Chapter 169 - Revelation

After a long while of the two of them sitting in silence, the Emperor suddenly said, "I understand why you don't want to be in the palace."

Lei Xing raised her head and glanced at him, he sent her a wry smile and continued, "If I had the choice, I wouldn't have chosen to be here either." He then let out a breath and looked down again, "The Imperial palace is a cold place...and being part of the royal family can be a very cold existence..."

Lei Xing slightly knit her brows and stared at him. The Emperor's quietness was already unnerving enough, and now he brought up this subject which he seemed to hate. Whenever she mentioned anything about life out of the palace or leaving, he always glared at her. So she had stopped mentioning it. But now he started it with a smile on his face. She was lost.

{...Why is he suddenly talking about this?... He wouldn't be sending me out of the palace, right? No...Why?...}

{...*I thought that's what you wanted...Not celebrating? Why not? hehe~...}

Lei Xing bit her lip, looked down and frowned in annoyance. 

{...Of course, it's what I wanted - want...But for him to do this after - it's just confusing is all...}

She took a deep breath and her frown deepened.

{...So frustrating...Annoying...Headache inducing! They should have punched his face in! Or maybe he got bashed silly!...}

{...*Ohhh I see...You don't want to leave him now, th -...}

{...Shut up! Who doesn't want to leave? I'm ready to pack right now!... I don't care, don't care about anyone!... And you should hurry up and get lost too!...}

{...*It's okay, I knew you had a heart somewhere...deep down. Don't worry he's not sending you away and I shall celebrate on your behalf hehehe~...}

{...Go away -_-)...}

Lei Xing pouted and glared at the opposite wall.

{...If he says to go, I'll pack up immediately and even thank him too...Then I'll move to another city - no, another country and be sure never to see or even hear about him again...Just need cash and I can survive. He can go hang or jump into a volcano for all I care and I'll just - ...So frustrating! >_

"I killed the late Empress." 

Lei Xing blinked and instantly turned to the Emperor again with a raised eyebrow.

{...Your randomness today is insanely bizarre...Do you maybe have a concussion? Or what is this? A confessional? Deep state analysis?... Tch, got me riled up for no reason -_-)...}

"You're not shocked." The Emperor said as he scrutinized Lei Xing's expression, her expression was curious but not shocked.

Lei Xing shrugged and put her head back on her knees, "Well I figured she didn't actually pass away from "grief". The timing is also quite telling...I did think it was your mother's work though. Both can't be the Empress dowager and so one had to go. The whole two lions on one mountain scenario..."

"Two tigers." The Emperor corrected with a small smile.

"Same idea." Lei Xing offhandedly responded. 

** (LOL she was referring to the idiom "One mountain cannot contain two tigers") **

The Emperor scrutinized Lei Xing for a bit. Her reaction was a bit unexpected.  "You're not going to ask?"

Lei Xing cast a side glance at the Emperor, then faced forward, "If you feel inclined to share, I can listen."

Her relaxed reception was a bit startling but after the Emperor thought about how it, a cool reception was very much like Lei Xing. He just told her something that should be shocking and she seemed so unaffected and uninterested. She always seemed to be controlled even after troublesome ordeals and never seemed to want to know about him. At first, he thought of it as her not being interested in him, but her occasional worry for him debunked that notion.

She did not share about herself and in return did not ask. It seems she was a distant person by nature...just like him. She would not inquire but she would participate if he volunteered the information, but she was a deep thinker and had her notions on everything.

He felt they were similar but also very different, something he attributed to their vastly different upbringings. But then that was another thing that puzzled him, she was distant with everyone, even her family. It seemed to simply be her personality. He sometimes wondered if she felt out place in her life...like he did.

He wondered if she felt the same sense of belonging he felt with her. Wondered if his presence brought her ease as hers did for him...Wondered if he warmed her heart. Regardless, It warmed his heart that she apologized for what happened to ease him despite it not being her fault. It warmed his heart that she quietly stayed by him. It warmed his heart that she worried for him...she warms his heart and that was enough for him.

The Emperor felt the sudden overpowering urge to hug her and so he did, and that managed to get more of a reaction out of Lei Xing a bit more than his confession. 

