Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

The deer did not sleep well that night.

He had a dream in which he was being chased by many strange creatures that wanted to eat his flesh and drink his blood. He ran away desperately and almost fell many times, but each time a pair of warm hands caught him steadily, patted his back, and led him away from the jaws of death time and time again.

When I woke up, it was already broad daylight outside the palace.

Youlu rolled around on the bed a few times, hugging the warm blanket, and curled up her legs, unwilling to move.

My finger no longer hurts. After removing the gauze, I could see that the wound on my fingertip had healed, leaving only a shallow scratch that was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

What surprised him even more than this was that Emperor Wulong did not come to force him to attend court. Now he could slack off again.

After lingering in bed for a while, Youlu got up and went to the east windowsill to get Xiaogua's breakfast.

Like the main hall, the side hall faces north. The side hall where the deer is located is on the east side of the main hall of Yixin Hall. On the east side is a row of three-hole coin-patterned lattice windows. There are three windows in total. He opened them one by one and felt around. On the rightmost windowsill, he found the wooden box that Eunuch Kang had mentioned.

The box still contained three poisonous insects, but today it contained a wasp and a centipede, which were larger than those from last night.

The poisonous insects that had been thrown into Xiao Gua's box last night were gone, leaving only a few bits of residue. You Lu patted Xiao Gua's head and praised, "I didn't expect you to be such a big eater, even though you look so small. Not bad, not bad. Eating more high-protein foods is good for your health. You need to eat your fill to grow tall."

The little melon rubbed against his fingers and squeaked.

The medicine in the jade bowl was almost dry, so Youlu added a little more and poured it in to ensure that Xiaogua could soak in the medicine bath 24 hours a day.

After the deer finished taking care of the little melon, the Pixiu returned. The little guy had a round, bulging belly, which showed that he had eaten quite a lot.

Inside the Taihe Hall, just as Eunuch Kang was about to announce the end of the court session, Qin Tan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present regarding the Seventh Prince's return to the royal family and the ancestral temple sacrifices."

Emperor Wulong, who was about to leave, stopped and sat back down on his dragon throne, asking, "What does Minister Qin have to say?"

Qin Tan bowed. "Dayong governs the world with rites. If one's origins are not verified before a sacrifice is performed, it would be a violation of the rites and would likely be ridiculed by the people of the world."

Emperor Wulong frowned in displeasure. "If I say so, then so be it."

Xu Zheng stepped forward and said firmly, "Lord Qin, are you questioning the Seventh Prince's identity by being so hesitant? The Seventh Prince was personally brought back by His Majesty. Do you think His Majesty would mistake him? Are you questioning the Seventh Prince or His Majesty?"

"This humble subject had no such intention, but..." Qin Tan hurriedly explained.

Emperor Wulong snorted coldly, "Minister Qin, if you don't want to serve me, you are free to resign and leave the capital. If you don't want the position of Minister of Rites, there are plenty of others who do."

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" the ministers cried out in unison.

Qin Tan shook his head and sighed, looking helpless.

Prime Minister Su slowly stepped forward and advised, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that what Lord Qin said is not without reason. It concerns the royal bloodline, and if we are too hasty, we will inevitably be criticized. This old minister also firmly believes that there is no problem with the Seventh Prince's identity, but etiquette cannot be abandoned. If we want to be legitimate, we must follow the rules, so as to silence the public."

Emperor Wulong remained stern-faced, but his tone softened slightly. "Then, as the Prime Minister has said, summon the Seventh Prince to the palace to verify his lineage and bloodline in front of all the civil and military officials."

A glint of light flashed in Yi Qiuwei's eyes as he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, if we are to follow the rules, we should first pay our respects to the Empress Dowager, but she is not in the palace at the moment."

Qin Tan followed up, saying, "Lord Yi is absolutely right. We should wait until the Empress Dowager returns to the palace and we pay our respects to her before we can verify it."

"Yes, yes," many ministers echoed.

The eldest prince, unable to get a word in edgewise, grew anxious and tugged at Cang Shuyue in front of him, whispering, "Uncle, please speak up for our seventh brother!"

Cang Shuyue frowned and reprimanded in a low voice, "Where are your manners? Why didn't I see you making so many small moves in court before?"

The eldest prince was embarrassed; he had learned this from his seventh brother.

Once someone starts talking during class, it's likely to happen countless times.

Cang Shuyue shook his sleeves and said coldly, "He will be fine. Your good father is just putting on an act."

The eldest prince was relieved.

As more and more officials agreed with Yi Qiuwei's words, Emperor Wulong was furious and said, "This matter will be discussed another day!" before storming off.

Kang Gonggong announced the end of the court session.

Qin Tan sighed and stepped out of Taihe Hall. Yi Qiuwei caught up with him and said with a smile, "Lord Qin, you don't need to take His Majesty's words to heart. His Majesty still relies on you very much. It's just that His Majesty is a little too eager to please the Seventh Prince."

He wore a kind expression, as if he genuinely just wanted to ease the tension between the ruler and his subject.

Qin Tan smiled wryly and said, "I don't mean to oppose His Majesty, but it's my duty to speak out."

Yi Qiuwei couldn't help but recall the time when Qin Tan testified for the Seventh Prince. He had initially thought that Qin Tan was intentionally trying to side with the Seventh Prince, but now he realized that Qin Tan had no choice but to do so.

After all, the Minister of Rites was an honest man, a fact acknowledged by all the officials.

Yi Qiuwei felt a little relieved and chatted and laughed with Qin Tan as they left the palace.

Inside the Imperial Study, Emperor Wulong learned that Qin Tan and Yi Qiuwei had left the palace together. He smiled and said, "Qin Tan is no pushover either. He just looks honest, but he deliberately made us cooperate with him in this charade, as if he was afraid the Yi family would come after him."

Prime Minister Su said, "That's fine. It's inconvenient to state Lord Qin's position. As long as he remains 'neutral,' others will be less wary of him, which will also make it easier for us to gather information."

"Yi Qiuwei's attitude today shows that he wants to prevent the Seventh Prince from returning to the royal family. He is cunning and scheming, and I'm afraid he has been preparing for this for a long time." Xu Zheng was a little worried.

"All he can do is try to persuade the Empress Dowager not to acknowledge Xiao Qi, or tamper with the blood test. These are things that can be dealt with as they come. But as for Consort Ling..." Emperor Wulong pondered, "Consort Ling has been avoiding seeing Xiao Qi so far, which might be a variable."

That day, Consort Ling refused to let Youlu out of the door. As soon as Eunuch Kang returned, he reported the matter. He thought it was because the mother and son had been separated for too long and she didn't know how to face it. But so many days have passed, and Consort Ling still doesn't care about Xiaoqi's matter. Her attitude is really too indifferent.

Xu Zheng paused for a moment, then said indignantly, "Now that Consort Ling has six sons, she probably doesn't care about the little prince anymore."

"Ahem." Prime Minister Su coughed lightly, covering his mouth. "The Sixth Prince was raised by Consort Ling, so the bond between mother and son is naturally deep. As for the young prince, this old minister believes that as long as Consort Ling spends some time with the young prince, she will definitely like him."

"That's true, Xiao Qi is quite endearing when she's not talking," Emperor Wulong agreed.

Xu Zheng, however, was not optimistic: "It might be difficult to prevent the young prince from speaking."

That child was a bit too talkative.

"Before the Empress Dowager returns to the palace, I will do my best to help the mother and son develop a relationship. If that fails, I will find another way," Emperor Wulong decided.