Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

The candlelight flickered, illuminating the desolate bedchamber. The Empress sat expressionlessly on the daybed, slowly skimming the foam off the teacup.

Kneeling before her were two figures, one large and one small; the large one was Emperor Wulong, and the small one was You Lu.

Youlu rubbed his knees and complained in a low voice, "Father, you're so useless! You got caught so quickly. Did you even last three moves against the Empress?"

"Shut up! If it weren't for your terrible idea, would I have had to get beaten up?! You've ruined my life!" Emperor Wulong hissed, the bruise on his left cheek shining in the candlelight.

So what if Lu Hengheng cheated his father out of his own merit?

The two accused and blamed each other.

"Thump—"

The Empress slammed the teacup down onto the coffee table.

Emperor Wulong shuddered involuntarily.

After a long silence, the Empress spoke, "One is the ruler of a nation, and the other is a prince. What are you two up to, staying up all night and sneaking into the Empress's palace?"

The voice sounded calm and steady, but it was so cold it felt like ice crystals were about to fall out.

Emperor Wulong quickly gave Youlu a meaningful look.

Knowing he couldn't rely on him, Youlu quickly thought of a solution and said pitifully, "Mother, don't be angry. It's Father who said he misses you so much, but you don't want to see him, so he asked me to find a way to ease his longing. But I'm stupid and could only think of this one way."

"Yes, yes, that's right!" Emperor Wulong nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

The Empress was slightly taken aback, her expression softening somewhat. She asked with some doubt, "Then what were you rummaging through in my bedchamber?" As she spoke, she glanced at the spot where the love letters were kept, a hint of unease flashing in her eyes.

You Lu keenly caught her gaze and wisely refrained from mentioning the love letter, but this left him with no excuse to change the subject.

The Empress is devoted to the country, sacrificing her life for Dayong and killing countless enemies. She should be trustworthy. I'd better tell her the truth.

He pondered to himself.

Emperor Wulong, having heard her thoughts, did not stop her; he was going to tell the Empress about this sooner or later anyway.

Having made up his mind, Youlu said, "I dare not deceive Mother, Your Majesty. I am looking for the Jade-Eyed Ice Toad, the one that the Duke of Zhenguo gave you."

He fiddled with his fingers. "Your subject wants to use that ice toad to refine a spirit gu to help a friend from Nanzhao detoxify. He said that the King of Nanzhao is ambitious and wants to attack Dayong. If I can detoxify him, he will submit to Dayong and help us seize the throne of Nanzhao without losing a single soldier."

Emperor Wulong glanced at Youlu discreetly and clicked his tongue in surprise.

This kid is indeed a habitual liar. He thinks he's telling the truth, but his words are a mix of truth and lies. He's so deceitful that he could kill anyone. I bet even Meng Tianhong himself doesn't know he signed such a treaty.

Of course, exposing the truth was impossible, and Emperor Wulong echoed again, "Yes, yes, that's how it is!"

After he finished speaking, he realized that he was just echoing others and felt extremely embarrassed.

"I see."

The Empress had no doubts, after all, it concerned the peace between the two countries, and she believed that Emperor Wulong would not joke about such a matter of national importance.

"You wait."

The Empress rose, took a wooden box from a hidden compartment by the bedside, and said, "This is the Jade-Eyed Ice Toad. You can take it." She handed the box to Youlu decisively.

"Thank you, Mother!" Youlu accepted the gift with a beaming smile.

The box looked ordinary at first glance, but upon opening it revealed a hidden treasure. Despite its wooden exterior, the inside was filled with cold jade, which felt chilling to the touch and was clearly no ordinary item. Inside the box, a toad, slightly larger than a thumb, lay with its eyes closed in a small white jade bowl connected to the box. It was pure white, with transparent webbed feet, bulging eyes, and a round head—it was undeniably adorable.

Sensing human presence, the ice toad half-closed its large, azure eyes, tilted its head, and opened its mouth to let out a "croak~~".

His cheeks were puffing out.

Lu was almost completely charmed; this is simply his chosen spirit!

