Chapter 258 - Great Fun (1/2)

The Empress dowager seemed to have gone into another strange sleeping spell. She had still not woken up since passing out the day before and like last time, the Imperial physicians could not find any explanation for her strange condition.

As a good son, the Emperor remembered his mother's odd condition and decided to have the odd but knowledgable Doctor Lou check on her. And so after leaving the Chen manor, he made his way to Doctor Lou's pharmacy to bring him along to the palace.

But the Emperor arrived to find Doctor Lou's pharmacy closed. Instead of leaving someone behind to wait for the doctor, the Emperor returned to the palace where he could conveniently enlist the Doctor's services through Lei Xing's bracelet.

But when he arrived at Lei Xing's palace, he found her to be absent as well. He was informed that after she had a long meeting with Ming Shu, they had apparently left to go tour the palace departments.

The Emperor knit his brows in surprise when he heard this. Lei Xing was quite a lazy person who lounged around for the most of the day, so touring the palace was really not something he could see her doing. He had specifically told her not to push herself.

What's more, he had actually cautioned Ming Shu and told her not to bother Lei Xing with any unnecessary affairs. But then she actually went to drag Lei Xing around the palace?

The Emperor let out a sigh and backtracked. Lei Xing was definitely not a person who could be dragged into doing something she did not want to do. She had quite a stubborn personality. Even he, the Emperor had a hard time making her bend to his will, much less a servant.

If anyone was doing the dragging, then it was Lei Xing.

But it still surprised him that she was actually interested in such a bothersome activity. All she really needed to do with this management business was to hand down orders and Ming Shu could handle the rest.

There was really no need for Lei Xing to strain herself.

”Your majesty, should we send for Her highness?” One of the eunuchs asked.

The Emperor sighed and said, ”No, leave her be...” He did not want to interrupt Lei Xing's activity session. Moreover, he was not in a hurry at all.

With his mother asleep, the palace was quiet and he liked it that way. Therefore, the Empress dowager could do with a little more sleep.

****

On the other side of things, Lei Xing was having a delightful day out.

After talking extensively with Ming Shu about the palace affairs, Lei Xing discovered there was a lot more going on in the palace than she initially assumed.

Then again, she never bothered to involve herself in the happenings in the palace. After all, that used to be the terrifying Empress dowager's job and Lei Xing never wanted to accidentally overstep any boundaries.

Ming Shu was very knowledgeable and patient in her explanations and responses. So Lei Xing warmed up to the woman quite quickly.

And seeing that Lei Xing was quite curious about a lot of things, Ming Shu suggested visiting the departments so that Lei Xing could get a better grasp on things. Lei Xing immediately agreed and off they went.

Now when Ming Shu suggested a tour, she truly only meant cursory glances. But Lei Xing turned this to a full-blown field trip to each department, talking extensively with the department heads about the details of how things worked and other such things that were truly irrelevant to someone of her station. It was not like she was going to be working in the departments themselves.

This confused Ming Shu, the Emperor had instructed her not to bother Lei Xing with unnecessary affairs. But then Lei Xing herself seemed to be very, very interested in unnecessary affairs.

At the moment, Lei Xing was talking to the head of the silk farmers about how silk is made. How could that possibly be relevant to her rule? Ming Shu was completely baffled but she had no choice but to go along with her new mistress.

”Very delicate...” Lei Xing said as she lightly touched the hanging colored silk threads. After a few more exchanges here, Lei Xing and her entourage went over to the tailoring department.

Lei Xing had actually met the head seamstress a few days ago when they came over to take her measurements and discuss her preferences for her coronation outfit. The woman was very happy to receive Lei Xing and happily took her around the department, specifically taking her to see the major work in progress that was her and the Emperor's outfits for the wedding.

All the while reassuring Lei Xing that they were working overtime to ensure that the outfits will be ready in the next two weeks. This way they would have a few days to make any alterations or changes to suit Lei Xing's needs.

Lei Xing did not spend long here so as not to interfere with their work and perhaps, she was not that interested in the embroidery process. She politely thanked them for their hard work and left for the treasures department.

Lei Xing was particularly excited about this one.

The place was huge with many rooms, each room holding a particular category of treasures. One held rare and beautiful vases, another for statues, another for jewels and gemstones, another for ancient weapons. There was even a large room dedicated to the royal headdresses and other such wonderful items of value.