Song mama quickly returned after sending out the orders and then they all waited in eerie silence, each with their own thoughts. After about an hour or so passed, Ling mama scurried in and glanced at the Empress dowager's unhappy expression and then scurried off to the side and signaled for Song mama.

Song mama furrowed her brows as she went down to talk to her. They spoke for a while in hushed tones before Song mama returned to the Empress dowager with a frown. She?leaned down next to the irritated Empress dowager's ear and informed, "Your majesty, Monk Du has run off..."

"Monk Du left?" The Empress dowager exclaimed, breaking the eerie silence and drawing all the attention of the other occupants to herself. She frowned and Song mama, "Didn't they inform him I ordered him to wait?!" The Empress dowager had sent some men ahead to go wait with Monk Du while she settled Lei Xing's issue.

Song mama bowed and explained, "They did and he waited for a bit but then suddenly decided on leaving...the men tried to stop him and gave chase but...they lost him..."

"Lost him? How could they have?!" The Empress dowager barked, "Useless!"

Song mama tried to calm her down, "They are still searching for him, they will definitely find him. He can't escape for long...He...He left a message for you." Song mama hesitantly said as she handed the Empress dowager a small rolled piece of paper. The Empress dowager took the paper and opened it to find the words,

'... It seems this journey was not meant to be. A word of advice, be sure to control your senses. Evil cannot inhabit one who is at peace.

If fate wills it, we shall meet again.

...'

The Empress dowager's frown deepened as she crumpled the note and threw it to the ground as she barked, "Find him!" Song mama bowed and quickly ran off to pass on the orders while the Empress dowager sat there fuming.

{...He was the one who invited me to his temple and now he dared to run off because of a small delay?... These bastards are turning me into a joke!... I will find him and kill him and then find that temple and burn it to the ground!...}

The Emperor cast the Empress dowager side glance and then looked away. He was neither bothered nor interested in the Empress dowager's issue. He honestly did not care and he had his own problems to think about at the moment. So, he ignored her plight and left her alone to stew in her anger while he tried to control his as he fixed his gaze back on the doors, waiting for his brother to arrive. He was very curious about the kind of explanation his brother would give to excuse his actions.

The Empress dowager fixed her gaze on the two girls sitting below. And Lei Xing and Chen You immediately lowered their heads when they noticed the Empress dowager's gaze fix on them.?The Empress dowager was already angry at Lei Xing so that was no surprise, but now she was also angry at Chen You, even more than she was with Lei Xing.

Not only was Chen You the one who introduced Monk Du, but she was also the one who halted her journey with her stupid report that promised a huge payout...And now even that payout was looking to be nothing more than a waste of time and an endeavor to make her look like a fool.

Chen You lowered her head even further, feeling a sense of fear wash over her. She could sense the Empress dowager's eyes tearing holes in her. She wanted to bash her head into the wall for this mess. But mostly, she wanted to bash Monk Du's head for making things more complicated.

{... What's his problem? What's a few hours delay to be able to be of service to the Empress dowager, not to mention she was actually going out of her way to the temple to visit him...How disrespectful! And now he's dragging me down with him! How distasteful!...}

The Empress dowager fisted her hands and suddenly got up, seemingly at the end of her leash. Ready to storm out to go seek out Monk Du herself. Her movement was halted when a guard came in and informed of Prince Rui, Princess Nalan and Prince Yi's arrival. She stopped and then sat back down as she narrowed her eyes at Lei Xing, who had gone rigid at the mention of Prince Yi. Then she turned her gaze to Chen You who was looking towards the Emperor with a bit of excitement in her eyes, excitement that dampened as she caught the Empress dowager's angry gaze.

{...If this fails, I will have your head instead...}

Chen You felt a shiver run down her spine and she immediately lowered her head and clasped her hands together to hide her shaking.?She now knew that even if Lei Xing's matter was concluded in her favor, she would still be in trouble because of Monk Du.

