Chapter 72 - Telltale (1/2)

”No.” Lei Xing responded looking at the Emperor skeptically.

The Emperor just stared at Lei Xing's face for a long while, that coupled with the awkward position made Lei Xing increasingly uncomfortable, so she added, ”...not at all.”

The Emperor straightened her and then stood up straight and looked down at her, ”You seem quite nervous. Why?”

”I was just startled.” Lei Xing said with a half-smile.

”You and my brother seem to have quite a lot of encounters recently.” The Emperor offhandedly commented.

”Coincidence.” Lei Xing swiftly responded.

{...Um, I don't think we've had ”quite a lot” though...That's an exaggeration, it should be about twice times now? No more than three...Either way, it's not a lot...

...And wait, how would you even know about those? I only told you about the one ...Am I being watched? Of course, I'm being watched...I knew generosity was not your MO -_-)...}

The Emperor did not respond and glanced down at her embroidered boxy petal in production that she had been working on for a few hours now.

Then he looked back at her and calmly asked, ”Do you know it is considered a crime to lie to the Imperial family?”

Lei Xing frowned, starting to feel annoyed with this line of questioning and firmly said, ”I am not at all interested in him, not even in the least.”

{...You can't charge me with such an offense with no evidence!... And your brother is just as annoying as you are...maybe even more so? So definitely not interested  AT ALL in that -_-)...}

”I understood that one, but what about that one?” He said motioning towards the embroidery piece hanging at the front.

Lei Xing looked at the hanging embroidery piece and then looked back at him in confusion.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at her, ”You cannot even remember a gift you made for the late Empress.”

Lei Xing's eyes went wide and she looked back at the embroidery piece.

{...Ohhh, did I? Well you should have said so! T_T)...}

”Ah, but then should it be gave rather than made, right? What do you say?” The Emperor calmly asked.

Lei Xing nervously laughed a bit and explained, ”Um, I - I had a lapse in memory, I can be quite forgetful sometimes. Looking at it again, it does seem very familiar...”

The Emperor blankly looked at her for a while and then said, ”You not only lied to Imperial family members, but you did that in an effort to gain favor. That is quite a grave offense. What do you think should be done about that?” He seriously asked.

When she did not respond fast enough, the Emperor quietly walked back and sat on his throne chair and went back to his work, ignoring her.

Lei Xing sat there with a deep frown on her face in contemplation as she looked at him.

{...Offense? What offense? Is forgetting an offense? No way! I could just have a bad memory!... He couldn't possibly be serious, right? Well, I don't think we're in the sort of relationship to joke around -_-)...}

After thinking about it for a while, Lei Xing got up and walked to the middle of the room and hesitantly said, ”Um, I can explain...”

The Emperor then dropped the memorial he was holding and looked at her waiting for her explanation.

Lei Xing glanced up at him and began, ”Actually, I didn't remember because I lost my memories...” Seeing him frown, she added, ”...Just some of it...most of it.”

”Lost your memories?” The Emperor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lei Xing continued to explain, ”Yes, quite recently actually. I almost drowned a while before entering the palace and it seems the experience must have messed with my head...and so I lost some memories.”

She glanced up at him again and then added, ”I didn't want my family to worry and so I didn't mention it...So, that's why...”

The room was silent for a while as Lei Xing waited for the verdict.

{...Believe me, I'm telling the truth - Well, most of it...Well, the points that matter anyway -_-)...Actually, I am completely lying here, but point is all you need to know is that I don't remember, so details are not necessary...}

”That's why your performance in the competition was so poor?” The Emperor asked and Lei Xing firmly nodded.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes in thought for a while and then asked, ”Does that also have something to do with why you want to leave the palace?”