Emperor Jingcheng and his entourage stayed in Meizhou for two days before setting off.

As for the two men in black, they couldn't resist Cheng Yi's torture and confessed everything, but they only said that the people of Beixiang sent them to capture Di Jinghan, and they didn't know who was behind it all.

Since he couldn't get anything out of them, Di Jingcheng simply questioned them directly.

Azi felt much better these past two days. Sitting in the carriage, looking out the window at the scenery, she felt extremely content. The further south they went, the warmer the weather became, and there was hardly any snow to be seen.

Ah Zi and her companions have been traveling for nearly seven days. Since the initial attack, they haven't encountered any more assassins. Ah Zi and Di Jinghan, the two young girls, are having a wonderful time, eating, drinking, and playing all along the way. Di Jingcheng also feels like he hasn't had a chance to relax in a long time.

Spending all his time with Azi, living such a happy life with her, he suddenly felt unwilling to take Azi back to the palace. He wanted to find a quiet place for the two of them to live a peaceful life, to pamper and love her for the rest of his life. What a wonderful life that would be!

At the last stop before entering the village, which was also the first stop where Di Jingcheng and Li Yannian had returned to before—Nanzhou City—he met Prefect Liu again. He felt it was somewhat unreal. In the past few years, he had not been able to see the emperor even once, but in just a few months, he had seen him twice. Moreover, this time he had also met the famous Princess Changning and the emperor's new empress.

Prefect Liu had already received the news and was to go ten miles outside the city to welcome the emperor and empress's entourage. Dressed in a dark green official robe and wearing an official hat, he paced back and forth, occasionally gazing into the distance, but the emperor and empress's entourage did not appear for a long time.

Emperor Jingcheng and his entourage were passing through a valley, flanked by treacherous terrain, with boulders on the mountains seemingly poised to tumble down at any moment. The terrain was extremely dangerous, making it a strategically vital location for military strategists.

Emperor Jingcheng lifted the curtain and looked up. Chengyi rode up on horseback and said, "Your Majesty, there's a situation here. However, our men are already up there."

"That's good. Let's speed up and cross the valley. We shouldn't stay here any longer."

"yes."

Azi poked her head out and looked: "This boulder looks like it's about to fall."

Di Jingcheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, Azi, we can get there safely."

Azi nodded. She knew a bit about the area; it wasn't safe, with bandits and outlaws roaming around.

Before Azi could even relax, a group of burly men wielding long spears blocked their path at the valley entrance.

This group of people did not look like people from the Central Plains, but rather resembled Azi in some ways. However, they did not look alike; they were probably a motley crew of people from nearby tribes.

Most of them had vicious knife scars on their faces, wore dirty turbans decorated with trees, and were dressed in thin, tattered clothes and worn-out straw sandals.

The two leaders looked menacing and spoke in a language no one could understand, but Azi did. Cheng Er, standing in front, was completely bewildered: "What are they saying!"

The two men, seeing that Cheng Er couldn't understand their language, became even more enraged, as they also couldn't understand what Cheng Er was saying. They could only step forward and gesture, and Cheng Er, seeing them pointing at the carriages filled with valuables and shouting, instantly understood what they meant.

It turned out to be a robbery.

Inside the carriage, Azi wanted to get out, but Di Jingcheng stopped her, saying, "Don't worry, they'll handle it."

“But…” Azi was a little worried, these people were not exactly heinous criminals.

"Don't kill them. There are many ethnic groups in the surrounding area. Although Nanzhou City is quite nice, many tribes are still very poor. They have no choice but to rob to survive," Azi said anxiously.

Di Jingcheng affectionately touched her little face; his precious darling was so kind.

"Chengyi, give them some money."

Cheng Er rode over on horseback: "Your Majesty, they can't understand what we're saying at all, and we can't understand what they're saying either. A fight has already broken out up ahead."

Azi wanted to go out, and before Di Jingcheng could stop her, she had already jumped off the carriage. His temple throbbed, and he quickly followed and took her hand.

Azi raised her voice and said in the Yi language, "Please stop for a moment!"

However, the two groups continued to fight, and gradually, the bandits and outlaws were at a disadvantage.

"Don't kill them!" Azi quickly spoke up to stop the Imperial Guards as they were about to swing their swords.

The imperial guards sheathed their swords, brought the two leaders forward, and stomped them on the ground.

"What do you want to do, my darling?" Di Jingcheng gently asked for her opinion, leaving everything to her to handle.

Azi thought about it and realized that simply warning them not to continue this business would not be effective. They might verbally beg for mercy and agree, but then they would come out and act arrogantly again later.

“Ah Cheng, this still needs the officials of Nanzhou to supervise and resolve. They have no way to make a living, so they will continue to rob people in the future.”

"Yes, that makes sense."

"Presumably Prefect Liu of Nanzhou is waiting not far ahead. Take the man away and hand him over," Di Jingcheng instructed.

"Yes, Master." Chief Sun waved his hand and led the men on their way.

Azi stepped forward and said a few words of advice to the two men in the Yi language before turning around and getting into the carriage.

As they exited the mountain pass, the sound of boulders rolling down suddenly rang out behind them, startling everyone. The horses were frightened, rearing up and neighing.

Fortunately, everyone was skilled at riding horses and managed to keep them steady in time.

Di Jingcheng, holding Azi, looked around warily: "Bring Changning here."

Cheng Yi immediately turned her horse around and brought over Di Jinghan, who was fast asleep in the back. Surprisingly, Di Jinghan was not startled awake, and A Zi looked at her with admiration.

Di Jinghan boarded Azi's carriage, rubbing his eyes sleepily, and asked, "Brother and sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

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