesty.”
Chu Mingheng’s hand did not move, letting her press it against the warm skin of her neck.
Gaze lowered, she looked down for a moment. The current tranquility in the hall felt particularly reassuring. With each clap of thunder outside the window, Chu Mingheng would gently pinch the back of Lan Wu’s neck, signaling that he was here.
The thunder couldn’t strike Lan Wu directly through the house—she had nothing to fear.
Lan Wu played her part earnestly. Only when she heard the rain outside gradually lessen did she lift her head, only to see Chu Mingheng resting with his eyes closed.
“Your Majesty…?” she called softly.
Chu Mingheng opened his eyes, his sidelong glance appearing somewhat cold and indifferent from this angle.
Lan Wu wasn’t afraid in the slightest. She turned her head to look at the rain outside, swallowed, and said, “Your Majesty, this rain is so heavy… Could it breach the palace walls?”
The palace walls were so high—how could a single rainstorm breach them?
Chu Mingheng didn’t laugh at her. Instead, he pushed his teacup closer for her to drink from.
“If it breaches, I’ll have you repair it,” he said, using his warmed hand to brush her lips. “And if you don’t fix it, you won’t be allowed to eat.”
Lan Wu was taken aback, inwardly fuming at Chu Mingheng’s ungratefulness.
But her goal wasn’t yet accomplished. Ignoring his words, she sipped her tea and continued, “If the palace walls can’t be breached, what about the embankments?”
“Your Majesty, if the embankments collapse, won’t many people lose their homes? Will the commoners become refugees?”
“Where will they go?”
“Your Majesty, it’s so scary—mmph—”
Before she could finish, Lan Wu’s face was pinched, causing the sound she made to abruptly change pitch.
Chu Mingheng looked at her with an unreadable expression. “Which storybook have you been reading lately, making reckless remarks about the world and spreading rumors? I should have the person who wrote it dragged out and beaten to death.”
The confusion and sincerity in Lan Wu’s eyes made her seem even more like a little troublemaker who thrived on chaos.
At least, that’s how Chu Mingheng saw it.
What was she even talking about? Had a heavy rain and a few claps of thunder scrambled her brain?
“I haven’t been reading anything,” Lan Wu blinked, speaking earnestly. “It was a dream I had.”
As soon as she mentioned a dream, Chu Mingheng’s grip loosened.
After a moment of silence, he leaned back in his chair.
“Tell me, what kind of dream was it?”
Lan Wu pursed her lips, looked up at the carved patterns on the ceiling, and recalled, “It was like a place with water and fields, streets, and all kinds of blooming flowers. It kept raining for a long, long time, and then there was a loud sound.”
“Louder than thunder,” she emphasized, looking at Chu Mingheng again.
“A lot of water surged forward all at once. Someone said the embankments had collapsed.”
“It swept me away too…” she added quietly, emphasizing that it was just a dream.
Chu Mingheng nodded. “Go on.”
Lan Wu, feeling guilty, nodded as well and continued, “I saw many people crying, many people soaked in the water, and many others coughing.”
“After I woke up, I thought it was just a nightmare. But when I saw the heavy rain today, I got scared and came to find Your Majesty.”
“Your Majesty, could the heavy rain collapse the embankments? If… if they collapse, what will happen to me? Will I be swept away too?”
Chu Mingheng tapped her forehead with his finger and said calmly, “There are no embankments around the imperial city. You’re worrying over nothing. I really should find something for you to do.”
Lan Wu had been waiting for him to say this. She looked up in panic and threw herself into his arms. “Then where is there an embankment? Is it far from the palace, Your Majesty? Could it be washed away?”
Chu Mingheng did not answer her immediately. Instead, he scrutinized her expression and suddenly smiled. “You want to talk about the Sanzhou Canal Embankment in the Qiunan region.”