The Pixiu peered into the box and said sourly, "This isn't cute at all. Even a beast is cuter. Furry things are the cutest!"

"Yes, yes, you're the cutest!" A deer agreed with it, to prevent the little guy from throwing a tantrum.

[As expected of the Empress, she's beautiful inside and out, giving away such an adorable little baby so readily. It's just that her taste in men isn't quite right.]

Having achieved its goal, Deer still couldn't resist making a few sarcastic remarks about Emperor Wulong.

Emperor Wulong rolled his eyes.

The queen was taken aback, looking at the young man before her with surprise, and hesitated before asking, "What did you just say?"

"Huh? I didn't say anything." Youlu tilted his head.

"But you clearly called me just now..." The Empress frowned slightly.

Emperor Wulong was all too familiar with this scene. Seeing that the Empress was about to ask more questions, he quickly interrupted, "It's getting late. Xiao Qi, you should go back to the palace first. I have some things to discuss with the Empress."

He winked at Youlu, signaling for Youlu to hurry up.

Youlu assumed he wanted some alone time with his girlfriend, so she gave him an "OK" sign and happily left with the box.

After the deer left, Emperor Wulong hurriedly closed the palace door, pulled the empress to the bedside, and the empress, thinking he had lost his bestial nature, blushed and punched him to the ground.

Great, now my right cheek is swollen too, so both sides of my face are symmetrical.

"Waaaaah, I wanted to tell you about Xiao Qi, why did you hit me..." Emperor Wulong said, feeling wronged and heartbroken.

The empress realized she had misunderstood him and helped him up with an embarrassed expression.

Emperor Wulong immediately seized the opportunity, weakly leaning on the Empress's shoulder, and said in a barely audible voice, "I am badly injured, I am about to die, sister, please help me lie down."

The empress sighed helplessly, and just as she was about to throw him out, she was pushed into the tent.

The night is still long.

next day

The morning court session was unusually peaceful today, mainly because the usually irritable Emperor Wulong was unusually easy to talk to. He listened with a smile to whatever his subordinates said, and even rewarded several ministers who spoke eloquently. The court was unusually harmonious.

After the court session ended, the eldest prince went to pay his respects to the empress. Seeing that the empress had a rosy complexion and a cheerful expression, he mustered his courage and said, "Mother, could you lend me the Ice Toad for a few days?"

He also heard about Cang Shuyue giving the ice toad to the empress.

The Empress, surprised, put down her teacup and asked, "You want the ice toad too?"

The eldest prince did not hide anything, and said with a smile that it was at the request of You Lu. "My seventh brother has just returned to the palace, and this is the first time he has asked me for a favor. I don't want to disappoint him."

The Empress paused for a moment, then asked, "You wish to become close to the Seventh Prince?"

The eldest prince nodded slightly. "My seventh brother is straightforward and cheerful, and he doesn't fuss over trivial matters. I do wish to get closer to him."

Even if he's vying with you for the throne?

The eldest prince was stunned, and for a moment he did not know how to answer.

The Empress shook her head and sighed. Her son was good in every way, but he was too soft-hearted and easily deceived by appearances, which was not a good thing in the palace.

Fortunately, the person he wanted to get close to was the Seventh Prince, so it wasn't a bad thing.

She had learned Youlu's true identity from Emperor Wulong and understood that what she had heard last night was Youlu's inner thoughts. Although she found it strange, she could accept it and was even a little curious.

The Empress patted the eldest prince on the shoulder. "I'm not telling you this to oppose your association with the seventh prince, but simply to remind you to be vigilant when dealing with others. You shouldn't have the heart to harm others, but you also can't be without the heart to guard against them."

"Your subject will humbly follow Your Majesty's teachings." The eldest prince bowed his head, his attitude respectful.

The Empress nodded and smiled, "I have already handed the Ice Toad over to the Seventh Prince. You are a step too late."

The eldest prince breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as the seventh prince gets it, that's fine. Yesterday I went to ask my uncle for it, but he refused outright. I thought there was no hope, but I didn't expect my uncle to give the ice toad to the Empress Dowager right away."

The Empress paused slightly as she held the teacup.