Chapter 229 - Rankled

The three with Lei Xing shuffled behind her as she addressed Prince Yi with cold indifference. Bi Lo and Bi Lu both bowed their head with frowns on their faces while Ah Jin was the only person in the group who managed to maintain a neutral expression. In conclusion, the atmosphere of the group was very cold.

Prince Yi was apparently not phased by the cold reception. He smiled at Lei Xing and then awkwardly asked, "How are you feeling? I...I, um, I heard you were unwell..."

Lei Xing still did not look at him directly as she said in the same flat voice, "I am perfectly healthy. There is no need for you to be concerned." She dismissively finished, nodded her head in farewell then turned to leave but then Prince Yi immediately grabbed her arm, "Wait -"

"Don't touch me!" Lei Xing instinctively barked as she panicked and reflexively slapped his hand off. Prince Yi blinked in surprise and then frowned as Bi Lu and Bi Lo jumped in front of her with their hands on their swords.

Lei Xing took a deep breath to calm her racing heart as she quickly waved Bi Lo and Bi Lu away from her front to de-escalate the situation. It was obvious that she overreacted, all he did was touch her arm, it was not like he assaulted her.

But still, he should not be touching her.

Lei Xing glared at Prince Yi, adjusted her tone and then calmly but coldly said, "Prince Yi, please keep your distance."

Thankfully the only other people in sight were a few servants of the Lei family passing through and a few guards stationed about. But still, this was what Lei Xing was trying to avoid. Before Lei Xing could storm off again, Prince Yi immediately cupped his hands and bowed, "I apologize." This got Lei Xing to stop in surprise with raised eyebrows, she did not expect an apology.

Prince Yi quickly continued, "I just got agitated because I wan-..." He glanced and saw Lei Xing's frown and quickly lowered his head again and swallowed the words he truly wanted to say. Instead, he said, "I just wanted to apologize...for my rash behavior and any trouble it brought you." Prince Yi finished with a deep frown concealed from view.

{...Is my touch really so unpleasant?...}

Lei Xing looked at the top of his head confused.

{...Trouble? It didn't really bring any tro - Well not for me anyway...For Chen You...and maybe you but...}

Lei Xing inwardly sighed. She did not understand why she was reacting so strongly to this issue either. It really was not like her to get so worked up over anything. But then again nothing like this had ever happened to her before. But still, it was as if Prince Yi just seemed to get under her skin and always rubbed her the wrong way. Being around him always made her feel uncomfortable and this whole kiss incident amplified her discomfort level.

Regardless of her reservations about his character, she acknowledged that it was not his fault. While she believes that he should have been able to restrain his urges, she technically seduced him.

Therefore, he was also technically a victim in all this and he just apologized so she could not dismiss him rudely.

Prince Yi raised his head and looked up at her and Lei Xing promptly looked away and awkwardly said, "Please stand. I-it's fine...It's - it's better- best for one to forget past transgressions. No harm, no foul I guess. It's all in the past." Lei Xing awkwardly finished as her ears went red with embarrassment.

"That's good." Prince Yi said straightening up with a smile that brightened as he saw her red ears and lightly flushed cheeks.

Lei Xing nodded, flashed a polite smile and swiftly turned to leave but then she immediately froze and sharply inhaled a breath. The Emperor was standing right in the entranceway, looking in their direction with an obscure expression with his hands behind his back.

{...What the hell is wrong with today?! >_

Lei Xing quickly regained herself and speedily went over to the Emperor's side and awkwardly smiled at him, "You came."

The Emperor drew his eyes from Prince Yi, who was now staring at him or was it perhaps Lei Xing he was staring at, the Emperor could not tell. He raised an irritated eyebrow at Lei Xing and asked, "Should I not have come?"

"Of course not, I was just about to come home." Lei Xing quickly supplied.

"Home?" The Emperor asked blinking at her with raised eyebrows, seemingly surprised.

"En, but if you want to meet my father or brother...or something - I can wait." Lei Xing awkwardly added, still feeling on edge. Even if she knew she did not do anything wrong here, his timing was just too unnerving and heart was pounding erratically.

{...*Hehehe You've finally seen the light~ Definitely the right decision here. Finally! You have grown up~ *sniff*...}

Lei Xing frowned as she glanced down at her wrist to see the bracelet with the rainbow hue as Tung Mei had promised.

{...Please just leave me alone right now. This is not the time for you -_-)...}

Lei Xing heard the bracelet, Doctor Lou chuckle but then that was cut out when the Emperor pat her head and stroked it. She looked up at him to find him with a smile on his face as he looked at her. She blinked at him in confusion, not understanding this reaction. She thought he was angry, he looked angry when she came up to him, but now he was smiling?

