Prince Rui knit his brows and responded, "Well...We were all together, for the most part. I was mainly focusing on monitoring my sister, while others lingered at stalls of their interest as we moved along, occasionally coming together to chat...That was until the Emperor arrived to pick up Noble consort Lei...and Prince Yi also left after them." Prince Rui finished with a seemingly perplexed expression over the interest in their movements.

"I was feeling unwell so I decided to return home to rest at that point. I also apologize for my absence this morning, I was away getting some fresh air in the forest to aid my recovery. It was only when I returned to my manor that I was informed by the servants that you were looking for me...How may I be of service, Your Majesty?" Prince Yi finished with a curt bow in the Empress dowager's direction.

The Empress dowager frowned at him and was quiet for a bit, her disappointment and anger were clear on her face. She then narrowed her eyes at Princess Nalan and pointed at her, "What do you have to say?"

Princess Nalan flinched a bit, startled at being singled out. She really did not like this woman but she kept her reservations aside, bowed her head and quickly confirmed, "The night went along as my brother explained..." She then glanced up at the Empress dowager and asked with doe-eyed innocence, "Is there anything, in particular, you would like to know?"

The Empress dowager's frown turned into a scowl at the question.

{...Useless!...}

Her gaze flew to Chen You, who felt it piercing the top of her head and she began cold sweating. While Lei Xing glanced at the Emperor and then lowered her eyes as she let out a silent sigh of relief.

{...Of course, he took care of it. I worried for nothing...But he could have told me about it though. Luckily my responses were vague enough...What if I had said something outlandish in my story? Wouldn't that have ruined everything?... Or was he gambling? I f my stupidity ruined things then I wasn't worth saving?... I can see he's been unhappy all morning, understandably...I guess he might harbor some resentment for me despite knowing it all? Seriously? Did he just want to watch me squirm? But - ...*sigh* I don't know what to think anymore? -_-)'...}

"Thank you both for coming, that is all. You may leave now." The Emperor finally spoke up after a while of the Empress dowager not speaking.

Prince Yi gave another curt bow, cast a cold glance at the Emperor and then turned and made for the doors. Prince Rui smiled politely as he bowed and left with the somewhat confused Princess Nalan, glancing at Lei Xing as they swept out of the room.

Prince Rui had grabbed her and Molin this morning and quietly narrated to them how the events of last night "truly" went. Apparently, one of the Emperor's men had secretly come to talk to him.

But it was either that her brother did not want to divulge the reason or that the Emperor's messenger did not tell him the details. All Prince Rui told them was that Lei Xing's life depended on this story. Then a while later, someone from the palace came to summon them and so they came with the story ready. Princess Nalan quietly followed her brother out but made a mental note to ask Lei Xing for an explanation later on.

After the trio exited, the Emperor turned to the Empress dowager and calmly began, "Now that you have verified and cast away your doubts, there is the matter of the repercussions. Since you have all conspired and successfully raised a fuss, it cannot simply be buried or cast aside. There will be questions and for those, there should be answers in response...Mother, while I understand and appreciate your zeal to seek out justice in this matter, you let yourself be provoked into impatient action which is unbecoming of your position in this nation. Y-"

"Chen You!" The Empress dowager barked, annoyed with being scolded. Thanks to Chen You she had been made a fool on two different fronts in one morning. First, with this issue and secondly because of the stupid monk she brought to her, who apparently saw her, the Empress dowager as nothing. With the Empress dowager's bark, the Emperor relaxed back and let her carry on. Chen You and Lei Xing both flinched at the shout. Even though Lei Xing was now in the clear, she still felt on edge as that could have very well been directed at her a few moments ago.

Chen You jumped up and immediately slapped Chun Hua, and then pushed her down to knees. The other two maids did not wait to receive their slaps and quickly knelt down and kowtowed. Chun Hua kowtowed as a deep scowl spread on her face as she hit her head on the ground to show her "sincerity" as she followed along with the other two maids and pleaded for her life to be spared.

"Be quiet!" Chen You barked at the maid and then quickly bowed to the Empress dowager, "I apologize for my oversight...I never expected them to be so malicious as to want to sow discord in the palace and to come up with such a devious tale - I will make sure that the three of them are properly punished and use them as an example to dissuade any others who harbor such evil thoughts and ensure that the palace remains in peace." Chen You finished and kept her head bowed in waiting.

The Emperor frowned, "Oversight is fine. But the consequences must still be borne. Letting yourself be led by the nose to disruptive action is unacceptable and unbecoming of someone in your position...Your foolishness led to further complications. Therefore, you should be the one setting the example..."

Chen You immediately panicked and got on her knees and pleaded, "It will never happen again...It-It was because I was worried, so my judgment was clouded and so I-...Please spare me this once. It will never happened again!" Chen You finished kowtowing with the maids, who chorused pleas for pardon.

