Chapter 142 - Black Knight

Once the evening arrived, the Emperor happily made his way to the Imperial garden where they had set up a little banquet arena for him and his wives. The wives were already there and all bowed when he arrived. The Emperor took his seat and then frowned at the empty spot where Lei Xing was supposed to be. 

Chen You glanced up at the Emperor's expression then showed a small smile but quickly replaced it with a worried look as she said, "Ah jiejie isn't here yet?... I told her about it this morning..." She then glanced at the Emperor and then looked away with knit eyebrows and mumbled in a low, but clearly audible voice, "What could be more important than the Emperor? For jiejie to do this..." 

"She'll be here soon!" Li Ru suddenly chimed in and Chen You covertly glared at her, Li Ru blinked then gulped and looked up at the Emperor and continued, "She must be running late...She'll definitely be here soon...O-Of course there's nothing more important to her than Your majesty..." Li Ru awkwardly finished. The Emperor glanced at her and she looked down and pushed on, "...I prepared a song!... If Your Majesty does not mind listening. Noble consort Lei will surely arrive soon..."

An awkward silence followed then the Emperor sighed, "That's fine then..." 

Li Ru let out a sigh of relief and then went towards the stage as she hoped Lei Xing would show up soon. That afternoon, Chen You had sent a servant to inform her to prepare for this special banquet on the Empress dowager's orders. Li Ru felt it was a bit weird as it came out of nowhere but she had could not question the Empress dowager's order and so had no choice but to comply and quickly prepare something. 

It was also the same for the other wives as well. Chen You informed them of the banquet that afternoon and had apparently been put in charge of organizing it. They were all too busy putting their performances together to question anything and were happy to get a chance to shine in front of the Emperor. 

As Li Ru played she worried for Lei Xing, it seems she was not told of this event and had left the palace. She knew Lei Xing's character well enough to know that she would not treat the Emperor carelessly like this, and especially not in public even though she had his affection. Her personality was too careful for her to ignore this.

Once Li Ru was done, Chen You quickly stepped up and reassured the Emperor that Lei Xing will be arriving soon. She even informed that she had sent the servants to look for her. She then copied Li Ru's tactic and offered to dance while they wait for her "jiejie" to arrive. As she danced, she glanced at the Emperor, only for her to see him frowning down at lei Xing's seat again.

{...It's already this dark...I believe I told her to always make sure to return by sundown...}

The Emperor was clearly not interested in her dance and Chen You also lost interest in it, but continued with a pinned up smile while fuming on the inside.

***

Lei Xing was still rubbing her arm with a frown as they walked along. Prince Yi looked at her expression and then asked with a friendly smile, "Is your arm hurting?"

Lei Xing glanced up at him and his smile unnerved her so she looked away and dismissively said, "I'm fine." Her arm was hurting and mildly itchy, somewhat numb...It just felt odd, she felt odd. But it was nothing much, just mildly irritating. 

Prince Yi opened his mouth but before he could speak, Princess Nalan ran up to them and stopped in front of Lei Xing with a wide smile. Lei Xing looked at her and felt a bit apprehensive. Princess Nalan then brought out her hands from behind her back and Lei Xing immediately frowned in dismay as she looked at the dead bugs on the two sticks in front of her.

Lei Xing gulped and then looked up at Princess Nalan. Princess Nalan's smile brightened, "Isn't this great? I've been wanting to share these delicacies with you since our visit to the flower field. I can't believe we came across them here. How lucky! Go ahead, try them."

Lei Xing gaped at the bugs and gulped, as she felt her throat constrict. 

{...Is that a scorpion there? O_O)...You do know scorpions have poison, right?... What about all the insides? >_

"I can't-"

Princess Nalan narrowed her eyes at her, "What do you mean you can't? Are you looking down us Zou people who eat it? Here..." Princess Nalan then bit into the head of the beetle on a stick and Lei Xing held her neck as she watched her eat it, it took all her strength not to make a gagging face. Princess Nalan then extended the scorpion to her and said, "Hurry up!... Or you can't mean to say that you're better than this Princess, right?" She finished and then pushed the scorpion stick into Lei Xing's hand.

Lei Xing glanced behind Princess Nalan, looking for Prince Rui or Molin. Princess Nalan caught her looking and then ordered, "Hurry up! You should have finished it already."

Lei Xing glared down at the scorpion for a bit and then she frowned.

