When they arrived at her study, Lei Xing sat down in front of her desk not bothering with the Emperor, who was lingering at the door to give orders to the servants.
When he was done he strolled in, smiled at Lei Xing, and then glanced around the room, taking a leisure stroll like some tourist.
He looked at the qin on the table on the side, then glanced at Lei Xing and snorted. Lei Xing narrowed her eyes at him.
{...Hey, what's funny? -_-)...Also, why are you here? I graciously loaned you my bed and here you are NOT sleeping in it...If you were bored, you should have gone for a run around the palace or something instead of coming here to selfishly lock me out my bed!...I'm still a patient, you know -_-)'...}
The Emperor then walked to the other side of the room, interested in seeing her embroidery work but was met with an empty sheet. There was a small basket on the side with some small sheets that were currently in the process of being embroidered in their hoops.
As he randomly flipped through the basket, one of the designs; an uncompleted peony flower, caught his interest.
He picked up the work and scrutinized it for a bit, then he held it up towards Lei Xing, "Is this yours?"
"No, it's Ah Jin's." Lei Xing responded.
"Ah Jin? That's your childhood personal maid, isn't it?" The Emperor asked, still scrutinizing the sheet.
"Yes, why?" Lei Xing curiously asked, knitting her brows.
"The handiwork is quite good." The Emperor glanced at her with a smile and then looked back at the sheet in his hand.
Then he removed it from the hoop, folded it, and tucked into his robe. Lei Xing watched him do all that, completely bewildered.
{...Why does that look so wrong? O_O)...Is it stealing if he does it right in front of me?...}
"Do you have any embroidery pieces here?" The Emperor asked, turning to Lei Xing.
"No." Lei Xing flatly responded. Xiao Ruo and Ah Jin were the ones who did any embroidery that was anywhere here.
Lei Xing usually just sat around drawing random things, reading or doing nothing, and occasionally, harming their ears with her qin practice.
The Emperor nodded and then walked to the bookshelf which currently housed only three books; Li Ru's two qin study guides and the "Virtues of Imperial Women" that had long been collecting dust both on the bookshelf and in Lei Xing's memory.
Lei Xing skeptically watched the Emperor look over the books, pick one up, and casually flipped through it.
{...Are you really this bored in your life? Sleep is not at all appealing? In that case, can you go sightseeing somewhere else so that I can reclaim my bed? -_-)...}
As the Emperor flipped through the second qin study guide, He knit his brows and asked, "Did you write this?"
Lei Xing perked up a little and answered, "Li Ru did."
"Another one of your maids?" The Emperor asked as he flipped through the book.
Lei Xing frowned and opened her mouth in disbelief and then flatly said, "She's your consort."
"Oh." He responded with disinterest causing Lei Xing to narrow her eyes in annoyance, and she added for reference, "The one you gifted the painting to during the competition."
"Ahh, her...You must be quite close." He offhandedly commented and put the book back on the shelf, seemingly losing interest.
Lei Xing's frown deepened. She was feeling a bit offended by this. She disgruntedly looked down at her book and ignored his presence.
{...How could you not know? She was so excited too... You suck...A lot!... I wonder if he even remembers my name too - Not that I care, I'm just saying ...He doesn't remember them, but they all remember him...*sigh* This is the sad reality of things...}
The Emperor continued perusing her collection, unaware of Lei Xing's dissatisfaction with his conduct. He picked up the "Virtues of Imperial women", quickly flipped through it, and put it back.
He then turned and glanced around the room again as if looking for something else to do. He looked at Lei Xing who was "focused" on her book for a bit, then glanced at the qin and then back at Lei Xing.
The Emperor then went to sit down in front of the qin and lightly stroked the strings.
He glanced at Lei Xing again, she was still ignoring him. He smiled and looked down at the qin for a bit and then began to play and a slow melodious tune filled the room.
Lei Xing knit her brows and snuck a few glances at the Emperor.
