The Emperor frowned and his mood seemed to worsen. Lei Xing knit her eyebrows and swiftly asked, "What happened?... What did he say?"

The Emperor pursed his lips and somewhat irritatedly explained, "He said it is somebody else's problem and he doesn't know. He does not want to get involved..."

Lei Xing frowned and then went to take the bracelet, but then she stopped herself. She stretched out her hand and said, "Let me talk to him. Just drop it in my palm, from afar...like I did."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow but awkwardly complied and then Lei Xing immediately glared at the bracelet.

{...Oy, why do you like being complicated?... Also, you've been ignoring me, but I'll put that aside...Please answer the question -_-)'...}

{...*...}

Lei Xing pursed her lips.

{...Okay, I'll set aside all our issues, let bygones be bygones...Help him, please...Explain...}

{...*Really? You mean it?...}

{...En, clean slate (?_?)...}

{...*Hehehe~ Wise choice!...Hmmm, well...Xing Xing, it's not that I don't want to help you buuut...As I told him, this is someone else's business. I don't like to get involved with other people's business, because then they'll get involved in mine which would be an absolute disaster!...}

Lei Xing frowned.

{...You have no trouble getting involved in my business (?_? )...}

{...*Hehehe~ That's very different, Xing Xing~ We have history~...Hm, okay. I can at least tell you this. It sounds like someone hel- Well, someone there might have d- Well, perhaps someone there has a guardian of sorts just like your husband does, but I truly don't know anything else about this...}

{...So you mean some other entity gave them the power to teleport? How useful, I wanna teleport - I mean, he, the Emperor would find it most useful. So how come he can't teleport like that? Or can he? ? _ ?)....}

{...*Hehehe~ how cute. He could, maybe sometime in the future but no, he can't...Don't worry, one day soon you'll be soaring high up in the sky like a phoenix and teleporting through space and time. It can be great fun~ hahaha...}

Doctor Lou's laughter went from a chuckle to a full-blown howl, to Lei Xing's annoyance. She frowned with a disgruntled pout as the memory of him howling in laughter at the expense of her wishful thinking months earlier.

Looking at her expression, the Emperor frowned and asked, "Xing er', what's wrong?"

Lei Xing's mind was filled with the sound of Doctor Lou's laughter that she did not hear the Emperor's words.

{...It's not funny -_-)'...If you want to dig up old things, then I have absolutely no difficulty recalling your many transgressions starting f-...}

{...*Okay, okay, I won't mention it anymore~ But since you're actually about to become Empress, this nation's Phoenix~ I wasn't at all wrong, you will be a phoenix flying high very soon hehehe~...}

{...Pointless talk aside, are you still not going to tell me what these bloody entities are? I don't believe that you don't know ( ?_?)...}

{...*...}

Doctor Lou did not respond to her question and just continued on with that annoying laughter until the rainbow hue on the bracelet dissipated and with it, Doctor Lou was gone.

{...Tch, stingy. Again, giving nothing...so annoying (?_?)...}

Lei Xing let out a breath in irritation and the Emperor called again, louder this time, "Xing er'?"

Lei Xing blinked up at him, remembering she had company.

"What's wrong?" The Emperor asked. It apparently seems this old man always gets under her skin. He now knew the reason for her sometimes odd behaviors or mood swings was because of this old man talking in her mind.

Lei Xing shook her head, "It's nothing... Um, well, he said it seems they -?Well someone there has a guardian entity like yours...which I guess allowed them to do that. But he said he truly doesn't know about it..."

The Emperor blinked, taken back by her words. It was odd hearing that others had access to supernatural entities just like he did. Although his had never offered anything but advice so perhaps they were not of the same origin. But regardless, his interest had been piqued and he was now more interested in finding that group.

But now that he had heard this, the possibility of actually finding the group seemed very slim. Now all he could hope for was that the man they left behind would survive, that way he could at least get some answers.

The Emperor finally sighed and said, "That aside...There is something else, I would like to discuss with you."

"Oh, okay." Lei Xing responded, focusing her attention back on him.

The Emperor sighed again and then said, "The Empress dowager has now been confined to her palace and will remain so until...further notice. Therefore she will no longer be able to handle the palace affairs. Ideally, you should be assuming the responsibilities after you ascend to the position of Empress, but given the situation, I was hoping you could take over the duties now..."

