Chapter 353 - Drunken Consequences

Lei Xing, whom the Empress dowager was gunning for, was not in a good mood and most especially not in the mood for people or their problems. The Empress dowager was also the farthest thing from her mind. She was tired, irritated, and in pain which was making her more tired and irritated. 

The Imperial physician knit his brows and swayed his head side to side in thought, further irritating Lei Xing and so she took a deep breath, "Tell me... If my foot hurts, would you be able to tell that from my pulse?" 

"That..." The Imperial physician awkwardly said, not sure how to respond but he got her message and immediately removed his hand from her wrist and bowed, "If Your majesty's foot is the source of the pain perha-"

"It's not." Lei Xing flatly interjected. 

The Imperial physician lightly cleared his throat and then said, "Y-your majesty, if you would tell me where the pain is, I will be able to administer treatment."

Lei Xing let out an irritated breath and glared at Xiao Ruo who awkwardly smiled and guiltily said, "... Your majesty, it's better for you to get checked by a physician... you can't just take random medication..." She mumbled that last bit, lowering her head. 

Lei Xing had seemed unwell all day and seemed to be having difficulty. After Xiao Ruo had asked for the nth time if she was alright, Lei Xing finally asked her to get her pain medication. But, well, Xiao Ruo thought it would be best to bring a physician instead and so, she brought one to Lei Xing's current annoyance. 

Lei Xing turned her irritated eyes on the Imperial physician and let out a breath and responded, "My body is hurting, below the neck to above the knees. Everything in-between hurts..." She coyly said, narrowing her eyes at him in annoyance. She did not want to be explaining this right now. 

"Your majesty -!" Xiao Ruo exclaimed.

"What? I'm answering seriously." Lei Xing indignantly said with raised eyebrows. Xiao Ruo looked at her with an aggrieved expression and Lei Xing glared at her. 

The Imperial physician lightly cleared his throat again and shifted, trying not to seem affected. Despite his face turning red, he tried to seriously continue, "Ahh...ahh... where exactly - um... how did this pain, um... how long - when did it - how -"

"That's enough. Can't you just get me painkillers and leave me alone?" Lei Xing finally went, out of patience. 

{... And what the hell are you blushing for? Be professional! -_-)'...}

The Imperial physician bowed again and seemed to be fidgeting thinking of how best to answer her question. Lei Xing glanced at the ceiling with exasperation and then massaged her aching head as she said, "That was an order, not a question. Go. Just get me pain medication, a strong one, please." 

"I will get it done immediately..." The Imperial physician quickly responded, then he scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the room. As the doors closed behind him, Lei Xing turned to Xiao Ruo and scolded, "And you, next time I tell you to get me something, just do it. I know exactly what's wrong with me which is why I asked for painkillers. If I needed a doctor, I would have said so."

"I was just worried..." Xiao Ruo mumbled, lowering her head apologetically. She then looked up at Lei Xing with teary eyes, "I'm sorry. It's just that if something were to happen to you -"

"... And I understand that, but please don't add to my stress. Get up." Lei Xing said, leaning back in her lounge chair with a weary sigh.

Xiao Ruo bit her lip and scurried over to Lei Xing, silently refilling her teacup and holding it out to her, Lei Xing silently took the cup and sipped a bit, then she paused and asked, "By the way, where is Ah Jin? I haven't seen her all day..." 

"Ah, I'm not sure... I checked her room earlier but she's not there. I can have someone go look for her -"

"No, it's alright..." Lei Xing said, handing the cup back to Xiao Ruo, and then she proceeded to lightly massage her aching left shoulder with a frown. Xiao Ruo quickly dropped the cup and took over that task from Lei Xing, shortly after Lei Xing flinched and scolded, "Gently, gently." Xiao Ruo quickly adjusted the intensity and Lei Xing closed her eyes and seemed to relax a bit. 

After a short while, Xiao Rio could not help her curiosity and tentatively asked, "Your majesty... What happened? Did you fall?"

"How does one fall in their sleep?" Lei Xing offhandedly responded.

