Circumventing Fate 77 - Cozener

The Emperor cast Lei Xing an "I told you so" glance and Lei Xing looked off to the side pretending to be oblivious to it.

"Explain yourself." The Emperor sternly said to Ah Jin.

Ah Jin sat back on her knees and glanced up at the Emperor, looked down and then hesitantly began, "I-I was only helping...Um, then there were rumors of Your majesty returning soon...and that the late Empress was already looking at candidates for your Imperial wives...So, so my mistress in order to gain a bit of favor with the late Empress...she wanted to do something memorable to stand out...a little..."

The Emperor glanced at Lei Xing again to find her frowning down at the top of Ah Jin's head.

{...Hey, why are you opening up another can of worms?! Honestly, these people are just trying to piss me off today! -_-)...}

Ah Jin continued, "...The only thing she had some talent in is the qin and even that she had abandoned for a long while and... she also felt that it would not create a lasting image too...she wanted to give something more tangible and so settled on an embroidery piece...But my mistress's skill in embroidery is...is..."

Then she glanced up at the Emperor again and looked back down, "...I...My mistress's skill in embroidery is...a bit poor so I - I..."

"So she asked you to make it for her?" The Emperor asked.

Ah Jin immediately added, "She didn't force me...It was just something we always did..."

The Emperor narrowed his eyes, "You always did?... So you usually did her work?"

"Well, my mistress is actually incredibly smart and talented, it's just...just she never applies herself....an-and it was only embroidery and art that I helped with...the other things are hers..." Ah Jin defended.

Lei Xing lightly scoffed in her mind.

{...What other things? Reading and writing? Hahaha...Also, how did no one catch on to this scheme?...By the way, you suck at keeping secrets, apparently, all they had to do was ask. You just spilled everything, just like that?...She should have asked more questions in her recruitment process or prepped you more on damage control...she probably didn't think that far...They never do -_-)...}

The Emperor glanced at Lei Xing on the side and then raised an eyebrow. Lei Xing was just standing there looking down at Ah Jin and listening with keen interest, seemingly unbothered as if she were actually not the subject of the conversation.

The Emperor turned back to Ah Jin, "And the family was aware of all this?" As the Emperor asked that Lei Xing nodded along.

{...That's what I thought. Great question!...}

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at Lei Xing, a bit confused by her behavior.

Ah Jin immediately looked, "No, they were not!" She said loudly, and then lowered her voice and added, "It was just between my mistress and me...We were well-organized and th-"

Ah Jin paused when Lei Xing suddenly snorted, both she and the Emperor glanced at her with knit eyebrows.

Lei Xing broke into a coughing fit, patted her chest and said, "I'm sorry...It seems I'm coming down with a bit of a cold. Continue..."

The Emperor scrutinized Lei Xing for a bit, holding back his smile. He then turned to Ah Jin, "Continue." 

Lei Xing slightly let out a sigh of relief.

{...Not sure why I found that one funny...Well-organized? I say lazy parenting...But Xiao Ting seems to have turned out okay - cries a bit too easily but okay. Lei Yong also seems to be reasonable, so maybe this girl's just the black sheep? A black sheep with high aspirations? What a recipe for disaster...}

Ah Jin continued, "The mistress used to keep to herself a lot...the family was used to it...so it was easy not to get noticed..." She quietly finished

"Is there anything else you are hiding?" The Emperor then asked.

Ah Jin fervently shook her head, "There is nothing, Your majesty."

"I heard she had an accident a while before entering the palace? Nothing to report there?" The Emperor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ah Jin went rigid and then knit her brows. At this point, she was already cold-sweating. She glanced up at the Emperor and then looked towards Lei Xing.

Ah Jin looking at her with a beseeching expression finally reminding Lei Xing that she was the actual subject here, so she sighed and said, "It's okay, I already told him..."

Ah Jin nodded and then turned to Emperor and answered, "She lost some of her memories after almost drowning...So she doesn't remember much..." She finished casting a few agitated glances up at the Emperor.

On seeing him frown, she quickly added, "But other than just some missing memories, she is perfectly healthy...so it should not cause any problems." 

The Emperor frowned in contemplation for a while and then turned to Lei Xing and then said, "I see... So is that reason for your visits to that doctor?"

Lei Xing quickly responded, cupping her hands and bowed her head for an extra measure of politeness, "Yes. It was to help with my condition..." 

{...Technically true, being here is a condition...}

"Hm...Anything else to report?" The Emperor then asked, looking at both of them.

Ah Jin fervently shook her head, then he stared directly at Lei Xing, who then blinked and responded, "Nothing at all."

{...At least, I think so...My own personal life has no bearing here...}

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at Lei Xing for a while, she also looked back at him with caution.

{...Should I start running?... I guess I should apologize or something too...}

Lei Xing then bowed and put on a remorseful expression, "Your majesty, I apologize for my incompetencies. I was young and foolish, and so made an error in my judgment. I-"

"And now?" The Emperor asked, interrupting her speech. Young and foolish was the same reason she gave for wanting to enter the palace.

Lei Xing blinked and looked up at him, he then smirked with a raised eyebrow and continued, "You're no longer young and foolish. You have truly grown so much in just a few weeks?"

"O-Oh, I see...Well, one ca-" 

"It seems you have truly lost some memories..." The Emperor commented. To be honest, when she said it earlier, he did not wholly believe her. She always seemed guarded and meandering with her words, secretive. Lei Xing nodded and honestly said, "Truly, I don't recall."

The Emperor sighed and said, "In that case, it does seem somewhat unfair to hold you accountable for deeds you have no knowledge of..."

Lei Xing fervently nodded in agreement. The Emperor looked at her and slightly smiled, "Therefore, in light of your innocent and noble aspirations, I will be magnanimous and overlook this matter."

Lei Xing inwardly rolled her eyes and outwardly smiled and bowed, "Thank you, Your majesty for your immense grace."

{...Noble and innocent aspirations? What the hell is noble about wanting to get in your pants? -_-)...}

Ah Jin also followed along and thanked him, kowtowing again in gratitude.

While Lei Xing was looking at her feeling a bit angry at her for keeping her dark about this. She had asked Ah Jin to fill her in on the important bits of Lei Xing's past before.

"Now that's settled. You can leave." The Emperor said. Ah Jin got up and bowed. Lei Xing also bowed and turned to leave.

"Xing er', you stay." Lei Xing froze and felt a bit of shiver go up her spine. 

{...When did that start? I'm pretty sure we are not a first name basis here -_-)...}

Ah Jin glanced at Lei Xing and then quickly left. Lei Xing sighed and turned around to see the Emperor walking towards her.

He stopped in front of her and asked with a slight smile, "Don't you have anything more to say?"

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