Chapter 157 Sorrow

As expected, the person changed again the next day. The promised female official to teach etiquette was replaced by Chu Mingheng watching from the side.

The ladies-in-waiting had never seen anything like this before. His Majesty stood guard by her side, his eyes never leaving her for even a moment, as if afraid that the Empress would disappear from his sight in the blink of an eye.

Learning etiquette and manners wasn't done in the inner hall, so Lanwu had everyone go to the side hall, which was more spacious and easier to learn.

That was what I was thinking, but now...

"The Empress only kneels after hearing the female official's command to do so, usually three times..."

"This rule can be skipped." Before the female official could finish speaking, Chu Mingheng, who was watching from the side, spoke up and changed the rule without any politeness.

Since the beginning, Chu Mingheng has had three rules changed.

Lan Wu turned back to look at his calm and persistent eyes, and felt a headache coming on.

The female official was already under pressure to teach the newly appointed Imperial Concubine the rules of the investiture ceremony, not to mention that His Majesty was watching from the side. She was almost afraid to speak. The rules were changed again and again, and it didn't look like an investiture ceremony at all.

But she dared not mention it, after all, the emperor was supreme, and whatever he said was law.

"Alright, changing so many things will only make people laugh. I'm not of noble birth, why can't I even kneel a couple of times?" Lan Wu waved her hand, telling the female official to step back first, before walking up to Chu Mingheng and drinking the tea he had prepared for her.

"Who dares to laugh?" Chu Mingheng wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. His chin rested on her neck as he lowered his eyes and said softly, "If anyone dares to laugh at you, I will—"

"What do you want?" Lan Wu put down her teacup, cupped his face in her hands, and looked at him seriously. "What do you want to do?"

Chu Mingheng glanced at him and changed his words: "Nothing much."

Lan Wu breathed a slight sigh of relief, fearing he might say something about this person or that person dying.

"There's nothing to learn about these rules. In my opinion, we should just not learn them. We can have someone make an appearance, and you can just wait inside. It's cold outside." Chu Mingheng had been looking at it for a while, and the more he looked, the more he frowned. In this freezing weather, Lan Wu still had to go outside the palace to receive the imperial decree and kneel. He didn't know what kind of ridiculous rule it was, and it should have been changed a long time ago.

Lan Wu raised her head slightly and said with a leisurely smile, "Then my title is not legitimate. Who gave you the imperial decree to confer the title of Imperial Concubine on me?"

At this point, she changed the subject again: "Oh, no, it wasn't you. You only gave me the title of Shuyi."

Speaking of her previous life, Lan Wu harbored deep resentment and was too lazy to look at Chu Mingheng. She struggled to get out of his arms, but Chu Mingheng's hands were like an impenetrable wall, holding her tightly.

Chu Mingheng knew he was in the wrong, but he really couldn't say a word.

He didn't even dare to ask Lan Wu again if she liked him more in this life.

Lan Wu is always the one who is easily swayed by emotions. After saying that one sentence, she stopped talking about it and instead started discussing other things.

"So, you've agreed to the matter of Changyong Mountain, okay?"

“You can send someone to protect me, then you won’t have to worry. Besides, I can write to you. It’s only three months. Three months is worth it for us to be together for so many years to come.”

Chu Mingheng remained silent and held Lan Wu in his arms.

"Don't play dumb with me, say something."

Lan Wu was angered by his stubborn attitude and gently pushed him.

The push sent the person leaning back in the chair, their breathing becoming slightly heavier.

"Your Majesty?" Lan Wu hurriedly got off him and called out anxiously.

Chu Mingheng covered his lips with his hand, turned his head to the side, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Your Majesty…” Lan Wu stared blankly at him, a sudden surge of indescribable sorrow welling up in her heart. She had finally been given a second chance at life, was she really going to let her mistakes cause her to lose something again?

After spitting out that mouthful of blood, Chu Mingheng seemed much better, though his face looked even paler.

He wiped the blood from his lips with a handkerchief, then wiped his hands. Seeing that Lan Wu looked unwell, he wanted to comfort her, but his words betrayed a guilty conscience:

"Awu, I'm fine. It must be something the imperial physician mentioned the other day... blood rushing to the head. I'm perfectly fine."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Lan Wu's eyes suddenly redden, and she turned around, squatted on the ground, and began to sob softly.

Chu Mingheng quickly went over and pulled her up, not caring about anything else, and kept wiping away her tears.

"Really, I don't see anything wrong with it," Chu Mingheng repeated.

Lan Wu squatted on the ground like a mushroom, dejected. She quickly cheered herself up, got up and wiped away her tears. Instead, she pressed Chu Mingheng down into a chair and said in a choked voice, "It's wrong to lie."

He's already vomiting blood. Who knows when, just like Master Huifan said, Chu Mingheng might collapse and never wake up again.

Chu Mingheng touched her face to reassure her.

"How can you get better when you've already vomited blood?" Lan Wu lowered her head and covered her face, no longer believing his words.

Since Chu Mingheng absolutely refused to agree to Master Huifan's method, after much thought, the only option left was to force him.

Lan Wu took a deep breath, then turned to look at Chu Mingheng, her tearful eyes fixed on him as if she had made up her mind.

Chu Mingheng showed no further reaction until nightfall, as if the blood he vomited that afternoon was just an accident.

Lan Wu observed him frequently and noticed that he would sometimes press his forehead, clearly because of a headache. However, his expression was very natural, and he endured all the discomfort caused by the headache.

You'll sleep soundly tonight, and tomorrow you'll wake up to a completely different person.

The key is that Chu Mingheng needs to be able to sleep.

Lan Wu looked at the calming incense burning in the hall, then at Chu Mingheng, who was leaning against the soft couch after washing up and reading a book with his eyes down.

There were teacups on the table in front of him.

Lan Wu walked over, lifted the lid of his teacup, and saw the strong tea inside.

As expected, Chu Mingheng already knew about the calming incense.

He didn't want to fall asleep.

“…Awu.” The teacup was moved aside, and Chu Mingheng couldn’t help but call out to her.

Lan Wu looked at him, then drank all of his tea.

"If you don't want to sleep, then don't sleep. We can just stay awake and stare at each other all night." Lan Wu's voice was unhurried, yet strangely decisive, as if she had no other choice. "Whether you sleep today or tomorrow, I'll stay with you."

"But you know, my health isn't that good, and it's always harder to get sick," Lan Wu murmured softly. "I don't take medicine either. If... if I just die like this, then we'll each go our own way, and you don't have to worry about it."

After saying that, she looked into Chu Mingheng's bloodshot eyes, turned around and left.