Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

Acupuncture is very mentally taxing, and given Prime Minister Su's advanced age and various health issues, it was even more difficult to perform acupuncture. After Youlu finished performing the acupuncture, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his body.

"Alright." Youlu put the silver needles away.

Prime Minister Su stood up, took a few steps, stretched his limbs, and said with delight, "Your Highness is truly a miracle worker. After the acupuncture, this old minister feels much lighter."

Qin Tan chimed in, "Prime Minister Su, you may not know this, but Chief Physician Chen has been full of praise for the young prince."

While waiting outside the flower hall that day, he chatted with Old Chen for a few minutes, and nine out of ten of Old Chen's sentences were praising the Seventh Prince.

Xu Zheng felt a pang of envy. He often sat at his desk for long periods, and his neck and shoulders were frequently sore. He would have asked a regular doctor for help, but since it was the young prince, he was too embarrassed to ask.

He knew that the young prince wouldn't care about his social status, but that's precisely why he found it even more difficult to speak up.

Upon hearing Qin Tan's words, the eldest prince's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "Seventh brother, may I ask you to examine my uncle? He was wounded on the battlefield many years ago and developed some chronic ailments that haven't healed over the years..."

Before he could finish speaking, Cang Shuyue grabbed his shoulder and said, "There's no need to trouble the Seventh Prince."

You Lu glanced at the uncle and nephew, noticing that one looked anxious and the other calm and collected. He thought the one who was ill was the eldest prince.

He knew that his elder brother was always gentle and polite, and would not have asked him for this unless there was no other way, so he said without hesitation, "Okay."

Xiao Gua originally belonged to the Duke of Zhenguo, and helping the Duke of Zhenguo with his medical treatment was a way of repaying a favor.

"Thank you, Seventh Brother!" The eldest prince was overjoyed.

You Lu went straight to grab Cang Shuyue's hand, wanting to help him take his pulse, but as soon as her fingertips touched his palm, Cang Shuyue moved her hand away.

The intense heat was fleeting.

Youlu looked up at the handsome and imposing man in front of her with a puzzled expression.

Cang Shuyue clenched his fingers under his sleeve and said calmly, "Your hand is injured, so it's not necessary."

The eldest prince asked in surprise, "Seventh brother is injured?"

You Lu was slightly startled and looked down at the faint scratch on her left index finger, which was now barely visible.

[But I don't use my left hand to administer acupuncture. His resistance must be because he dislikes me.]

Thinking about this, Youlu couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.

[I'm out of ideas. Cang Shuyue hates me because of me, and probably thinks I'll compete with my eldest brother for the throne, so he won't even give me a kind look. I'd better try to win over my sister Empress. With her around, I'm not afraid he'll do anything to harm Dayong.]

Emperor Wulong had such a fiery temper that if he weren't afraid of being exposed, he would have jumped up and punched Cang Shuyue.

This brat has been sarcastic and sarcastic towards him all along, and now he even dares to look down on Xiao Qi. If it weren't for the Empress's sake, he would have killed him long ago.

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Emperor Wulong said, "Little Seven, don't mind him. He's just a stubborn mule. You've already given him acupuncture twice today, so you must be tired. It's not too late to treat him next time."

"No need for Your Majesty to worry," Cang Shuyue retorted coldly.

"Pah! Who would care about a burden like you!"

"A defeated opponent."

Seeing the two arguing, the eldest prince was sweating profusely with anxiety. Torn between his father and uncle, he couldn't side with either. Caught in this dilemma, he spotted Youlu yawning nearby and immediately rushed over, his eyes full of hope, pleading, "Seventh brother, please persuade Father!"

Youlu stretched lazily. "Let them argue. I'm thinking of going back to sleep anyway. I'll take this opportunity to slip away before we get down to business."

"..."

The argument stopped abruptly.

Emperor Wulong's eyes widened. "Regarding disaster relief..."

Before he could even finish speaking, Cang Shuyue turned and left. Emperor Wulong was instantly enraged, slamming his fist on the table and shouting, "What does he mean?! What does he mean by this?! He leaves as soon as I speak, does he not respect me at all?!"

Prime Minister Su and Qin Tan stopped him on either side, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down! The Duke of Zhenguo certainly didn't do it on purpose; it's probably just a recurrence of an old illness."

The two couldn't help but think to themselves, "This isn't the first time the Duke of Zhenguo has acted this way. Doesn't His Majesty have any idea whether he respects anyone or not?"

While doing so, she didn't forget to wink at the eldest prince, who quickly apologized and hurried after Cang Shuyue who had left.

"uncle!"

The eldest prince caught up with Cang Shuyue at the palace gate. After hesitating for a long time, he said hesitantly, "Uncle, you shouldn't have been angry with Father. Disaster relief is a major event, and Father entrusted it to you because he trusts you. And what about your health..."

Cang Shuyue interrupted him without changing his expression, "I'm not angry, I'm just tired."

Although they were only eight years apart, he was still the elder, so the eldest prince couldn't say too much. He nodded and said, "That's good. Seventh brother is tired too. Let's ask him to treat you next time."

Cang Shuyue nodded.

Seeing that his expression was relatively mild, the eldest prince hesitated before speaking, "After spending these days together, I feel that Seventh Brother is just a bit childish, but he is kind at heart. Uncle, there is no need to reject him so much. He has already had a hard time being away from home for more than ten years. Now that he has finally returned to the palace, we should take better care of him."

Cang Shuyue remained silent.

The world is vast, the palaces are majestic, and the palace gates are small, yet they confine a person's entire life. People only know that this vermilion gate is noble, but they do not know that the door studs on the gate are colder than the last.

Is it really a good thing that a bird that was originally free and unrestrained has landed in this secluded palace?

Cang Shuyue withdrew her gaze from the distance and said calmly, "I did not reject him."

The eldest prince remained silent, clearly not believing his words.

Cang Shuyue didn't explain, and continued walking forward. "Instead of worrying about others, you should think about the riding and archery test this afternoon. Your riding and archery skills are really bad, you've disgraced the Cang Shu family."

The eldest prince was embarrassed and cupped his hands, saying, "I'll go to the training ground right away."

The exam Cang Shuyue mentioned was a monthly civil and military assessment for the imperial family members. Cang Shuyue was in charge of the military aspect. The results of the assessment were recorded by the Imperial Clan Court and reported to the emperor. Those who failed not only had to be punished with extra training, but serious cases could also affect their future titles.

Today happens to be the first day that Youlu went to the training ground to learn.

As the time approached Shenshi (3-5 PM), Youlu changed his clothes and, led by Xiaodongzi, headed to the Arrow Pavilion Square, where the royal children practiced horseback riding and archery, and also the venue for the imperial examination for military officers.

When the deer arrived, the princes' archery and horsemanship test was about to begin, and he immediately spotted the eldest prince standing at the front.

The eldest prince was dressed in a white, close-fitting outfit. His sharp and neat appearance made him look less refined and more shrewd. His handsome appearance caused a group of palace maids watching to scream and blush.

The proctor in charge of recording is announcing the exam rules.

The first test was on fixed targets. Each person had ten arrows and had to hit the bullseye three times to pass. After that, the test was on mounted archery, which, as the name suggests, involved shooting at moving targets while on horseback. Missing three targets meant failing.

After hearing the rules, Youlu shook his head, "It's not that difficult."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sneer rang out: "If you're so capable, you do it yourself. Anyone can talk big like that."

Lu raised an eyebrow slightly; he really was something.