Chapter 177 Ah Wu, what do you think?
Seeing Lanwu crying with tears streaming down her face, looking exceptionally pitiful, Yizhen ordered someone to fetch water and then helped her into the palace.
There are palace servants outside; it would be embarrassing to see them later.
Lan Wu lost her footing and was helped into the main hall.
She was still saying that Chu Mingheng was pitiful.
Hearing this, Yi Zhen muttered to herself, and couldn't help but say, "He's not pitiful at all. I think you're the one who's pitiful, you're the one who's stupid."
Upon hearing this, Lan Wu was taken aback at first, then nodded in agreement: "Yes, I'm pitiful too... I'm pitiful very much..."
Yi Zhen couldn't understand what she was saying. Afraid that she would keep crying, she quickly called someone over to talk to her. Then she turned around and glanced at the wine on the round table outside the hall.
Lan Wu has only had two drinks, right?
With such a low alcohol tolerance, it's no wonder her elder brother forbids her from drinking.
But since I've had my drinks and cried, I probably won't be upset when I wake up tomorrow, right?
She's so clever; she actually came up with this brilliant idea of drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
Yi Zhen waved her hand, signaling the palace servants to take good care of Lan Wu as she washed and dressed, then turned and left the main hall.
At night, Lan Wu fell asleep on the couch, and tonight she dreamed again.
In the past, whenever she entered a dream, Chu Mingheng would always be by her side, never too far away, but this time she didn't see him.
Lan Wu searched twice, but couldn't find anyone in Tai Chen Palace.
The palace servants who came and went were like silent mute people; not a single person could be heard speaking in the entire hall.
If Chu Mingheng isn't at Taichen Palace, then where is he?
Lan Wu ran out of the main hall and headed towards Yi Lan Palace.
As she walked through the palace path, her steps suddenly stopped.
Several eunuchs carrying things were talking in hushed tones, their words playful and exaggerated. They were talking about Chu Mingheng.
"Has His Majesty gone mad...? I heard from the palace guards that His Majesty often wanders around the palace in the middle of the night with disheveled hair..."
"That's terrifying."
"Also, the doors of Yilan Palace are always closed. Some people have seen women's figures wandering around the palace at night. Isn't that strange?"
Another eunuch scoffed upon hearing this, completely disbelieving: "You said the doors of Yilan Palace were all closed, so how could anyone have seen any woman? Isn't that a contradiction?"
"In my opinion, it must be something those palace maids and eunuchs made up. You should say less, or you might lose your life if it gets out."
Hearing his reminder, the eunuch shrank back, glanced at the setting sun, shuddered, and whispered even lower, "That lady has been gone for almost five years, why can't our Emperor let go?"
"I heard he died unjustly, who knows if his vengeful spirit will come back..."
"You still dare to say that? You really don't want to live anymore, do you?"
The sound gradually faded into the distance.
Lan Wu's legs felt weak—almost five years? Has it been almost five years since this dream?
She thought of something and continued running, arriving at Yilan Palace before dusk.
As expected, there was not a single palace servant to be seen inside Yilan Palace, but the surrounding furnishings and decorations had not changed much, and there was not even a speck of dust. Although there was no human presence, it was as if the master of the palace had just gone out for a while and would soon return.
Lan Wu saw that the main hall door was open, and the words of the two eunuchs from earlier echoed in her mind. She stepped into the hall.
She didn't see anyone in the outer hall, but when she walked behind the screen in the inner hall, she heard a slight noise, like the sound of some hairpins or jewelry being knocked over.
Without hesitation, she walked around the screen and finally saw the person in front of her.
The man was facing away from her, his long hair cascading down and covering half of his face. His hair looked somewhat gray, and he was currently combing his hair into a bun, as if he was not used to it or skilled at it.
But those hands were familiar to Lan Wu.
This person…is she, or rather he is…Chu Mingheng?
Lan Wu felt as if her feet were made of lead, her legs stiff and unable to move. She stared blankly as Chu Mingheng combed her hair with a comb and styled her hair into a bun with his hands.
He still hadn't gotten it right; his hair was loosely styled, but Lan Wu could still see his face.
Five years have passed, and his appearance may not seem to have changed much at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one can see the lines at the corners of his eyes. His eyes are tired and indifferent, like a stagnant pool, without any ripples.
Lan Wu saw him selecting jewelry in front of the dressing table, wiping each hairpin clean before placing it on his hair.
She suddenly understood what had happened that time. Chu Mingheng's movements when he styled her hair looked overly practiced, as if he had practiced it hundreds or thousands of times. When she asked him about it, Chu Mingheng just casually said something.
So that's how he trained...
Lan Wu couldn't help but take a deep breath. As she inhaled, her vision blurred, and an unfamiliar pain swept over her entire heart, making her gasp for breath.
She couldn't stand, stumbled forward, and called out to Chu Mingheng in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Chu Mingheng could neither hear nor see her.
But when Lan Wu was only a step away from him, she saw Chu Mingheng suddenly turn his head, look in her direction, smile gently, and say, "A-Wu, look at the hairstyle I did for you, isn't it pretty?"
Lan Wu was startled, her voice suddenly stopped, and she stared blankly at Chu Mingheng, thinking that he had seen her. She rushed over, but she was like a gust of wind, only lightly passing through his body.
She fell to the ground, realized what was happening, and turned around to look behind her.
Chu Mingheng was still looking in the direction he had just been, reaching out and touching something in the air. He then took out a gold hairpin and fiddled with it, talking to himself, "Do you like this gold hairpin?"
"Look, this is a hibiscus flower. Awu is best suited to hibiscus flowers..."
After saying that, he paused, then quickly sounded a little anxious and said, "I misspoke. I meant that Awu looks good in any flower, no matter what flower she wears... Awu, don't be upset. Here, I'll put it on you—"
After saying that, he placed the hairpin in his hand in a certain direction in the void, and then released his hand with a smile in his eyes.
The hairpin fell to the ground like a bird with broken wings, making a crisp sound. In this desolate hall, the sound seemed particularly abrupt, as if a heavy hammer had shattered Chu Mingheng's illusory imagination.
Lan Wu noticed that Chu Mingheng's body was trembling slightly. He lowered his head and didn't say a word, as if he had suddenly aged several years and looked somewhat lost.
He still didn't look up, but he was now fully awake. He reached out and began to pull at the hair bun in his hair, not caring whether he was pulling any hair or not. He removed all the gold hairpins from the bun and silently and frantically pulled at his hair.
Lan Wu rushed forward, reaching out to stop him from hurting her, but she couldn't touch him at all and could only watch in vain as he slowly calmed down.
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