Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

A perfectly good meal ended in farce. After returning to her room, Youlu casually ate some fruit and snacks and then went to bed.

He didn't eat much, so he could only reduce his energy consumption by sleeping.

Willow shoots on the moon.

After applying the medicine to her eldest son, Madam Li returned to the room and saw her husband sitting on the edge of the bed with a distressed expression. After hesitating for a moment, she stepped forward and said, "Young Master Lu was a bit too harsh. I just applied medicine to the eldest son, and I'm afraid his injury won't heal for some time."

As a mother, even if the other party was indeed a prince, she couldn't help but feel indignant on behalf of her son.

Xu Zheng waved his hand and sighed, "Compared to the lives of our whole family, what are these injuries? Xiao Lu was just standing up for us."

Madam Li didn't understand this and asked in bewilderment, "Why do you say that, sir?"

Xu Zheng then stopped hiding his story and told Li Shi everything about being able to hear the deer's voice. Finally, he said helplessly, "Things have come to this point, we can only take it one step at a time. Madam, you must remember to keep a close eye on that Miss Bai and not let her do anything."

After saying that, he lay down on his own with a gloomy face, leaving Li, who had not yet digested his words, sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze.

Silent all night.

Outside, the sky was bright. A deer was being pulled up by the pixiu's bite on its collar. Before it could even open its eyes, it heard a servant outside the door say respectfully, "Hot water has been prepared. Young master, please come to the front hall for breakfast after you have washed up."

The servants must have been waiting outside, and only relayed the message after hearing the commotion inside.

"Thank you for your help," Youlu replied, stretching and getting up to wash and get ready.

Having gotten used to short hair, he was still a little unaccustomed to the sudden change to long hair. Too lazy to style it, he casually grabbed a red string, gathered his waist-length hair, tied it on top of his head, and that was it. Pixiu couldn't stand it, so with his chubby little hands, he nimbly untied the red string and tied it into a bow.

With dark circles under her eyes, Mrs. Li sat in the front hall for a long time, almost falling asleep while waiting for someone.

After hearing her husband's words last night, she was so frightened that she was scared out of her wits. She sat by the bed for most of the night trying to process those strange things, which directly led to her being exhausted and having dark circles under her eyes today.

"Madam, Young Master Lu has arrived."

The personal maid's voice rang in her ears, and Madam Li quickly composed herself, rising to greet him with a smile: "Young Master Lu, please come in..."

The rest of the sentence fell silent after seeing the person's attire.

The light blue round-necked robe with a red hair tie was so ugly that it was almost unbearable to look at. Only the person in front of me could save the day with her face. She wasn't bad-looking, but she was really filthy.

If Li remembered correctly, this red rope was used to tie up the gauze curtains.

Youlu didn't think there was anything wrong with her attire. After exchanging greetings with Madam Li, she sat down at the table.

He wasn't surprised that Xu Zheng wasn't there, since Xu Zheng should still be attending court at this time.

Breakfast was simple: some congee and side dishes, plus a plate of scallion pancakes. The pancakes were very well made, golden and crispy, and Youlu ate a few extra bites.

After breakfast, Madam Li handed a bag of loose silver to Youlu and said with a smile, "Take this silver and use it first. If you need more, just let me know."

She didn't mention that this was all her personal money, which came from her dowry.

The Xu family was not wealthy. The whole family relied on the two small shops in her dowry and Xu Zheng's meager salary to make ends meet. This hundred taels of silver was already two months' worth of expenses for their family. She was only willing to take it out because of Youlu's kindness to the Xu family.

Youlu accepted the silver without hesitation, bowing and thanking him.

Back in the room, Youlu tossed the money pouch to the Pixiu, saying, "You know what to do, right?"

The Pixiu swallowed the silver in one gulp and gave an OK sign.

That afternoon, while taking a nap, Li dreamt of a strange-looking little beast that spoke in human language, saying it would bless her. She didn't take it seriously at first, but when she woke up, she was hit in the head and face by a shower of jewels that fell from the sky as soon as she stepped out of her room, leaving her completely stunned.

After the initial shock came ecstasy.

Li dared not make a sound about the unexpected treasure. She secretly hid the gold and silver jewelry and anxiously awaited her husband's return.

Xu Zheng had just returned home from his shift and hadn't even had a sip of hot tea when Li Shi pulled him into the room. Li Shi furtively looked around, and seeing that no one was around, she pulled him to the bedside and lifted the covers.

The bed was covered in gold and silver jewelry, almost blinding Xu Zheng. He rubbed his eyes in astonishment and exclaimed, "Where did this come from?!"

Mrs. Li grinned from ear to ear, pointed to the sky, and said, "It fell from the sky."

She recounted her dream in detail.

After listening, Xu Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "The little deer is accompanied by an ancient auspicious beast. Presumably, it was because you gave him silver today that he was grateful and asked the divine beast to bless you. Keep these things safe and do not let anyone else know about this, or it may cause trouble."

"I know," Li replied repeatedly, beaming with joy, as if she wanted to worship Youlu.

For several days, Youlu stayed at the Xu residence without going out. It wasn't that he was afraid the Third Prince's men would harm him; he just found it troublesome and worried about causing trouble before the family reunion. With nothing to do, he slept and read storybooks in his room, and the days were quite leisurely. It was just that the Pixiu would occasionally sneak out to play. He guessed that the little guy was out foraging for food, but he was too lazy to care and let it be.

Soon it arrived at the Prime Minister's birthday.

Before dawn, Xu Zheng went out to court. Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed Li to take good care of Youlu, and that the plan for tonight must not go wrong.

The old prime minister is a trustworthy person, which is why Xu Zheng plans to act from the prime minister's residence. Xu Zheng had already spoken with the prime minister, and when Li brings Youlu to the prime minister's residence, she should say that he is a nephew from her maternal family. They should not make a fuss about it yet, and everything will be decided after they have met with the emperor.

Of course, plans are plans, and changes are changes.

Because Xu Ruohuai had been recuperating in his room for the past few days, although You Lu and he both lived in the east wing, they had hardly met, which was why they got along so well. But now that it was time to go out for drinks together, the two of them started to clash as soon as they bumped into each other.

"A concubine's son is a concubine's son, utterly shameless, daring to stay in the mansion." Xu Ruohuai's first words were harsh.

Youlu raised his fist, a half-smile on his face: "I think you've forgotten the pain once the wound has healed, and your brain is made of flour and water."

Memories of being beaten flooded back, and Xu Ruohuai subconsciously took a step back.

Li slapped her eldest son on the back, glared at him, and yelled, "If your ears are useless, I'll cut them off! How many times have I told you, Xiao Lu isn't that kind of person! If you dare to spout nonsense again, don't blame my Five Finger Mountain for being blind!"

Turning to Youlu, he said in a gentle tone, "It's getting late, Little Deer, let's go."

Lu raised his eyebrows smugly and swaggered past Xu Ruohuai out of the Xu residence gate.

Once he was out of sight, Xu Ruohuai dared to bluff and shout, "Even if he's not a mistress, he's no good either. You just wait!"

The Prime Minister's birthday banquet was scheduled for 7 PM, but the group arrived at the Prime Minister's residence before 5 PM. At that time, Xu Zheng had just finished his shift and was still on his way. After showing the invitation, Madam Li led You Lu and Xu Ruohuai into the Prime Minister's residence first.

As luck would have it, the three of them bumped into the entire family of General Weiyuan's mansion as soon as they entered. Youlu immediately spotted the Gu brothers glaring at him.

Deer: "Oh wow!"