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.

{...This fool is obviously skirting around the main issue...And he was the one she kissed? So the maids are blind? Who does he think he's fooling?...}

The Empress dowager condescendingly looked down at Lei Xing and bluntly asked, "Did you kiss or engage in any sort of inappropriate behavior with Prince Yi?"

Lei Xing controlled her expression as her heart lurched, she cast a quick glance at the Emperor to see him cooly looking at her. Then she turned back to the Empress dowager with her eyebrows knit to show her annoyance and outrage at the accusation, "No, I did not." Lei Xing confidently said in the most haughty voice she could manage with the chaos going on the inside.

{...I definitely cannot admit to it! That is instant death. I would have to be all shades of stupid to go, "Yes, I did. Forgive me?" to this witch. Does this woman think so little of me? -_-)'...Or is she just an idiot?... And frankly, if I were that stupid to admit it now, I don't think even he could help me...And I honestly I doubt he would feel so inclined, I wouldn't! >_

The Empress dowager narrowed her eyes at Lei Xing as if trying to see through her and in response, Lei Xing defiantly raised her head and looked at her squarely. The Emperor finally broke this stare-off, "While I can attest to what happened after I met her, I cannot speak on what took place before so we should send for Prince Yi and the Zou party to weigh in on the validity of her statements and put any doubts to rest."

The Empress dowager and Lei Xing both turned to him, and he turned to the Empress dowager, "You should send for them yourself so you can feel more assured."

The Empress dowager frowned and then turned to Song mama, who got the cue and swiftly went to carry out the orders. Although Prince Yi's whereabouts were still unknown at the moment, they could at least get the Zou royals here.

Lei Xing kept her head slightly lowered as the idea of confronting Prince Yi made her feel very unnerved.

{...He would not be so stupid as to admit to it, right? No, that's just looking for a death sentence...What if he says I assaulted him? He wouldn't...Who the hell would believe him? He could have easily thrown me off, bashed my head or knocked me out...He could have done something >_

The Emperor looked at Lei Xing for a bit and then said, "Xing er', sit down." Lei Xing looked up at him and reflectively said, "I'm fine."

"Sit." He ordered with a frown, Lei Xing gulped and quickly shuffled to the side and rigidly sat down. When he felt the Empress dowager glaring at him, he turned his eyes from Lei Xing to her and explained, "Xing er' has not been feeling well, that's was the reason we ended up staying out all night to have her taken care of by a skilled friend."

Although Lei Xing's body was hurting and standing still was a bit difficult, her mind was too preoccupied with the trouble still looming to pay attention to her discomfort. Not to mention Chen You and the Empress dowager kept glaring at her.

But fortunately or unfortunately, the Emperor had the mind to think about her discomfort for her to the onlookers annoyance.

Chen You glanced up at the Emperor and pouted, no one told her to sit down...but no one told her to stand either. After a while of looking up at the Emperor and Empress dowager who seemed to be engaged in a stare-down of their own, Chen You shuffled her feet and sat down across from Lei Xing. Lei Xing glanced up to see Chen You glaring at her, she raised an eyebrow then Chen You haughtily looked away. Lei Xing sighed and covertly rolled her eyes.

{...It seems she's no longer hiding her dislike, that's good...Pretending we're friends is tiring for both of us -_-)...}

Chen You was also feeling on edge, she glared up at Chun Hua and the other two maids, who simply lowered their heads further in response. Things were not going as she planned, the Emperor did not seem to be bothered by the accusation at all, not to mention, he was still looking after Lei Xing's health, while completely discounting Chen You's existence. Chen You glared at Lei Xing again and then looked down at her lap and frowned.

{...This is so stupid!...}

Chen You was starting to feel a bit worried for herself, the testimonies of royals were definitely much more valuable than that of the maids. The Emperor obviously seemed inclined to believe Lei Xing's innocence. She had gravely underestimated the Emperor's feelings for her and at this point, trying to insist or claim otherwise would only be looking for trouble. The maids knew that and remained silent. Chen You hoped that the Zou royals would discredit Lei Xing's testimony.

The two testifying maids shivered and lamented their position. They would have preferred to have stayed quiet but Chun Hua had taken the lead and ordered them to report to Chen You. Then Chen You had dragged them here so they had no choice but to tell what they saw. They had even hoped to be rewarded at some point, but now all they prayed for was that their input in all this was overlooked otherwise they would be in deep trouble.

After a while, the Empress dowager finally spoke up and asked the Emperor, "Why are you not bothered?"

The Emperor snorted and then his expression fell and he flatly said, "I would be if it were true, but Xing er' is not so foolish to publicly disgrace herself like that...and Prince Yi would know better." The Emperor finished as he leaned back in his seat, rested his head on his hand and turned his face away signaling he was done talking to her. He glanced down at Lei Xing who was staring down at her hands in her lap and then he looked towards the doors, hiding the rage in his eyes from view.

{...He should have known better...}

The Empress dowager scrutinized him for a bit and then quietly said under her breath, but loud enough for only him to hear, "How foolish." The Emperor did not acknowledge her words and simply closed his eyes as they waited for the key witnesses to arrive.