After coming out of the alley, Qi Changyi's mouth was clean, but a little red and swollen.
He had tried to push and resist several times, but the person in front of him didn't move at all.
Qi Changyi lowered his head and said nothing, and refused to shrink under Pei Zheng's cloak again. He leaned against the wall and breathed slightly.
Pei Zheng didn't force him anymore. He went over, took his still cold little hand, and put it in his arms.
Qi Changyi's stomach growled and his fair earlobes immediately turned red.
"Hungry?"
Qi Changyi refused to speak. He was angry at Pei Zheng and also at himself.
Pei Zheng rubbed his hair and took him to eat, their tightly clasped hands hidden under their wide sleeves.
In fact, after the morning court today, the emperor summoned Pei Zheng to the palace to discuss matters. He mentioned both explicitly and implicitly that the queen's family has become too powerful recently and that they must find a way to contain them as soon as possible.
The second princess Qi Bingzhi was the queen's only daughter. The emperor called her into the palace and let them be alone together for a while. Pei Zheng knew exactly what the emperor meant.
The emperor allowed him to have great power, so he had to give up and make concessions in certain areas.
Besides, the last time I asked the emperor to bring Qi Changyi over, I made such a deal with the emperor.
Originally in Pei Zheng's heart, all the feelings in the world were the most useless, the most easily exploited, and the most disposable things.
Now? He couldn't really explain it.
It was a cold night and the wind was blowing hard. After walking for a long time, I felt a little warmer.
Pei Zheng brought Qi Changyi to Yipinxiang, the largest restaurant in the imperial capital, asked for a quiet private room, and ordered many delicacies from land and sea.
Qi Changyi was obviously hungry, but he had no appetite. He only ate two bites and refused to eat any more.
Pei Zheng walked over, sat down beside him, picked up the little guy and placed him on his lap, then touched his slender waist.
"You've lost weight again. You need to eat more."
As he said this, he picked up something and handed it to Qi Changyi's mouth.
Qi Changyi turned his head away and muttered, "I don't want to eat anymore..."
Pei Zheng suppressed his anger. He was becoming more and more willful. In the past, even if he had the courage, he would not dare to refuse any of his requests.
—Turn the little man's face around, pinch his cheeks, and put the chopsticks directly into his mouth.
"chew."
Qi Changyi had to chew the food twice, but it tasted like chewing wax, and he swallowed it with difficulty.
Pei Zheng picked up a few more bites with his chopsticks and forced him to eat them. He didn't take his chopsticks back until he felt his stomach was no longer so soft.
In fact, Qi Changyi hadn't had a good meal for a long time, and his stomach was already tortured to pieces. He had just eaten a few candied haws, and was forced to eat so many tonic foods, which made his stomach feel even more uncomfortable.
The little guy's face changed, he covered his stomach and broke out in a cold sweat, suddenly he grabbed the edge of the table and turned his head to retch.
Pei Zhengxin also started to worry. He ate the candied haws and the food, and only gave it to Qi Changyi after he was sure there was no problem.
The sound of dry retching was heard one after another, as if the stomach was going to be vomited out.
Pei Zheng patted his back, helping him to breathe smoothly. His arched back was bony and his vertebrae were protruding.
After a long while, Qi Changyi stopped dry heaving, and the churning in his stomach finally subsided a little, but his face was pale and his energy seemed to have been drained away.
Pei Zheng felt distressed, so he held the little guy back in his arms and gave him some water to rinse his mouth.
The little body in front of me is so weak and frail, and I don’t know if it can be recovered.
No, it must be brought back.
Pei Zheng held his hands tightly. Although the force was weak, this real feeling made him feel more at ease.
So be it, it’s so nice like this, no matter what happens outside, as long as this little guy stays by my side.
Perhaps because he knew that his marriage would sooner or later become a means for the emperor to consolidate his power, Pei Zheng's crazy possessiveness of Qi Changyi was growing wildly.
Eat flesh and drink blood, take root and sprout.
Suddenly there was the sound of gongs and drums on the street outside; the street light parade had begun.
Qi Changyi moved his body and tilted his head to look towards the window.
"Want to go?"
Qi Changyi looked into Pei Zheng's eyes and nodded.
"Come here and kiss me."
Pei Zheng stood straight, a little taller than Qi Changyi who was sitting on his lap.
Qi Changyi snapped his fingers. The crowd outside, laughing and shouting, was so attractive that he hesitated for a long time, then moved closer with red ears and closed eyes.
Pei Zheng deliberately dodged backwards, and the little guy kissed nothing. He opened his eyes and looked at Pei Zheng with some confusion.
Pei Zheng saw that the expression on his face finally became more lively and raised the corners of his lips.
Qi Changyi took all the energy and raised his hand to pull Pei Zheng's neck, then slammed his lips hard against his thin lips, causing both of their mouths to feel numb.
Pei Zheng was fine. He touched the corner of his lips and felt that the pain was nothing.
Qi Changyi's eyes were filled with tears because of her own knocking. She covered her mouth with her hands, revealing only her watery almond-shaped eyes, and looked at Pei Zheng pitifully.
