Chapter 169 - Revelation (1/2)

After a long while of the two of them sitting in silence, the Emperor suddenly said, ”I understand why you don't want to be in the palace.”

Lei Xing raised her head and glanced at him, he sent her a wry smile and continued, ”If I had the choice, I wouldn't have chosen to be here either.” He then let out a breath and looked down again, ”The Imperial palace is a cold place...and being part of the royal family can be a very cold existence...”

Lei Xing slightly knit her brows and stared at him. The Emperor's quietness was already unnerving enough, and now he brought up this subject which he seemed to hate. Whenever she mentioned anything about life out of the palace or leaving, he always glared at her. So she had stopped mentioning it. But now he started it with a smile on his face. She was lost.

{...Why is he suddenly talking about this?... He wouldn't be sending me out of the palace, right? No...Why?...}

{...*I thought that's what you wanted...Not celebrating? Why not? hehe~...}

Lei Xing bit her lip, looked down and frowned in annoyance.

{...Of course, it's what I wanted - want...But for him to do this after - it's just confusing is all...}

She took a deep breath and her frown deepened.

{...So frustrating...Annoying...Headache inducing! They should have punched his face in! Or maybe he got bashed silly!...}

{...*Ohhh I see...You don't want to leave him now, th -...}

{...Shut up! Who doesn't want to leave? I'm ready to pack right now!... I don't care, don't care about anyone!... And you should hurry up and get lost too!...}

{...*It's okay, I knew you had a heart somewhere...deep down. Don't worry he's not sending you away and I shall celebrate on your behalf hehehe~...}

{...Go away -_-)...}

Lei Xing pouted and glared at the opposite wall.

{...If he says to go, I'll pack up immediately and even thank him too...Then I'll move to another city - no, another country and be sure never to see or even hear about him again...Just need cash and I can survive. He can go hang or jump into a volcano for all I care and I'll just - ...So frustrating! >_

”I killed the late Empress.”

Lei Xing blinked and instantly turned to the Emperor again with a raised eyebrow.

{...Your randomness today is insanely bizarre...Do you maybe have a concussion? Or what is this? A confessional? Deep state analysis?... Tch, got me riled up for no reason -_-)...}

”You're not shocked.” The Emperor said as he scrutinized Lei Xing's expression, her expression was curious but not shocked.

Lei Xing shrugged and put her head back on her knees, ”Well I figured she didn't actually pass away from ”grief”. The timing is also quite telling...I did think it was your mother's work though. Both can't be the Empress dowager and so one had to go. The whole two lions on one mountain scenario...”

”Two tigers.” The Emperor corrected with a small smile.

”Same idea.” Lei Xing offhandedly responded.

** (LOL she was referring to the idiom ”One mountain cannot contain two tigers”) **

The Emperor scrutinized Lei Xing for a bit. Her reaction was a bit unexpected.  ”You're not going to ask?”

Lei Xing cast a side glance at the Emperor, then faced forward, ”If you feel inclined to share, I can listen.”

Her relaxed reception was a bit startling but after the Emperor thought about how it, a cool reception was very much like Lei Xing. He just told her something that should be shocking and she seemed so unaffected and uninterested. She always seemed to be controlled even after troublesome ordeals and never seemed to want to know about him. At first, he thought of it as her not being interested in him, but her occasional worry for him debunked that notion.

She did not share about herself and in return did not ask. It seems she was a distant person by nature...just like him. She would not inquire but she would participate if he volunteered the information, but she was a deep thinker and had her notions on everything.

He felt they were similar but also very different, something he attributed to their vastly different upbringings. But then that was another thing that puzzled him, she was distant with everyone, even her family. It seemed to simply be her personality. He sometimes wondered if she felt out place in her life...like he did.