Chapter 23 Your Jewelry
The inner hall of Taichen Palace is very large, but it does not feel empty. It was April, and the night was cool, but when the bed curtains were drawn, the surrounding air suddenly became scorching hot.
Lan Wu could feel the heat in her outstretched fingers.
Her clothes hadn't been taken off, but the ties had already fallen to the ground. Her clothes, which couldn't be closed properly, were half-hidden, and her shy, watery eyes looked nowhere in sight.
When Chu Mingheng rested her knees on his arms, he saw the spot where he had just struck her. Lan Wu's skin there was delicate, and that one blow had already left a red mark, contrasting with the surrounding white skin, with tiny red dots visible deep inside.
His eyes darkened, and he reached out and touched that patch of skin with the back of his hand.
Lan Wu immediately arched her back and uttered a low, silvery sound.
Chu Mingheng felt that it was too hot there, almost burning his hand.
Lan Wu felt his hand gently rubbing her wound. She frowned, then feigned shyness and reached out to move his arm away.
Her shyness seemed feigned; her every move betrayed no genuine embarrassment.
He teased her slowly, biting Lan Wu's lip to make her put her teeth away.
The tent was so hot that everyone was feeling dizzy. Lan Wu had cried a lot today, and Chu Mingheng had just said that she was made of water. Before they even got to the point, she could only lie there blankly, her belly trembling pitifully.
As her body was pulled apart, a sharp, brief pain caused her to whimper softly through her teary eyes.
"What did I say?" Chu Mingheng asked her, whispering in her ear.
Lan Wu clung to him for breath, too weak to even think of those words, her eyes glazed over as she watched the bed curtains sway back and forth in her line of sight.
...
Chu Mingheng spoke harshly, but after two times he let Lan Wu go. At that time, Lan Wu was in his arms, her belly slightly swollen, and he took her to the bathhouse.
Lan Wu's skin below her shoulders was dotted with red marks, like scattered red plum blossoms. Her fingers were clasped on Chu Mingheng's shoulders, and her face was softly pressed against his neck. She looked like she was about to fall asleep.
But Lanwu sobered up as soon as she entered the water.
"...Your Majesty, what will my rank be tomorrow?" she asked, a hint of inexplicable anticipation in her voice.
In her previous life, she was initially named Lady Lan, but that was only because Chu Mingheng was dissatisfied with her. In this life, he should be quite satisfied. What kind of title will he give her?
Chu Mingheng knew exactly what she meant; he hadn't thought carefully about Lan Wu's rank yet.
Looking at that little face, which had regained some color and was now filled with expectation and obedience, he gently asked, "Beautiful Lan, how is it?"
When Lan Wu heard these three words, she was stunned for a moment and suddenly felt a pang of fear.
She had thought that even if she were still Lan Meiren, it would be alright, but now, hearing those three words from Chu Mingheng's mouth sent a chill down her spine—it seemed to indicate that she would still receive the exact same ending as in her previous life, with no difference.
Seeing her reaction, Chu Mingheng felt a strange sense of irritation and panic. Before Lan Wu could speak, he changed his mind and said, "Let's choose another one."
Lan Wu clutched her hands helplessly, then he gently kissed her lips, drawing them closer. She heard him speak slowly:
“Zhen, as precious as a pearl, is worthy of you. As for your rank… Jieyu, please.”
Zhen Jieyu...
Lan Wu tried to force a smile to express her gratitude, but her expression faltered slightly before tears welled up in her eyes. Her red eyes stared intently at Chu Mingheng: "Am I jewelry?"
Chu Mingheng didn't know if she was happy or unhappy; the tears came too quickly for him to catch.
He said, "You can be."
Lan Wu wiped away her tears and muttered a complaint softly, "You just hit your jewelry..."
Chu Mingheng pinched her chin: "If you don't correct your behavior, you'll get beaten again next time."
"I—" Lan Wu opened her mouth, then changed her form of address, "This concubine is very obedient."
I'm quite used to it; I've already started using self-reference so quickly.
"The tears have been wiped away."
As he said this, Chu Mingheng reached out and wiped the tears off her face, but his own hands were wet, which made Lan Wu's face even wetter.
The two were in the bathtub when Lan Wu immediately lowered her head. Unexpectedly, she splashed water, causing water droplets to fall everywhere.
Seeing that Chu Mingheng's face was also wet, Lan Wu belatedly realized what was happening and gently reached out to touch his face: "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to. Let me wipe it clean for you."
As he spoke, he wiped it with his hand.
Chu Mingheng stopped them.
"No need, it's not as much water as yours."
Lan Wu's face immediately turned bright red. Not knowing if he meant that, she didn't dare to ask. She opened her mouth hesitantly, but could only pretend to be sleepy.
I got really sleepy while I was pretending.
When Chu Mingheng carried her back to the bed, she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Chu Mingheng extinguished the candles in the hall and returned to his bed, where he saw Lan Wu sleeping on the inside.
He didn't care about these things, but he noticed something strange about Lan Wu's reaction today.
Lan Wu herself was not sure what was important about the questions she had answered, but when she thought about them carefully, she realized that something was wrong.
Since the dance at the Emperor's birthday celebration was something Lan Wu had prepared for two months to perform for him, and she had performed it earnestly at the banquet, but afterwards she rejected Consort Li's attempts to win her over and wanted to leave the palace.
This is inconsistent with her previous words and actions.
It's like he's become a completely different person.
Chu Mingheng leaned against Lan Wu's side, using the faint light seeping in from the window to look at her face. He reached out and gently touched her jawline and the side of her neck, but found nothing unusual.
Lan Wu is afraid of the cold, and when she is half asleep at night, she leans against the heat source next to her.
Chu Mingheng's hands were always cool, but they were warm to hold at night, and Lan Wu was used to sleeping in his arms.
She moved her head, drowsily searching for Chu Mingheng. Once she found him, she snuggled into his arms and soon fell asleep again.
Chu Mingheng had another dream.
This time, the person in my dream had a face.
The small hall was square, and there wasn't even a carpet on the floor. Lan Wu, dressed in a scarlet dance costume, danced barefoot on that floor for him.
Music drifted from outside the hall, and the dancers moved with a sense of grievance in the desolate little hall. Their dance moves seemed strangely familiar, as if they had seen them somewhere before.
He did not speak in the dream.
After the dance, Lan Wu's dance costume was scattered everywhere. When she finished dancing and saw that he didn't speak, she knelt down anxiously, clutching the only remaining garment, her head bowed as if waiting for the guillotine to fall.
He walked towards her, bent down, picked her up, and told her, "Don't dance like that again."
Lan Wu agreed.
Chu Mingheng heard her say happily, "This dance was choreographed by me, and I only performed it for His Majesty..."
I suddenly woke up from the dream, but the person next to me was still sleeping soundly.
It was already nearly dawn outside the palace.
Chu Mingheng felt something more in his arms.
He looked down and saw Lan Wu, who had rolled in and was fast asleep sometime during the night.
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