Azi turned her back to the man, processing her emotions and wondering if she had overreacted. After a while, Di Jingcheng didn't dare to hug her either, standing behind her timidly and not daring to speak, only daring to gently hook her small hand.
Fortunately, the waiter's voice could be heard from outside, followed by Qinghe's voice.
"Master, we've come in!"
Azi didn't speak, but walked to the stool next to her and sat down. Di Jingcheng composed himself and called out to the outside with displeasure, "Come in."
Qinghe led the people to set the dishes on the table one by one. The atmosphere in the room was a bit strange. Azi looked at the dishes that looked and smelled delicious and her eyes moved.
Di Jingcheng stubbornly held her small hand, unwilling to let go, his eyes fixed on her. Seeing that her emotions had eased because of the dishes, his stiff expression softened a little.
After all the dishes were laid out, Di Jingcheng told everyone to leave, and before leaving, he instructed them to dine in the next room.
Azi tried to pull her right hand away from the man's grasp, but couldn't. How was she supposed to eat like this? She pouted and said in a coquettish voice, "How can I eat if you're holding my hand like this?"
Di Jingcheng was absolutely smitten by her proud and aloof demeanor. Knowing her so well, he knew she had already calmed down.
So he quickly pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder and gently stroking it, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto Azi's hand. Azi turned her head and saw that he was crying!
Azi panicked and hurriedly wiped away his tears, feeling extremely distressed: "Why are you crying? It's my fault, I was being too dramatic. Don't cry, I'm not ignoring you."
Di Jingcheng couldn't bear to see her feel guilty, so he decided to stop while he was ahead. He held her little hand, kissed her little mouth, and said with a hint of grievance in his voice, "Baby, I was really scared just now. I thought you would never talk to me again."
"As expected, my Zi couldn't bear to see me sad."
Azi nodded quickly and gave him a comforting kiss on his handsome face: "Of course I'm reluctant to part with him, don't be sad."
Di Jingcheng nodded, pretending to wipe away his tears: "Baby, as long as you don't ignore me, I won't be sad. Come on, you must be starving, I'll feed you."
Azi smiled, nodded, picked up the cutlery and handed it to Di Jingcheng. Her eyes shone as she looked at the dishes on the table, completely unaware that this little white rabbit could not escape the den of the big bad wolf.
However, Di Jingcheng had indeed been frightened to tears, his heart filled with dread, fearing that his precious darling would ignore him. But the moment A Zi spoke up to comfort him, he immediately recovered.
Azi was being fed by the man, and many of the dishes were new to her. She had completely forgotten about the conflict between the two of them earlier. She happily raised her little hand and directed the man to serve her food. It couldn't be more comfortable.
Of course, Azi felt sorry for Di Jingcheng and didn't forget to feed him.
Looking at the sumptuous dishes in front of her, Qinghe next door seemed to have lost her appetite, her face filled with worry. She glanced up at Zheng He'er and Zheng San, who were eating with great relish, and couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"Will His Majesty and Empress be alright?"
Zheng He shook his head: "Qinghe, don't worry. With how much the Emperor dotes on the Empress, he certainly won't let her be sad or upset."
Qinghe nodded thoughtfully, "Alright." They couldn't interfere anyway.
"Have the guards and eunuchs outside eaten yet?" Zheng San asked considerately.
Zheng He Er shook his head: "Xiao San, there's too much food here, we can't finish it all. After you finish eating, go outside and keep watch so they can take turns coming over to eat."
"Okay, Master."
In the corridor of the private rooms on the fourth floor, a row of plainclothes imperial guards stood ramrod straight and vigilantly at the door of the private room where Di Jingcheng and Azi were. To the left was the staircase leading downstairs, and Qinghe and the others were on the left side.
The door to the adjacent private room on the right suddenly opened, and two tall men emerged, clearly not ordinary people. The head of the Imperial Guards looked them over sharply and immediately recognized that the two men were no ordinary individuals.
The two men passed by them calmly, their jade pendants at their waists exceptionally conspicuous—this was no ordinary item. The Imperial Guard leader silently memorized the design on the pendant, his gaze returning to normal when the two men looked at him.
The two went downstairs, and the leader of the Imperial Guard stared at their backs for a long time.
Zheng San came out of the private room and looked at him strangely as he stared at the stairs at the end of the corridor without moving.
"Instructor Sun, what are you looking at?" Zheng San asked, puzzled. He followed Sun's gaze again but saw nothing.
Instructor Sun shook his head gently: "It's nothing. Is there something wrong, sir?"
"Let the guards take turns going in to eat; I'll stay here and keep watch."
Instructor Sun nodded and looked at his subordinates, who immediately and skillfully divided into groups.
Di Jingcheng and A Zi's dinner lasted for more than an hour, and only the two of them knew what they did during that time.
When they came out of the teahouse, it was already dark. Azi packed several dim sum dishes, saying she would take them home to eat slowly.
Walking contentedly down the brightly lit street, Azi skipped along happily, and Di Jingcheng was also in a good mood. His darling was perfect in every way; her emotions came and went quickly, and she didn't hold grudges.
"What else would you like to play, baby?"
Azi pursed her lips and thought seriously: "We released river lanterns last time, but we can't this time. I feel like we've had enough fun today. It's getting dark, let's go back."
Di Jingcheng nodded indulgently, "I'll do whatever you say, my darling." He then put his arm around her and headed towards the carriage.
Their carriage stopped at the sparsely populated drill ground outside the market. Di Jingcheng led his men to the entrance of the drill ground and waited for the coachman to bring the carriage over.
However, he sensed an unusual atmosphere as soon as he arrived.
He immediately picked up Azi beside him, wanting to leave, but the men in black had already descended from all directions. The few people around had already been frightened away, and the Imperial Guards quickly surrounded and protected the two of them, with Zheng He and the others also shielding them in front of them.
Qinghe knows martial arts. Since the Empress has the Emperor's protection, she can protect the two eunuchs.
Qinghe stepped forward and shouted, "You two, quickly find somewhere to hide and don't cause any more trouble!"
"Qinghe, you..." Zheng San had barely uttered a word when Zheng He Er grabbed him and dragged him away, taking advantage of the chaos to hide behind the training ground's wall.
"Master, will Qinghe be alright?"
Zheng He looked up at the sky speechlessly: "Fool, have you forgotten that Qinghe is the Emperor's secret guard? If we go there now, we'll only cause trouble."
Zheng San nodded: "But..."
"No buts!" Zheng He glared at him with exasperation.
Zheng San stared at the black-clad man standing before them with a pair of ferocious eyes: "But, but..." His pupils slowly dilated as he stammered, terrified by the sword about to be swung down. His nostrils flared as well, and his eyes were filled with fear.
Zheng He'er quickly looked over, instinctively shielding Zheng San and holding him in his arms.
The expected pain did not come. Qinghe gripped the sharp sword and swiftly kicked the man in black away. The next second, the sword pierced the man in black's heart.
"Run!" Qinghe shouted, then turned and joined the fight.
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