Chapter 172 - Contradiction (2/2)

”Not like that? You two seemed pretty affectionate the other day. I saw you...” The Emperor said looking at Lei Yong accusingly. He was feeling sympathetic to Tung Mei, a certain sense of camaraderie and felt the urge to punch Lei Yong.

Lei Yong held his chin and knit his brows, ”Affectionate, perhaps...I do care about her but it's more like a younger sister, so it's not like that.”

The Emperor blinked a few times, ”Sister?” Then he gave a dry laugh.

{...To think I said you were easy...At least I'm not being treated like a ”brother”...That's something....these siblings -_-)...}

”Why are you suddenly interested in Tung Mei?” Lei Yong finally asked.

The Emperor glanced at him and Lei Yong flinched when he saw him glaring, but then the Emperor sighed again and asked, ”I heard Tung Mei met your sister when she ran away from home a few years ago. Correct?”

”Yes...” Lei Yong responded, then he blinked and knit his eyebrows, ”You investigated Xing er'?”

”I investigate everyone.” The Emperor offhandedly responded, and then went back to the topic, ”She lied.”

”Xing er' lied to you?” Lei Yong asked in surprise.

”No, Tung Mei lied.” The Emperor responded, slightly irritated, ”While we couldn't find out where your sister was during that period, we found out exactly where Tung Mei was. They definitely did not meet during that time and there's never been an opportunity for them to meet.”

Lei Yong knit his brows and simply stared at the Emperor and so the Emperor searched through the doc.u.ments on his desk and then handed over a roll of papers to Lei Yong. Lei Yong went and toko them and then flipped through them. Most of it was things he already knew.

She was Governor Tung's youngest child, only daughter out of six children. Pampered, well-behaved with a fairly quiet personality. He greatly disagreed with the quiet part. Tung Mei was not quiet, quite the opposite actually but she had her moments. Nothing spectacular about her life, she lived a quiet pampered life.

Her mother died a few years ago, she came over to the capital for the concubine selection, Lei Yong frowned at that part. She failed, he knew that and then was supposed to go home.

”Those few weeks your sister was gone, was right around the time her mother passed away. Tung Mei stayed at her mother's side and took care of till she passed after which she was there at home for the funeral, grieving and receiving relatives. She never left home...Your sister was only missing for two weeks, so she could not have made the journey to Xia Zhou and back within that short time...They did not meet then and frankly, their paths never had the opportunity to cross...”

”...As you know before going to Xiao Zhou, the Tung family lived at the border, and your sister never left the capital other than that one unaccounted for time. While Tung Mei never came to the capital until a few months ago for the concubine selection...”

Lei Yong looked up at the Emperor confused, ”But then why would she lie...Also, Xing er' didn't deny knowing her. She easily could have exposed it...”

”It's simple enough...She knew your sister would not be able to discredit her story because she wouldn't remember due to her memory loss. How she knew about it though is the question...Your sister given her character would not have told her. They also barely talked while at the palace...”

”But she knows a lot about Xing er' and even my family...She even said Xing er' taught her how to play the qin and-...They have to know each other.” Lei Yong said, completely confused, ”Let's ask Xing er', send for her.”

”Even if you asked her, she probably wouldn't know given her memory loss.” The Emperor casually informed. It was true, but more importantly, he did not want to see Lei Xing at the moment.

Lei Yong frowned, ”It couldn't be that bad -...”

Before he could continue to insist, the Emperor enlightened him, ”She said she does not remember most things, not even things from a few months before. I verified it, she kept it to herself because she did not want to worry your parents, so keep it that way for her...She's not feeling well so she's resting.” The Emperor added for good measure and then sighed.

{...I'm not sure what sort of expression I'm supposed to meet her with or even if...*sigh*...}

Meanwhile, Lei Yong was feeling very confused. He could not wrap his mind around the situation, and Tung Mei was missing and not here to clarify the situation.

{...But what if I asked and she disappeared again? But still-...She's not harming anyone and Xing er' seems fine with it...But then she was angry with her last time...}

”Do you know why Xing er' was angry with her last time?” Lei Yong asked looking up at the Emperor hoping for answers.

The Emperor shook his head, ”She said it was nothing.” Remembering their happy time at the merchant festival further dampened his mood, and he did not even notice Lei Yong leave.

{...Things were much simpler then...}

The Emperor sighed heavily, he had finally gotten what he had been longing for all this time, but then it seems he lost a lot more in the bargain.

The Emperor felt a renewed sense of anger towards those who had drugged her, they rushed the event and made it complicated. He could have waited until she was truly ready and then they would not have had a falling out like this...at least he wanted to believe that.

So he called Eunuch Li to discuss the situation first, so as to learn more about Dong country and the possibilities surrounding the seyu drug.