Xiao Ruo was already used to Lei Xing's sarcasm so she understood that was not a serious response. She knit her brows in thought and then went, "Then why are you in pain like this? It's not normal -"

"Let's just say I fell... Be quiet, I'm tired." Lei Xing dismissively said. This was the reason she preferred Ah Jin for no-hassle tasks. Xiao Ruo asked too many questions. 

Xiao Ruo pouted and remained silent, carefully kneading Lei Xing's shoulder. Lei Xing inwardly sighed, it was not that she was trying to mean or anything. It was just that she could not exactly explain to anyone how she got into her current condition. The causal event was a bit of an embarrassing mishap between herself and the Emperor. 

They talked about light matters of no consequence, anything but palace matters and responsibility. Then after getting almost blind drunk, at least on her part, they ventured to bed very...excitedly for other interesting affairs.

It was fun and games until, to Lei Xing's current misfortune, she woke up to find that the Emperor passed out squarely on top of her with his head nestled in her hair. She blacked out immediately after they were done with... and it seems he did as well.

Lei Xing naturally panicked and tried to wake him up but the idiot was not responding. Since her body had gone numb, it took a while of struggling and wriggling to painstakingly rid herself of the dead weight. 

What was even more grating was that the rogue did not even flinch when he was shoved and prodded, but as soon as she was free, he frowned and started feeling around the bed for her. Lei Xing had glared at him and threw a pillow at his face. But instead of waking up, he simply grabbed the pillow, rolled to his side, and snuggled it with a stupid smile that made Lei Xing want to kick him. 

But she was too tired at the time and simply plopped down and went to sleep. He was very lucky that he was not available when she later woke up otherwise she really would have kicked him. She was aching all over and the hangover did not help either. Given how sore she feels, he had to have been like that for a few hours.

They both drank too much... way too much. 

Lei Xing massaged her temple and sighed, "Nevermind...I'm going to lie down. Let me know when the medicine arrives." 

Xiao Ruo nodded and then stood up and held out a hand to help Lei Xing up. But before Lei Xing could stand up, the doors opened and Ah Jin came in with Ling mama. 

"She says she has a message from the Empress dowager..." Ah Jin supplied after bowing. 

Lei Xing closed her eyes and held her head as she asked, "What do you want?" She said under her breath with a sigh. 

Ling mama plastered a smile on her face and stepped forward and bowed, "The Empress dowager woke up in great spirits today and remembered that she has not been able to receive you since your coronation. So to quickly undo this great injustice, the Empress dowager is requesting to see her daughter-in-law, so she can officially welcome her into the family..." Ling mama finished and froze, waiting for a response. 

Those were not the Empress dowager's words, but they made sense, they made a lot of sense. Ling mama had thought long and hard about how to persuade the Empress and this was the most perfect reason she could come up with. With this, the Empress could see reason and follow along. But after a while of not hearing a response, she glanced up to find Lei Xing staring at her with a raised eyebrow. 

Ling mama bowed again with a smile, "Your majesty... we should make haste. The Empress dowager is waiti -"

Ling mama stopped when Lei Xing suddenly burst into laughter, before quickly holding her stomach and lightly groaning in pain, "I'm sorry, what did you just say? Who wants to welcome me?" Lei Xing asked, looking quite confused and amused. 

{... What is this? Did that woman hit her head and suddenly forget who she is?... Want to welcome me? Like hell you do (≖_≖ )...}

Seeing Lei Xing's somewhat amused expression, Ling mama inwardly sighed in relief, "The Empress dowager is requesting to see Your majesty to officially welcome her daughter-in-law...." She repeated. It was a lie, but certainly, the Empress dowager knew better than to upset Lei Xing as things stood right now. 

While Ling mama was not sure what the Empress dowager wanted with Lei Xing, based on the Empress dowager's conversation with Monk Du earlier, the Empress dowager did not want to leave the palace. It was also no secret that the Xia palace was being prepared for the Empress dowager and from what Ling mama has seen during her time at the Empress dowager's side, she was not happy about moving back to her childhood home.

All these things led Ling mama to conclude that whatever the Empress dowager wanted with Lei Xing, it must be related to that. Therefore, this could not go wrong.