Circumventing Fate 49 - Pass

Lei Xing blankly stared at him and didn't answer the question.

{...I will take that as a rhetorical question, so answer yourself -_-)'...}

 After a while, the Emperor sighed and then said, "Well, there isn't any...catch, but there are some rules."

Lei Xing narrowed her eyes.

{...I knew it, "rules and restrictions apply", there's always a fine print -_-)...}

 The Emperor looked at her expression and snorted, "You can leave, but you have to return before nightfall. You are also not allowed to neglect any of your responsibilities..."

Lei Xing knit her brows, she just realized it was literally just a gate pass and not a freedom pass, "Oh, I see..."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow at her, "You sound disappointed, in that case, gi-"

Lei Xing swiftly responded with a nervous laugh, "Of course not, I am most grateful..."

{...Take what I can get, I guess -_-)...}

 Lei Xing looked at him skeptically and hesitantly asked, "...but why are you giving me this?"

{...You don't seem like the random "gracious" sort -_-)'...}

 The Emperor shrugged, "Didn't you say the palace was stifling?"

Lei Xing narrowed her eyes.

{...Really? Just that? Why do I find that hard to believe, sketchy as hell -_-)'...}

 "I did...but I mean, why are you giving it to me? I thought imperial wives normally aren't allowed to leave at will..."

The Emperor nodded, "Normally..."

Lei Xing raised her eyebrows.

{...Am I missing something?...}

 When he didn't explain anything more, she continued, "...So isn't unfair for you to give this to me?" She slowly asked.

{...Not that I care but...you know, people aren't usually nice for no reason...there's usually a build-up to the action...especially here! -_-)'...So I don't buy that you just randomly woke up this night to come do this for no reason...}

 The Emperor raised his eyebrows, "You don't want it? Then give it back." He said, putting out a hand for it.

Lei Xing immediately put the hand holding it behind her back and nervously laughed, and said, "That's not it at all, I was just making pointless conversation. Thank you very much, If there's nothing else, I will be leaving now."

"You can't leave at night." The Emperor calmly reminded.

"Of course not, I am aware of that..."

{...I'm not an idiot...What I mean is you should get lost...thank you, but you can leave now...I sound so freaking ungrateful...who cares, it's not like I asked him to...but...No, it's actually his fault that I'm in here, so I take back my thank you!.... Sound so petty, it's not my fault, this place is driving me crazy T_T)...}

 Lei Xing forced a smile and explained, "What I mean is... that it is late and you should go back and get some rest."

"Hm..." The Emperor simply replied then looked forward at the wall again.

After a while of silence, Lei Xing also glanced at the wall.

{...Is there something interesting on the wall that I'm missing? -_-)...Can you go wall gazing somewhere else -_-?)...}

 After a while of silence, Lei Xing then spoke up again, "Ah, it has been a long tiring day, so I will retire now and no longer disturb your...moment of peace."

The Emperor turned to look at her but didn't respond. Lei Xing stood there awkwardly waiting for a response, but none came.

{...I guess will take that as an "Okay" then...}

 Lei Xing quickly bowed and left with quick feet. The Emperor watched her leave, then sighed and turned back to the wall.

{...As expected, being back here feels strange...It still looks just the same as it did so many years ago...Perhaps I should move her, I don't know what I was thinking to put her here...nevermind, it doesn't matter anyway...}

 After a while of standing there, the Emperor finally turned and made his way out, this was the only place he had ever regarded as his home, it was also where his life began. There were no real good memories in this place, but even then, it was the only place he had ever thought of as "home", despite how cold and tumultuous it was.

**

 Lei Xing returned to her room, sat down and scrutinized the pass. She had held onto it tightly and refused to give it back, but she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do with it.

She could leave the palace, but she still had to come back.

{...I don't believe I said I wanted to go sight-seeing...I don't have anywhere I want to "visit" -_-)'...Maybe just runaway after leaving?...Um NO! That's the dumbest thing to do...I have no wilderness survival skills, running away means leaving the city, which means out in the wild...I can't even start a freaking fire -_-)'...

...There's also money...I can't exactly drag two full chests out the door with me, highly suspicious...Also, how safe will it be for me traveling alone with trunks of money and no destination? Also with no martial skills at all - I mean I can throw a punch and kick, but that theory has never been tested...hahaha I'd rather not test it out now...Plus, I'd probably get caught anyway, and then there'll be major trouble, so that's a waste of energy...}

 Lei Xing sighed, went to take a bath, still holding on to the jade pass, still thinking about what to do with it.

