Chapter 154 Let Me Think About It
Master Huifan was referring to three months, not three or thirty years.
Lan Wu felt there was nothing she couldn't accept, but to get Chu Mingheng to agree, she had to make him understand the seriousness of the matter and tell him some things he couldn't accept.
Sure enough, upon hearing her words, Chu Mingheng's expression became extremely frightening. He couldn't help but hug the body in his arms tighter, but still couldn't agree.
“After the emperor dies, concubines without children are buried alive with him. If you are gone, leaving me alone, I might not even die peacefully—” Lan Wu told him these conjectures in a heavy tone, which were also a possibility for the future. Every word was like a knife to the heart, making him turn pale.
"Stop talking!" Chu Mingheng interrupted her.
Lan Wu persisted: "Then let's just die together, since you never really wanted to live a good life anyway."
"I said stop—!" Chu Mingheng covered her incessant mouth, his hands trembling with anger. Looking down, he saw that Lan Wu was already crying with tears streaming down her face. His hand covered half of her face, getting wet with her tears.
He softened his tone, reached for a handkerchief, and hurriedly took it to wipe Lan Wu's tears: "I didn't say I was going to die. Whoever is going to die, we all have to live well. Of course, I will stay with A-Wu."
"I'll take you to see the flowers in spring, to sit under the trees in summer, to fly kites in autumn, and to admire the snow in winter. I'll be with you in all four seasons, how could I leave you alone?"
"Okay, okay, stop crying."
The more he said that, the sadder Lan Wu felt. She couldn't hold back her tears and buried her head in her hands, crying so hard that she couldn't help but sob. It was clear that she was really in pain.
Chu Mingheng tried to comfort her anxiously, his handkerchief getting wet from crying. He then hugged Lan Wu and let her have a good cry.
Lan Wu kept everything to herself, regarding the strange and unusual matter of her past and present lives as her biggest secret. Now, she faced another problem that she couldn't solve.
Although crying won't solve the problem, it will help Chu Mingheng.
After Lan Wu finished crying and the hall quieted down, Chu Mingheng continued to gently pat her back, lifted her reddened face, and simply used his own nightgown to gently wipe it clean.
Anyway, her pajamas were already soaked from crying, so there was no point in being picky.
"Awu, it's not that I don't agree, it's that I don't trust others." Chu Mingheng gently rubbed the corner of Lanwu's eye with his fingertip and told her, "You will be away from me for three months. What should I do if something happens in the middle of that time?"
"Look, I've already gambled once and ended up like this. How could I dare to let you leave my side again?"
After saying these words, Chu Mingheng seemed to have thought about something, or perhaps he hadn't considered anything at all. He composed himself, got out of bed, and changed his clothes.
"Awu, let me think about it. I'll go and call someone in to help you with your toilette."
Lan Wu lay on the bed, staring blankly at his back. The palace lanterns outside the window had already been hung, and night was approaching.
As Chu Mingheng left Yilan Palace and was about to board the imperial carriage, everything suddenly went black. He grabbed the wooden frame to support himself.
Seeing this, Chen Kang'an rushed forward to help him up, anxiously calling out "Your Majesty!"
"Shut up." Chu Mingheng paused for a moment, then felt a sharp, stabbing pain in the vein on his forehead, as if it were about to snap.
It took a while for the condition to subside.
Chu Mingheng opened his eyes, looked at his palm with an ambiguous expression, then closed them again. He boarded the imperial carriage and said in a deep voice, "Go to the imperial prison. What just happened must not be told to anyone. Anyone who speaks out will lose their tongue."
A chorus of responses erupted around them.
The imperial carriage headed towards the imperial prison.
Inside Yilan Palace, palace maids entered to help Lanwu get up and wash. Upon entering, they were shocked to see the tear stains on her face.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Your eyes are all swollen." Danshan called for hot water to be brought in. When she saw the woman's face, she became wary. She also thought about the expression on His Majesty's face when he left earlier. She wondered if His Majesty had done something to her.
Although they could faintly hear the Empress crying in the palace in the afternoon, no message was relayed from inside, so they could only wait outside. They also thought that His Majesty had always been very fond of the Empress and would not punish her. Besides, what bad things could the Empress possibly do?
Lan Wu reached out and gently picked up a handkerchief soaked in hot water to wipe her face. When Dan Shan asked, she simply said in a soft voice that it was nothing.
After washing her face, Lan Wu looked more refreshed. After getting dressed, she asked where Chu Mingheng was.
"His Majesty has just left. Does Your Highness wish to see His Majesty?"
They went out?
Lan Wu glanced at the sky, wondering where Chu Mingheng had gone. She then recalled his words, which made sense, but the matter couldn't be left unresolved.
He said he needed to think it over carefully; hopefully, he really will.
"Your Majesty, in a couple of days, female officials will come to teach you the etiquette for the investiture ceremony. Your Majesty need not worry or be afraid. These etiquettes are not difficult to learn, and the female officials will not dare to make things difficult for you." Danshan poured her a cup of warm water and said with a light smile, "I wonder if the Ministry of Rites has chosen the date for the investiture ceremony yet. They should send someone to inform Your Majesty in the next few days."
Lan Wu was taken aback when she heard this. Although she knew that being conferred the title of Imperial Concubine was not as simple as issuing an imperial edict, she had never been an Imperial Concubine before, nor had she ever seen anyone else do it. When Dan Shan said that the Ministry of Rites would have to choose a date for the investiture ceremony, she felt a headache coming on.
These are not the most important things right now.
She will be away at Changyong Mountain for three months. Perhaps the investiture ceremony can be held when she returns, or everything can be kept simple. She needs to persuade Chu Mingheng in the next few days.
Thinking of Chu Mingheng, Lan Wu felt a surge of worry again; neither of the two Chu Minghengs would be easy to deal with.
She can't just sprout wings and fly to Changyong Mountain by herself.
Lan Wu held the cup, her eyes lowered as she quietly gazed at the glass vase on the table. As evening fell, the candlelight in the hall shone through the vase, casting beams of light that resembled flowing silver, a truly beautiful sight.
“Aunt, you’ve seen His Majesty as a child.” Lan Wu gently ran her hand across the reflection in the vase, sighed, and said, “Was he this stubborn even when he was young?”
Upon hearing this, Danshan assumed that the two had just had a minor disagreement. Lanwu could say such things, but she found it difficult to say them aloud.
But with the intention of reconciling the two, she straightened her expression and replied, "When Your Majesty was young, he was by the side of Empress Dowager Jingwen. He was always quiet and intelligent. Even the Grand Tutor said that Your Majesty had a plan in mind at such a young age."
Such a crown prince is naturally the popular choice.
"Once His Majesty has made up his mind about a principle, not even ten oxen could change it. Sometimes when His Majesty can't argue with him, he will just stay silent. It's both frustrating and funny. I don't know where he comes up with all these principles."
"Although Her Majesty is rarely happy, when His Majesty was young, Kunning Palace was often in chaos. His Majesty always managed to do things that were unexpected, but in the end, he could explain them in a way that no one could argue with."
As if remembering something, Danshan's tone was quite nostalgic.
Lan Wu also learned from her about a different Chu Mingheng, a Chu Mingheng who lacked imperial authority and was full of childishness.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com