Chapter 198 Blindfold

The imperial city is hot in the summer, and the journey to the imperial palace is also troublesome. This place is built in the mountains, with mountains and water nearby, which naturally relieves the heat. Clear springs overflow from the mountains and gather into a pool not far away. The bamboo forest is peaceful and quiet, and no one can disturb it.

Chu Mingheng stopped her, took her back to the inner room to change her clothes, and then went out with her.

A winding path paved with pebbles led them to the edge of the pool.

The pool was repaired with stones, and the water inside was crystal clear. A bamboo pipe was used to fill the edge with water, while a gap was opened on the other side, from which water was flowing out.

The water flows downstream, merging with the stream below, and rushes down the mountain.

Lan Wu squatted down and reached out to touch it, but couldn't help but immediately pull her hand back: "This water is so cool...so comfortable."

She looked at Chu Mingheng excitedly: "Can I take a bath here?"

Chu Mingheng smiled, his gaze deep and thoughtful. "Of course you can. It's just us on this mountain. Awu can do whatever she wants."

Before Lan Wu could figure out his implied meaning, her attention was quickly drawn to something else.

She tried to pull Chu Mingheng upstairs, but found that she couldn't hold him anymore.

Chu Mingheng gently pulled her back: "We have three days to have fun, but now, it's time for breakfast, Awu."

Although there was indeed no one else on the mountain, there were people waiting at the foot of the mountain. Even in the dense forest far from the bamboo house, palace servants were busy delivering the meals that His Majesty and the Empress needed to eat every day, and they could not be late.

However, their timing was very clever, and Lan Wu didn't see them once. When she returned to her room, she found that a meal had already been set on the table and was still warm.

Lan Wu couldn't help but laugh.

Chu Mingheng pinched her cheek and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Your Majesty, don't you think we're just like an ordinary couple in a common family? It's just the two of us. The husband works in the fields, and I'm the wife. The wife stays home weaving and cooking..." At this point, Lan Wu's smile faded slightly, and she mumbled, "Although I can't weave or cook..."

Chu Mingheng smiled and said, "Yes, it's because my wife never lifts a finger and is better off being waited on."

In the afternoon, Lan Wu insisted on going to the pool to play in the water, saying that it would cool her down. Chu Mingheng did not stop her, but just let her soak in it for a little over fifteen minutes before she came out.

At that moment, Lan Wu was lying by the pool, her thin gauze dress floating in the water like a mermaid's veil, while Chu Mingheng was painting her from not far away.

"Alright, stop moving around. You'll be happy if the drawing turns out ugly later."

Lan Wu snorted lightly, not caring at all: "I'm good-looking, no matter how ugly His Majesty paints me, I can't be that ugly."

Speaking of the ugly paintings, Lan Wu suddenly felt a little guilty, remembering the gift she had originally planned to give Chu Mingheng at Changyong Mountain, which was also a few paintings, but Chu Mingheng did not look like him at all.

Where did she put those paintings later? Did she leave them at Changyong Mountain and never retrieve them?

Before Lan Wu could even remember, Chu Mingheng called her to get up.

"We agreed on a 15-minute soak. If you stay in the water any longer, you'll get sick. Get out now."

Lan Wu shook her head and backed away, saying, "You haven't finished drawing yet. I'll wait until you're done before I come out."

"Awu, come out, we'll play again tonight," Chu Mingheng coaxed gently.

Evening? Is that what you call proper water play at night?

She refused to comply, pretending not to hear Chu Mingheng's words.

But then Chu Mingheng put away what he was holding and walked straight over.

"What are you doing—I'm up, I'm up!" Lan Wu panicked as she watched him undress and tried to run away.

Although there was no one else on the mountain, it was still a wild place, and she didn't have the audacity to hang out with Chu Mingheng here.

"You're trying to run away?" Chu Mingheng grabbed her arm, and as she got up, he gently carried her back into the pool, chuckling as he said, "Too late."

Chu Mingheng ultimately succeeded in his attempt to have fun splashing in the water.

As dusk fell, the afterglow cast a golden glow across the sky, making the water in the pool shimmer and sparkle, creating a particularly beautiful scene.

Lan Wu, lying on top of Chu Mingheng, opened her eyes and looked at the beautiful scene before her, then said wearily, "It's all your fault, you wasted the whole afternoon..."

Chu Mingheng gently pressed his palm against her lower back, and looked down at her in surprise upon hearing her words: "A waste?"

"With such a beautiful time and lovely woman in my arms, why waste it?"

Lan Wu punched him and kicked her foot fiercely in the water.

"Alright, alright, you'll get all wrinkled if you stay in the water any longer. I'll pick you up; it'll be time for dinner soon."

Lan Wu lazily replied with an "okay".

The next day, they went up the mountain.

The wind was stronger on the mountain, so this time we asked the palace servants to bring chairs. We enjoyed the scenery and drank tea on the mountain, and even played a game of chess.

Originally, no bets were set, but Chu Mingheng said she could back out by three coins, so she agreed.

Lan Wu didn't even realize she had won the game until Chu Mingheng smiled and asked her what she wanted. Only then did she come to her senses and begin to think things through.

What does she want...?

Lan Wu pondered carefully, then glanced at Chu Mingheng.

She doesn't seem to lack anything.

"Is there anything you want?" Seeing Lan Wu deep in thought, Chu Mingheng realized this as well. He was about to say something when Lan Wu shook her head, looking at him intently.

"Yes, I want some." Lan Wu nodded firmly.

"Oh?" Chu Mingheng wasn't unaware of her ill-intentioned gaze, but no matter how wicked Lan Wu might be, she was still adorable; what could be so terrible about her?

However, that night, he saw Lan Wu take out a cloth strip.

“I told you to listen to me, so you’re going to blindfold yourself,” Lan Wu said arrogantly.

Chu Mingheng held the not-too-thick fabric in his hand, glanced at Lan Wu, and asked leisurely, "What do you want to do by blindfolding me?"

Lan Wu blushed slightly, coughed lightly, and said seriously, "You will be blindfolded and try to catch me in the house. If you catch me, you will be rewarded. If you don't catch me, we will go outside to look at the stars and you are not allowed to do anything else."

Chu Mingheng observed her patiently for a moment, then suddenly smiled and tied the cloth strip over his eyes: "Come on, I'll play with you."

Lan Wu stepped forward to check and was satisfied to see that it was tied tightly: "You can sit here and count to thirty in your mind, slowly. When you're done, you can come find me."

"Don't open it and peek, understand?"

Chu Mingheng nodded in agreement, but just as Lan Wu was about to run away, he suddenly spoke up and said, "Awu, what reward will I receive if I catch you?"

"You... oh, whatever you want, I'll give it to you." Lan Wu was in a hurry to leave, so she could only appease him.

"Then run, A-Wu." After Chu Mingheng finished speaking, he heard Lan Wu walking away quietly.

I crossed the threshold of the inner room and walked outside... Now I'm at the table, hmm... I even deliberately made a little noise, then hid behind the screen... Now...

Chu Mingheng suddenly broke into a smile, genuinely amused by his anger.

Lan Wu ran outside.