The woman who came into view had a bright and beautiful face. Her ears were covered by a fluffy white fox fur collar, which made her bright and spirited eyes even more captivating. Every smile and frown of hers was incredibly alluring.
She was petite, and even in a thick cotton-padded coat, she was still slender. However, her beautiful figure was covered by the fiery red snow coat, and the fluffy collar made her shine brightly and dazzlingly. Her beauty had a touch of exoticism, as well as a touch of charm and naivety.
Di Jingyuan watched as her small, gloved hands held a snow plum blossom in one hand and folded a plum blossom in the other. Every now and then, she would tiptoe on her fiery red phoenix boots. The little expression on her face was happy and a little serious. She was really cute.
Qiu Xiang was trembling with fear, terrified of the prince's wrath. It was no wonder she didn't recognize A Zi; after all, she spent her days guarding the plum garden and didn't even know all the concubines of high rank in the palace, let alone the unfamiliar woman before her.
"Your Highness, should I go and stop them?"
Di Jingyuan waved his hand to stop him: "It's alright."
Qiu Xiang tactfully stepped aside. Di Jingyuan appeared before A Zi and said gently, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, for time is still too late. These plum blossoms are a perfect match for you, young lady."
As Azi was tiptoeing to pick plum blossoms, she suddenly heard a strange man's voice. She quickly took a step back and stood behind Qinghe: "Who are you!"
At this moment, her palace maids were already kneeling on the ground, including Qinghe: "This servant greets Prince Yuan."
"No need for formalities." Di Jingyuan waved his hand casually, looking at Azi with gentle eyes.
Qinghe spoke up at the opportune moment: "Your Highness, this is the future Empress." Emperor Jingcheng had already instructed her on this matter.
A pang of disappointment flashed through Di Jingyuan's heart. He had initially thought it was some unfavored concubine, but it turned out to be someone of great importance—his elder brother's beloved. He bowed slightly and said, "It was my rudeness. Greetings, sister-in-law."
Qiu Xiang and the two palace maids behind her were also startled. Upon hearing the identity of the woman before them, they immediately knelt down and paid their respects. But speaking of which, the deposed empress had only been executed for a little over a month, how come there is a new empress now?
Azi felt something was off, so she stepped forward and said, "It's alright. Since Prince Yuan is alright, we'll be going now." With that, she started to leave, carrying the plum blossoms with her.
Seeing that Azi was about to leave, Emperor Jingyuan was somewhat reluctant to part with her because he was so amazed by her at first sight. Acting before thinking, he said to persuade her to stay: "Since you're here, why don't you stay a little longer? The plum blossoms in this Plum Garden are the best in the world, and there are still many places we haven't seen. You should enjoy yourself to the fullest today."
Azi turned her back to him and refused, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, but we... won't watch anymore!" With that, she quickly led her people away.
Di Jingyuan felt a pang of sadness as he watched her flee in a slightly panicked state. She was so afraid of him, frightened by just one meeting. Would her brother's gloomy nature frighten her?
He couldn't help but worry about her.
After a while, seeing that the prince did not move, Qiu Xiang spoke softly, "Your Highness, Your Highness! The Empress has left. Shall we continue our stroll?"
Di Jingyuan snapped out of his reverie and smiled slightly: "Of course we'll continue shopping. When Her Majesty the Empress comes over in the future, please take good care of her."
"This servant knows." Even without Emperor Jingyuan's instructions, none of the lowly palace maids dared to stop the Empress from doing what she wanted.
Di Jingyuan nodded, glanced longingly at the spot where the woman had left, and turned to walk in the other direction.
——
Emperor Jingcheng returned to the palace overjoyed, only to be told that Azi had gone to the garden. So he quickly changed course and went to the Imperial Garden, worried that she might be bumped into by some careless person, which would break his heart.
He kept urging Zheng He to hurry up, and finally they arrived at the Imperial Garden as quickly as possible. Without even changing out of his court robes, he removed his headdress and threw it to a eunuch beside him, then strode into the garden.
"Have you found out exactly where she is now?"
"Your Majesty, the master is currently in the Plum Garden." Zheng He'er quickly followed his steps, but unfortunately, his legs were short, and he couldn't keep up a little.
"Okay, let's go."
When Di Jingcheng arrived at Plum Garden, he entered through the main gate. Before he could find the little girl he was longing for, he first saw Di Jingyuan emerging from the woods.
Emperor Jingyuan hurriedly stepped forward: "Your subject greets Your Majesty!" His face was filled with joy, after all, he had seen his brother whom he had not seen for a long time.
Di Jingcheng waved his hand absentmindedly, his eyes searching around: "Get up, have you seen anyone?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingyuan knew in his heart that his elder brother had come to see his sister-in-law, and that he was being watched so closely that he didn't even have time to change out of his court robes.
He shook his head: "Your Majesty, I haven't seen anyone. There's only the palace maid Qiu Xiang and two other maids. Are you looking for someone, Your Majesty?"
Di Jingcheng nodded, but ignored him. Could it be that Azi got lost? Plum Garden is very large; hopefully nothing unexpected will happen to her.
"Zheng He Er, quickly send men into the woods to search for them." Di Jingcheng strode into the plum grove, his face filled with worry and panic.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Jingyuan quickly instructed Qiu Xiang, who was standing nearby, "Have all the palace servants in Plum Garden go and search for the Empress. Be quick about it."
Qiu Xiang quickly agreed and gave instructions to the palace maids behind her, while she followed Prince Yuan back into the woods to search for the woman they had just met.
After leaving Prince Yuan and his entourage, Azi continued to wander aimlessly in the plum grove. Qinghe had not stayed in the palace for long, and the group of palace maids and eunuchs were not familiar with the plum garden. As a result, they eventually got lost and wandered through the vast plum grove, unable to find an exit.
Di Jingcheng hurried through the plum grove, calling out Azi's name anxiously. All the palace servants had been sent out to search for her, and only Zheng He'er and Zheng San were with him at the moment.
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