Chapter 79 Asking for help

Lan Wu forced a smile and dodged the question, saying, "Your Highness Zhaorong has been feeling unwell lately. Please have your palace servants take good care of you."

As she spoke, she noticed that Yue Zhaorong's expression was even more strained, with tears welling up in her eyes, but she forcibly stopped them in front of all the palace servants.

Her eyes seemed somewhat vacant, and she murmured "yes" while looking down.

"Lianqiao, go and urge the kitchen to make some of the lotus flower pastries I ate the other day, so that Consort Zhaorong can also try the pastries from Yilan Palace."

As Lan Wu spoke, she winked at Lian Qiao behind her, signaling her to quickly take everyone out.

Lian Qiao, having followed her for some time, understood the situation and immediately agreed, leading several palace maids out of the hall. The maids beside Yue Zhaorong also left, but the hall doors remained open; closing them would have been too obvious.

Only the two of them remained in the hall. Lan Wu clearly knew her purpose, but she didn't speak up. She wanted to know how Yue Zhaorong wanted her help, but since it concerned court affairs, she dared not say too much to Chu Mingheng.

If Consort Yue were to ask her to beg Chu Mingheng to spare the Yue family, she should go back and prepare to settle things as soon as possible. She was just a minor concubine who was favored by the emperor. If she were to beg Chu Mingheng, she would only be asking for trouble. Besides, the Yue family had nothing to do with her. She would be crazy to help her with that.

Thinking of this, Lan Wu subconsciously glanced cautiously at Yue Zhaorong. In her previous life, Yue Zhaorong had spoken up for her when she was dying, although it was of little use, but she still remembered her kindness.

However, one thing is one thing, and this matter isn't that big of a deal. She wouldn't do anything big if asked to do it.

Neither of them spoke, and the hall was quiet.

As for Yue Zhaorong, she finally remembered the purpose of her trip. As soon as she looked up and saw Lan Wu's gaze, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, thinking to herself: She really does wear her heart on her sleeve.

The concubines in this palace are all scheming and plotting against each other, but His Majesty happened to meet a girl as simple-minded as Lan Wu. No wonder he likes her so much...

No wonder she likes it so much.

She sighed inwardly, then rallied her spirits and said, "I suppose you know why I'm here. To be honest, I've really run out of options to ask you for help..."

“Your Majesty has now imprisoned all my clansmen. The daily tortures in that prison are increasing. My father and mother are old and cannot endure such suffering.”

Having apparently cried enough, Yue Zhaorong no longer shed tears. She clenched her hands, thinking of her younger siblings. Such a large family had now become sinners, their lives hanging in the balance, depending solely on the one sitting on the dragon throne.

“My father is indeed a bit greedy, but he would never have the guts to do something so serious. I begged to see His Majesty and asked people to speak on my behalf, but everyone avoids me like the plague, and His Majesty refuses to see me…”

She raised her head, staring at Lan Wu, her eyes holding the last glimmer of hope: "Lan Wu, I beg you, please help me, please help me—"

"I don't need you to say anything good about the Yue family. I just... I just need to see His Majesty. I'll go and tell him myself. I beg His Majesty to give me a definite answer, so that my heart won't hang in suspense and I won't worry every night..."

Her eyes were slightly dazed, then she stood up, stepped back from her chair, and knelt down directly in front of Lan Wu.

Lan Wu was pondering whether she could help with this matter when she saw Yue Zhaorong like this. She quickly went forward to help her up, but Yue Zhaorong refused to get up.

Her words were tinged with weariness and hope, as if she held only a sliver of hope in Lan Wu, and if Lan Wu did not agree, that hope would be gone.

“I know it’s shameless of me to come and beg you. We’ve never crossed paths before, and I’m just suddenly coming here to ask for your help. But if you can help me, I—not just me, but my entire Yue family—will be indebted to you. In the future, you can ask me to do anything, even kill someone for you, and I will agree to it.”

What... what is this saying?

Lan Wu looked utterly shocked and hurriedly waved her hands and shook her head at Yue Zhaorong. Finally, she closed her eyes and said, "Get up first, get up and talk."

This time, Yue Zhaorong hesitated for a moment, but still got up.

Even though Chu Mingheng came to see her every few days, he never told her a single thing about matters of the court. But seeing Yue Zhaorong so worried and anxious, Lan Wu frowned with some difficulty.

If it were just a matter of asking Chu Mingheng to meet Yue Zhaorong, perhaps that wouldn't be impossible, but would Chu Mingheng really meet her?

Moreover, she told Chu Mingheng about this, and Chu Mingheng would definitely know that it was Yue Zhaorong who came to see her.

She wasn't sure if Chu Mingheng would be angry, but it wouldn't be difficult for her to whisper in his ear.

“I don’t need you to kill for me. I can speak to His Majesty about this for you, but I don’t know if His Majesty will see you.”

She was telling the truth. If Chu Mingheng didn't see Yue Zhaorong, then she couldn't be blamed.

Yue Zhaorong nodded repeatedly, a hint of relief finally appearing in her eyes. Her eyes reddened as she looked at Lan Wu and thanked her in a hoarse voice: "What I said to you just now was not a joke. The Yue family is indebted to you for helping me today. Whatever you ask me to do in the future, I will do it for you."

Lan Wu pursed her lips and gently shook her head at her: "I helped you because..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lan Wu stopped herself. She couldn't very well say that it was because Yue Zhaorong had spoken up for her in her past life, so she changed the subject and continued, "It's because I pity you worrying about your family. I have no parents or brothers, so I wanted to say something for you."

After speaking, Lan Wu felt a little uneasy, so she talked to her about other things and finally told her to go back to the palace first.

It was already late afternoon, and dinner would be served in about an hour.

Lan Wu secretly pondered how to whisper sweet nothings in Chu Mingheng's ear. It was the first time in her life she had done something like this, and she was somewhat apprehensive.

She used to think that the characters who whispered sweet nothings in her ear in those storybooks were all demons, not good people. Now she was going to be a "demon" herself.

Yue Zhaorong went to Yilan Palace and stayed there for a long time before returning to her own palace. Everyone in the harem witnessed this and wondered if Yue Zhaorong had no shame and was going to Yilan Palace to ask a concubine who was originally a musician for help.

We'll have to wait and see His Majesty's reaction to find out exactly what happened.

That night, Chu Mingheng still came to Yilan Palace.

Lan Wu had just finished bathing and washing up and was lying in bed, staring blankly at the curtains above her head, when she heard heavy footsteps beside her. Turning her head, she saw Chu Mingheng entering the hall and already standing in front of the shelf, taking off his outer robe.

He turned his head to look at Lan Wu, his gaze casual yet subtly inquisitive, as if he knew everything and was waiting to see Lan Wu's reaction.