Chapter 314 - Uplift

After leaving Li Ru's palace, Lei Xing went to see Ming Shu, hoping for the distraction of work to correct her mood. But after a while of going through boring paperwork, she concluded this was not what she needed right now and cut the meeting short in favor of more pleasant affairs.

Unsurprisingly, pleasant affairs constituted of a visit to the treasury department where she found the old department head, who happily took on the role of tour guide again.

Lei Xing's mood was quickly uplifted as they moved from room to room. She was actually tempted to pocket a few things here and there for further...analysis. But she opted for the more dignified approach of asking for them to be sent over to her palace for further "assessment" - which of course, the head department happily obliged.

After all, they were all hers - well, the Emperor's, but obviously what's his was hers and what's her was...well, debatable.

Lei Xing let out a happy sigh as she slowly sauntered through the aisles of delicately and intricately designed vases. She was enjoying herself when she heard a faint, "Hmph!" Her heart jumped and then isntantly fell, when she realized the sound had come from the old department head, who had stopped to clean one of the vases with his sleeve. 

Apparently, he was not very pleased with the maintenance of this part of the treasure trove. Looking at him rubbing the vase even reminded her more of Doctor Lou. Lei Xing sighed and looked away, continuing her walk down the aisle. 

Honestly, Doctor Lou was the kind of person she usually disliked the most. They force their way into your life with no regard for your will, and then they come and go as they please with no care for the ones they are leaving behind.

It makes it all the worse when they return and expect everyone around to simply fall in line and behave like they had never left in the first place.

Lei Xing sighed, feeling down again. 

"Your majesty, is something wrong? Do you not like this piece?" The old department head asked from behind her, surprising Lei Xing, who quickly realized that she was frowning at a particular vase. 

Lei Xing quickly corrected her expression with a smile, "I was just focusing on the patter.... In deep appreciation for the skill of the artist..."

"It is indeed well done..." The old head said with a nod, appraising the vase, "Do you want this one to be sent over as well?" He asked with a smile.

"En..." Lei Xing absentmindedly responded and then said, "I will be leaving now...Till next time." And with that said, Lei Xing made her way out.

But then when she got outside, she was at a loss for what to do now. There was still plenty of daylight left. She thought of returning to her palace to sleep the rest of the day away but then she would end up unable to sleep when night came.

Of course, she had no issue with staying up late, but the problem was that the Emperor would then end up staying up with her. It seemed he had developed the habit of not going to bed unless she was going to. 

And while Lei Xing could sleep and wake up whenever she wanted, the Emperor did not have that luxury - correction, he did not allow himself that luxury, most days..he was very disciplined.

Thinking of him, she decided to go see the Emperor. But then she remembered Princess Nalan's issue. It would be best if she showed up with a report on this one simple task he asked of her, so she asked, "Is Princess Nalan back?" 

"We haven't received any news yet..." Xiao Ruo quickly responded, "Should we send someone to go check?"

"No need." Lei Xing said, it was not as if the servants would forget that she instructed them to do something. 

With that out of the way, she dignifiedly scurried along to the royal study, hoping he was not in a meeting. Otherwise, they will both be having a late night because sleep was the next best option for a bothered Lei Xing. 

Luckily, Lei Xing arrived to find the Emperor working and his face immediately lit up when he saw Lei Xing walk in. It was a rare and happy surprise for her to come here without his prodding. It was even much better when she sat down and proceeded to hug his waist and rested her head on his chest. 

"Feeling lonely again?" The Emperor jokingly asked as he put an arm around her.

Lei Xing raised up her head and frowned at him, "I don't feel lonely..."

"Ah...bored then." The Emperor corrected, patting her head. 

Lei Xing sighed and straightened up, "Nalan's not here..."

"Oh...okay. Is that what brought you here?" The Emperor curiously asked. 

"Am I interrupting?" Lei Xing asked with a pout as she scanned the contents on his desk. 

"Of course not." The Emperor swiftly said, "...I was just sorting out the travel arrangements for the princesses who chose to return home - those whose family resides outside the capital." He added for clarification. 

"Are these the ones leaving?" Lei Xing asked, picking up a shortlist with only three names. 

"Yes, and another three who live in the capital opted to return to their family homes..." The Emperor explained, "Four will remain in our care...and Chen You can make her choice after her punishment."

"En..." Lei Xing offhandedly responded as she continued to "read" the list. After a bit, the Emperor knit his brows and took the paper from her hand and asked, "Are you feeling alright today?"

Lei Xing blinked at him but then she narrowed her eyes at him and said, "It's still too early..." Thinking he was still hung up on the pregnancy issue and asking if she was "feeling" pregnant yet.

"I am not asking about that..." The Emperor said playfully narrowing his eyes back at her, "You seem to be in a bit of a bad mood...Did something happen?" 

"...Just bored I guess." Lei Xing said with a shrug, her eyes went back to the list again and the Emperor followed her line of sight and then realizing that seemed to be her problem.

But before he could probe, Lei Xing spoke up on her own, "You should add Li Ru...She's going home too..." She offhandedly informed.

And the Emperor was enlightened to the reason for her poor mood, but he was a bit surprised by the news. He had sent out eunuchs to inquire from the princesses what living arrangement they had decided on for themselves and they had the last few days two days to think about it. So they could begin preparations for the journey of those who would be journeying outside the capital. This way they could be on their way as early as next week.

The eunuchs had gone to collect their responses this morning and Li Ru had said she would be remaining in the capital. Not that they could not change their minds, after all, he had promised that they could go wherever they chose with his support. But still, the Emperor thought it unlikely that Li Ru had suddenly changed her mind within the short space of a few hours so he asked, "Did something happen between you two?"

"Something like...a fight?" Lei Xing asked with a raised eyebrow, looking unamused.

The Emperor blinked at her, it was clear she was in a touchy mood. So he explained, "Well...It's just that she informed my eunuch this morning that she would be remaining the capital -"

"...Guess she changed her mind...I don't know." Lei Xing cut in with a "disinterested" shrug.

The Emperor knit his brows in thought as he stared at Lei Xing, who picked up a random edict and offhandedly said, "For the banquet tomorrow, I chose some headdresses for them to wear from the treasury since there was no time to make new official sets for them...They'll be sent back the day after."

"That's fine..." The Emperor responded and Lei Xing nodded, focusing on her reading, which the Emperor scrutinized her. The mood was now feeling a bit weird, awkward. The palace affairs were hers to deal with so she did not have to report this to him. It was obvious she was trying to change the topic. 

The Emperor knit his brows, not happy with this. She was shutting down and retreating into her shell, which seemed to be her go-to when she had issues with people. The Emperor sighed and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, "...I'm sorry."