Chapter 4 Gives You a Chance
The palace maid who came to the music hall this time was not Yuzhu.
Lan Wu thought for a moment and remembered who this was.
Consort Li had three personal maids named Mei, Lan, and Zhu, all with the character "Yu" in their names. She had met Yu Mei and Yu Zhu a few times, but after she became Consort Lan, she heard that Consort Li's maid Yu Lan had changed her name. She didn't know what Yu Lan had changed her name to, but she never saw that maid by Consort Li's side again.
"Miss Lanwu, please." Yumei led her away from the music hall.
There is a distance between the music hall and Consort Li's Jinghua Palace. It would take half an hour to walk there, and you would have to pass through the Imperial Garden and the entrance of Yilan Palace.
No one lives in Yilan Palace now, and the palace gates are closed. The three characters "Yilan Palace" written on the palace gate plaque are exactly the same as when she lived there in her previous life.
At first, she lived in the Longyu Pavilion, a side hall of the Yilan Palace. There were no other concubines in the Yilan Palace, so she was very comfortable living alone.
Later, after she was promoted, she begged Chu Mingheng to change her palace. She wanted to live in a larger palace, practically saying that she wanted to live in the main hall of Yilan Palace.
To persuade Chu Mingheng to agree, she danced for him that night wearing a golden bell, her bones aching terribly. The next day, she received the imperial decree to move the palace as she had hoped.
Instead of being moved to Yilan Palace, it was moved to Lejingxuan, a side hall of Consort Shu's Yifang Palace.
She was originally sent to the Emperor by Consort Li, and after gaining the Emperor's favor, she became increasingly prominent. Chu Mingheng sending her to Lejing Pavilion was like sending a rabbit into a wolf's den. She was terrified and wanted to wait for Chu Mingheng to come and take back the imperial decree, but Chu Mingheng did not come.
She suffered for a period of time in Lejingxuan under the torment of Consort Shu. Because she still had the Emperor's favor, Consort Shu did not dare to go too far. Chu Mingheng did come to see her, and every time he came, she would complain, exaggerating the minor issues to the major ones, trying to make Chu Mingheng feel sorry for her and let her return to Longyuge.
Ten days passed like this. One day, Chu Mingheng suddenly reached out and tapped her forehead with his finger, saying softly, "You've really spoiled her."
She was utterly puzzled, but vaguely guessed what was going on, so when Chu Mingheng came over the next day, she didn't complain again.
After three days of behaving obediently, Chu Mingheng allowed her to return to Longyu Pavilion.
Thinking about these things now, Lan Wu couldn't help but sigh in her heart—Chu Mingheng truly lived up to his title as emperor; he was extremely skilled at manipulating people's hearts. After that, she dared not mention staying at Yilan Palace again.
Now, she glanced at the palace gate in front of Yilan Palace and walked forward with her head down, following the palace maid named Yumei. Her mind was preoccupied with her past life, and she didn't notice the figure approaching from afar on the palace road ahead.
By the time she noticed, Yu Mei had already led her to the palace wall and made her kneel down.
Lan Wu lowered her head so low it was almost touching the ground, her hands clasped together in front of her forehead, and she could smell the dust with her breath.
The emperor's carriage showed no intention of stopping in front of Lan Wu, but instead stopped precisely at the entrance of Yi Lan Palace.
Hearing the palace gates open behind her, Lan Wu almost couldn't help but turn her head. She glanced at them hastily and cautiously, as if she had done something wrong. She looked away as soon as she saw Chu Mingheng step into the gates of Yilan Palace.
Her heart was pounding like a drum. Even though it was afternoon, she felt as if she could smell the cold dew of the night.
Why did Chu Mingheng enter Yilan Palace?
She was lost in thought about this question all the way there, until she arrived at Jinghua Palace. At that moment, she had to clear her mind of all her complicated thoughts and focus all her attention on dealing with the person in front of her.
The Jinghua Hall was filled with incense, and the strong fragrance made Lan Wu's nose feel a little uncomfortable.
Unlike her previous life, this time when she entered Jinghua Palace, Consort Li was not as enthusiastic.
She first glanced at Lan Wu, who was kneeling in greeting, and then asked her to lift her face up for a closer look.
When she finally saw what a beautiful face it was, the faint smile she had been trying to put on disappeared even more.
"I was particularly pleased with your dance when I saw it at the Emperor's birthday celebration last time, so I specially ordered Yuzhu to invite you to Jinghua Palace."
She spoke casually, as if she didn't care about anyone and was simply stating the facts.
"Unfortunately, Yuzhu didn't find you and even fell into the water in the night."
"Are you aware of this?"
Lan Wu didn't know, or rather, she had heard of it before, but she didn't expect that the palace maid who fell into the water was Yu Zhu.
This never happened in my previous life.
Consort Li scrutinized Lan Wu's expression, partly because she didn't believe this person had the audacity to kill someone, and partly to see if Lan Wu was truly working for Consort Shu and Consort Rou.
Yu Zhu's body was retrieved, and they said they would investigate it carefully, but the investigation only revealed that she had accidentally fallen into the water.
Unfortunately, the day Yuzhu fell into the water was the evening of the second day after the Emperor's birthday. Although it wasn't the actual birthday, it was still quite unlucky. When this matter reached the Emperor's ears, he issued an edict punishing the guards who were watching over the Imperial Garden that day, as well as Consort Rou of Zhaoyun Palace.
Consort Shu's gloating was on full display, but since her personal maid had died unexpectedly, she had nowhere to vent her anger. She could only transfer her anger to Lan Wu, since she had originally intended to have Yu Zhu invite Lan Wu over again that day.
When Consort Rou asked her what she had sent Yuzhu out to do, she didn't say that. She only said that she wanted Yuzhu to go to the imperial kitchen to get her some dried fruit.
Now, Consort Li scrutinized Lan Wu, trying to find a trace of panic on her face.
Lan Wu looked surprised, her wide eyes filled with fear: "Your Majesty, this servant knows nothing of this."
"Oh? You don't know?" Consort Li asked her again.
This time, Lan Wu bowed her head and kowtowed, replying again, "This servant truly knows nothing of this matter, and begs Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly—"
Her reaction was exactly what Consort Li had expected. She thought so too; how could Lan Wu, a mere dancer, have the strength to kill someone?
Thinking of this, Consort Li's expression softened slightly, and she ordered the palace maid beside her to help Lan Wu up.
When Lan Wu timidly stood up, Consort Li was even more satisfied. Being timid was good; timid people were easy to manipulate.
She dismissed all the palace servants except Yu Mei, and then smiled as she told Lan Wu her purpose.
"Miss Lanwu, I felt an instant connection with you the moment I saw you. You are so beautiful that you could outshine all the concubines in the palace. It's a pity..."
Consort Li first praised Lan Wu's beauty, comparing her to other concubines to fuel her ambition, and then said something regrettable to make her anxious.
As expected, Lan Wu fell for the trap.
When Consort Li saw Lan Wu's beautiful eyes sparkling with shyness, she said she was unworthy of such praise.
She smiled. "Miss Lanwu, I'm giving you a chance. Do you want it?"
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