The excitement of regaining what he had lost lingered in Di Jingcheng's heart. Even as the night deepened, he remained sitting by Azi's bedside, gazing intently at her sleeping face, unable to get enough of looking at her.
He still feels that today's happiness is somewhat illusory; the two of them have suddenly reunited and now understand each other perfectly.
He watched the emperor like that all night, afraid that the person in front of him would disappear. Zheng He changed the candles several times in the middle of the night, and seeing the emperor's infatuated appearance, he simply couldn't bear to look at him.
The Emperor had never shown such deep affection before. Love truly makes people blind; even the wise and mighty Emperor could fall in love one day.
As dawn broke, Zheng He Er reminded him that it was time to return to the palace for court. After being called several times, Emperor Jingcheng finally came to his senses, but his eyes never left the beautiful woman on the bed.
"Prepare to return to the palace."
"Yes." Zheng He quietly withdrew and quickly ordered people to prepare the sedan chair for returning to the palace.
The group waited outside for quite a while before the emperor came out carrying something wrapped tightly in a quilt. Although they couldn't see it, they could roughly guess what it was.
After boarding the sedan chair, they arrived back at Emperor Jingcheng's Qianyuan Palace in less than half an hour. He placed the person on the dragon bed, carefully covered him with a quilt, and watched him for a while before striding out.
"Zheng He Er, you stay here to serve her. If anything happens to her, you won't survive either."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant will certainly serve Miss well," Zheng He'er said respectfully.
Zheng San then went to court with Emperor Jingcheng. There wasn't much going on in court, and the court session ended in half an hour.
Emperor Jingcheng rushed back to his palace. Cheng Yi suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling Zheng San, who silently made way for him.
"Your Majesty, this servant has returned." Cheng Yi quickly followed the emperor, who strode confidently.
"Where is Prince Yuan?" Emperor Jingcheng had sent people to look for Emperor Jingyuan as soon as he returned to the capital, but he was wandering around everywhere and could not be found at all. In his previous life, Emperor Jingyuan went to the frontier for Azi, but in this life he was still traveling around enjoying the scenery.
"Your Majesty, Prince Yuan is on his way back. I have sent people to investigate in various places, and the officials are generally behaving themselves."
Emperor Jingcheng nodded: "I understand. Summon Qinghe and Qinghua to the palace immediately, but don't let anyone know."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately." Cheng Yi knew that his master had his reasons for doing things, and as a subordinate, he should not interfere.
Di Jingcheng suddenly remembered something and called out to him, "Have Qinghe come over, and send two more male bodyguards with her."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Cheng Yi bowed and disappeared down the palace road. Zheng San couldn't help but pat his chest; this Lord Cheng was truly frightening.
Qinghe and Qinghua are two of the female bodyguards trained by Di Jingcheng. Qinghe is steady and excellent in all aspects; Qinghua is not weak either, but she is too lively, which is not a good thing for a bodyguard. Moreover, Qinghua was involved in the murder of Azi in the previous life.
Upon receiving the order, Qinghe solemnly accepted it, while Qinghua dared not say anything on the surface, but she was already feeling extremely distressed inside. Why did her master value Qinghe so much, when she had done so many things for her master?
Cheng Yi then selected two elite bodyguards who had never shown their faces before to enter the palace with Qing He. The three of them thought that their master had some important mission to give them, and they were both expectant and nervous.
When Emperor Jingcheng returned to his palace, Ranla Azi was already awake and eating breakfast in the dining hall. Zheng He'er was talking to her, and she nodded happily.
Seeing how happy she was, Emperor Jingcheng felt relieved. He had been worried that she wouldn't be able to adapt, but he hadn't expected her to have such a pleasant conversation with Zheng He'er.
He turned and headed towards the inner hall, changing out of his court robes before hurrying over. Emperor Jingcheng hadn't made a sound, so Azi didn't know he was back. Upon seeing him enter, she happily called out, "Jingcheng, you're back! Come and have breakfast!"
Ranla Azi had never had any concept of social hierarchy in the Central Plains since childhood, and Emperor Jingcheng allowed her to do as she pleased. However, the palace servants were secretly worried for her when they heard this woman address the emperor by his name without bowing. Except for Zheng He'er and Zheng San, they were all extremely terrified.
Who knew their emperor would act so unpredictably? Gone was his previous cold and aloof demeanor; what was with the warm smile on his face? It was as if the sun had risen in the west.
A few people actually peeked out the door and exclaimed, "Oh, the sun isn't out today!"
When Azi saw him come in, she put down her chopsticks and pulled him to sit down next to her: "You must not have eaten breakfast, eat quickly or you'll starve! I've tried this crab roe bun for you, it's delicious, and this purple rice porridge is also very good!"
As she spoke, Azi pushed the bowl toward him, gesturing for him to eat.
Di Jingcheng picked up his chopsticks and savored the food carefully. He was surprised to find that the buns and porridge, which usually tasted ordinary, were surprisingly delicious. Indeed, one's mood affects their sense of taste and appetite.
Despite being in front of so many people, Azi didn't feel uncomfortable. She used to often eat in front of many people at home, especially during sacrificial rites.
After the two finished breakfast, Zheng San brought over some memorials, which gave Di Jingcheng a headache. Ran La A Zi chuckled softly and gently tugged at his sleeve: "You deal with them, and I'll stay by your side."
Emperor Jingcheng glanced resentfully at the memorial in Zheng San's hand, nodded, and led Azi to sit down in the study.
Azi didn't know how to grind ink and couldn't read Chinese characters very well, so she could only sit aside and watch him out of boredom, but she didn't bother him. She drank tea and ate snacks.
Di Jingcheng would hug and kiss the little girl next to him as they walked, and seeing her shy expression, he couldn't be happier.
Time passed, and the wisps of ambergris slowly rose in the quiet study. There were only two people inside, while the palace servants waited outside.
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