Chapter 277 - Grand Status

After dropping off the unconscious Lei Xing in her room, the Emperor left her to Xiao Rou's capable care and went out to discuss the situation with Eunuch Li, who had finally found his way back to the Emperor after running around for a while.

Eunuch Li had already been briefed by others around on the true nature of the event that unfolded in the Empress's palace. He set aside his questions and informed the Emperor about the Empress dowager's current condition and the general situation of the palace at the moment. Once that was done, he finally asked the Emperor the question that had been on his mind, "What do you make of this situation?" 

"A blessing from the heavens~" The Emperor simply responded with a slight smirk. 

Eunuch Li knit his brows and scrutinized the Emperor, who looked completely at ease and unaffected by the bizarreness that had centered around him. 

"Your majesty, do you know something more about this?" Eunuch Li tentatively asked. He knew the Emperor was never one to panic but he really did seem too unaffected by it. 

Rather than answering the question, the Emperor simply asked a question of his own, "Isn't it a blessing for a nation to have a true Dragon and Phoenix for its Emperor and Empress?"

Eunuch Li's eyes widened and then he knit his brows, then he blinked and smiled as he comprehended the Emperor's meaning. Eunuch Li bowed and then said, "It truly is...I will ensure to pass on this great news..."

"En..." The Emperor simply responded and then ordered, "Open up the main hall and send everyone home. Tell the ministers I will send for them tomorrow..." It will be best to discuss this once the situation was completely back to normal.

"Understood..." Eunuch Li said with a bow and quickly went to see to things. It was not that the Emperor was unaffected, he was simply looking at things from a different angle. 

How it happened was not important. What was important was how this could be used. With the Emperor's enlightening words, Eunuch Li could see now see the unique opportunity that would be immensely advantageous, one that could definitely not be missed. 

The Emperor looked up at the dark, afternoon sky and then sighed. While he felt certain that everything will return to normal, he would feel a lot more reassured once it returned to normal. That way no one would have reason to question anything. 

Leaving the meeting with the ministers till tomorrow will also give time for the news of the empire's "blessings" to spread and take roots in their minds. 

The Emperor laughed again and returned to Lei Xing's bedroom, where Xiao Ruo had already stripped her down to her innerwear and tucked her into bed. As the Emperor walked over to the bed, Xiao Ruo promptly bowed and left the room. 

The Emperor stopped at the foot of the bed and stared down at the sleeping Lei Xing for a while before finally sitting on the bed, still watching her. He lightly touched her face and then went to stroke her hair.

She was truly a strange existence for him and a stranger existence in the world. After all, she did mention coming from a different world and what happened today was obviously otherwordly. Therefore, he naturally believed that what happened during the ceremony had something to do with her...something even she herself did not understand. 

Her existence was a mystery.

As for the dragon and the phoenix, the Emperor believed that was a sort of wedding gift from the Voice...a sort of damage control move to resolve the situation of the four celestial bodies in the sky invading their ceremony. 

And it was a truly brilliant coverup, turning legends into reality.

While Emperors and Empresses of the past have always borne the symbol of the dragon and phoenix, none in the history of the country have ever been graced with the presence of an actual dragon and phoenix. 

The fact that it was on the day of the Empress's ascension made it seem all the more like Lei Xing was the reason for this unprecedented "blessing for the empire". This will naturally would blow away whatever ill rumors existed around her. After all, no one would dare want to speak ill of someone who is naturally favored by the Heavens. 

From today, the people will come to see Lei Xing and the Emperor as living gods walking amongst them. The Emperor will ensure of it, after all, no one who witnessed what happened today would dare to say otherwise. 

This was truly a grand gift.

The Emperor smiled, feeling very light and happy right now. It felt like all his worries were suddenly alleviated and he could breathe easily. He had been so worried earlier today that he would lose her.

The Emperor sighed again, he was honestly a bit tired after the emotional highs and lows this day had presented. So he got up, took off his ceremonious robes and joined Lei Xing in bed, promptly wrapping his arms around her and snuggling against her. He had been so worried he would never be able to do this again. 

But thanks to the Voice, his fears were short-lived. The Emperor closed his eyes and planted a lingering kiss on Lei Xing's forehead as he whispered, "Thank you..."

***

It took a while but after receiving the Emperor's orders, Commander An ordered the main hall to be opened and for the Imperial guards to withdraw. The ministers who had already been informed of the Emperor's decision went in to find their families so they could make their way home.

Maids and eunuchs scrambled to light up dim the palace and while a bunch of them promptly arrived at the main hall with lanterns ready so that they could safely lead the way for the guests. 

Defense minister Lei and Lei Yong found Xiao Ting and her mother and immediately noticed someone missing from their party, Tung Mei.

"Where is Xiao Ying?" Lei Yong promptly asked with a frown as he glanced about the crowd.

"She said she was going to look for her aunt when the sky -..." Xiao Ting knit her brows, she not sure how to say this part so she quickly skipped it and went, "...I'm not sure where she is, but she said not to bother to look for her...so it's fine?" She tentatively finished. She honestly did not know anything at the moment. 

"Perhaps, she will be returning with her aunt...I'm sure she's fine, after all, we've all been locked in here." Madam Lei reassuringly said to Lei Yong and then turned to her husband and asked, "What is going on?"