"Let's go home." The Emperor said taking her hand with a smile and left as he sent a passing glance at Prince Yi. The Emperor could not be bothered with him, or anything else at the moment.

And so he left the Lei manor with the confused and awkward Lei Xing in tow in a better mood than he came with.  As soon as they entered the carriage, the Emperor hugged Lei Xing and buried his face in the crook of her neck, closed his eyes and stayed like that. 

{...This cannot be a mistake...It's impossible for it to be...}

Lei Xing awkwardly hugged him back and when he did not move or say anything for a while, she went back to thinking he was angry. And so she clarified the situation, "Um...he was just apologizing."

"En." The Emperor lightly responded. He did not expect to come here and find Prince Yi here, much less Prince Yi talking to Lei Xing. He even had the gall to touch her in public AGAIN, at her family's house while they had guests and any one of them could have come upon them. The Emperor frowned, Prince Yi was simply being inconsiderate, stupid and reckless now, but...

{...He was apologizing? He did not seem at all repentant...}

If Prince Yi continued to overstep his boundaries, then the Emperor will have no choice but to retaliate.

Lei Xing could feel that the Emperor was in a bad mood. There was the incident with Prince Yi, but she just explained it and he did not seem to care about it. So after a while of the Emperor not moving and not saying anything, she finally asked, "Is everything alright?"

The Emperor sat up with a sigh and asked, "Where did he touch you?" He had actually not seen Prince Yi reach for her, but he had heard Lei Xing's say those words from outside as he was approaching the entrance. 

He instinctively recognized Lei Xing's voice and quickened his steps and was stunned to find Lei Xing and Prince Yi together. Then he saw Prince Yi bow and stopped in his tracks and just watched them with a frown. 

Lei Xing blinked and shook her head, "Oh, it was nothing. I just overreacted..." When the Emperor narrowed his eyes at her and she immediately answered the question, "On the arm, very lightly...I didn't even feel it...and he apologized...It's nothing."

He had come here still high on frustration and anger from his encounter with the Empress dowager and the last thing he needed to see was Lei Xing and Prince Yi together. It was then made worse by the fact Lei Xing returned to him with a flushed face and ears. He felt his blood boil as the thought that Lei Xing was blushing because of someone else echoed in his mind.

But then she said she wanted to go home...to the palace, his palace, their home and it was like she had flipped a switch. Just those simple words were enough to relieve him of all the irritation and anger that had been building up in him. It was so easy for her to make him happy and he honestly did not understand it, but he reveled in it.  

{...I must have been going mad to have considered giving you to him for even second...It's impossible...}

Another thing he did not understand was Prince Yi's apparent infatuation with his wife. He agreed Lei Xing was attractive and adorable in every aspect, but she was his wife and they had spent a lot of time together. So it made sense for him to feel this way about her, but Prince Yi had only encountered her a handful of times. 

"It was really nothing..." Lei Xing added when the Emperor just continued staring at her arm with a frown. The Emperor looked at her face and then sighed and hugged her again, resting his head on the side of her head as he kept stroking her hair as if to soothe her.

Lei Xing hugged him back but was very confused. The Emperor's mood was very weird and it was obvious that something was bothering him. Lei Xing knit her brows and was just about to inquire again, when the Emperor quietly said, "The Empress dowager returned...this afternoon."

Lei Xing immediately went rigid.

{...Already? That quack said by nightfall!...*sigh* Does it even matter now?... That woman is definitely a cause for depression -_-)'...}

Lei Xing let out a breath and then instead of asking, she said, "She does not approve." She did not need to be told that the woman did not like her and would obviously disapprove of her.

The Emperor frowned and hugged her closer, "Her approval is irrelevant."

Lei Xing did not say anything in response as she felt her own mood take a dive. It was fine that he thought her approval was irrelevant. But Lei Xing doubted that the Empress dowager actually accepted herself as irrelevant. 

Lei Xing was becoming increasingly uneasy with everything, but even if she wanted to, she doubted that the Emperor will let her withdraw. She glanced at the back of his head and inwardly sighed. She was not sure she could even bring herself to make the request. What's more, she was feeling like a magnificent coward and it was highly irritating. 

First, it was Prince Yi and now the Empress dowager. It was not that she was a cowering in fear, it was just that she usually just avoided all unnecessary things that were bothersome. Prince Yi, Empress dowager and the position of Empress all qualified as unnecessary and bothersome to her.

But...to the Emperor, it seemed all three were a necessary part of his life. And since he was now a part of her life, she had no choice but to deal with his bothersome attachments, however annoying they were.

Lei Xing inwardly sighed again as her head began to ache. Trouble was definitely coming and she was now in the middle of it. 

{...Prince Yi might be irrelevant...but this woman is definitely going to be a problem -_-)'...}