The Emperor inwardly sighed, she really worried too much about everything. This was the reason he chose not to tell her of his decision to disband the harem beforehand.

If he had told her, it was unlikely she would have readily agreed to it, at the very least, he was almost certain she would not have agreed for him to do it today.

But he had already made up his mind to do this so she would not have been able to dissuade him on it. But if they discussed it and she refused to align with his thoughts and he proceeded to do it, he did not think it would bode well for their relationship.

While he was the Emperor and everyone, including his Empress, had to bow to his will, he has actually never flaunted his authority over Lei Xing before. And he got the sense that if he ever did that, things will drastically change between them...for the worse.

He could not really put his finger on it, but he just felt that he could not cross that line with her. His instincts had never failed him before, it was actually quite similar to how he felt with Doctor Lou and look how that turned out, the Doctor has been proven himself to be unordinary.

What's more, the feeling was even stronger with Lei Xing. Of course, he reasoned that his feelings played a role in that but still he felt there was something more to it, it was like that even before they became close. Even from their first conversation, he indulged her much more than was permissible, much less possible.

Initially, he thought it was because of Lei Yong. But on later thought, he had never giving Lei Yong half the breadth he gave Lei Xing, so how could it simply be because of Lei Yong?

Lei Xing told him that Doctor Lou said they had similar energies from one source or something like that. He did not really understand it but Lei Xing said it basically translated to an uncanny sort of soulmates situation.

The Emperor liked that word soulmates, he thought it to be very fitting for them. He and Lei Xing connected on many levels, they thought alike, had similar senses of humor - they had a deep level of understanding of each other and they connected very easily.

But then there was one part where their personalities differed greatly, if not clashed. The Emperor trusted his instincts and acted on them, whereas for Lei Xing, acting on instincts was not something she allowed herself. Taking risky moves was not something she did or would endorse and this to her was a very risky move. She focuses too much on what and all that could go wrong.

The Emperor had come to learn that his Xing er' was quite the complicated girl and it took skill and intellect to navigate around her quirks to avoid conflict.

So he weighed his options and decided to keep it to himself until it was done. Even if she would be mildly upset that he did not inform her, it would not be compared to the potential fallout that would happen if they had a disagreement and he blatantly disregarded her opinion by proceeding with his plans.

He had thought they were already over the upset phase in the main hall, but apparently he was too optimistic. The Emperor sighed and took her hands, "Xing er', I properly thought this through before doing this. Moreover, an affront against you is an affront against me. Your enemies are my enemies. Therefore, those same people would still have become my enemies regardless of this... I, we, have lost nothing."

Lei Xing knit her brows and looked down at their hands and mumbled under breath, "...Easy to say-"

The Emperor frowned, "Xing er'-"

"Okay, I'll stop...It's too late to backtrack anyway." She said, plastering a smile on her face for him.

The Emperor smiled back and hugged her, "Everything will be alright... Trust me and stop worrying."

Lei Xing sighed, "I guess you've turned into a worrywart..."

{...You doing worrisome things and not worrying is obviously bad for my head! T_T)...}

The Emperor lightly chuckled, he was not sure what "worrywart" meant but it obviously had to do worrying so he threw her words from last night back at her, "Well, then you'd make a great parent too..."

Lei Xing snorted and rolled her eyes.

{...The things this guy picks up...*sigh* This is good, it will be fine...It will...}

***

After the eunuch arrived with the imperial records book, the two resumed their individual tasks to send off their royal "palace-mates". Once they were done writing, the Emperor put his seal on them and sent them off with the eunuchs to arrange and deliver to the Minister of Rites, who would then deliver it to the recipients to make it all truly official.

Lei Xing blankly looked on as the eunuchs disappeared with the edicts and the doors close behind them. She then took a deep breath and stood up, "I'll see you later..."

Before she could move, the Emperor swiftly grabbed her hand and asked, "Where are you going?... You said you were free today." He added with knit eyebrows.

Lei Xing blinked down at him and then went, "Hmm...well, I was free but...now with this... Your wiv- I mean, your sis-" Lei Xing frowned and just went, "They're leaving so there are things that would require my attention so-"

"You can give orders from here." The Emperor supplied.

"True...but excessive gloating is bad form, so I'll see you later..." Lei Xing said with a smile, patting his head like he was a child with her other hand.

The Emperor knit his brows and promptly grabbed her stray hand, "Gloating?" He asked in confusion.

Lei Xing raised her eyebrows and explained, "...It'll look bad if we celebrate too much in the open...I can imagine most people aren't in celebratory a mood like we are... Even though you might not have had a relationship with those girls, it is an undeniable fact that you - I guess, we did crush a few dreams today...Me staying here with you today will only be rubbing salt in their wounds. We ought to be a bit considerate so I'll see you at dinner..."

The Emperor frowned and sighed, "You really think too much..."

"I'm thinking just enough now." Lei Xing said with a smile as she bent down and kissed his cheek to appease him and sweetly said, "Work hard~"

The Emperor sighed again and released her hands and mumbled, "Don't work too hard..."

Lei Xing lightly chuckled and then gave him another kiss before she turned and left him. The Emperor sighed and watched her as she sauntered off.

{...I really cannot win with her...}

***

After Lei Xing left the royal study she went to the bureau of human affairs to find Ming Shu. As soon as she stepped into the office, Ming Shu promptly stood up and walked to the center of the room and bowed in greeting.

Lei Xing simply nodded in acknowledgment. Instead of going to sit in the main seat, Lei Xing just sat in one of the guest seats, folded her arms and knit her brows.

Ming Shu quietly stood there observing Lei Xing, waiting for her to speak but Lei Xing seemed to be lost in thought. After a while of silence, Ming Shu finally went, "Your majesty...how may I be of service?"

Lei Xing blinked at her, coming back to reality. She cleared her throat and went, "Ah, sit."

Ming Shu bowed and then went to sit on the guest seat across from Lei Xing. Even though Lei Xing did not seem to care, she could not risk the rudeness of sitting in the office seat before Lei Xing.

After all, when it came to these royals, you never know when and what they will take issue with, they could say something was alright now and then a crime later. It was best to not cross any lines.

Ming Shu patiently waited for Lei Xing to think things through and the silence stretched again until Lei Xing finally sighed and asked, "Have you heard about what happened in Court this morning?"

"I have..." Ming Shu said with a nod. Even though she was not one for gossip, as the head of affairs in the palace, it was her business to be in the know of palace matters. News like this also spread very quickly in the palace.

"What do you think about it?" Lei Xing seriously asked, calmly looking at Ming Shu.

Ming Shu blinked and slightly knit her brows before bowing her head, "The Emperor is wise to see the blessing that Your majesty is to the empire..."

Lei Xing quietly scoffed and almost rolled her eyes.

{...Not bootlick 201! -_-)... Why is it so hard to have an honest conversation with people these days?...}

Even the Emperor always seemed to be dancing circles around her, it was honestly quite irritating but she could obviously not fault him for trying to considerate of her feelings. It was sweet but also worrying. She needed to talk to someone and somehow her feet led her here.