Chapter 57 His Majesty

After the heavy rain, Lan Wu stayed in the imperial study and refused to leave.

She got off Chu Mingheng and walked to the window. From this window, she could vaguely see the direction of the main gate. As soon as she opened the window, she saw Consort Shu standing in the corridor, looking in this direction.

Lan Wu met her gaze, but they were quite far apart, and she didn't know if Consort Shu could see the expression on her face.

Who cares if she can see it or not?

Thinking of Consort Shu's disdainful gaze, Lan Wu opened the window even wider and spat softly at the person outside.

The sound wasn't loud, and after spitting, she saw Consort Shu pointing at her with her finger, clearly having noticed her misbehavior.

Lan Wu, smug and knowing she wouldn't be able to get in, raised her head arrogantly.

Just then, Chu Mingheng's voice came from behind.

"What are you spitting for? Come here right now."

Lan Wu turned around and went back to Chu Mingheng. She saw the drawing paper on the table, and even the brush and ink had been prepared for her.

She frowned unhappily, thinking to herself, "Why is Chu Mingheng like this? He said her drawing was ugly before, and now he's making her draw again."

"What should I paint, concubine?"

Chu Mingheng pointed to the flowers displayed next to the antique shelf.

Lan Wu looked surprised and confused. Last time, Chu Mingheng disliked her for drawing grapes by copying them, but this time he wouldn't let her copy them and had to draw them directly from the real thing.

Why does Chu Mingheng suddenly think so highly of her?

"The grapes you painted..." Chu Mingheng pondered for a moment casually, then said, "After observing them closely, I found them quite elegant, and I've already had them framed and stored in my storeroom."

Lan Wu turned to look at Chu Mingheng, and amidst her shock, anger, and embarrassment, she hissed, "How dare you steal my things!"

"How dare you!" Chu Mingheng was taken aback when she mistook him for a thief, but he immediately straightened his posture. "When did I take your things?"

"Just now, didn't you say it yourself..." Lan Wu thought he was going to deny it, pointing to the drawing paper on the table, "You said that the grapes I drew, you took them, you even framed them, and you put them away—"

Lan Wu's face flushed slightly.

Chu Mingheng nodded, then asked unhurriedly, "Whose paper is it?"

"...Your Majesty."

"Whose pen and ink is this?"

Lan Wu puffed out her cheeks, unwilling to give up, and repeated, "It's His Majesty's too."

"So whose painting is it?"

Lan Wu didn't answer, but glanced at him.

Chu Mingheng raised his voice and hummed in response, then leaned closer to Lan Wu, his face turning slightly cold: "I'm asking you, whose is it?"

Lan Wu angrily lowered her head, pursed her lips, and replied, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, take it all."

She looked very impatient.

Chu Mingheng reached out and supported her waist with one hand, while pinching her cheek with the other. He turned her head and said softly, "You were so well-behaved when you begged me for jewels, but you won't even let me take a piece of your drawing paper."

"Awu, who taught you that?"

"Has it been too long since I've..."

Sensing that he was about to say something bad, Lan Wu tiptoed up and kissed him, silencing him.

Chu Mingheng remained unmoved and let go, waiting for her to offer herself up.

It took quite a while of kissing to finally calm Chu Mingheng down.

Lan Wu leaned on his shoulder and breathed deeply.

"Draw a few more, and I'll have them all put away," Chu Mingheng said, trying to coax her.

Lan Wu was still being coy, placing her hand in front of him, palm open, and saying, "My hands are so soft, doesn't Your Majesty feel sorry for them?"

Her hand was grabbed and kissed. The soft touch on her fingers felt like the thunderbolts that had just struck her, spreading throughout her body in an instant. The tingling sensation made her even more flustered.

Lan Wu almost jumped up, hurriedly pulled her hand back, her ears turning red, and changed her mind: "Alright, then this concubine will paint one."

She left Chu Mingheng's side, stood in front of the table, and glanced back every now and then.

Chu Mingheng was right behind her, and he made room for her so she could sit and paint.

Lan Wu was familiar with that spot, but she didn't really want to sit there—she wasn't as tall as Chu Mingheng, and the table and chairs weren't suitable for her.

"Sit on my lap?"

Lan Wu, embarrassed and annoyed, said, "I don't want to."

She took her drawing paper to the chair below and sat down to draw.

She was so engrossed in her painting that she didn't notice Chu Mingheng watching her, his eyes holding a faint smile.

Three days later, the gates of Qiushui Pavilion opened, and Consort Jia went to visit her.

Consort Jia is the head of Changying Palace. She had visited Consort Rong before, but was turned away, which was common knowledge. This time, she went again, but was not refused entry to the palace as before.

At the same time, Lan Wu also learned some other news from Physician Chen.

"She stopped taking her medication?"

Physician Chen nodded, but her expression was somewhat indescribable: "A few days ago, Physician Xu stopped sending medicine to Qiushui Pavilion. I saw Consort Rong's medical records and found that the pulse and symptoms written on them did not indicate a miscarriage."

She wouldn't have seen the medical record otherwise, but somehow Physician Xu just happened to leave it behind, and only came back to get it after she had finished looking at it.

As Chen Li looked at Zhen Shuyi in front of him, he could roughly guess who the medical record was intended to be shown to.

Lan Wu frowned, her expression serious, waiting for Chen Li to continue.

“Rong Shuyi’s pulse does not indicate a miscarriage… Although the symptoms are very similar to those after a miscarriage, there are a few differences. It seems that she has a deficiency of qi and blood, and her body is cold, making it difficult for her to conceive again.” Chen Li finished speaking and waited patiently.

Lan Wu frowned, gritted her teeth, and after a long while asked her in a low voice, "Are you sure she didn't miscarry?"

"This is a serious matter that could confuse the royal bloodline."

Chen Li hurriedly nodded in response, "Your humble servant dares not speak presumptuously."

Upon hearing this, Lan Wu slammed her fist on the table with a cold expression.

She said, "How could something that never happened in my previous life suddenly change?"

She had also suspected that Consort Rong might not be pregnant at all, but then she thought that Consort Rong didn't have the guts to do that, since it was the imperial heir—how could she dare?

No wonder Chu Mingheng had people send things to Qiushui Pavilion every day to torment people; it turns out it was because he was deceiving the emperor.

Okay, we fooled her too. Although she felt that she hadn't done anything wrong by pushing him, she didn't know the truth and thought her hands were stained with blood. At first, she overthought things.

It turns out that this never happened at all!

Lan Wu's chest heaved deeply, still unable to quell her anger. Rong Shuyi's false pregnancy and miscarriage had dragged her into the mess as well. Although Chu Mingheng ultimately sided with her, saying it was an accident, she still retained the bad reputation of pushing someone into the water and causing their miscarriage.

This is truly an undeserved disaster.

"I will expose her, I will definitely expose her—"

After gritting her teeth and saying a few words, Lan Wu suddenly thought of something.

Chu Mingheng later learned about this matter, but did not take any action. He only gave Rong Shuyi this punishment. Does this mean that there was actually someone else behind the fake pregnancy?

She calmed down instantly.

If both she and Consort Rong were the ones being schemed against and manipulated, then the most likely person to do such a thing would be Consort Rou, right?

After all, it was Consort Rou who invited everyone to go boating on the lake that day, and she even invited Consort Rong separately.

The selection of people on the small boat was also arranged by Consort Rou.

So it seems she really went to great lengths to put on this good show for everyone.