Chapter 195 Imperial Edict for the Establishment of an Empress
When Lan Wu left the imperial city for Changyong Mountain, she made a grand entrance, and just as she did when she returned, she did so with an equally grand entrance.
A large crowd stood from outside the palace gates all the way inside. As the carriage stopped, Chu Mingheng was the first to get off, and he heard the sound of court officials bowing in unison.
Chu Mingheng ignored her and turned around to help Lan Wu down from the carriage.
Lan Wu looked back at the familiar palace gate, her mind filled with countless thoughts.
"I'll take you back to the palace first," Chu Mingheng said softly beside her.
"I can go back by myself..." Lan Wu hesitated for a moment, thinking that Chu Mingheng must have some court affairs to deal with after returning to the palace.
But after she finished speaking, Chu Mingheng fell silent, his deep gaze fixed on her, making her feel that she had said the wrong thing.
"Alright, Your Majesty, please send me back to the palace quickly." Lan Wu gave in.
They made a brief appearance before disappearing again in their imperial carriage. As soon as they left, the people around them gradually dispersed, and the concubines behind them returned to their respective palaces.
If Lan Wu had looked closely, she would have noticed that there were clearly fewer concubines among them.
Ke Lanwu didn't see it at all.
By the time they reached Yilan Palace, it was almost dark.
Three months later, Yilan Palace finally welcomed its master again. The entire palace was brightly lit with candles, and the palace staff were busy tidying up things. It was quite lively.
At night, Lan Wu and Chu Mingheng took a bath together.
Tired from the journey, Lan Wu didn't want to let Chu Mingheng cause trouble, so as soon as she got into the water, she climbed up the pool wall to keep her distance from him.
Chu Mingheng seemed to know what she was thinking, but didn't say anything more.
But we still need to get down to business.
On the way back, Chu Mingheng didn't mention it. Once they arrived at the palace, he should give Lan Wu some mental preparation. He had arranged things for the past three months, and now it was just a matter of seeing what Lan Wu thought.
Thinking of this, Chu Mingheng coughed lightly, just about to speak.
Lan Wu turned her head slightly warily to watch his every move.
Her reaction, however, made Chu Mingheng have some other thoughts.
"Why are you guarding against me?" he asked softly, looking down at Lan Wu, who was clearly seen through the water. Then, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he spoke a fact they both knew: "You can't guard against me anyway."
Lan Wu was shy, so she submerged herself further underwater.
Chu Mingheng smiled, braced himself against the pool wall and headed towards Lan Wu, grabbing her with a single hand.
The water resistance was high, and Lan Wu was still splashing around, making sure both of them were covered in water. Water droplets slid down their faces and dripped into the pool.
"If you keep making a fuss," Chu Mingheng said casually, and then Lan Wu stopped moving, letting him hold her against the pool wall.
"I was just hugging you, what, you won't even let me hug you anymore?" Chu Mingheng said this with particular frankness. If it weren't for the fact that his hand was touching her buttocks, Lan Wu would have been willing to believe him.
Lan Wu was panting, trembling as she clung to his shoulder, but at this very moment, Chu Mingheng started talking about serious matters again.
"Take a rest for the next few days. Tomorrow, some concubines should come to pay their respects to you, but I think you won't be able to get up. I've already sent word that they should come to pay their respects in a few days."
He said that he could do both things at the same time, and he didn't care whether Lan Wu listened to him or not.
"By the way, I will issue an edict tomorrow to make you empress. I'm telling you in advance so you won't panic and overthink things when you hear it in the palace."
Chu Mingheng unexpectedly dropped a bombshell in Lan Wu's ear, sensing her momentary stiffness, and continued.
"I've been waiting for you in the palace for these past three months, and I've done so much. Ah Wu, please remember my kindness and reward me." With that, he chuckled and gently pried open Lan Wu's legs.
Lan Wu didn't have time to stop her. She swallowed a sound, and Chu Mingheng's words flashed through her mind. She was thinking of having a serious discussion with him, but in reality, she hesitated three times before she could say a word.
A night of absurdity.
...
Chu Mingheng is a bastard!
As Lan Wu regained consciousness, this thought was the first thing that crossed her mind.
The familiar curtains were drawn back, letting in the sunlight—it was already getting late.
She propped herself up and scanned her surroundings.
What about Chu Mingheng?
Instead of Chu Mingheng, Lianxi, who had heard her commotion, came into the palace first.
"Your Highness is awake. This servant will go and call someone to prepare water for Your Highness to wash up," Lianxi said with a smile, quickly giving the order to the outside.
Even as she sat down to do her makeup, Lan Wu looked listless.
"Where is His Majesty?" she asked.
"The court session has not yet ended, but His Majesty said when he left this morning that he would come to Yilan Palace for lunch at noon."
Upon hearing this, Lan Wu suddenly remembered something.
Did Chu Mingheng tell her yesterday that he would make her empress today?
The court session had not yet ended; could it be that he was announcing the imperial decree in the court?
Lan Wu was right.
It was also because Chu Mingheng had timed things perfectly. After announcing the news of establishing an empress in court, he watched the court officials argue incessantly. He had been an emperor for a lifetime, and he had already put in a lot of effort to make Lan Wu his empress. This little scene was nothing to worry about.
Seeing that the time was almost up, he leisurely told his men to stop talking.
"You have objections to my decree?"
"You are the ones who say that the harem cannot be without an empress for a single day. Now that I am about to establish an empress, you also have something to say."
"Is it because I am too lenient in my daily life that you have forgotten the boundaries between ruler and subject, and dare to disobey my orders here?"
Once he uttered these words, who could say anything else? They all knelt down and shouted in unison, "Your humble servant dares not!"
The courtiers knelt on the ground, sighing inwardly—mercy? If you ask when His Majesty has ever been merciful, you should think carefully. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, when has His Majesty ever been seen to use merciful methods? Even with his own brothers and sisters, he can be ruthless. Although he gave Prince Wei a quick death, is that mercy?
Everyone knew perfectly well that they were merely debating in the court, but they would never dare to defy the emperor's will.
Chu Mingheng remained silent, slowly gazing at the sunlight outside the hall.
The weather is perfect; Ah Wu should be awake by now, and she's probably scolding him right now.
He can go over and say a few words to appease her, and she'll be there in time for lunch.
His thoughts returned, and he looked down at the group of people below, his impatience only showing for a moment.
"I have already made a decision on this matter; there is no need to discuss it further."
He looked down in a deep voice, his eyes subtly revealing a chilling intent and a hidden killing intent, and slowly said, "Anyone who objects to my decree will be killed without exception."
...
After the court session ended, news from the court seemed to have wings and spread to all the palaces.
One stone stirs up a thousand waves.
Although the concubines all guessed that Lan Wu would become empress in the future, no one expected it to happen so soon.
After all, Lan Wu had only been a Noble Consort for three months, and moreover, she had only been a Palace Consort for a year. Now, she had just returned to the palace from Changyong Mountain, and on only the second day, His Majesty was already eager to establish an Empress.
Life is truly unpredictable.
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