Chapter 369 - Reality Calls

By the time Lei Xing resurfaced again, a few hours had passed. Xiao Ting looked up from her embroidery to see Lei Xing, fully dressed, coming towards the pavilion with the Emperor in tow. Lei Xing seemed to be pouting while the Emperor, was seemingly coaxing her saying some words with a doting smile on his face.

Xiao Ting blinkingly stared at them as they came closer, Xiao Ruo even had to remind her to stand up to greet. Xiao Ting quickly stopped staring and shot to her feet, "G-greetings to the Emperor...jiejie..." She hesitantly added, keeping her head lowered, not quite sure if the Emperor would be alright with her not greeting Lei Xing.

After being ignored earlier, she was making sure to be very careful this time. She would have already gone home but she could not leave without permission from either Lei Xing or the Emperor, so she was stuck. She had even refused to go back inside to her guest room for fear of running into the Emperor again, but then he still ended up coming here himself. It seems some things cannot be avoided. 

"Be at ease." The Emperor calmly said and then asked, "How are you feeling?" When Xiao Ting did not respond, the Emperor called, "Xiao Ting?"

"Huh?!" Xiao Ting went as her head shot up, and she stared at the Emperor in wide-eyed shock. The Emperor smirked, "Your sister and brother call you Xiao Ting, so I automatically did the same. It would be odd to address you as anything else."

"O-oh." Xiao Ting awkwardly responded with a nod. This was confusing. The Emperor was actually talking to her, so casually too. Before he had not even bothered to acknowledge her presence, was it because Lei Xing was here that he was suddenly being nice? Xiao Ting felt even more nervous. 

"So?" The Emperor went again, and it took Xiao Ting a few seconds to register that he was waiting for an answer to his question. She quickly bowed and responded, "My health is fine. T-thank you for the concern."

The Emperor nodded, "That is good. Be careful not to overindulge in alcohol like this again. It is bad for your health."

"I-I will keep it in mind. I thank Your majesty for your concern." Xiao Ting repeated, bowing even lower as cold sweat started to drip down her back. This was uncomfortable, she wants to go home!

"Be at ease, you are family, so there is no need to be so formal." The Emperor said, and even Lei Xing gave him a dubious look.

{...What are you suddenly being so nice for?...}

The Emperor smiled at Lei Xing and continued, "Since you're already here, you should stay a few more days to keep the Empress company -"

"Huh?!" Both sisters went in surprise. Xiao Ting quickly reigned in herself and lowered her head, while Lei Xing frowned and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Your mood hasn't been too good recently, and I saw yesterday that the presence of your sister greatly lifted your spirits. So I think it will be good to let her stay for a few more days, or you don't think so?" The Emperor cluelessly asked. She had been so eager to be with Xiao Ting last night, and even today, she wanted to run to find her as soon as possible, so naturally, he thought that this would be a welcome surprise for her.

Lei Xing looked at Xiao Ting, who was staring at her with wide eyes, like a doe in headlights, and she did not have the heart to refuse her. So Lei Xing sighed, "Of course, it will be good." She said, plastering on a smile while sending daggers into the Emperor with her eyes. 

{...Tactless (≖_≖ )... I guess she has her uses too...}

The Emperor smiled and turned to Xiao Ting, who quickly lowered her head. "I will inform your father." The Emperor calmly said and then sternly added, "No alcohol." and Xiao Ting fervently nodded. 

Satisfied, the Emperor turned to Lei Xing, lightly pat her head, "I'll see you later." He softly said with a smile and then turned and left. 

Xiao Ting stared after him, and once he was gone from view, she turned her astonished gaze to Lei Xing, "Jiejie -"

"You don't say anything!" Lei Xing swiftly warned with a glare and walked over, "Xiao Ruo, I'm hungry, food." She ordered as she plopped down on a seat. Xiao Ruo bowed and quickly went off to see to the arrangements, leaving the two sisters alone.

