Is Chapter 26 a dream?
Lan Wu was stunned by his gaze, and soon recalled the horror and helplessness of the dream.
She grabbed Chu Mingheng's clothes and said, half-jokingly, "I dreamt that it rained for a long time, and Your Majesty was not in the palace."
"Consort Shu brought people to find me, saying that I am a seductive temptress who has brought ruin to the country, and that she wants to strangle me!"
"Your Majesty, the white silk is so long and thin, yet it is incredibly strong when stretched together. My neck is being bound, and I can't utter a single word."
Lan Wu's voice trembled as she spoke these words, revealing her deep fear.
Chu Mingheng let her hold him tightly, and upon hearing her words, he softly said, "Nonsense."
What nonsense! That's clearly the truth!
Lan Wu herself had died once, and Chu Mingheng knew nothing about it yet still argued with her.
But she couldn't say that she was really dead.
“I told you it was a dream…” she said awkwardly.
Chu Mingheng glanced at her: "How could I not be in the palace? The concubines in the harem cannot be strangled at will."
Since there is no Empress Dowager or Empress in the palace, Consort Shu and Consort Rou have even less power to arbitrarily kill concubines.
But she really died in her previous life.
"If... I mean, if." A thought popped into Lan Wu's mind, and she asked Chu Mingheng with a blank expression, "If they really wanted to strangle me, what would give them the confidence to do so while His Majesty was not in the palace?"
This is a strange question; it sounds as if Lan Wu really has this concern.
Chu Mingheng pulled her arm away and put her back in bed. He leaned down and said casually, "In this palace, nothing can surpass my authority."
Nothing can surpass the power of an emperor.
Chu Mingheng's words were telling Lan Wu that since they dared to attack her, it must have been at Chu Mingheng's behest.
The moment Lan Wu understood, she froze, a chill suddenly creeping into her heart.
She didn't even dare to look at Chu Mingheng's face, as if she were standing on a thin rope on a cliff, with the cold wind mercilessly hitting her body, threatening to throw her off.
She had always believed that she was murdered by the concubines in the harem, but she never imagined that the final white silk ribbon would be at Chu Mingheng's behest.
How could it be Chu Mingheng?
It can't be Chu Mingheng.
A hand pinched her chin, lifting her limp face. The instant her eyes met those dark, deep eyes, Lan Wu really wanted to poke his eyes out with a hairpin.
"What are you thinking?" Chu Mingheng's voice drifted over, like snow melting in a cold stream, silently spreading through the surroundings. "Are you thinking that I will kill you?"
When he asked that question with a blank expression, he had already decided how to teach this audacious and delusional woman a lesson.
Ke Lanwu had just finished crying and was looking at him with red eyes, her pupils filled with disbelief and deep sorrow and despair, as if he had really ordered Lanwu to be killed.
Chu Mingheng gently shook Lan Wu's face and said irritably, "If I want to kill someone, it doesn't have to be so complicated."
Lan Wu blinked, her eyelashes drooping timidly. She bit her lip and whispered, "If it wasn't His Majesty's order, then how could it be..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lan Wu thought of another possibility.
"A false imperial edict!?" she exclaimed in astonishment, her pitiful and weak expression crumbling.
is that so?
If they find a scapegoat to falsely convey the imperial edict, they will have no more scruples and can kill her without consequence. Even if they are discovered later, they won't suffer a terrible fate. They can shift all the blame onto the person who falsely conveyed the edict, and it's unlikely that His Majesty would kill everyone for her sake.
But if it's a forged imperial edict, then the person in front of the emperor should be well-known, otherwise this "edict" would be useless—who could it be? Is there such a person in front of the emperor?
Lan Wu came up with this reason she had never considered before, and her brows furrowed even more. But she had no time to think about it now and could only put her thoughts aside for the time being.
Outside the palace, palace servants brought over a calming soup given by the imperial physician.
Lan Wu hated taking medicine. This calming soup was no different from the medicines given by the Imperial Hospital. The dark brown soup had a bitter taste, and as soon as it was brought into the room, the whole room was filled with this smell.
"Your Majesty, I just had a nightmare, I'm not sick, can I skip the medicine?"
Lan Wu climbed onto Chu Mingheng's arm, her eyes fixed on the ball of medicine, her resistance clearly visible.
As a result, Chu Mingheng grabbed the back of her neck and let go, and she heard his exceptionally ruthless words: "If you don't drink it, I'll force it down your throat."
Lan Wu knew that her coquettishness was useless, so she wasn't too disappointed. After being scolded by Chu Mingheng, she reached out and took the medicine bowl. While waiting for the medicine to cool, she realized that her reaction in her sleep was worrying the palace servants, so she went to the Emperor's palace to ask him to come over. And Chu Mingheng actually came over.
She showed her joy easily, and her earlier doubts and fears gradually dissipated.
Lan Wu was still drinking her medicine when she heard a palace servant outside report that Consort Fang and Consort He had come to visit her.
Hearing this, Lan Wu, who still had half of her medicine left, almost choked.
What about Consort Fang and Lady He...? I've never heard of them.
Lan Wu held the medicine bowl and stared at Chu Mingheng with her eyes wide open.
When she checked into Longyu Pavilion this morning, no one came over. Now that she knows His Majesty is in her palace, someone has come to 'visit' her. Who knows who they're visiting?
She drank the remaining half bowl of medicine in one gulp and handed the empty bowl away. Lan Wu gently wiped the medicine stains from her lips with a handkerchief and asked Lianxi to fetch some dried fruit.
Chu Mingheng sat to one side, and suddenly watched as she slowly finished eating the dried fruit, wiped her mouth and fingers, and then moved closer to him.
"Your Majesty, I don't know them, I'm scared." Lan Wu frowned, a hint of worry on her beautiful face. She leaned against Chu Mingheng, and when she turned her face towards the door, her expression changed, her eyes clearly showing disgust.
Upon hearing this, Chu Mingheng reached out and stroked her waist, gently pinching her slender waist, and said, "You need me to accompany you to see even one person? You're too timid."
Lan Wu was obviously faking it; she absolutely loathed those two unknown concubines who had come over from outside, what kind of cowardly nonsense was that?
She wanted Chu Mingheng to accompany her out, and it would be best if word got out that she was the most favored concubine. After all, she was a thorn in the side of the other concubines, so she might as well spread the rumors even more wildly and make them furious.
"Your Majesty..." Lan Wu called to him softly.
"Get up." Chu Mingheng released her and gestured for her to put on her clothes.
Lan Wu sat up slightly, gently touched Chu Mingheng's lips, and smiled: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After saying that, he quickly got out of bed and went to get dressed.
Both concubines were selected from among the imperial concubines, but unlike Consort Rong, they were not favored. After being granted their titles, they had not even seen Chu Mingheng's face many times. Knowing that Lan Wu was a dancer and was quite favored by the emperor, they came to take a look out of curiosity, hoping that the emperor would remember them while he was there.
I had already thought that Lan Wu might be difficult to deal with when I came, but I didn't expect her to be this difficult.
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