Chapter 88 Small Hall
A dish of venison was served on the dinner table. Lan Wu rarely ate venison, and the imperial kitchen had prepared it very cleanly. She found it tasted good and ate more of it.
Just because venison is good for your health, Lan Wu inexplicably felt hot all over.
Hearing Chu Mingheng explain the reason, she frowned and stared at him: "Why didn't you stop me?"
I used to scold her for eating shrimp and crab, but now that she's eaten so much venison, I don't stop her anymore.
Chu Mingheng smiled casually: "I'm just giving you food, why are you stopping me?"
"Come here, let me show you your paintings."
Lan Wu hesitated for a moment, then followed him.
After circling around from the front hall of Taichen Palace to the back hall, the side door of the back hall opens to reveal a separate room. The room is not small, but it is empty except for a few paintings hanging on the walls.
Lan Wu had sharp eyes and immediately noticed that all the paintings were her own. The first one, a grapevine painting, was hanging in the center of the hall, with fine gold-threaded cloth hanging from the beams wrapped around the sides of the frame, suspending the painting in mid-air.
She stared blankly, her feet stiff, unable to move forward.
Chu Mingheng put his arm around her and led her inside, closing the palace door as he chuckled and talked about the paintings and even the ruined embroidery.
"Look, I've taken good care of all your things; I haven't thrown them away or wasted them."
Lan Wu came to her senses and looked at Chu Mingheng with some confusion. Then she muttered softly, "My paintings are not good. Why do you put them up in Taichen Palace in such a grand manner? It makes people laugh."
If others carefully display their collected paintings, they are masterpieces by famous artists. Yet Chu Mingheng treasures her hastily painted work and displays it in Taichen Palace. Isn't that just making her a laughing stock?
Chu Mingheng, however, was completely oblivious. He pulled the reluctant Lan Wu inside, saying in a low voice, "Anyone who dares to laugh at us would be courting death."
"From now on, I will keep all your paintings and embroidery here, is that alright?"
He asked Lan Wu if it was okay, but it was as if he had already made up his mind.
Lan Wu was so anxious she wanted to stomp her feet. Her face turned red, and she felt even more that her drawing was ugly. Her eyes darted around and she saw that the painting from yesterday had been hung on the left wall.
"Stop looking, you're still looking—" Lan Wu tiptoed and reached out to cover his eyes, not letting him see, feeling extremely ashamed.
Chu Mingheng looked completely at ease and simply picked Lan Wu up.
"Why can't I look at it? I like all the paintings you made. If I like them, I will naturally put them away. I won't allow others to see them."
"This painting isn't anything indecent, yet you're blocking my view; I can't see it at all."
As he spoke, he lightly stepped over the painting in the middle and went around to the back. The screen behind was very tall, comparable to a large door, which needed to be pushed open by someone to enter. Behind the screen was a large, soft couch, which was against the wall and covered on three sides by gauze curtains, making it completely airtight. Only the screen itself was decorated with embroidered scenes of the four seasons on mother-of-pearl inlaid ebony.
It wasn't until she was gently placed on the soft couch that Lan Wu realized something was wrong with the place.
When they arrived, the palace servants were serving outside the hall. After entering the hall, they went through a side door. Although there were windows on the wall outside the screen that let in light, the windows were very high, unlike usual. Inside the screen, there were no windows, not even doors. The tall screen blocked their way, making the space feel dark and suffocating.
Lan Wu almost jumped up, anxiously grabbing Chu Mingheng's arm and telling him she had to go back.
Chu Mingheng gave a faint "hmm" and asked in return, "Go back where?"
As he spoke, he reached out and untied Lan Wu's hair.
Lan Wu felt her legs go weak and her calves started to tremble. She murmured, "Let's go back to Yilan Palace, Your Majesty. It's getting late."
"Why?" Chu Mingheng reached out and pinched her thigh. "Is there something wrong with this?"
"It's just me and Awu here. No matter how Awu calls, no one will hear her."
Lan Wu was already hot, and now her face flushed even more from his words. She slapped his hand away and pretended to be fierce: "Who's going to yell? If you want to yell, yell yourself!"
"I want to go back to Yilan Palace..."
As she spoke, she turned over to get off the bed.
Chu Mingheng's eyes darkened slightly. As she turned over, he reached out and pressed down on her lower back, firmly pinning her to the bed.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty... Oh no, don't take off my clothes... You can't take off my pants... You'll tear them!"
The hibiscus-scented tent is warm.
Just as Chu Mingheng said, no sound could be heard from outside the room, and there were no windows behind the screen, so Lan Wu didn't even know what time it was.
All she knew was that Chu Mingheng was really too fierce. Halfway through, she climbed to the screen to run away, but the screen wouldn't open no matter what she did. Instead of escaping, Chu Mingheng caught her and tied her to the bed.
She was the one who ate the venison, so why is Chu Mingheng using all his brute force on her?
She fainted and then woke up, her wrists still wrapped with a belt tied behind Chu Mingheng's neck, and he was holding her in his arms.
Her eyes reddened, and she bit his shoulder.
"No, it hurts..." Chu Mingheng finally managed to say this, as if he had suddenly woken up. He gently stroked her back, unlike his previous fierceness, and coaxed her to sleep with gentle words.
The moon hangs high in the sky, and the surroundings are cold and desolate.
Inside the screen, only a languid, lustful atmosphere could be smelled.
Chu Mingheng finally carried Lan Wu out of the small hall and took her to the main hall. He carefully cleaned her up, applied medicine to her, and gently pushed her into bed to sleep peacefully.
He changed his clothes and went straight out of the main hall.
Where are they?
Chen Kang'an bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, Lady Zeng is currently in the Cold Palace."
"Okay, let's go."
The imperial carriage traveled along the palace road, with high red walls on both sides casting shadows under the palace lanterns.
As you step over the threshold and venture deeper into the area, the eerie atmosphere becomes increasingly pronounced.
A red door was locked. After the palace servants opened it, there was another long corridor inside.
The imperial carriage stopped in front of a large gate inside the passageway.
The wooden door was slightly dilapidated. The guards on both sides knelt down to pay their respects and then silently opened the door.
The Cold Palace was desolate everywhere, and now only Lady Zeng remained in this vast palace.
Hearing the commotion, she went out of the palace gate and was slightly taken aback when she saw who it was. She then knelt down to pay her respects.
Chu Mingheng glanced at her feigned composure and coldly ignored her.
"Is Your Majesty here to kill me?" Zeng asked.
Chu Mingheng frowned slightly.
Luo Yun stepped forward and slapped her: "You should refer to yourself as a servant."
The rules have been broken.
In the past, Consort Rou was so powerful and had never been slapped. She was proud of her noble birth, but now she was just a servant.
She was intelligent enough to guess that her current predicament was due to the interference of the emperor before her.
Thinking of all this, Zeng looked up at him again, feigning remorse, trying to evoke pity from the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I confess my guilt. I beg Your Majesty to spare my life, considering the years I have served you..."
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