Chapter 178 Hearing
When I woke up from the dream, my face was covered in tears.
Lan Wu sat up, swallowing her sobs.
No wonder, no wonder Chu Mingheng would style his hair like a woman's—he's gone mad! In his delirium, he keeps thinking he sees her, and he doesn't come to his senses until the hairpin falls to the ground.
Has he been living like this for the past five years?
A prince appointed as crown prince from birth, possessing a nobility and pride unmatched by others, became mentally unstable and delirious five years later, to the point that even eunuchs could speak ill of him in secret.
Being lost in one's own fantasies is painful, but so is being awake.
How did Chu Mingheng spend these five years...?
Lan Wu buried her face in her knees, unable to stop sobbing.
She woke up from the dream too quickly, but thankfully she did, otherwise she didn't know if she would have had the courage to continue watching.
Although Lan Wu's crying was very soft, Mu Jin, who was on duty outside, still heard the noise. Hesitantly, she gently knocked on the door and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, is there anything you need to tell me?"
Today, the Empress and the Princess went fishing together. She seemed to be in a better mood, but could she still be feeling down?
Lan Wu heard her voice and called her in.
It was almost the end of the Yin hour, but this was still too early for the Empress. Normally, she could sleep for about two more hours before getting up.
Mu Jin entered the palace and asked Lan Wu if she wanted to light candles.
Lan Wu hummed in agreement, not letting her light the lamp too brightly, and then asked her to call someone to prepare some tea to help with the hangover, as her head was starting to hurt.
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment."
A short while later, Mu Jin returned with hot tea to help with the hangover.
Lan Wu took a couple of sips of tea, her eyes red from crying, and slowly looked at Mu Jin, asking her, "Did you write a letter to His Majesty saying that I haven't been doing well lately?"
Mu Jin felt somewhat ashamed as she was being looked at. It is said that a servant should not serve two masters, but she had indeed served two masters.
Meeting Lan Wu's eyes, Mu Jin suddenly knelt down and confessed that she had written the letter and that she had also told Lan Wu the words that His Majesty had instructed her to say before going to Changyong Mountain.
Lan Wu didn't intend to make things difficult for her, knowing that working under Chu Mingheng wasn't easy, so she let her get up first.
“But don’t write these letters to him again…” Lan Wu thought for a moment. If she really didn’t write them, Chu Mingheng would probably go to great lengths to find out about her situation. So she simply said, “You can write them, but tell me when you write them and I’ll teach you how to write them.”
"Yes, Your Majesty." Mu Jin relaxed slightly and got up from the ground.
Lan Wu finished the cup of sobering tea, then lay down again, turning her back to Mu Jin so that she could extinguish the candles in the hall.
As dawn broke, Lan Wu got up feeling groggy. Perhaps it was the alcohol from last night, or perhaps she had woken up once in the morning and hadn't been able to fall back asleep, but her complexion looked particularly bad.
From that day on, she began to have dreams every night.
These dreams occurred during Chu Mingheng's hysterical episodes and also during his lucid moments. Lan Wu was like a spectator, unable to do anything but watch him either sink into despair or remain lucid in his dreams.
Until he went to see Master Huifan again—no, perhaps it was Master Huifan who invited him over.
Upon seeing Hui Fan again, Chu Mingheng's expression became noticeably less polite.
"You'd better have something important to say to me." His tone was quite displeased.
He had held onto a sliver of hope after hearing Hui Fan's words, but five years have passed, and that so-called hope has long since faded away. He even felt that this hope was a lie from the very beginning.
Now, looking at Huifan, he finds everything about her displeasing.
Hui Fan, however, did not find Chu Mingheng's gaze chilling at all. He simply bowed and slowly spoke, "This humble monk sees that Your Majesty is in a state of fatigue. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health."
Before Chu Mingheng could even let out a cold laugh, he quickly continued, "Otherwise, Her Majesty would be worried and anxious when she sees His Majesty."
Lan Wu, who was standing to the side, suddenly heard him mention her, and subconsciously sat up straight, looking at Hui Fan with a puzzled expression.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from beside my ear—all the teacups on the table had fallen to the ground and shattered completely.
Chu Mingheng's face was grim, and he was furious. He grabbed Hui Fan's collar and lifted him up, saying each word clearly, "If you try to deceive me with my empress again, I will bleed you dry in front of your gods and Buddhas."
Lan Wu was startled by the sound of the teacup shattering and instinctively covered her ears. When she came to her senses, she saw that Chu Mingheng had already lifted Master Huifan up and said such a threatening word. She quickly stepped forward to try to stop him.
But when she reached out, she realized that it was pointless for her to do it herself, and she couldn't stop him.
Hui Fan, however, did not appear flustered. He simply turned his gaze to the right of the two, where Lan Wu was standing.
Lan Wu was caught off guard and met his eyes. Her eyes widened, and she waved her hand in front of Hui Fan's eyes twice.
Is it just my imagination?
Why did she feel that Master Huifan could see her?
Ke Huifan withdrew her gaze, as if that glance just now was merely Lan Wu's illusion.
Chu Mingheng released his grip and pushed Hui Fan away.
Hui Fan bowed to him again and said once more, "This humble monk has not lied to Your Majesty; Your Majesty is indeed worried about Your Majesty."
Chu Mingheng's brow twitched; this time, he was filled with murderous intent.
He raised his eyes, his sharp gaze like a cold blade, piercing straight at Huifan.
Seeing that the veins on his forehead were bulging with anger, Lan Wu quickly stepped forward to stop him. Unable to touch the object, she became even more anxious, fearing that Chu Mingheng might really kill Master Huifan in a fit of rage. She hurriedly called out his name.
Chu Mingheng's body passed right through her, unseen and untouchable, and this time he directly reached out and grabbed Hui Fan's neck.
Lan Wu was so anxious she was jumping up and down. She had done everything she could. Seeing Master Huifan's face turn red from being choked, she turned her face and slapped Chu Mingheng across the face: "Chu Mingheng, I told you to stop! Are you deaf?!"
She shouted these words extremely loudly, even to her own ears, they sounded somewhat heart-wrenching. She thought no one would hear them, but she saw Chu Mingheng's expression falter slightly, his hand suddenly loosen its grip, staring blankly at what was in front of him, then looking left and right, and finally reaching out to touch his left cheek.
Hui Fan was released and stumbled back a few steps. As soon as she regained her balance, she saw Chu Mingheng standing there looking dazed.
Lan Wu also froze for a moment. Seeing his gesture of touching his face, an absurd conjecture arose in her mind, so she put her hand on Chu Mingheng's face again.
To her disappointment, she still couldn't touch it this time.
But why did Chu Mingheng suddenly touch his face? Did he really not sense her presence?
Lan Wu looked at him cautiously and called out, "...Your Majesty?"
Chu Mingheng's pupils contracted sharply. He reached out with his other hand, but only touched air; there was nothing there.
His eyes welled up with tears, and he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Am I having an episode or what...? Why do I hear A-Wu's voice again..."
"Your Majesty! It's me—you heard me right!" Lan Wu was even more shocked than him. So many times before, Chu Mingheng had been completely unable to perceive her, but today, Chu Mingheng had indeed heard her voice.
"Awu?" Chu Mingheng called out again uncertainly, his tone flustered and anxious, "Awu, where are you? Please let me see you, just one look, okay?"
Lan Wu reached out to grab Chu Mingheng's hand, but missed. At the same time, white mist gradually rose again around them.
The dream is about to end.
She only had time to leave a hurried sentence before watching Chu Mingheng's figure disappear completely, and then she woke up from the dream.
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