Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

Cang Shuyue galloped all the way to the Nanzhang County government office, only to be told by the magistrate that the eldest prince and his entourage had gone to Xikou Village, which was under his jurisdiction. Without even dismounting, he immediately turned his horse around and headed towards Xikou Village.

The sound of horses' hooves could neither break nor disturb my thoughts.

On the way, he thought a lot, from the little things when they were together to the sleepless nights after they separated. In the increasingly intense longing, he glimpsed his own feelings.

Yes, not only was the boy deeply in love with him, but he was in love with him as well.

It's not that I'm unwilling to compromise because I don't want to betray the deep affection, nor is it that I'm indulging the younger generation; it's that love arises without warning and deepens with time.

His heart was pounding; she had already entered his heart.

The thought of seeing him filled his chest. He didn't want to wait a moment longer; he just wanted to see him, tell him, ask for his approval, and wait for his promise.

The icy rain lashed against his body, but it couldn't extinguish the fire in his heart. His hands, holding the reins, tightened again and again, a mixture of elation and nervousness.

But who can tell him why, after arriving full of joy, he couldn't find the person he loved?

The surrounding light was dim, with only a few faint windproof lamps illuminating the small area. Cang Shuyue's sharp, eagle-like gaze slowly swept over the panicked crowd, and he spoke again: "Where is he?"

Where is his baby?

Cang Shuyue's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a boulder, stirring everyone's sensitive nerves and making their hearts feel heavy.

No one dared to speak; they were all terrified into silence by his chilling aura.

Unable to get an answer, Cang Shuyue jumped off his horse, strode through the rain to the First Prince, grabbed the slumped prince to his feet, and asked coldly, "Where is your brother? Where is he?"

Seeing him, the eldest prince, who was immersed in grief, finally regained some of his senses. Tears welled up in his wet eyes again, and he clutched his uncle's sleeve tightly as if grasping at a straw. His lips trembled as he pleaded in a sobbing voice, "Uncle, please, go and save Seventh Brother, please go and save Seventh Brother..."

Cang Shuyue experienced a sudden ringing in his ears and almost lost his balance.

The sounds of the wind, the rain, and even the eldest prince's cries all became indistinct. The hands that were usually so steady when wielding a sword and a knife were now trembling so badly that they couldn't even hold onto the eldest prince's clothes.

"Uncle! Save Seventh Brother! He can't be hurt! He can't be hurt!"

His nephew's heart-wrenching cries echoed in his ears, bringing Cang Shuyue back to his senses. He composed himself, forcefully shaking off the eldest prince's grip on his hand, taking a step back, and asking in a hoarse voice, "Where is he?"

"In Xikou Village, there has just been a landslide," was Gu Cheng's reply.

Cang Shuyue turned around to cross the river.

Xu Ruohuai quickly stepped forward to stop him, saying urgently, "Xiaolu said we can't go before dawn! There will still be rocks rolling down the mountain!"

The guard who went to investigate bowed and said, "I just checked, and the bridge across the river has been broken by falling rocks and is temporarily impassable."

"So what?" Cang Shuyue's gaze was cold and unmoved.

He lightly touched the ground with his feet and used his lightness skill to step onto the broken bridge.

Xu Ruohuai wiped the rain from his face and shouted after him, "If you go over there, Xiaolu will never forgive you!"

The figure on the bridge paused slightly, then darted in front of Xu Ruohuai like a ghost, grabbed his neck, and asked in a dark voice, "What did he tell you?"

The child was terrified of pain and was also cunning and clever. If he had really foreseen that a landslide would occur here, he would not have taken such a dangerous risk for no reason. The scene before him was less of an accident and more of a carefully orchestrated drama.

After seeing through it all, the pain in my heart was relieved, but what followed was a surge of resentment.

Bao Bao sent him away to suppress the bandits, but told the Xu family boy about the plan. Did Bao Bao think that he was less trustworthy than the Xu family boy?

Thinking of this, the coldness in his eyes intensified.

Xu Ruohuai felt a chill run down his spine as he was stared at by his gloomy and brooding gaze, and his legs almost turned to jelly.

Remembering that Xiao Lu had only instructed him to keep it a secret from the eldest prince, not from the Duke of Zhenguo, he dared not conceal it and lowered his voice to say, "Xiao Lu said he has a way to protect himself, but he just wanted to use this to provoke the eldest prince, so that the eldest prince would not be killed by his own soft heart in the future."

Cang Shuyue slowly released his grip, looked back at the vast night sky on the opposite bank, and murmured absentmindedly, "Baby is so smart, she'll be alright."

Turning to look at the distraught Crown Prince, the coldness in his eyes faded, replaced by a deep, dark glint. He said in a low voice, "If we're going to teach him a lesson, this little bit of stimulation isn't enough."

Xu Ruohuai shuddered. Why did he feel that the Duke of Zhenguo's aura was even more terrifying?

He was about to ask Cang Shuyue what his plans were when he saw the eldest prince stumbling over, so he quickly shut his mouth.

"Uncle, what's wrong? Is it really impossible to cross the bridge?" The eldest prince asked anxiously, grabbing Cang Shuyue.

Cang Shuyue glanced expressionlessly at his pale face and said coldly, "The bridge is broken and impassable, and the river is too turbulent to cross. We'll talk about it when it gets light."

"But……"

"No buts, Xiao Yunli. This is the consequence of your indecisiveness. Remember how you feel right now."

The eldest prince was struck dumb, and Cang Shuyue simply walked past him and left.

Inside a cave on the neighboring hilltop, deer were roasting sweet potatoes. The firelight illuminated the cave, and compared to the oppressive and somber atmosphere across from Xikou Village, this place was peaceful and tranquil.

"Luckily, I had scouted the place beforehand and left clean clothes and food in the cave, otherwise I would have had to spend the night in wet clothes, which would have been so uncomfortable."

After pulling the freshly roasted sweet potatoes out, Lu leisurely tossed another branch into the fire.

He discovered this cave when he led the children to collect herbs, and everything inside was prepared in advance for today.

The Pixiu has turned back into a round little dumpling, happily munching on a fragrant roasted sweet potato.

Hearing this, it struggled to raise its head and asked, "When are we going back? I heard the First Prince crying so pitifully."

"Not yet. There's another wave of trouble before dawn. Before that, the Meng family will cause more trouble. We need to wait until our eldest brother sees through her true colors and stops being dragged out by her. Now that the torture has begun, we need to go all the way."

A deer rested its chin on its hand, staring blankly at the flickering flames.

The Pixiu shook its head and asked, "Boss, what are you thinking about?"

You Lu sighed, "I'm wondering if my eldest brother will blame me when he finds out the truth. And Cang Shuyue, judging by the time, he should be back soon. I hope he doesn't get caught in this mess. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll get a double beating from those two."

The Pixiu's eyes darted around. "It's hard to say about the First Prince, but Cang Shuyue is eager to return; he's probably already back ahead of schedule."

"No way?" Yu Lu thought anxiously.

Thinking about the excitement to come, the Pixiu stopped eating its roasted sweet potato, shook its fur, and laughed: "[Go check it out, Boss, you wait here for me.]"

Just as a deer was about to call out to it, it darted out of the cave with a whoosh.