The emperor knit his brows and asked, "Did she have someone?"

Commander An shook his head, "That doesn't seem to be the case, there were no indications of that."

The emperor frowned, "So how did they find her?"

Commander An furrowed his brows, "They didn't. It seems the personal maid found her, the two of them came back to the Lei manor later. When asked about her whereabouts, she said she was bored and so went out for a while and wandered around randomly, and that the maid coincidentally ran into her."

The emperor raised an eyebrow, "Coincidentally?"

Commander An nodded, "That was the explanation she gave, she didn't give any specifics. Her parents were quite angry with her for a while about it, but she didn't seem to be affected by it and seemed to be in good spirits."

The emperor narrowed his eyes, "Why did the maid run away then?"

"She had said she was worried about her mistress when she woke up and so ran out without thinking to look for her."

"Ran out? To outside the city? How did she know she left the city? and why would she think she would leave the city? If she was wandering around randomly, what are the odds of the maid running into her? There are so many routes you can travel on exiting the city, what are the odds of the maid picking exactly the one that led to her? She must have had a destination, of which the maid knew? The maid must have tried to stop her, so she drugged her to escape. It is more likely she was running away..." The emperor then frowned as he continued, "...the idea of an elopement makes sense. If she was planning on coming back why would the maid have felt the need to rush out to find her?"

Commander An nodded, "I thought it was suspicious too and thought the idea of an elopement would have explained it, but I really could not find any trace of a potential partner in her life or anyone else suspicious leaving the city around the same time. Also, no matter how much I investigated it, I couldn't find out any traces of their whereabouts during that time. I could only find information on Noble consort Lei riding out of the city and the two riding back into the city together...Although, this could be a due tp how much time has passed, but the whole episode is quite suspicious."

The emperor frowned, "What did you find on the maid?"

"She was a beggar on the street that Noble consort Lei picked up one day when she was about 5 years old while out with General Lei. According to the servants with them, she had insisted on taking her home to be her personal maid. It seems General Lei spoils her quite a bit and so took the girl home with them and then helped convince their parents to let the girl become her personal maid. I tried to look into the girl's past before entering the Lei household, but I could not find much on her, all that is known that she was a beggar on the street."

"Hmm." The emperor frowned, "What about Prince Yi?"

"The first time, Prince Yi and Noble consort Lei encountered each other was the day before she entered the palace. She purchased the slave group before Prince Yi could, so he approached her with the intention to buy them off her, but it seems she refused his offer, he didn't seem to be pleased about it either."

The emperor laughed, "Ah so she was the one who bought them?"

...I can imagine he wasn't...she isn't exactly polite even when she's trying to be careful and is probably much less so when annoyed...

"Yes, according to the men who were surveilling the scene, it seems her sister was going to rush out and so she stepped in instead to avoid her causing a scene. Then she later gave them money and released them go when she returned home."

The emperor knit his brows, "I see. Anything else?"

"It seemed she was really intent on entering the palace but her parents were not keen on the idea and refused. She was uncharacteristically vocal about it, pleaded in tears, threw several tantrums, and even went on a hunger strike to persuade her parents. The whole manor was in an uproar for a while because of it. In the end, she went to plead with General Lei and he ended up agreeing to her request behind their parents back. They were all shocked by her actions but everyone seemed to conclude that she had fallen in love with you, emperor." Commander An finished glancing at the emperor's face.

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The emperor frowned.

...That again...

"Also about a month before entering the palace, she had accidentally fallen into the pond in the manor and almost died."

"Almost died?" The emperor's ears perked up.

Commander An nodded, "It was deemed it a miracle she had survived, they had initially thought she had died. She was in a coma for a few days and woke up muddle-headed but was fine soon after."

The emperor frowned in contemplation for a while, "Is there anything strange about her?"

"Other than that two week period of her missing, there isn't really anything else that is peculiar."

"Did you look into that pharmacy? What did the maid go there for?." The emperor said.

"It seems it may really be as that Doctor Lou said. She may have really sent her there to ask for remedies for speedy conception. The doctor opened the shop in the capital about three months ago but before that, he was wandering around the country for years occasionally helping couples to conceive. Although a bit eccentric, he is known as a miracle worker. The first time they met should have been that day before she entered the palace. He also has no affiliation with Prince Yi, it seems it was really only a coincidence that she and Prince Yi met up there. Actually, it was simply that Prince Yi followed her into the shop to negotiate."

"I see..." The emperor frowned in contemplation.

...So it's just a coincidence then?... But that part about speedy conception is a joke, she doesn't seem at all interested in that prospect...which means he lied...either that or she has other ideas...then there's that disappearance period as well...but does that even matter at all?... That aside...The genius part can be explained, she was clearly aiming to fail but then why work so hard to get into the competition in the first place? That part makes it all make no sense...

"Your majesty, how about we kidnap the maid and interrogate her? I am sure we will be able to get the answers out of her." Commander An suggested.

The emperor sighed, "No, just continue to have them watched closely and report to me. You can leave."

Commander An nodded and bowed and left the room.

After a while, the emperor also left the room and went back to the front with Eunuch Li and then turned to him, "Find the embroidery piece that was presented to the late empress."

Eunuch Li left the room and after a while later returned with the piece. Eunuch Li spread the piece down on a table on the side. It was an exquisite piece showing the progression of a pink peony's growth from a bud to a gorgeous blossoming flower circling around the sheet, with a big fully blossomed blue peony in the center.

The two of them scrutinized the embroidery piece.

"It is indeed exquisite." The emperor praised.

"Your majesty, it seems Noble consort Lei isn't so simple." Eunuch Li said furrowing his brow.

...If she could do this, why did she create such a poor piece during the competition?...unless she wanted to fail, but then why plead to enter it in the first place?...

Eunuch Li looked at the emperor who was looking down at the piece with a blank face, "Your majesty, why don't you ask General Lei about it? He may know more, according to what Commander An said they seem close, so he may be able to expound on her thinking."

The emperor offhandedly replied, "I doubt it."

...If he understood her so well, then he wouldn't conclude that she acted out of "love"...

Eunuch Li frowned, "Your majesty, in that case, you should be more careful."

The emperor looked at Eunuch Li and chuckled, "I don't think there is anything to worry about." and then turned to walk back to the throne and memorials.

Eunuch Li furrowed his brow in concern and followed him, "But your majesty, this is suspicious. If she can do that, then why didn't she during the competition? Why hide her skills when she seemed desperate to enter the palace in the first place? If she wasn't entering the competition with the aim of victory, then why did she come here?"

The emperor didn't respond, so Eunuch Li continued, "Also I've been quite curious about it, why did you choose her? I initially thought that maybe it was because you were aware she was General Lei's sister, but that is not the case. Then I thought that perhaps you like her, but that doesn't seem to be it either."

The emperor sat down on the throne and smirked, "When did I say I don't like her? She's interesting."

Eunuch Li frowned, "Your majesty - "

"That's enough. The Lei family is loyal. There may be a few...confusions, but I'm sure they are more of a personal nature, and nothing to be concerned about. I am just doing this to satisfy my own curiosity." The emperor finished, picked up a memorial and started reading.

Eunuch Li looked at him for a little while, then sighed, bowed and left.

...If he thinks so, then it should be okay...and she hasn't done anything suspicious since entering the palace...yet...