Chapter 81: Unable to Find You
He muttered to himself, then turned and got off the bed to extinguish the candles.
Lan Wu felt uneasy. Without receiving a definite answer from Chu Mingheng, and knowing his temperament all too well, she worried that if he didn’t agree today, he might simply act as if nothing had happened in a few days.
As the candles in the hall were completely extinguished, a figure approached the bed to hold her and sleep. She nimbly dodged.
Chu Mingheng thought she had merely shifted and reached out again.
Lan Wu dodged once more in the darkness.
Tonight, there was almost no moonlight; the moon was obscured by thick clouds. Outside the palace windows, only faint palace lanterns glimmered, their light dim and barely reaching inside. The hall was pitch black, and for a moment, nothing could be seen.
Chu Mingheng reached out to the side, but couldn’t find Lan Wu. He spoke up, “A’Wu, where are you running off to?”
There was no reply from the bed, only the faint sound of two people breathing.
Chu Mingheng’s expression turned inexplicable. He sat up straight, his arms lightly propped on the bed, his gaze sharp as an eagle’s, scanning inch by inch across the unseen bed in search of Lan Wu’s figure.
For some reason, in such a situation, a sudden, indescribable panic and oppression rose in his heart. Unable to see Lan Wu or hear her voice, it was as if… Lan Wu had suddenly vanished from his side.
“Lan Wu, speak. I need to know where you are.” Chu Mingheng’s voice turned stern, sounding somewhat fierce, startling Lan Wu.
She hesitated, timidly about to speak, but as she crawled toward Chu Mingheng, she made some noise.
Chu Mingheng grabbed her arm and pulled her back abruptly, causing Lan Wu some pain.
She frowned, her entire body nearly bundled into Chu Mingheng’s embrace, tightly restrained.
She struggled slightly and softly cried out in pain.
Chu Mingheng paused, then loosened his grip slightly.
“I called you. Why didn’t you answer?” His face was invisible in the darkness, but his words sounded harsh to Lan Wu’s ears.
She pursed her lips tightly and whispered an explanation, “I was about to speak when you grabbed me.”
“What are you playing at in the middle of the night on this bed? You can’t see anything. What if you bump into something?” Chu Mingheng wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, unable to resist pinching her in frustration.
“Ah, it hurts!” Lan Wu cried out, instinctively leaning into him, her body colliding with Chu Mingheng’s chest.
She whimpered, afraid of angering him further, and rubbed her face against him haphazardly, unaware that she was nearly tearing open his sleeping robe, only feeling the body she pressed against growing hotter and hotter.
Finally, she realized and stiffened, trying to climb off Chu Mingheng.
Chu Mingheng held her back, refusing to let her go.
He said nothing, but his hands deftly untied Lan Wu’s undergarments and tossed them aside.
Lan Wu couldn’t escape, lying atop him in regret for not answering him earlier.
Even as she gasped and admitted her mistake, Chu Mingheng remained silent.
Growing anxious and flustered, she pleaded hoarsely for him to speak.
“Your… Your Majesty—”
Chu Mingheng was doing this deliberately. In the darkness where he couldn’t see her, he was repaying Lan Wu in kind. Even as she wept pitifully atop him, he didn’t utter a single word.
Lan Wu bit his shoulder, her tears streaming down his body to his waist.
She slept deeply and heavily, only stirring awake as dawn approached.
Lan Wu turned her head and saw Chu Mingheng’s jade-like face. Her thoughts gradually cleared, and a surge of anger rose within her.
When she got a clear look at Chu Mingheng’s face, she was slightly surprised—why did she feel his face looked a bit flushed?
She reached out to touch it, and it felt rather warm.
Chu Mingheng had a fever!?
Startled, Lan Wu quickly got up from the bed. As her feet touched the ground, her legs went weak, and she nearly stumbled. She let out a soft hiss but ignored it, threw on her outer robe, and went outside to call for help.
Soon, the Imperial Physician arrived at Yilan Hall.
Exhausted, Lan Wu dressed properly and sat on a chair, thinking to herself that Chu Mingheng was usually incredibly robust. Just last night, he had been pulling her with fierce strength, yet today he had fallen ill.
She gazed at Chu Mingheng’s calm, closed-eyed face. Apart from his body feeling warmer than usual, there was no sign that he was sick.
Earlier, she had called out to Chu Mingheng several times by the bedside, but he hadn’t woken up—no reaction at all. An indescribable sense of panic stirred within her.
The Imperial Physician, however, said Chu Mingheng only had a slight fever and would be fine after drinking a dose of medicine to induce sweating.
Reassured, Lan Wu ordered someone to prepare the medicine immediately.
Just then, a faint rustling sound came from the bed.
A flicker of joy crossed Lan Wu’s face as she hurried around the screen and rushed over.
On the bed, Chu Mingheng had woken up. He sat up, head bowed, his sleeping robe draped over him and his hair gently cascading down. Yet, an intangible aura of quiet ferocity emanated from him.
Even Lan Wu hesitated to make a sound.
“…Your Majesty?” she called out from a few steps away.
The figure on the bed seemed to stir from a frozen state, abruptly lifting his head.
Lan Wu was startled by his bloodshot eyes and immediately rushed over, anxiously frowning as she cupped his face. “What’s wrong, Your Majesty? The Imperial Physician said it was just a common fever. Why are your eyes so red—”
As she drew near, Chu Mingheng snapped back to awareness. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto the bed and firmly locking her in his embrace. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he inhaled her fragrance and couldn’t resist opening his mouth, gently nipping the skin of her neck.
Lan Wu felt only a ticklish sensation and patted his shoulder. “It’s still morning!”
“Ah Wu…” Chu Mingheng called her name, repeating it softly, “Ah Wu, Ah Wu, Ah Wu…”
“Why are you calling me so many times?” Lan Wu was puzzled and reached out to feel his forehead, wondering if the fever had affected his mind.
Chu Mingheng let out a long sigh, gently extricating Lan Wu from his embrace to look at her carefully. He spoke slowly, “I had a dream.”
Lan Wu perked up her ears and looked at him. “What dream?”
“I was looking for you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere.” Even recalling the dream made Chu Mingheng’s heart ache. “How could I not find you anywhere in such a small place as Yilan Hall?”
Lan Wu frowned and said, “Perhaps this concubine wasn’t in Yilan Hall.”
“Nonsense!” Chu Mingheng grew angry and nipped her neck again. “Where else would you go if not here?”
Lan Wu, feeling both innocent and indignant, bumped against him. “Why are you biting me? If I wasn’t in Yilan Hall, I might have been in the Imperial Garden, or perhaps I went to the Imperial Study to look for you. You’re scolding me over a dream—how impressive of you!”
Chu Mingheng was taken aback, finally grasping something from her words. He managed to suppress the deep despair and fear from his dream, gritting his teeth as he said fiercely, “If you ever play any blindfolded games with me again, I’ll spank your bottom until it’s bruised!”
“You!” Lan Wu’s face flushed red as she retorted angrily, “You scoundrel!”