Chapter 90 Hiding

The Zeng family was sentenced to death, while the Chen and Yue families were sentenced to exile.

When Yue Zhaorong went to Yilan Palace to find Lanwu again, a more relaxed expression was visible on her face.

"Although it was an exile, Anzhou is not a harsh and cold place. His Majesty is reasonable and has at least saved the lives of my family."

She raised her teacup, took a sip, and smiled at Lan Wu: "I still have to thank you for this."

Lan Wu shook her head again, telling her not to mention it: "I didn't do anything."

It was already past mid-August, and the rain was about to fall in a few days, but Lan Wu felt that Chu Mingheng was acting strangely these past few days.

He always made her go to the Imperial Study with him, but once or twice was fine. After a while, she didn't dare to go herself and wouldn't take a step no matter what he said, as if he was afraid she would get lost. Sometimes, Lan Wu would wake up in the middle of the night and turn her head to find that Chu Mingheng was not asleep and was watching her.

The scene was truly frightening.

The day before yesterday, she was so frightened that she woke up completely and immediately sat up and pushed Chu Mingheng away.

"Your Majesty, why are you looking at me in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

"Are you trying to scare me?"

Chu Mingheng's reaction was as if he didn't care. He simply put away his cold expression and, upon seeing Lan Wu's reaction, hugged her and comforted her.

"I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. Did I frighten A-Wu?" he said, patting Lan Wu's head and whispering, "I didn't mean to. A-Wu, go to sleep."

Actually, even without Chu Mingheng saying it, Lan Wu knew that he hadn't been sleeping well lately. She asked Physician Lin for some calming herbs, intending to put them in his purse, but the purse wasn't finished being embroidered yet.

She's clumsy and takes a lot of effort to even embroider a purse; she hasn't finished embroidering one for Chu Mingheng yet.

Fortunately, Chu Mingheng didn't urge him.

Lan Wu's slight annoyance was completely dispelled by his words. She pressed her soft body against his chest, hugged his waist, rubbed her face against his neck, and looked up to ask him, "Did Your Majesty have another dream?"

Chu Mingheng gently pinched her earlobe with his fingers, treating the round and delicate piece of flesh as a toy, and even enjoying it immensely.

He casually said no, and asked Lan Wu in return, "Why do you ask that? Did you have another bad dream, A-Wu?"

Lan Wu naturally shook her head as well.

But after a moment, she reluctantly raised her head, kissing Chu Mingheng's chin while shrinking into his arms, trying to find an answer:

"Your Majesty, what if—I mean, what if… I were to be accidentally killed—"

Will His Majesty avenge me?

She naively raised her eyes, determined to find an answer, unaware that such words would drive Chu Mingheng mad.

But Chu Mingheng showed no sign of anything amiss. At least when facing Lan Wu, he was only momentarily stunned until Lan Wu gently nudged him, disapprovingly urging him to speak.

Why are you lost in thought? Wasn't I asking you a question?

Chu Mingheng responded with a gentle "hmm," then turned and placed Lan Wu on the couch. By the moonlight streaming through the window, one could vaguely see the slightly ruthless expression on his face.

"Awu, who would kill you?"

He asked Lan Wu.

Lan Wu shook her head, somewhat hesitant: "What I said, 'what if'... isn't true."

But Chu Mingheng clearly couldn't let her fool him.

He gently wrapped his hand around Lan Wu's waist, pressed his forehead against hers, and said softly, "If you're scared, A-Wu, I'll hide you away. No one but me will be able to find you, okay?"

He asked if it was alright, but this question was clearly not directed at Lan Wu.

Lan Wu shuddered, suddenly remembering the small hall from before, a place with no way out. If Chu Mingheng were to lock her inside, she feared that no matter how much she shouted, no one would hear her, and she would have no way to escape. She could only wait for Chu Mingheng to come to her on that bed.

The thought of all this made her heart tremble with fear.

She quickly shook her head, and for some reason, the first thing she said was a sob, "No."

When she cried, Chu Mingheng became much more restrained.

His voice was gentle, but to Lan Wu it sounded somewhat fierce.

"Awu, you must tell me who would kill you."

"If Awu is scared, I will stay with you myself. I will watch over you at all times, okay?"

He was still referring to that so-called Tibetan land.

Lan Wu sobbed twice, but still said no.

"I...I don't want to go..."

Chu Mingheng remained silent for a while, and just when Lan Wu was about to lose her temper, she suddenly heard him sigh and say "okay".

"Then I won't go."

"Then we won't go. Why are you crying so hard?" He wiped away Lan Wu's tears and, as usual, coaxed her to sleep.

-

"Your Majesty?" Yue Zhaorong's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Lan Wu turned her head to look at her, rubbing her head as if she was exhausted.

"Is Your Highness troubled by something?" Consort Yue noticed that her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly indicating that she was uneasy or worried about something.

"It's nothing..." Lan Wu had just finished speaking when she saw Lian Qiao rushing over.

Lianqiao came over and bowed to them, then said anxiously, "Your Highness, just now, Consort Mu's maid came and said that Consort Mu accidentally bumped into Consort Li on the way to the Imperial Garden, and Consort Li is punishing the nanny by slapping her."

Lan Wu glanced at Yue Zhaorong and thought to herself that she probably didn't come to ask Yue Zhaorong for advice, but only to ask Yue Zhaorong to save the day since Yue Zhaorong was there.

However, Consort Li is currently enjoying her moment of glory, and Consort Yue would probably not gain any advantage by going there.

Lan Wu had no desire to join in the fun.

Seeing Yue Zhaorong's somewhat anxious expression, she smiled and told her to go first.

"I will speak with Your Majesty another day. Please forgive me."

Lan Wu felt somewhat awkward listening to these words.

Even though Consort Yue was of a higher rank than her, she addressed her as "Your Majesty" and showed her exceptional respect. However, this excessive respect might lead others to say something negative about her if they heard it.

Although she didn't intend to get involved, Lan Wu still had Lian Qiao go over to take a look, just in case these people started fighting and things escalated.

It wasn't until more than half an hour later that Lianqiao hurriedly returned.

Lianqiao hadn't even had a sip of water yet, her face full of excitement, but she forcibly suppressed it, looking like she'd had enough of the excitement and was eager to share it with others, and said with a smile:

"Your Highness, you don't know, Consort Li ordered that Mu Xiurong had committed insubordination and that the nanny should slap her, but Mu Xiurong refused and slapped back."

Lan Wu opened her eyes wide in shock and continued listening to her.

"Consort Mu beat the old woman until she fell to the ground, and Consort Li pointed at Consort Mu and said that she had a lot of nerve."

"When Consort Yue arrived, Consort Li had already had Mu Xiurong subdued, saying she was going to take her to Jinghua Palace to teach her palace rules."

Lan Wu raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that Consort Li was indeed up to no good. If Mu Xiurong was taken away by her, who knew if she would be injured when she returned?

With Mu Xiurong's temperament, she embarrassed Consort Li in public. If she ends up under Consort Li's control, she'll have a hard time.