She had gotten over her initial disappointment about it not giving her the freedom she wanted. Although she was still skeptical about why the Emperor gave this to her, she didn't think he meant any harm by it...

{...At least not bodily harm, mental anguish is still on the table...I mean, why would he?...you never know with these people -_-)'...}

 By the time she laid down to sleep, she was still skeptical about it, but also somewhat excited at the prospect of being able to leave this place. Therefore, she concluded that she was going to go out tomorrow. She still had no idea where to go, all she had concluded was that she was going out.

{...Ah, I know!... It's time to have a heart to heart with that Doctor, I need a manual!...}

 She happily smiled to herself in excitement about her schedule for tomorrow. She has been so stressed out the last few days, so this was definitely a welcome event. She happily closed her eyes and went to sleep, all the while thinking about tomorrow.

 That night, she had a weird dream. In the dream, Lei Xing saw herself, a seemingly younger version in the woods at night, sitting down in front of a campfire alone with a horse tied to a tree behind her.

All of a sudden, she got up and quickly went to get the horse to ride away, but the horse was panicking and refusing to move, so she abandoned it and sprinted into the woods. Eventually, she stopped when she found she had reached a cliff's edge.

There was no longer anywhere left to run, so she turned around and faced the trees, and then held a knife to her neck and shouted, "I'm not going back."

Then someone surfaced out of the trees, it was Ah Jin, who sighed and then said, "Stop causing trouble, let's go back."

 Lei Xing frowned and gripped the knife tightly, "I said I'm not going back!"

Ah Jin sighed again, "Seriously let's go back, if you don't we'll be in trouble."

"I don't care, I'm not going back." Lei Xing said, pressing the knife to her throat, drawing blood to show her resolve.

Ah Jin knit her brows, a bit panicked said, "Drop the knife first, let's just talk..."

 "I won't! You'll take it away. I have to go help him."

Ah Jin sighed again, "He's going to be fine..."

"You don't know that! If he dies, I die!" Lei Xing angrily shouted.

Ah Jin frowned and sighed in exasperation, "Don't be so impulsive, if you ruin things, your father will be angry, so le-"

 "That's none of my business! If anything happens to him, then the deal's off..." Then Lei Xing softened her voice and tried to negotiate, "...Just help me...I promise I'll go back and be perfect, I promise!"

"Just put the knife down, and we can discu-"

"Promise me first, or I'll slit my throat and jump!"

"You'll do both?"

"Just in case." Lei Xing indignantly replied and stared at Ah Jin in determination.

 Ah Jin sighed, "Fine, just this one time..."

Lei Xing instantly beamed, dropped the knife and coyly said, "I knew you'd understand."

Ah Jin rolled her eyes and turned to quickly walk away, and Lei Xing happily pranced along to catch up to her.

The current Lei Xing, who was a bystander being dragged along the entire time was stuck in place on the cliff's edge watching their departing backs, then she saw "herself" glance back and smile at her, which startled her into waking up with an aching head.

Lei Xing sat up and rubbed her head.

{...Well, that was weird...well, my life is weird lately -_-)'...}

 It was already morning, at least she thought so, but it was probably around mid-day. There was nothing scheduled today, so they would usually leave her to sleep as long as she wanted.

She was feeling thirsty and so got up and walked to the table on the side to pour some water. Soon after, Ah Jin came into the room and greeted her, then asked if she would like to eat or bathe first. Lei Xing didn't respond and just stared at her.

{...Maybe it was a memory?... Perhaps...I should ask...yeah, but how to ask...Just go, 'Hey, have you and I ever been at the edge of a cliff somewhere, with me threatening to jump and slit my throat over some guy?'...Yeah, I think not, I'd sound crazy if it's not...but stillI'm curious, it was quite an epic scene....}

 After debating for a while, her curiosity won, and Lei Xing finally opened her mouth, "I was wondering, ha-"

Before she could get the question out, the doors opened, interrupting her and Xiao Ruo came in greeted and then went on to inform, "Your highness, a senior maid from Noble consort Chen's palace has been waiting for you in the reception hall all morning."

On hearing this, Lei Xing immediately frowned.

{...What does she want now? I told her not to come!...way to ruin my morning -_-)'...}

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