Chapter 111 Enemy
During dinner, Lan Wu wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that there was a cool, refreshing plum blossom fragrance all around her.
It's far from the time when red plum blossoms are in bloom, but she could still smell their fragrance.
It wasn't entirely the scent of plum blossoms; there was also a faint, bitter herbal fragrance.
"What are you looking at?" Chu Mingheng called out to Lan Wu, drawing her attention back to her curious gaze.
Lan Wu, who was sitting at the same table as him, raised her head slightly upon hearing this and asked, "Has Your Majesty smelled the fragrance of plum blossoms?"
"I can smell it." Chu Mingheng reached out and touched her face, frowning slightly as he spoke. "Why is your face a little red?"
Princess Yizhen, who was sitting in a nearby seat, heard their voices and said with a smile, "Your Majesty must be referring to the fragrant wood displayed in my palace."
Fragrant wood?
Lan Wu was somewhat interested. She brushed away Chu Mingheng's hand that was pressed against her and looked in the direction Princess Yizhen pointed. She saw a piece of dead wood placed on the shelf.
Even the driftwood used as a decorative piece is exceptionally elegant, with a red maple leaf branch inserted into the extra branches.
“This fragrant wood originally had no fragrance, but I have an aunt in my villa who came from the palace and is most skilled at making incense. The fragrance on this fragrant wood was also made by her.”
"However, she is a very low-key person, and has a withdrawn and aloof personality. I have repeatedly asked her to come to my princess's mansion, but she refuses. She only wants to stay in this remote villa."
"From the palace?" Before Lan Wu could say anything, Chu Mingheng called out with great interest, "Oh," and told Yi Zhen to bring the person out for a reward.
Lan Wu looked at Chu Mingheng suspiciously, sensing that something was off about him.
So what if she came from the palace? Is there anything wrong with that? She felt that Chu Mingheng seemed somewhat interested in palace maids.
"Look at your face. You haven't even had a drink, so why is your face getting hot?" Chu Mingheng flicked Lan Wu's chin and said to her irritably.
Lan Wu frowned and quickly grabbed his arm, telling him to stop. This was in public, not in his own palace, and Chu Mingheng had no idea about the occasion.
"Perhaps the charcoal fire is too close. I'll go outside for some fresh air later."
They had almost finished their dinner and figured they would be heading back to the palace soon.
Just then, a palace maid answered from outside the door, saying that Aunt Zhuqing had arrived.
"Come in."
A slender woman dressed in coarse indigo clothing walked into the hall. She kept her head down, and only a plain silver hairpin could be seen in her hair; her face was not visible.
But when this person entered the hall, Lan Wu subconsciously stared at her, feeling inexplicably that she had seen her somewhere before.
As she knelt to pay her respects, the moment she opened her mouth to speak, Lan Wu tensed up. An invisible chill swept over her from head to toe, as if sharp blades were stabbing into her body, and a fine pain began to emanate from her neck.
Zhu Qing knelt down to pay her respects, showing utmost deference and not overstepping any bounds.
Chaos broke out at this moment.
"Zhen, Consort Zhen?" Princess Yizhen was startled by her reaction and hurriedly stood up to order someone to go outside and call the imperial physician.
"Awu!" Chu Mingheng was sitting with Lan Wu, so he couldn't possibly miss her unusual reaction.
First, I noticed her body tense, like a young animal facing a predator, its life threatened, showing resistance and disgust. Then, her lips began to tremble, her face turned deathly pale, and her fingers scratched the skin on her neck with such force that it seemed she wanted to tear her flesh apart.
Chu Mingheng had no choice but to restrain her hands. Seeing that she was almost forgetting to breathe, he hurriedly shouted loudly in her ear, trying to bring her back to her senses.
In her confusion, Lan Wu saw the face below, the face that had stood at the door on a rainy night in her previous life, ordering her to be hanged.
His hair was gray, and his face looked old and weathered, but his eyes held endless indifference and malice.
She clenched her teeth, and in the instant the people below became suspicious, she abruptly turned her head away, burying her face in Chu Mingheng's arms, so that he could no longer see her.
It's better if you can't see it...
"Awu—Awu!" Chu Mingheng held her hand tightly to prevent her from scratching him, and with his free hand, he pressed firmly behind her head, doing her a favor by not letting her look at anything else.
Lan Wu's body was still trembling slightly, and it was extremely difficult for her to exhale. She looked very disheveled.
Why—why is this woman here! Why is she hiding in the princess's villa instead of in the palace—no wonder we couldn't find her in the palace, she wasn't there at all! What is her connection to Princess Yizhen?!
Upon seeing her killer again, Lan Wu's reaction was one of extreme fear—since this person was able to enter the palace in her previous life and kill her with a false imperial edict, then she was definitely not just a palace maid who had been released from the palace gates.
At this moment, she was both afraid that this person had a mastermind behind it all, worried that her reaction might have exposed something, and afraid that this person would escape!
Her head was throbbing with excruciating pain, as if her skull was being shattered, making it almost impossible for her to speak, and her face turned deathly pale.
A commotion filled her ears; she seemed to hear Chu Mingheng berating the imperial physician for not arriving soon.
She tried desperately to open her eyes, her lips moving, but she didn't know if she had said what she wanted to say. In just a moment, darkness enveloped her.
Chu Mingheng felt Lan Wu's body go limp, and when he touched her forehead, he found it covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, yet her body was burning hot.
Finally, the imperial physician arrived.
Chu Mingheng raised his eyes for a moment, and his cold, sharp eyes, gleaming with a chilling light, were scrutinizing the person below.
"Guards, take this servant away and keep her under close guard."
Even though he didn't know the reason, Lan Wu's reaction only appeared when he saw this maid. Upon closer inspection, the maid's age, figure, and even appearance matched the evil servant in Lan Wu's dream that he had mentioned before.
I've been searching for so long without finding it, but I just happened to stumble upon it here.
Even if Lan Wu hadn't said anything about this person being suspicious, Chu Mingheng wouldn't have let it go.
Not to mention now, Lan Wu has fallen ill from fright.
Zhu Qing was startled by the sudden order. She had always stayed in the princess's villa without attracting attention. Now, she had only met Chu Mingheng once and just happened to catch his favorite concubine falling ill. She did not feel that she had exposed anything. On the contrary, she felt that the emperor was being too nice to his favorite concubine.
"What did you find out by taking her pulse? There's been no progress, and you've delayed her treatment. I'll hold you accountable." Seeing that the guards below had already gagged Zhu Qing and dragged her away, Chu Mingheng lowered his head, looked coldly at the imperial physician who was still taking her pulse, and questioned him in a deep voice.
The imperial physician was startled and quickly knelt down to report, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Her Majesty has caught a cold. At this time of year, the temperature fluctuates, and it's very easy to catch a cold if one isn't careful..."
"Say one more word and I'll take your life." The voice was filled with murderous intent, clearly showing that he had little patience left.
The imperial physician quickly kowtowed: "Your humble servant will go and prepare the medicine immediately—"
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