"I'm fine," Princess Lingchen said. She saw Mingyue's expression and knew that her cousin was worried that she'd get tired and that might cause the poison inside her to act again. "Don't worry. I will tell you when I'm tired. I know that it would be dangerous if my illness relapsed here," she paused and smiled. "You said you were going to take me to eat delicious food."
"I will take you to eat something delicious for dinner," Mingyue said. She inched closer to the Princess and whispered, "The dessert over there taste better than the one from the palace. Trust me. You won't be disappointed."
Princess Lingchen's eyes brightened up with anticipation at her words. Soon, the two of them stopped by a stall where they were selling sweet treats. The cook melted some sugar and pulled them into thin threads. The threads were formed into something that resembled a birds nest. Watching how the cook pulled the hot sugar fascinated her. She had never seen anything like it before.
The sky turned darker as time passed. Jiang Mingyue frowned at the crowd around them. Looking at the uneasy expression on her brother's face, Mingyue went closer to the princess and whispered, "There are too many people around. It's not safe. We should go now."
Princess Lingchen nodded her head. Her attention was still at the cook who was pulling the sugar. She looked away from the sugar and turned around. Her body shook as someone bumped into her.
It was a boy. Before she could react, a tall man appeared and stood in front of her.
Princess Lingchen looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise as she saw a man wearing a silver half mask with his eyes and nose covered, stood before her.
When their gaze met, a surprised look flashed in the masked man's eyes briefly. His expression disappeared before Princess Lingchen could see them clearly. Before she could speak, the man turned his head to the boy who knocked her. It was then that the Princess saw the man was holding a boy's wrist. In that boy's hand was a familiar pouch.
Because Mingyue was holding the Princess' arm, she noticed the little collision between the boy and the Princess. She quickly turned to inspect the Princess and asked, "Are you alright?".
Princess Lingchen glanced at Mingyue and nodded. "I'm fine. But-" she turned to the man in front of them, and her gaze paused at the familiar pouch in the boy's hand.
Soon, Jiang Xiao Tian stood beside the two girls. He and the other hidden guards have been watching Princess Lingchen and saw that the boy was pickpocketing from the princess. But, because of the crowd, they failed to act quickly. Jiang Xiao Tian turned to the man in the mask, and his eyes narrowed.
"Return it," the man spoke to the boy. His voice sounded deep and magnetic.
The boy tightened his grip on the pouch. He yelped in pain when the masked man tightened his grip around his wrist. There were deep furrows in the boy's brow as he bore with the pain. Slowly, he lifted his hand and returned her purse before he lowered his head. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do this again!" His gaze was pleading for mercy.
Princess Lingchen felt the weight of the purse in her hand. She checked the contents and frowned at the boy.
Jiang Xiao Tian held clutched his hands in front of his chest and lowered his head. "Thank you for helping my cousin."
The Princess lifted her gaze to the masked man. "Thank you for your help, mister."
"It's fine," the man in the mask said. His gaze moved to look at his surrounding. He could sense a few men who stood not far away from him was observing him, guarding against him.
Jiang Xiao Tian glanced at one of the guards who stood next to him. "Take the boy back to the department of justice."
The boy's face turned pale as the guard took him away to face his punishment.
"If there's nothing else, then I shall make my move," the masked man said. Then he glanced at Princess Lingchen and said, "You should be more careful and pay attention to your surrounding, young miss."
Once the masked man walked away, Jiang Xiao Tian signaled two guards to follow the man.