Chapter 9 I Ask You

With each step Lan Wu took forward, the pain in her feet intensified.

Her already thin body looked as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

As she walked up the steps, bloodstains appeared on the ground beneath her feet, and the concubines then displayed expressions that seemed to be a mixture of disgust and pity.

Chu Mingheng watched as Lan Wu walked over with her head down. The few steps she took were both stubborn and sickly. She was bullied and felt wronged but dared not speak. She could only slowly move towards him, laying her pitiful helplessness on the surface.

He looked again at Lan Wu's bare, fair instep, which was stained with blood, and her toes were covered with bits of grass.

How utterly destitute they were.

How pitiful they are!

Chu Mingheng looked at Lan Wu with a thoughtful expression. After a moment, seeing Lan Wu move in front of him to kneel down, he chuckled softly, his eyes cold and his voice slow and authoritative.

"Stand properly for me."

Lan Wu trembled all over, and her legs went weak.

She swallowed hard, her soul nearly flying away from Chu Mingheng's shout.

His tone was exactly the same as whenever he was about to reprimand her.

But she clearly knew best what kind of woman he liked. Chu Mingheng loved making her look pitiful and helpless, begging him for mercy. Wasn't she pitiful enough? She was bleeding!

As it turned out, Chu Mingheng's words did frighten many people, not just Lan Wu, but also all the concubines and palace servants around him.

"Summon the imperial physician," Chu Mingheng instructed the palace servants behind him, then looked at Lan Wu's tightly clenched hem.

Consort Li looked at Lan Wu and His Majesty with a strange expression, something inappropriately popping into her mind. When she looked up again and saw Consort Shu's unpleasant expression, she felt much better.

No one dared to speak. Even Consort Shu stood aside and waited. Chu Mingheng remained silent, and not a single extra sound could be heard in the vast garden.

Without Chu Mingheng even needing to ask anything, Chen Kang'an had already ordered his men to find a lot of sharp stones in the shallow grass below. When they brought them up, some of them were still stained with Lan Wu's blood.

"Whoever is in charge of this garden, drag them out." Chu Mingheng saw that Lan Wu's legs were weak and she seemed about to collapse, swaying and silent, so he continued to utter two words, "Beating her to death."

Upon hearing this, Lan Wu pursed her lips slightly and steadied herself to stand properly.

Consort Shu's expression changed. Although she did not personally order the stones to be added, it was still considered as her tacit approval. His Majesty's actions were actually a slap in the face to her for the sake of a dancer he had only met once.

She's just a dancer!

Liu Shuyi gasped inwardly and silently hid behind others. The idea of ​​adding stones was hers. His Majesty had ordered the palace servants to be beaten to death. If the palace servants said that she had given the order, could she escape?

What skills does this dancer possess that captivated His Majesty at first glance, making him take such drastic measures for her?

His gaze lingered on Lan Wu, almost imperceptibly. Based on His Majesty's actions today alone, the concubines in the palace would surely see Lan Wu as a thorn in their side.

Lan Wu herself knew that she had nowhere else to go.

Consort Li is alright, but Consort Shu has already set her sights on her. If she retreats any further, she will die even faster. Her only way out is Chu Mingheng.

In her previous life, she listened to Chu Mingheng and did not do evil or covet things she shouldn't have. In this life, even if she wants to be by Chu Mingheng's side, she will not follow the old path again. She refuses to believe that she can die so cowardly again.

Thinking of this, Lan Wu gently raised her head and spoke in the silence, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, my feet hurt..."

Lan Wu pressed her hand against her side, as if that would prevent her from falling forward. Her voice trembled, and her whole body seemed to be saying, "I'm so pitiful, come and hug me."

Chu Mingheng naturally didn't hug her. He glanced at her for a moment, then nodded slightly, signaling the palace servants to bring a chair.

The palace servants weren't so oblivious; they brought chairs for the high-ranking concubines in the pavilion.

Lan Wu sat comfortably, her bare feet hidden under her skirt. She was well-behaved now, neither making a sound nor peeking out. Only when the eunuch in charge of the garden was brought over, begging for mercy and kowtowing, did she slightly turn her head to take a look.

Chu Mingheng showed no intention of changing his mind.

The guards, holding the man, began to wield the court rod in the garden, with enough force to kill him. Before long, the eunuch was motionless.

Lan Wu only glanced at him once, and when she turned her gaze back, she circled around and found that all the concubines present were pale-faced. They didn't dare to look at the bloody scene in the garden, let alone look at Chu Mingheng.

The female doctor arrived.

With so many ladies and concubines present, she didn't know which one to treat. Blood had been splattered all over the garden, but thankfully it was far enough away that the smell didn't waft over, though it was still quite frightening.

The female doctor bowed respectfully, and then someone led her to a seated, unfamiliar young woman.

Lan Wu stuck her foot out, bent down slightly, and whispered to her, "Thank you for treating me, Doctor."

The female physician almost blurted out "Your Majesty is too kind," but thankfully she stopped herself. This was clearly not any empress.

She looked at Lan Wu's feet, which had stopped bleeding. The blood had clotted, but the feet were still a bit dirty. Naturally, treating the wound required cleaning her feet.

A palace maid promptly brought over a basin of clean water, and Lanwu carefully wiped her foot clean with a handkerchief, not daring to touch the area around the wound.

She glanced at Chu Mingheng as she straightened up slightly, assuming he was looking at her, but to her surprise, he was just staring calmly ahead.

Lan Wu picked at her fingers, looking somewhat anxious.

The female healer treated her wounds. Her fair feet were small and soft, and the wounds were not good. The wounds were on the soles of her feet and between her toes. It is said that the ten fingers are connected to the heart, so the wounds on her toes were probably very painful. When the female healer applied medicine to her feet, Lan Wu could not help but shrink back.

"how."

The female physician immediately became extremely attentive in replying to the emperor's question.

"Your Majesty, the young lady's foot wounds are not deep, but there are quite a few. She has sprained her right ankle and needs to rest for a while. If she falls a few more times, her foot may be ruined."

Upon hearing these words, Chu Mingheng seemed to have thought of something and lowered his eyes to look at Lan Wu.

"Lift your head up."

Startled, Lan Wu raised her small face, bracing herself with her hands beside her, somewhat afraid to look at Chu Mingheng's expression.

"I ask you, have you ever thought about deliberately breaking your foot?" Chu Mingheng's casual question caught Lan Wu off guard. She instinctively wanted to shake her head, but a long-held premonition prevented her from moving an inch.

The female healer sensed something was amiss, quickly bandaged Lan Wu's wounds, and neatly gathered her belongings, standing to one side.

There were so many people around, yet everyone seemed so out of place, unable to blend into the conversation between the emperor and Lan Wu.