Pei Zheng's eyes softened. He helped him up, then stood up himself, opened the door and walked out.
Chengfeng, who was outside the door, couldn't help but feel worried when he saw the two of them were still going to the street.
"Master, there is a street light parade tonight. There are too many people outside, so it is not suitable for you and His Highness to go out."
How could Pei Zheng not know this, but the little guy seemed very interested. Besides, this was in the imperial capital city, and with Chengfeng and himself following them, it shouldn't be a big deal.
"It's okay, just follow behind."
After saying that, he took the little guy and went to the street.
The people on the street were all crowded together, holding their own lanterns, talking and laughing in twos and threes, and many people gathered in a circle, as if they were watching some kind of acrobatic performance.
Qi Changyi kept looking around with his round eyes open. He had never seen so many people before, there were all kinds of people, men, women, young and old, it was really new.
Chengfeng followed the two carefully, holding a sword and checking vigilantly.
There was a little girl who looked about the same age as Qi Changyi. She was wearing a goose yellow silk dress with water sleeves and walked up to the two of them with red cheeks.
"Sir, this is a lantern I made myself. I'm giving it to you."
The little girl handed the lamp in her hand to Qi Changyi. The lamp looked like a red lotus, as red as fire.
Qi Changyi reached out and took it, looked at it from left to right, liked it very much, and smiled happily.
"Thank you."
"Do you still like it, sir?"
"Yeah, it looks good. I like it very much."
The little girl blushed even more, "As long as you like it, I don't know... I don't know..."
Her face turned red like a ripe apple. She looked at Qi Changyi with curved eyebrows and seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.
"What's wrong with you? Your face is so red, are you sick?"
As Qi Changyi spoke, he put his hand on the little girl's forehead. The little girl widened her eyes in shock, and her body froze, not daring to move.
But before that hand touched her, it was grabbed by another longer hand.
Pei Zheng was clearly smiling, but it made people feel a chill down their spine.
"Whose family are you from, little girl? How dare you be so bold as to give the lantern away directly?"
Seeing that Pei Zheng looked young and handsome, and seemed to have a very close relationship with Qi Changyi, the girl thought he was Qi Changyi's relative.
"I, I saw that this gentleman was alone, so I thought, I thought of coming over to ask him. I have never given my lanterns to anyone else. This gentleman is the first..."
The little girl was so frightened by Pei Zheng's aggressive aura that she almost cried, her eyes were red.
In fact, this is a custom. If you see a boy or girl you like during the street lantern parade, you can give the lantern in your hand to him (her). If he (she) accepts it, it means he (she) is willing to get to know you, and the two of you can start a love story.
The young master clearly accepted her lantern, so why was the elder next to him so terrifying? The look in his eyes looked like he wanted to freeze her to death.
After hearing this, Pei Zheng's smile deepened, and he grabbed Qi Changyi's hand and waved it in front of the little girl.
"Who said he was alone?"
The little girl frowned in confusion for a while, then suddenly she seemed to realize something. She covered her mouth in shock and looked at the two of them, stammering and unable to speak.
"You...you...are...are..."
Pei Zheng put his index finger against his lips and made a "hushing" sound, then took the Red Lotus Lantern from Qi Changyi's hand and gave it back to the little girl, lowering his voice.
"It's good to know, don't tell others, otherwise..."
He scratched the girl's neck with his finger, scaring her so much that she turned pale and nodded frantically, then turned around and ran away holding the lantern.
The lamp that Qi Changyi had obtained was returned to the owner by Pei Zheng, and his eyes were full of disappointment.
Pei Zheng noticed his depression and pulled him through the crowd to a small stall selling lanterns.
"Pick one."
The light in Qi Changyi's eyes flickered again, and he looked up at Pei Zheng.
"Don't want it? Forget it."
Pei Zheng was about to leave, but Qi Changyi suddenly grabbed his sleeve and said, "I want it, I want it."
Qi Changyi was dazzled by the variety of lamps, and he selected them carefully one by one.
Pei Zheng was not in a hurry either. He stood beside him and looked down at him.
“I want this…”
Qi Changyi pointed to a paper lantern in the shape of a small rabbit. There was a small lotus on top of the rabbit's head. The rabbit's body was white, and only the lotus was red.
Pei Zheng smiled and said, "You're really good at picking."
The two men picked up the lanterns and left. Just as the stall owner was about to stop them and ask them to pay, Chengfeng stepped forward and threw a silver ingot over.
"No need to look for it."
After saying that, he followed the two people in front.
Qi Changyi held the lantern tightly in both hands, looking at it left and right, liking it very much.
Pei Zheng wanted to hold his hand but couldn't, he could only follow closely behind him and separate him from the crowd.
But there were so many people that it was inevitable that someone would squeeze Qi Changyi.
A man suddenly jumped out and bumped into Qi Changyi, causing the light little man to fall to the ground and the lantern in his arms fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
The man apologized twice and tried to leave, but was suddenly grabbed by the back of his collar. He opened his mouth and started to curse, "I'm in a hurry! Who dares to pull me? Can you afford to pay for delaying my work?"
—A cold voice sounded behind him.
"I can afford to pay for your life."