"Jie -"

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" Lei Xing interjected again with a glare and Xiao Ting closed her mouth and bit on her lower lip, looking at Lei Xing with a red face, watery eyes, and an extremely wronged expression. Lei Xing uncomfortably twisted in her seat and faced away from Xiao Ting  as her own face started to heat up. 

{... Ahhhh, who do I kill in this case? („ಡωಡ„)...}

****

Princess Nalan skeptically followed the guards through the dark corridors of the prison. After her rude dismissal earlier, she had not expected that the Long Emperor would actually allow her to meet Prince Yi, not so quickly anyway. But to her surprise, the Long Emperor randomly grew a heart in a few hours and decided to be reasonable. 

They turned the corner, and she saw him, sitting on the bed with his eyes closed. "Shan!" Princess Nalan exclaimed as her eyes lit up. She immediately rushed to him but was impeded by the bars. She frowned and turned to the guards and the eunuch behind her, "Open the door!"

"The Emperor has given you fifteen minutes. It is best not to waste it." The eunuch advised with a curt bow and turned to leave, only for Princess Nalan to grab his collar and drag him back, "Are you deaf? I said, open the door!" She ordered, pushing him against the bar. 

The guards put their hands on their swords, ready to draw and Princess Nalan stared down. 

The Eunuch panicked a little and tried to mediate, "Princess, we cannot release him just because you say so. You are already wasting your little time with t-"

Princess Nalan frowned, "That's not your concern! I said o-"

"Nalan, that's enough." Prince Yi's calm voice interrupted. Princess Nalan turned to see that he had stood up from the bed and was approaching the bars. She turned back to the guards and frowned, "But -"

"They won't release me just because you say so, not even if you kill them." Prince Yi calmly enlightened as he stopped in front of the bars. 

Princess Nalan let out an irritated breath and shoved the eunuch into the guards. Then she turned back to the cell with a small smile as she reached through the bars to touch Prince Yi's arm, "How are you?" Seeing him now, she felt more reassured. He still looked healthy and handsome even in prison. 

"I am alright." Prince Yi responded with a slight smile, and then his eyes slanted to the eunuch and the guards who were still standing there. The Eunuch pursed his lips, but he bowed and withdrew with the guards. 

"How are things? Have you heard back from your family?" Prince Yi asked and then frowned at the anxiousness in his voice. Doing this, he remembered how he should behave and quickly took her hand and asked, "Forget those, how are you doing?" 

Princess Nalan smiled, "I'm alright. It's a bit tense, but it's nothing." She said, squeezing his hand reassuringly. 

Prince Yi smiled in response and then went back to the important questions, "Have you heard back from your family?"

Princess Nalan let out an irritated breath, "No, but your Emporer has...my grandfather is coming here..." 

"Really?" Prince Yi went, his face somewhat lighting up. 

"En, apparently there's been a bit of an uproar back home because of this, but it's nothing serious." Princess Nalan lied, but Prince Yi was definitely very interested in this trouble and pressed, "What trouble? Tell me."

Princess Nalan sighed and then told him about her earlier conversation with the Emperor.

Instead of sympathizing with her, Prince Yi began chuckling, earning a glare from Princess Nalan. She pulled her hand out his and folded her arms, "I am telling you of the greatest humiliation of my life and you are laughing?" She asked with a frown.

Prince Yi stopped, but his face still held a smile as he reached out and retook her hand, "Relax, he won't do anything to you. My brother is all talk. He never makes the first move, so long as you don't provoke him, he won't touch you. As for the war… You just need to explain the situation clearly. You can talk to your grandfather once he arrives and everything will be alright."

Princess Nalan nodded in agreement, then she knit her brows, "You just said your brother doesn't act unless provoked, so did you provoke him then? Were you really raising a private army?" Princess Nalan carefully asked. She had defended him before the Emperor earlier, but she could deny her own doubts. While she can justify his role in the Crown prince's rebellion of the past, it was hard to justify him secretly raising private troops.

Prince Yi froze, "Army?"

Princess Nalan nodded, "I heard that the Emperor found your secret army, and that they even surrendered without a fight. They are currently being transported to the capital for questioning, the news is all over the place."