The Emperor's ears were deaf to the pleas, he looked at the Empress dowager and then advised, "Since you took the lead on this issue, it will be best if you resolve it, for your sake..."

The Empress dowager cast an angry glance at the Emperor and then looked at the four heads on the ground below her. She was fuming, her morning had gone incredibly wrong. She understood the Emperor's words. Her actions this morning definitely did not go unnoticed. She had Imperial guards storm into Prince Yi's residence, not to mention she had sent them roaming around the city in search for all to see.

The officials will definitely have questions and the Emperor is clearly not planning to defend her actions. Therefore, her realizing her "mistake" and punishing the miscreants who stirred up trouble is the best way to reduce the criticisms that will be hurled her way.

{...I won't have those idiots called officials dragging my name in the mud...This foolish Chen You, if she dared to try to use me, she should have made sure it would work...How dare she bring this embarrassment to my face? How dare she make me look like a fool?!...}

"Guards!" The Empress dowager barked and Chen You and the three maids flinched and began pleading even louder as they apologized for their "mistake". But the Empress dowager was deaf to their pleas. The men who had been waiting outside filed in and the Empress dowager ordered, "Drag these fools out and give them a hundred plank beatings! No, make it two hundred! Do it outside my palace, I want to hear them screaming...!" The Empress dowager finished with a fierce glare. The guards bowed their heads and then reached down for the four panicked girls on the ground.

Lei Xing watched wide-eyed feeling guilty, especially towards the maids who were probably only just doing their job. Lei Xing watched the girls clinging to the ground and pleading for mercy with tears streamed down their faces as the guards mercilessly hurled them to their feet. Lei Xing watched the scene transfixed, even forgetting to breathe.

{...This would have been me...Would I have pleaded like this or simply resigned myself?...This feels so wrong...}

A body suddenly covered her view and she looked up to see the Emperor with his hand outstretched to her, "Let's go. You need more rest"

Lei Xing sat frozen and simply blinked up at him, with a mix of feelings coursing through her mind.

{...Rest?...I don't kn-...}

Chen You suddenly freed herself from the guards and ran over to Lei Xing knelt at her feet as she grabbed her arm, "Jiejie, I-I only did this because I was worried. I never wanted for you to get into any trouble...Jiejie we grew up together, we're cousins! I would never wish you harm...Jiejie, you can't watch me die like this!" Chen You frantically pleaded, completely forgetting herself. All she could think about was her imminent death, she could not die like this, two hundred plank beatings will definitely kill her.

Lei Xing seemed frozen as she watched Chen You, so Chen You moved her pleading to the Emperor, she kowtowed repeatedly as she fervently pleaded,?"Your majesty, please forgive me...I-I did not mean to cause any trouble. It will never happen again, please forgive me! Please..."

Lei Xing blinked and finally regained her senses. She definitely did not believe Chen You's words but at the same time, to just sit back and watch her die was a bit...And most importantly, those maids who only told the truth. Lei Xing knit her brows as she wrestled with the heightening sense of guilt.

Frankly, she had been thinking that she behaved to cooly during this whole event. She should have shown some outrage at being "falsely" accused. She wanted to say something but did not know what to say and honestly was not sure whether she really wanted to. She was sure Chen You had something to do with what happened to her and that anger was still surging in her. She wanted her to be punished but as for death...she did not know.

She had never thought to cause anyone's death but knowing someone would readily cause hers made her feel much less sympathy at the moment.

{...Chen You definitely would not have felt any if it was me...And I doubt those maids would have cared much either...So why do I have to? I did nothing wrong...so why...}

Lei Xing glanced at the Emperor's and then at Chen You on the ground, feeling deeply conflicted.

But before Lei Xing could resolve on whether to plead or not, the Emperor turned to the Empress dowager, and said, "That is too much..." A smile formed on Chen You's face as she glanced up at the Emperor seeing hope and feeling relief.

{...It seems he felt something for me after all, he couldn't just sit back and watch me suffer...I knew it!...}

Lei Xing blinked at the Emperor in a bit of surprise, while the Empress dowager frowned at him in annoyance.

{...He said for me to handle this and now he is getting in my way...What is fool getting in my way for now?! He already saved his stupid love so why can't he let me kill who I want?!...}

The Emperor continued, "I want them alive...make it thirty and then throw them in prison until I come to a decision..." The Emperor finished, pulled Lei Xing up, grabbed her hand and pulled her out with him.

Chen You watched them walk off in disbelief and anger as she bit her lip as fresh tears stung her eyes. Chen You was not the only one glaring, as Chun Hua was also glaring at their departing backs with eyes red with rage, she then turned her rage-filled gaze to Chen You.

{...This foolish impatient idiot ruined everything...But I will get what I want one way or another...}