Chapter 160 - Wordplay (1/2)

The Maid became fl.u.s.tered, ”I-I-I was...th...” Before she could not find her words the Emperor turned his attention to his mother with a deepening frown, it was clear he was displeased, ”So is this the reason you mobilized the Imperial guards? Even if it were true, this is not how you should have handled the matter. Before taking such disruptive actions you should have sought me out and if I were absent, you should have waited for my return.”

The Empress dowager frowned and barked in her defense, ”Wait for you? That would have resulted in a missed opportunity to catch the criminals in the act!”

”And what have you found now?” The Emperor calmly asked and the Empress dowager scowled. He then turned to Lei Xing and flatly said, ”You have been accused of a crime and so will need to explain yourself to be absolved of any guilt.”

Lei Xing blinked at him, confused with his current trajectory. The Emperor maintained his blank expression then turned and walked up the platform to assume the seat beside the Empress dowager, who observed him with a guarded expression, obviously not buying it.

Lei Xing felt completely lost now.

{...Um, I thought you just - No?... So I'm still in trouble? No, I already told him all...So what is this act now? o_O)...}

The Emperor took his seat and narrowed his eyes at the Empress dowager, ”I shall preside over this matter. You should hurry on to your journey.”

The Empress dowager frowned at him and said, ”I will stay.”

”Very well.” The Emperor offhandedly responded then he looked down at Lei Xing, making heart jump, ”If any semblance of a lie is discovered in your words, then you will subject to grave punishment. You are to answer with honesty.”

Lei Xing looked up at him and then simply nodded as she scrutinized the Emperor, trying to read him or get a clue for what she was expected to do.

{...Honesty?... Well, it depends on the question...You also just lied, so denial is the strategy, correct? o_O)...I mean, if he really wanted to punish me, he could just do that, no point in going through all this...And that statement about it being him must be a clue for me... to lie, right?... We should have honestly talked about what the plan was before coming here. This guessing game is annoying T_T)...}

Chen You, on the other hand, was at first confused but then her expression changed to restrained glee mixed with some annoyance when the Emperor set out to interrogate Lei Xing.

{...Well, it's possible that she kissed both of them that night?... How irritating!...}

”Where were you all night?” The Emperor asked.

”I was with you.” Lei Xing carefully and vaguely responded, not really sure where he was going with this.

”And before that?” The Emperor went on to ask.

Lei Xing kept her eyes on the Emperor, there was no change in his expression and so she answered as she thought she ought to, ”I was with Prince Yi, Prince Rui, Princess Nalan and Molin...at the merchant festival.” She finished keeping her expression calm, trying to ignore the Empress dowager and Chen You who were glaring holes into her.

”So you were with all four of them until I got there?” The Emperor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lei Xing finally got the confidence in her denial theory and became more relaxed, ”Well yes and no...We were meandering about sometimes together and sometimes separately around the stalls...but we remained in the same vicinity, within view of each other.” Lei Xing easily responded.

{...Well, have to lie with some sense...Can't make fiction too distant from reality...}

”Is there anything else you would like to say here?” The Emperor asked and Lei Xing shook her head and said, ”That's all.”

{...Nothing I want to say with these vipers around anyway -_-)'...}

The Emperor then turned to the Empress dowager and asked, ”Do you have any questions for her?”

The Empress dowager glanced at him and then went back to glaring at Lei Xing. She was dissatisfied with the Emperor's questioning.