Prince Yi then took a deep breath to calm himself. After all, nothing was confirmed. Even without him being there, he had put in place various warning outposts along the way to the valley. An invasion would have been noticed long before they neared the valley. In all likelihood, the Emperor may have truly found the valley but the majority of the troops would have vacated before his men arrived. Therefore what the Emperor's men were faced with was likely only a sacrificial troop, a diversion to buy time for the others. 

Moreover, Princess Nalan was not even a reliable source of information anyway. Worrying prem.a.t.u.r.ely was stupid, he was certain he would soon receive the full report from Tian Ji - he was just taking his time, being careful not to alert the Emperor. Besides, the captured men will never reach the capital alive. His men were well trained or better said, they knew what was at stake. They would die before they implicated him. He was still safe.

While Prince Yi was processing this shocking information, he had forgotten that Princess Nalan was right in front of him, watching him intently. When Lei Xing told her that Prince Yi had greater aspirations, she did not want to believe it. But looking at him now, this expression on his face was unfamiliar and another nagging question surfaced in her mind, 'why else would a prince be raising an army in secret?' 

"Is true then?" She still had to ask, "Were you really planning to rebel then?" She asked with a scowl. 

Prince Yi blinked out of his thoughts and stared at her for a moment, he had made a mistake. But it was not fatal. He lowered his head and c.a.r.e.s.sed her hand and in a weary voice, he said, "Anything I did, I did to protect myself. I had no choice. I have always been on my own with no support, no family. You've seen how my brother is... If I don't look after myself, who will?" He looked up at her with a conflicted expression and added, "Growing up in a royal household, you should be able to understand. If you can't then -" He paused, looking pained as he let go of her hand.

"No!" Princess Nalan exclaimed as she grabbed his hand with both her hands, "I understand." She said with a resolute nod, looking at him with pity in her eyes, "You have me now. You have my support, and with that comes the support of Zou." 

Prince Yi did not like the look of pity but he s.u.c.k.e.d it up and plastered on a small smile and nodded, "Thank you… I'm sorry I cannot look after you now... and I don't know about the future either -" He sighed, "No matter what happens, you have to make sure to look after yourself and our child." He finished with a worried and anxious expression, putting his other hand over her hands.

Princess Nalan smiled and then pouted, "If not for Lei Xing interrupting back then, I would have alre- " Speaking about Lei Xing reminded her of the important matter. She glanced up and down the hallway, then she leaned in closer and whispered, "Don't worry, while might be a difficult person to handle, Lei Xing is relatively easy, I managed to persuade her to intercede on your behalf -"

"She really will?" Prince Yi interjected, eyes widening in surprise.

Princess Nalan thought but she eagerly nodded, "She sounded confident, but we can't really trust her. Just because she tells the Emperor not to do something, doesn't mean he won't. With things like this, it's good my grandfather is coming, no one will able to bully us when he's here!" She reassuringly said, even though she did not quite believe her own words. 

Her conversation today had dimmed the hope she had in Lei Xing's words. After all, it was not as if Lei Xing would truly fight the Emperor on Prince Yi's account. As for her grandfather, for him to actually journey here himself signaled that he was very angry. He was the only one she was not confident in swaying to her whims, the only one she was scared of. But hope was necessary for survival, so she needed to give Prince Yi hope. 

Prince Yi lowered his head as his lips curled in a smile, his mind elsewhere. He was suddenly feeling a bit better about his current predicament. He did not quite believe it when Zhao Chang had told him about what Lei Xing said, but hearing it from Princess Nalan was different. He did not expect that Lei Xing would actually stand against the Emperor because of him. It was definitely welcome, if not great news. Just thinking about the Emperor's heartbroken expression warmed his heart and he could not help smiling. 

Princess Nalan saw that he looked happy and felt more confident as she continued, "Nothing will happen to you for sure. You will only have to suffer here for a few days. After the banishment then we -"

"Banishment?" Prince Yi asked his body went rigid, "What do you mean banishment?" He asked, now glaring at her. Whatever warmth his heart just felt had frozen over in an instant.