As the long-awaited witnesses walked in, Lei Xing's ears honed in to sound of their shuffling feet as they drew closer. She felt a range of emotions, fear, anger...and a great sense of guilt. Despite the fact that she knew for a fact it was not her fault, the nagging sense that she had done some great wrong kept eating at her as Prince Yi's presence drew closer. Lei Xing took a deep breath and tried to steady herself.

{...Calm down, we have to look at him, calmly and confidently. Otherwise, this whole thing falls apart. I did nothing wrong and -... Just look up and stop being a wuss! >_

Lei Xing braced herself, straightened her spine and looked up at the approaching trio calmly. She met Prince Yi's eyes and her eyes wavered a moment but she held on and turned her gaze to the other two. Prince Yi gave her a subtle nod while Princess Nalan looked at her somewhat curiously, which somewhat unnerved Lei Xing but she kept her head up.

Prince Yi's eyes lingered on Lei Xing's face for a bit and on her smile and then he looked forward to see the Emperor's icy gaze on him. Prince Yi knit his brows and slightly narrowed his eyes back at his brother with an equally icy gaze.

{...If I am going to die it will be with dignity and not cowering in front of you...}

Since the Emperor's guards had found Prince Yi at the flower field, he became aware that the Emperor knew about what he had done. Even though the Emperor seemed intent on covering it up, Prince Yi did not believe that the Emperor would simply spare him...He also never expected the Emperor's feelings for Lei Xing to run this deep that he would actually cover it up. And this realization both relieved and angered him at the same time.

The trio stopped and bowed to the front and then stood in silence, waiting for the two royals above to speak, but instead, the Emperor and Empress dowager just sat there with their eyes fixed on them.

Prince Rui eventually spoke up and said, "Your majesties, I was informed that you required the assistance of my sister and I with some matter."

The Emperor did not seem inclined to speak and so the Empress dowager jumped on the issue, trying to get some good out of her morning's venture and vaguely ordered. "Narrate the events of your time at the merchant festival yesterday."

Prince Rui knit his brows at the odd request but complied, "We enjoyed our time at the festival. There were various interesting performances. The selection of both items and food were vast and spectacular...We even found some things from our home country, as well as several novelties we had never encountered before...It was a very -"

"Not that!" The Empress dowager irritatedly interrupted, "Were you all together with her the entire time?" The Empress dowager directly asked pointing at Lei Xing. Prince Rui raised his eyebrows and glanced at Lei Xing, who was trying to keep her expression as calm as possible.

Lei Xing trusted that the Emperor must have briefed them or done something because otherwise, they would not be any help at all. She had no clue if they actually witnessed the kiss scene but they would at least know that she and prince Yi were out of their sights for quite a while, which would contradict what Lei Xing had said.

Lei Xing glanced at the Emperor to find him staring fixedly at Prince Yi, who was also staring back at him, mirroring his anger...which made Lei Xing confused. She understood the Emperor's anger but could not fathom why Prince Yi seemed angry with the Emperor who was saving both their hides from the bloodthirsty Empress Dowager.

{...I can understand him being angry with me? But what is he be angry at this guy for?... Shouldn't he be at least repentant, or feel guilty...And to think I was feeling bad to have caused him trouble, he doesn't seem to know how to keep his head. What the hell is he challenging him for?!... Also, why should he even be angry at me? I may have "started" it, but I don't remember him protesting At All!... Frankly, I remember him with his hands all over me-...O_O)...Forget! Forget! Forget! >_

Lei Xing would have slapped herself if not for the onlookers, she forced her mind out of that scenario before she started to blush. To get her mind off the incident with Prince Yi, Lei Xing faced forward and fixed her eyes on Chen You to find her cowering for some reason. Lei Xing expected to find a gloating or glaring Chen You, which would have both sufficed to make her irritation and anger bubble. But this scared Chen You just made her confused.

{...What the hell is your problem? I should be the one cowering courtesy of your wonderful self -_-)...}