{...No. Never! You can't make me! Screw politics! I say go to war! ≧ｍ≦)...}

Lei Xing made up her mind and was going to put her foot down on this issue, but before she could open her mouth, Prince Yi took the stick from her hand and volunteered, "I'll eat it on her behalf." And then proceeded to bite into it. Lei Xing and Princess Nalan both watched him wide-eyed as he finished it in two bites. When he was done he tossed the stick on the ground and condescendingly went, "There."

Princess Nalan blinked and then knit her brows, right at that moment Prince Rui and Molin arrived. Prince Rui came up to her and scolded, "I've told you to stop running off randomly."

Princess Nalan blinked and then went "Hmph, fine." Then she turned and disappeared into the crowd and her brother, irritated quickly followed after her with Molin following behind him. Lei Xing finally blinked and then looked at Prince Yi's frowning green face and she quickly asked, "Are you okay?"

Prince Yi cleared his throat then nodded and raised his head, "I'm fine."

Lei Xing nodded. She felt a tiny urge to laugh but held it in and smiled, "Thank you."

Prince Yi glanced at her and saw her smiling, he wanted to return her smile but his stomach was turning so he simply nodded again. Lei Xing nodded back and then started walking towards the direction the others had disappeared in, with Prince Yi walking beside her. After a few steps, Prince Yi stopped and held his stomach and scowled. Lei Xing turned around and saw him like that, and went over to him and said, "You don't look okay."

{...Weak stomach? Why play hero then? -_-)...*sigh* This guy is even more confusing than his brother...No, he's confused, definitely confused. Can't even tell when he's unwell...Idiot -_-)...}

Prince Yi frowned and immediately straightened himself, "I'm fine." He did not expect his stomach to be this weak. While Lei Xing was feeling awful for wanting to laugh at the man trying to retain his brave front. She sighed and then jokingly asked, "How did it taste?"

Prince Yi immediately glared at her and she snorted then went, "That bad?... Um, how about you rest over there for a bit?"

Prince Yi frowned, "I'm fi-" He paused and thought it through, this would be a good opportunity for them to talk. She was obviously in a much better mood now. And although he did not want to look weak, one must sometimes make sacrifices. After all, he was suffering now because of her, therefore she had a duty to look after his wellbeing so he said, "Yes, that will be fine."

Lei Xing walked off then she saw Prince Yi holding his stomach and seemingly struggling and she felt a little bit bad. Although she did not ask for his help, he did still help her. So she went over and held his arm to help him to the corner. Prince Yi jumped a bit when she touched his arm and she quickly explained she was just helping him over. He did not say anything and let her help him as he kept casting glances at her face, frowning and then not frowning, repeatedly. He was feeling confused. 

After she sat him down, she glanced around and had no idea where the others had gone off to now. She looked down at Prince Yi and then said, "You stay here, I'll go get the servants to help you home." Then she turned to leave.

Prince Yi immediately grabbed her arm and Lei Xing turned back to him with a raised eyebrow. He frowned and then quickly said, "Um, It's better if you stay...I just need a little rest..." He saw Lei Xing knit her brows and it seemed like she still wanted to insist, so he quickly added, "You might get lost, it'll be troublesome."

Lei Xing narrowed her eyes, "I'm not a child, I won't get lost. The route we came through is beyond simple."

Prince Yi's frown deepened, "Still...Just stay. I don't want to have to look for you. I just need a little rest is all. I'm fine...Plus the others will still pass by here to return so it's fine to wait here." He said as his grip on her arm tightened a little.

Lei Xing looked at him for a bit and then sighed, "Fine." 

{...I tried...If you die here, it's not my fault -_-)'...}

Prince Yi nodded and then knit his brows. He did not know what to say now that he had her alone. He was really confused now.

{...What's wrong with me? Why can't I think?!...}

Lei Xing frowned down at his hand and then said, "Let go." Prince Yi blinked up at her, confused and then realized he was still holding on to her arm and immediately released it. Lei Xing then sat down next to him, making sure to leave a good distance between them and the two sat there waiting.

Meanwhile, at one of the stalls some distance away. One of the eager buyers was scrutinizing a piece of jewelry while covertly glancing towards the calmly seated Lei Xing in the corner.

{...Why is there no reaction yet?... That should have been plenty...Or did she not drink the wine? No, I confirmed it, she did...So why nothing?... Maybe a little more...Or a lot more to be safe?...}