It was an awkward hug given their position, not to mention the wooden arm of the chair in between them which was annoying. So the Emperor simply brought his arm down, under her knees and lifted her onto his lap, getting an even better reaction. She was very sensitive about physical matters and awkward with emotional matters. Lei Xing at first went wide-eyed when she was hoisted up, then she frowned and quickly began a protest, "Your injuries -"

"I was only hit on the face." The Emperor informed with a smile as he watched her cheeks and ears turning red.

Lei Xing's frown deepened. 

{...Just the face... That as***le must have been jealous or something -_-)...}

While Prince Yi and the Emperor did share some resemblance, there were obvious differences between the two. She honestly did wonder how the mistaken identity theory would have worked but then it was not her place to argue against her own cause. It was dark out and given the distance and poor lighting, a "mistake" could be made.

The Emperor was a taller, not by much but by enough, he was also more muscular, shoulders are broader. They are both handsome, but to Lei Xing, the Emperor was the better looking of the two. In her opinion, Prince Yi's beauty was the pretty boy type which fell flat while the Emperor's just had more character and greater...overall quality. 

{...The father must have been a handsome fool, a true playboy character, the irritating type...the dowager, despite her craziness is a good looking woman although I would never tread on crazy, even if it looks like a million dollars...now if it gave me a million then maybe - Nevermind, anyway 2 and 2 makes this...Yi's also pretty good too...Playboy had good eyes, the a***ole -_-)...}

"Are you still upset?" The Emperor asked as he put his head on her shoulder.

"No..." Lei Xing responded with a pout, then she blurted out,  "What's his condition like?" She had been wondering about this since his arrival here. She left a fine fresh-faced man with him and he returned a bruised, cut up face to her. it even looked like he was getting a black eye now. She could tell the Emperor took care of his skin, his face was smooth and blemish-free and she quite liked it, but now he looked like this. Not to mention, he might possibly scar too. It was irritating. 

The Emperor frowned and raised his head, but before he could speak Lei Xing noticed him getting upset again, She pursed her lips and quickly clarified for him, "How bad did you leave him? Considering your face is like this...He should have quite the damage too, right? More..." 

The Emperor relaxed and then snorted, Lei Xing glared at him, "It's not funny, this..." she made a circling hand motion, "...is upsetting."

The Emperor cleared his throat and informed, "I kicked him."

"One kick?" Lei Xing asked with a frown. 

The Emperor shrugged and did not respond, then he averted his eyes suddenly feeling self-conscious and embarrassed under Lei Xing's disapproving gaze. 

{...Who would have thought? -_-)...All muscle and no bite...Okay, maybe it just wasn't his day, he might be sick or very tired. It was a tiring morning...He must have jumped him, probably cheated -_-)...}

Lei Xing sighed and then asked, "Is that why you're in a bad mood? Because you lost..."

The Emperor knit his brows and promptly corrected, "I didn't lose." Then he sighed and the amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes diminished, "That's not why." 

{...I didn't lose, I have you...and he has...no one...}

Lei Xing knit her brows, "Then did he threaten to expose you killing the late Empress?"

"No, he probably only guessed it...even then, the news will only fuel a bit of rumor and do nothing more."

Lei Xing frowned, "What about Prime minister Zhao? He was her brother, won't he be an issue?"

"The Zhao family's current existence is based on my goodwill...I'm sure he is already aware, he's a smart man who knows when not to provoke trouble. Why do you think such rumors never surfaced in the first place? He worked very hard stifle any such notions, a public service on his part..."

"I see..." Lei Xing said as she processed the information. 

{...True, he's already Emperor, who are you going to cry your grievance to?... But isn't he a bit too confident? Smug...Almost conceited really...Or maybe just is...}  

Lei Xing felt the urge to snicker but kept it in, the Emperor's expression had become odd and distant again. 

"I did not actually kill her...Nor did I intend to, I wanted to ruin her. Although death would still have been her end result, courtesy of my mother's hands or my brother's..." He let out a weary sigh and then said, "Now I know they both resent me for robbing them of that triumph...But she chose to kill herself rather than suffer through the ruin that was to come...I showed her all the information on the Zhao family's wrongdoings over the years and informed her I planned to expose them in Court the next day. I watched as the world crashed in her eyes...I admit it brought some gratification..."