"Oh." Lei Xing exclaimed, a bit surprised.

"As I said before, you can do as little as you'd like. It's just a matter of who to report to if needed...Nothing in your life has to change." The Emperor reassuringly added the last line, remembering how lazy Lei Xing was.

"Oh, it's fine. I would love to - I mean, yes. Sure...Yes, I can." Lei Xing haphazardly responded, a little bit giddy about the new job.

The Emperor smiled and then said, "That's good then. I will have the Empress's seal sent over tomorrow, along with someone to assist you..."

Lei Xing awkwardly nodded, a bit nervous.

{...A job, a daunting job...potentially. Do I get a salary?... Don't ask that! -_-)'...}

The Emperor looked at her awkward form and then reached out and pat her head, "I am sure you will do great. I'll see you later." The Emperor finished with a smile and then got up and left the room.

As soon as he turned away from her, his smile disappeared as he contemplated whether to continue with the futile search or not.

***

The Empress dowager woke up to find herself in her bed back at her palace. At first, she was confused but then the memories of the night quickly flooded back into her mind. Chun Hua had disappeared and with her, the only link to the monk and that Chen You was the cause of all this.

The Empress dowager scowled and immediately went to get up to get dressed. The door then opened and Song mama came in carrying a bowl of water, she blinked and smiled when she saw the Empress dowager getting up, "Your majesty, you're awake!" She had been asleep when the Empress dowager left a few days back. So she had been very worried when she was brought back unconscious.

The Empress dowager irritatedly glanced at her and simply said, "Get things ready, I'm going out."

Song mama froze and then quietly walked over to the side, dropped the bowl of water, and hesitantly informed, "Your majesty, you...you can't leave."

The Empress dowager stopped and turned to a questioning frown to her, "What?"

Song mama looked at her, gulped, and then carefully said, "The Emperor ordered that you are not to leave your palace..."

"What do you mean?!" The Empress dowager barked and Song mama jumped, then promptly fell to her knees and explained, "I don't know what happened but the -...when they brought you back, the guards said you are not to leave and...and this morning, they cleared out the servants...and locked the doors..." Song mama's voice got quieter and quieter as she explained along, lowering her head as she braced herself. She knew the Empress dowager would be enraged by this news.

But then after waiting for a little bit, the Empress dowager had still not responded. So Song mama dared to look up to see the Empress dowager glaring daggers down at her so she promptly lowered her head again in fear.

The Empress dowager seemed to have frozen in place and was having trouble processing what she just heard. After a little bit longer, she finally quietly and calmly asked, "He did what?"

Song mama knit her brows and hesitated. The Empress dowager being quiet like this was a lot more worrisome than her shouting, shouting was unexpected and so Song mama stuttered, "Th-he Emperor...said...Y-your highness c-c-cannot leave your palace..."

Rather than address Song mama, the Empress dowager simply stormed out of her room into an empty hallway with no servants. She made her way through empty corridors and entered the empty courtyard to see then to the entrance doors closed. Then she stopped and simply stood there staring at the doors.

Song mama came up behind her and stood some distance away, wary of her mistress eerie calmness.

After a while of just standing there staring at the locked doors, the Empress dowager calmly ordered, "Open the doors."

Song mama knit her brows, "Your maj-"

"I said OPEN THE DOORS!" The Empress dowager barked.

Song mama jumped, but then before she could react, she heard the sound of the doors being unlocked from the outside. She let out a sigh of relief as she thought the Emperor had changed his mind.

One of the doors was then opened but then Ling mama was quickly ushered in and the doors were promptly closed behind her with the lock put back in place.

Song mama's heart fell as she glanced at the Empress dowager's tensed up back, dreading her upcoming outburst.

Ling mama looked from the closed doors to the Empress dowager in confusion. As soon as she arrived back at the palace, she was kept waiting for a long while at the palace gates until an euncuh finally arrived with an order from the Emperor, permitting her to be taken to the Empress dowager's palace.

She was confused as to why she needed the Emperor's permission to enter. Not to mention she arrived to find the entrance locked with guards standing there like it was a prison. She now completely understood that something had gone very wrong somewhere while she was absent.