Defense minister Lei sighed, It had truly been a crazy day. It went a glorious day to a potentially disastrous one and then ended up transforming into a blessing in just a few hours. He did not understand what had happened today, but at the very least knew he would not be losing a daughter today. No one in this country would dare to call the sighting of a dragon and phoenix on a ceremonious day like today inauspicious. So he smiled and said, "I'm not sure either but...I believe everything will be fine now..." 

"You all go ahead, I'll look around for Xiao Ying for a bit and catch up...Just to confirm she's alright." Lei Yong said and then disappeared into the crowd without waiting for a response. 

Xiao Ting looked up at the sky as she joined her parents in the slow procession of people making their way through the palace. She could not help wondering if An Hao was also seeing this dark afternoon sky where he was.

This was all so fascinating and honestly a bit exciting. She could not wait to tell him about the events of today when he returned. He did tell her about how he was unhappy to be missing the ceremony. She smiled as she thought that he definitely could not have imagined things happening like this.

An Hao was always the one with the exciting stories, so Xiao Ting was quite giddy about finally having an exciting tale of her own to tell him, one she was sure he had never encountered before. 

Xiao Ting's ears suddenly perked up when she heard someone "quietly" say, "I heard the dragon and Phoenix came out of the Emperor and Empress?"

Xiao Ting promptly glanced in the direction of the voice to see an eunuch "whispering" to a maid. 

"Don't say nonsense! How could that happen? " The maid whispered back, obviously in disbelief.

"It's true! I saw it. The lights from the sky surrounded the Emperor and Empress and then the light shot to the sky and then the dragon and phoenix came out of them...I'm telling you it's true. I slapped myself and everything to confirm, it really happened, right before my eyes!." The eunuch explained.

"But how?" The maid responded with a frown. 

"It's obvious how..." The eunuch swiftly responded. The maid looked at him questioningly and he went, "Just think about~..."

Xiao Ting and the other curious covert listeners around felt a pang of annoyance at the eunuch for keeping them on edge like this. They were all hoping the maid would ask but the girl was actually foolishly thinking about it like an idiot instead of simply asking the eunuch, who was obviously eager to respond. 

Xiao Ting pouted and would have asked herself if not for all these people around, it would be bad to draw attention to herself by openly indulging in servants' gossip. The other noble guests close-by who were covertly eavesdropping on this conversation were probably thinking the same as they quietly held back their curiosity and moved even slower, waiting for the maid to finally give up and make the inquiry so they could all move on. 

They quietly walked along for a while until finally, a male voice went, "So what's obvious?" Breaking the suspense. Everyone glanced over to see Zhao Chang hovering above the eunuch and the maid.

Prime minister Zhao glared in annoyance at his son from the side. He honestly would have given him a beating right there if not for the eyes watching all around.

{...How can this stupid son be so foolish as to want to lay the enemy's bed?!... Does he ever think?!...}

"Ah?" The eunuch jumped back as he just "realized" that he apparently had a bigger audience than he "intended". 

"Hurry up and talk." Zhao Chang ordered narrowing his eyes, on the edge of his patience rope. 

Prime minister Zhao gritted his teeth in annoyance. This was clearly a gimmick by the Emperor in an attempt to brush everything wrong with this whole situation under the rug. Prime minister Zhao and anyone with a brain could already see how the Emperor would use this situation to his advantage, he would honestly be a complete fool not to use it.

Zhao Chang was really too disappointing...Prime minister Zhao inwardly groaned in frustration as he covertly stared daggers at his oblivious air-headed son, who was busy staring down the eunuch.

{...How dare this little eunuch try to behave like those stupid storytellers? Leaving me at a cliff's edge ( ￣^￣ )...}

The eunuch flinched under Zhao Chang's piercing gaze. The eunuch swallowed and glanced about the watching eyes of the slow-moving audience and then tentatively said, "The Emperor is obviously a dragon god and the Empress a phoenix goddess who came down here to bless our empire~"

Zhao Chang knit his brows and the eunuch went closer to him and continued "whispering", "Listen I have a friend who works in the seers' department and he said that the seers have now realized that the reason they could not divine the date for the ceremony was because mortals are naturally unable to decide on the fate of immortals...so this is obviously how the situation is."

The guests around glanced at each other as the weight of those words sank in. Xiao Ting's eyes went wide and she turned to her father and went, "Father..."

Defense minister Lei glanced at her, smiled, and then faced forward and Xiao Ting got his message to be quiet. She piped down but was quite excited on the inside.

{...Ohh, I always knew jiejie was amazing but a phoenix goddess? Ohhhhh that's so AMAZING, she's definitely AMAZING! \(★ω★)/...Oh, I can't wait for Hao ge to come back now~ He's definitely going to be so shocked and confused, good confused~ I can't wait! o(>ω

Xiao Ting happily stifled her smile and skipped along, but then she suddenly knit her brows in thought.

{...Soo...if jiejie is a phoenix...does that mean that I - could, maybe, be too? hehehehehe what am I thinking? (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄

Similar conversations to that of the eunuch and maid's were happening in different little groups all across the palace. Eventually spreading through the city along with the crowd flowing out through the palace gates with the tale becoming more and more exaggerated.