{...What is this supposed to be now, "The Art of Seduction"? I don't care what you play, it's not going to work. You might as well play a funeral march song instead -_-)...}
Lei Xing glared at the book, trying to ignore him and his music. After a few failed attempts, she succumbed and let go of her misgivings and just enjoyed the music. She glanced at him and sighed.
{...I guess it could be worse...At least he's not ugly, some would even call him handsome...I wouldn't -_-)...Okay, I admit he might look great, maybe even handsome and talented too...What does that have to do with anything? He could be Adonis himself and I wouldn't care! I don't want to be here, ALSO multitude of women! Correction, increasing multitude of women -_-)...
...Emperors had young girls regularly flocking into the palace in droves. Heck, even the maids are free and probably willing game, no way I'll ever be one of man-...}
"Are you asleep?"
Lei Xing's eyes flew open, and she sat up.
Apparently, at some point, she had stretched out her arm on the table, rested her head on her hand, and closed her eyes.
She was so busy with her thoughts that she did not even realize when the music stopped.
There were also now some servants in the room. One was setting down a tea set in front of her, and then another for the Emperor. While another servant was holding a tray stacked with memorials, as two others prepared the desk.
Lei Xing raised her eyebrows and asked, "You're going to work?"
{...You're not going to sleep? In that case, can you go to your own study or something so I possibly can? -_-)...}
"We can go to sleep if you prefer." The Emperor calmly responded with a smile.
Lei Xing flashed a half-smile and said, "It's very good to be hardworking." Then she cast a glance at the qin that was placed behind him.
"What did you think of that piece?" The Emperor asked when he caught her looking that way.
"Very good." Lei Xing swiftly responded.
The Emperor raised an eyebrow at her, "Just very good?"
{...Tch, fishing for praises. Conceited much?... But it was really good, so I guess you have permission to gloat -_-)...}
"It was beautiful..." She amended. The Emperor smiled brightly and then went to pick a memorial. Lei Xing curiously eyed him for a bit and then spoke up again, "I have a question..."
The Emperor knit his brows.
The last time she had a question, it was about leaving the palace, actually every time she asked him something, it had to do with that. So, his mood subconsciously took a dip when he heard that, but he still responded, "Yes?"
Lei Xing cleared her throat, "I am just a little curious...what is the name of the piece?"
Hearing her question, his mood brightened immediately, he smiled and asked, "Name?"
"Yes." Lei Xing answered, waiting for the answer
{...I am going to have Li Ru play it for me some time, possibly teach me, but more play for me. She should know it since they're all apparently walking music libraries...}
"Hmm, it has no name yet. I just created it." The Emperor explained.
Lei Xing blinked, "Just now?"
"En." He nodded.
Lei Xing nodded in admiration and muttered under her breath, "Impressive."
Li Ru had explained the "essence of music" to her before, something about letting the song flow through you or the other, but Lei Xing could not comprehend and boiled it down to good memorization skills.
{...It's just a matter of memorizing what each string sounds like and-...and some more stuff... This is why I am not composer, apparently....*Sigh* It's good to be talented, I seem to have missed out on that train...Actually, I'm not that bad either, I could get there...with time I can...Yeah, with some patience, some perseverance, motivation, energy...Just generally stuff I don't have a lot of -...}
"Do you want to learn it?" The Emperor asked, seeing her interest in it.
Lei Xing gave a short laugh, "I don't think my skills are quite there yet."
The Emperor chuckled, "Yes, your skills are quite lacking."
Lei Xing's smile immediately fell, and she glared down at her book in annoyance.
{...It's my fault for asking because apparently, I was fishing for insults -_-)...This guy has been subtly insulting me for while now. No, actually, I think that one was a direct insult...It's not funny!... Even if it's facts, you don't have to constantly hint at my shortcomings. It's annoying -_-)...}
~Thank You for Reading, Please Comment Below~
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