Chapter 25: Reality Check

Lei Xing picked up the chopsticks and reached for a dish of stir fry chicken and picked a piece, then her eyes slanted to the ring and then her hand stopped mid-air, she stared at it for a while and then dropped the chopsticks.

{...I really can't do this...this stupid freaking ring!...}

She put her hands in her lap and looked down at the ring, it had gone back to its normal sky blue color, she rubbed it for a while and then reached towards the cup of water and saw it change to the greenish-blue again.

She put her elbows on the table and massaged her temples with her fingers.

{...What the hell is wrong with this thing?!!... I can rationalize that the stupid ring seems to be reacting to anything that has water in or on it, because other than the food, water, tea and the flowers, it's fine for everything else...

...But this is obviously overkill, leaving behind way too much evidence, also the net is too wide, too extreme and such a waste!...it's either the poisoner's an idiot or just inefficient...or this stupid ring's malfunctioning...}

Lei Xing sighed and got up, removed her outer robes and jumped on her bed to sleep. She put her hand with the ring on the pillow and looked at it, then sighed again.

{...I have come to rely on this thing too much, I'm not sure if that's a good thing...at this moment it feels like I'm relying on Apple maps, it's either a hit or a miss -_-)'...}

The next day, the Empress dowager moved the "study" session to noon and no one woke Lei Xing up early, so she slept in.

When she finally woke up, she saw that the table was still left as it was last night.

She rolled around in bed for a bit and then Xiao Ruo and Ah Jin came into the room and greeted her. Then other maids came in shortly after them, bowed and started clearing the table, while a maid came up to her with a bowl of warm water and towel for her to wash her face. Lei Xing looked at the water and sighed.

{...Here we go again...}

She reached for the water and went all the way to touching the water and then froze, she was a bit confused.

{...It didn't change?...}

Lei Xing quickly got up and went to the table, and reached for the teacup with cold tea.

Xiao Ruo seeing her do this quickly said, "Your highness, don't drink that...There's hot tea on the side."

Lei Xing picked up the cup and observed it, then put it down and casually waved her hand at the remaining dishes still on the table.

Then she walked to the side and sat down. Xiao Ruo came forward and poured a cup of tea for her.

Lei Xing put her hand on the cup and stared at her hand holding the cup with a frown, the jewel on the ring never changed from its normal sky blue color at all.

{...So...so what was that yesterday? Was I really seeing things? Was I hallucinating? Am I going insane?! One day here and I'm starting to lose my mind? Already?! oTZ...No, that's not it. I know what I saw!... I am perfectly sane! It's this piece of crap that's insane!....}

Lei Xing took a deep breath and then drank the tea in the cup in one shot and then poured another and then another...

{...I haven't drunk or eaten anything since yesterday morning, I'm dying here...}

"Your highness, would you like to bath first or have breakfast?" Xiao Ruo asked observing Lei Xing downing the tea like a starved beast.

"Breakfast!" Lei Xing enthusiastically answered. Xiao Ruo nodded and left the room. The breakfast came shortly after and everything was fine to the ring, Lei Xing enjoyed this meal greatly, cleared it all, and when she was finished, she let out a sigh of relief.

{...Nothing like a full course grade A meal after a starvation session...the cook deserves a raise...}

The maids cleared the table, and after that, Xiao Ruo left to go have her bath prepared, leaving only Ah Jin in the room. Lei Xing saw that the others had all left and then looked at Ah Jin for a while.

{...I need to get to the bottom of this...if not who knows what this piece of crap would do next time...making me feel like a crazy person!....}

"Ah Jin, I need you to do something for me."

"Whatever you wish." Ah Jin said bowing to Lei Xing.

Lei Xing got up and went to a drawer and found a small box and took off the ring and put in it and then handed the box to Ah Jin. "I need you to take this to Doctor Lou, tell him that I obtained this gift and want him to examine it for me and make sure that all is well with it."

Ah Jin nodded and put the small box in her robes, bowed and left. Lei Xing sat down and drank tea and thought it over.

