The Empress dowager's deeply frowned, "How could I leave when the palace was set on fire?! It's because you behave like this that I cannot have peace of mind. How can you let yourself be blinded to this extent?!" The Empress dowager glared at Lei Xing and the cold stare made Lei Xing's heart jump, she could see and feel the rage and hate oozing from the Empress dowager's eyes, "You useless slu-"

Before she could begin her assault on Lei Xing the Emperor again interrupted, "I heard you have been looking for Xing er'...But there was no need to get the Imperial guards involved. If there was an issue, you should have come to me first. Making such a scene for something so minor is beneath you." The Emperor calmly advised narrowing his eyes at the Empress dowager.

The Empress dowager's expression turned into a scowl and she spat out, "You stupi-" before stopping herself when she remembered that others were in the room. She could not turn both of them into a joke by berating him publicly and so she fisted her hands and took a deep breath to calm herself. She turned back to Lei Xing and said through gritted teeth, "How dare you bring such disgrace to the royal family?"

Lei Xing gulped but before she could open her mouth to respond, Chen You came up and grabbed her arm and worriedly began, "Jiejie, I have been so worried about you. Thank goodness the Emperor found you...but how could you do such a thing as to kiss another man-" She immediately closed her mouth and glanced at the Emperor to find him frowning at her. She quickly lowered her head and held back the urge to smile.

Chen You then proceeded to fall to her knees, "Your majesty, please don't hold it against jiejie! I am sure she and Prince Yi have nothing to do with each other, the kiss was just...was just an accident....I-I'm sure she has an explanation..." Chen You shakily finished.

{...Oh, it's you, isn't it? You B**ch!...}

Lei Xing narrowed her eyes at her as she came to a realization. She had suspected Chen You's involvement in this matter as soon as she walked in and saw her here. Lei Xing inwardly rolled her eyes and scoffed at the "concerned" Chen You and shrugged her arm free, feeling irritated with her touch.

The Emperor coldly looked down at Chen You and simply asked,?"What nonsense are you speaking of?" Chen You felt a shiver run down her spine and she instinctively shrunk a bit, then she looked down with a frown and pouted.

{...Why is he looking at me like that? I am not the who is having an affair! He should be looking at her with those eyes!... Is this what that stupid Chun Hua was talking about? Will he now hate me because I uncovered her true colors? Th-that's absurd! He should be grateful, will be grateful. He's just angry at everything now because of her...That's what it is...}

The Empress dowager swiftly barked, "That stupid s.l.u.t beside you is having an affair with that wretched Prince Yi! See how little regard they have for you, see how useless and ungrateful they are! To be so devious is intolerable! People like this do not deserve any merc-"

"That's enough!" The Emperor irritatedly said, "On what basis are you making such an accusation? It is not something to be lightly thrown around." The Emperor coldly finished frowning at the Empress dowager.

The Empress dowager scoffed then said, "Chen You, give the report." When Chen You did not react, the Empress dowager barked, "Chen You!" The Empress dowager reasoned that the Emperor thought she was trying to frame Lei Xing due to her dislike for her. Therefore, she wanted him to hear from the horse's mouth himself.

{...Such a disappointment! I knew this girl would be trouble from day 1. Look the sort of embarrassment she has brought! With this, there is no need to wait. I will make sure her father falls with her and watch him grovel...}

With the Empress dowager's call, Chen You came back to reality. She blinked up at the Empress dowager then she glanced at the Emperor's cold stare and felt even more aggrieved. She felt that his anger was definitely misdirected but she controlled her expression and stood up.

Then she narrated to the Emperor about how Chun Hua and the other two maids returned from their search for Lei Xing to report to her about the kiss scene. Then she explained how she had come to report to the Empress dowager. Lei Xing was, of course, confused about why Chen You had people looking for her but she did not inquire, as it was really not the time to draw extra attention to herself. But she was definitely curious.

When Chen You noticed the Emperor's frown deepening, she quickly added,? "Your majesty, as soon as I received the report, I went to your palace to inform you but I was not allowed in...I waited till morning and then realized that jiejie had still not returned...I became worried that something bad had happened to her and so with no choice, I came to the Empress dowager for help..."

The whole time Lei Xing had remained silent and demure. But as Chen You said that last line, Lei Xing inwardly rolled her eyes and scoffed, feeling her anger bubbling up again. She felt the urge to jump Chen You and give her a good beating.

{...A demon going to the devil to help me? You might as well have just gone to dig my grave!... On second thought, it must be this little witch who did it and the stupid dowager is just here to play executor. What a great pair! -_-)...}

Despite her thoughts, Lei Xing maintained her silence. She did not even bother to try to explain the situation. It was clear the Empress dowager, with Chen You's assistance had already proclaimed her guilty. Anything she said right now would just be an admittance of guilt to them and proof of her promiscuity.

More importantly, the Emperor seemed to have a plan and the bracelet already lectured her to try and trust him. And since she had no idea how to get out of this, she knew better than to jump the gun and condemn herself. So she quietly hung back, listened and let him handle his crazy mother...for now.

"Are those the maids?" The Emperor asked looking at Chun Hua and the other two maids, who were standing behind Chen You was seating.

"Yes, Your majesty." Chen You responded.

"Come forward." The Emperor ordered and the three of them nervously came forward with their heads bowed. "Raise your heads." The Emperor ordered and they shakily complied. The Emperor then scrutinized their faces for a bit, causing them to break out in cold sweat and their shaking seemed to intensify. He then narrowed his eyes at the most nervous one and pointed her out, "Explain what you saw."

The girl glanced at the Emperor and obediently complied, "Yes, Your majesty. We-We went to the merchant festival...we were looking for Noble consort Lei...And th-then saw..." The girl paused and then glanced at Lei Xing's face and seeing her seemingly calm expression further unnerved the girl. She looked down, squeezed her eyes shut and then shakily blurted out, "We-We saw Noble consort Lei and Prince Yi kissing."

The Empress dowager sneered in satisfaction, while Chen You held back her smile, both prepared to watch the Emperor berate and maybe even kill Lei Xing. But contrary to what they and others in the room expected,?the Emperor simply went, "Hmm..." Then after a stretch silence asked, "How close were you?"

The girl looked up, perplexed and then quickly glanced around, and pointed at the doors, "W-we were down there...an-and they right about here."

The Emperor measured the distance with his eyes and then offhandedly said, "That's a pretty close distance..."

Lei Xing immediately turned to him and her lips twitched.

{...Hey! Are you trying to establish a case against or for me? Why are you saying that out loud?! -_-)...}

"Did you go to get a closer look?"

"No."

"And you're certain it was the two of them you saw?" The Emperor asked.

"Y-yes...I believe so." The maid shakily responded.

"In that case, you can't tell the difference between me and my brother." The Emperor said with a frown and everyone was immediately taken aback and looked at him with surprise.

Lei Xing was momentarily surprised as well and then her eyes lit up and she felt the urge to laugh but restrained herself as she looked at the Emperor, somewhat amused.

{...So that's the plan...Denial...Oh, that's actually a good plan. It's not like they have a picture or anything...That's right, there's no physical evidence of it! Memories can be manipulated and people can be bought... I didn't do SHIT! That's right! So f**k you three, f**k that b**ch Chen You and f**k those two old crows up there! F**k You All! Hahaha...Ha...Ha... Yeah, there's nothing funny at all here. If this was in court, this would be perjury...which is a crime. I'm pretty sure it's still considered a crime here... Well then, good thing the law's on my side then - Shut Up! -_-)...}