Chapter 49 I Shouldn't Have Seen You
Having just finished the morning court session, Chu Mingheng did not immediately deal with government affairs upon arriving at the Imperial Study.
Yesterday, he didn't press Lan Wu about where she got the information. But with her warm and soft presence in bed, he became addicted and, later…
In the morning, sunlight streamed through the bright window of the Imperial Study, illuminating the desk in beams that shone through the window. Even from the side, one could see dust particles within the light.
This is bound to cause trouble.
Given Lan Wu's personality, if she were forced to learn rules, she would probably cause a scene.
Thinking of this, Chu Mingheng casually leaned back slightly, staring intently at a corner of the table, already considering whether this decision was a mistake.
Before he could finish thinking it over, someone rushed in from outside the hall.
A moment later, Chen Kang'an entered the hall with a worried expression. He stood below and cautiously reported, "Your Majesty, something has happened at Longyu Pavilion..."
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Chen Li was quickly pulled towards Longyu Pavilion. When the others arrived, they saw Consort Zhen sitting peacefully in a chair, though there was a hint of melancholy in her eyes, and the hall was somewhat chaotic.
The palace servants quickly cleaned up the hall, leaving only Granny Gu standing to one side with a very unpleasant expression.
"Physician Chen, please take a look at Her Majesty. How serious is the injury on Her Majesty's hand?" Lianxi asked anxiously.
Chen Li quickly put down his things and went forward to check on Lan Wu's arm injury. He could tell at a glance that the problem was not serious.
But these scars...
Chen Li glanced at the feet of the person standing there, then threw the ruler to the ground.
But these scars look like they were inflicted by himself.
Chen Li silently applied ointment to Lan Wu and said softly, "Your Majesty's injury looks serious; it's already swollen. Fortunately, the skin hasn't broken yet, otherwise it would have festered in the hot weather, and Your Majesty would have suffered a lot."
Lan Wu glanced at the injury on her hand to the left, and said nonchalantly, "It's serious... I have to thank Granny Gu for not killing me."
"You—" Gu Min took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and tried to reason with Lan Wu, while also trying to clear herself of any involvement, "Your Highness, you did it yourself, how can you frame me?"
Lan Wu blinked, and before she could say anything, Lian Xi had already started arguing for her.
"As soon as I entered the palace, I saw you, Granny Gu, holding a ruler against Her Majesty. Now you're even twisting the truth. If this gets out, you'll be in the wrong. Now you're trying to say that Her Majesty did it herself. Humph, Her Majesty's health is of utmost importance. How could Her Majesty do something so self-destructive!"
Yes, she is a concubine in the palace, a concubine who has to compete for the emperor's favor. How could she harm her own body? That would be a serious matter that could easily lead to losing the emperor's favor. How could she do such a thing?
Lan Wu lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing that she couldn't win the argument with Lianxi, Granny Gu's face darkened with anger. Just as she was about to bring up the emperor, a young eunuch outside the palace announced that His Majesty had arrived.
Everyone snapped out of their daze and knelt down to pay their respects towards the entrance of the hall.
Lan Wu hid slightly beside Lian Xi, protecting her injured arm with one arm. Not long after, she heard Chu Mingheng enter the hall.
My arm was gently grabbed and lifted up.
Lan Wu was still feeling weak and sore. When she got up, she staggered slightly and almost fell into Chu Mingheng's arms.
She looked up, met Chu Mingheng's gaze, and immediately looked away, her heart filled with turbulent emotions.
"How is Zhen Jieyu's injury?"
Chu Mingheng made Lan Wu sit down, touched her soft yet cool palm, and couldn't help but gently squeeze it. He stood to one side, tilted his head slightly, and asked in a somewhat deep tone.
Chen Li immediately replied, "Your Majesty, the Empress's injury is a bruise from being struck with a ruler. It is somewhat swollen. I have already applied medicine for the Empress, but the bruise will take some time to fully heal."
Upon hearing this, Chu Mingheng released Lan Wu's hand and walked towards another seat next to her. At the same time, he said, "Guards, take this old maid away, cut out her tongue and hands, and banish her from the palace."
He spoke in a casual tone, showing no regard for the fact that this was a palace servant of the late Empress Dowager, and did not even ask what was going on.
But that's how imperial power works; those in power have the power of life and death over those in power, let alone a mere slave.
Regardless of whether Gu Min was actually audacious enough to injure Lan Wu today, Lan Wu has already injured her hand, and that is the result; someone should pay the price.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Granny Gu's face was ashen as she kowtowed repeatedly, even crawling forward, but her arm was grabbed and pulled back by the guards behind her. She hurriedly shouted, "It was Her Highness—It was Her Highness who did it herself!"
The guards knocked the man unconscious and dragged him away.
The hall fell silent.
Soon, Chu Mingheng dismissed everyone.
Lan Wu hadn't expected that Granny Gu would be so easy to deal with. Wasn't she supposed to be a palace maid serving the Empress Dowager?
Lost in thought, she didn't notice Chu Mingheng's gaze fixed on her until it became too obvious, at which point she seemed to sense it and looked away.
"Does Your Majesty intend to have other governesses teach me?" She clenched her clothes, trying to resist Chu Mingheng.
Chu Mingheng simply said no.
Lan Wu looked up in surprise and stared at him blankly.
"I knew you wanted to cause trouble, but I didn't know you would use yourself to do so, drawing me here like this. Do you have anything else to say?" Chu Mingheng's voice was very calm, his eyes were dark and deep, like a calm pool, which could send chills down your spine even without touching them.
Lan Wu seemed to sense something, as if she knew what decision he was about to make.
She didn't understand. In her previous life, when she first became a concubine, Chu Mingheng was not so unpredictable. He was overly direct in his affection for her and his lack thereof, and he wouldn't say anything to her. But in this life, he always said heartless things so easily, as if... as if he didn't care about her at all, and that he might completely give up on her in the next moment.
But what did she do wrong?
That old nanny Gu used Chu Mingheng's orders to pressure her. She was also someone close to the Empress Dowager. If she didn't bring Chu Mingheng over, would she go and defy the imperial decree herself?
"Why are you crying?" Chu Mingheng saw her tears falling down her face, one by one hitting the ground. Her eyes showed sadness and confusion, but no sense of having done something wrong.
Lan Wu wiped away her tears, her voice slightly hoarse, and softly said, "What does Your Majesty want to say? Does Your Majesty want to say that I am cunning and would even harm myself to achieve my goals... Does Your Majesty also want to say that if you no longer care about me, you no longer want me?"
At this point, she glared at Chu Mingheng with red eyes, feeling extremely wronged. She bit her lip and continued, "You know perfectly well... you know I come from a bad background, yet you still have people teach me. I can't even say it directly when I'm unhappy. Do you think I, do you think I'm willing to be beaten?"
“I’m just a Jieyu, and even someone with the rank of Zhaorong is ordered to kneel on the palace path and let people talk about me. I don’t even dare to leave the house, and you still want to tame me…”
“I’m in pain and tired, I want to sleep, but she came in with your decree and made me do things, and even made me stand.”
Lan Wu's eyes were filled with tears, making it impossible for her to see anything clearly; everything was a blur, but the sobs in her throat were low and unstoppable.
"I shouldn't have met you—"
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