{...It is possible that I was spooked by the incident in the morning and so was seeing things all day?... That could be, except I don't scare easy and I wasn't even scared at the Empress dowager's palace when it happened, I was much more annoyed than anything...it doesn't make sense that I would be so "scared" many hours later when it wasn't even on my mind. I know what I saw!...}

After Lei Xing had her bath, she got dressed and made her way to the Empress dowager's palace.

When she arrived, Noble consort Li approached her with a smile, Lei Xing managed a small smile back and stood facing forward.

{...I'm not sure what to make of you yet...}

"Noble consort Lei, are you feeling better?" Noble consort Li asked.

"En." Lei Xing nodded in her direction and faced forward.

"That's good..."

"En." Lei Xing simply replied again. She cast a side glance at Noble consort Li and saw that she was looking down, a bit flustered.

It seemed she was trying to find something to say, and of course, Lei Xing wasn't helping the conversation with her curt replies either.

{...This is a bit sad...even though she's not a friend, I shouldn't make her hate me more, right?...I could at least...That's bothersome, not a fan of stupid mind games...my verdict, in this case, is guilty until proven innocent!...}

Lei Xing pretended like she didn't notice Noble consort Li's internal struggle and faced forward, thankfully it didn't take long before they were summoned in.

After they greeted her, the Empress dowager glanced at Lei Xing, "Xing'er, you came too? You didn't have to, you should have rested more."

{...What did she just call me? I felt shivers run down my spine...I hate it when people try to pretend to be familiar with me...It's creepy!...}

Lei Xing politely smiled and bowed, "I thank your majesty for your concern, but I am perfectly recovered now. I will make sure to be more careful in the future not to worry you again."

The Empress dowager scrutinized Lei Xing for a while and then said, "En. That's good." and then turned to the others, "You should all resume your studies from yesterday."

They all bowed to her and then went to sit down and opened the book on their table. The maids quietly came up with tea and snacks and left them on their tables.

The Empress dowager just quietly sat on the main seat, sipping her tea overlooking them, and occasionally quietly talking with Song mama.

{...Is this woman this bored? or is this some sort of power trip? How dull -_-)'...Also, what is her problem with me? If she has any issues with me being here, she should go take it up with her son who put me in this bloody situation and leave me out of it!... Actually, if she could go do that and they come to a conclusion to kick me out on a technicality or something, I will be eternally grateful to her...}

Lei Xing inwardly sighed and read the stupid book, all the while not eating or drinking anything. She knew better than to risk it after the events of yesterday, plus the fact that she did not have the ring on her reinforced her lack of interest.

***

"I thought you were avoiding me?" The Emperor said with a raised eyebrow as he watched Lei Yong walking into the royal study.

Lei Yong looked at the emperor and smiled, "Why would this subject dare to avoid the emperor?"

"Really? I waited for you to appear all day...and all I received was a soldier reporting in your stead and an apology about being unable to make the journey. I assume you must have gotten lost somewhere along the journey, right?" The emperor finished in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, the scenery of the palace has really changed a lot lately, I apologize for my tardiness, it will not happen again." Lei Yong said as he put his hands forward and bowed in "apology".

The Emperor laughed and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lei Yong straightened up and asked, "About?"

The Emperor raised an eyebrow at him and then Lei Yong dropped the act and sighed, "I thought she should be treated fairly like the others."

The Emperor didn't say anything and just kept staring at Lei Yong. Lei Yong sighed again and then said, "Actually, my parents didn't want her to enter the palace...I thought to leave it up to fate..."

{...Fate?...}

The Emperor frowned in thought and then said, "Your parents were right...entering the palace is not anything good." Then he looked at Lei Yong with a serious expression, "If I had known, I also wouldn't have let her enter." He said this, but was honestly not confident he could truly ignore the voice that had saved his life multiple times.

"That's the main reason why I didn't tell you...the thing is..." Lei Yong looked at the Emperor and then looked to the side, sighing again, and then looked back at Emperor and said, "Actually, she likes you..."

The Emperor looked at Lei Yong and frowned, then burst into a short laugh, "Who?"