Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

The caravan arrived at the first official post station on the main road at noon. After verifying the official documents and travel permits and checking the road conditions ahead, the group had a simple lunch and rested for a quarter of an hour before setting off again.

The afternoon was peaceful. The caravan stopped at a post station on an official road, and because of the hot weather, they had to stop to feed the horses and add water. They rested for a quarter of an hour before continuing on their way.

At 3:45 PM, the convoy arrived at its final destination for the day, Huaiyang County, and checked into the backyard of the Huaiyang County Government Office.

The silver carts drove into the backyard one by one, and the silver boxes on the carts were unloaded in an orderly manner and carried into the main house.

Cang Shuyue needed to arrange the guards' shifts, the eldest prince needed to check the documents with the county clerk and explain the preparation of food and fodder for tomorrow. Youlu, who had been sleeping all the way, had nothing to do, so he went outside the courtyard to watch the grooms repair horseshoes and replace horseshoes, and also to see if there were any other discoveries.

And sure enough, he actually discovered the problem.

When the eldest prince arrived, Lu was with a coachman, their arms around each other's shoulders, whispering to each other in a corner, exuding a secretive charm.

The eldest prince was a little confused. He didn't go up to disturb him and found a secluded spot to hide.

"Lord Gu, you are truly amazing! You even knew what I ate for lunch. Could you please also calculate whether my wife is carrying a boy or a girl?"

The speaker was the coachman, who chuckled and rubbed his hands together, his tone full of anticipation.

Youlu shook his head and did some calculations, "I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but I do know that your children's palace is dim, which means you are destined to have no children."

The coachman's expression changed slightly. "Lord Gu, you must have miscalculated. My wife was diagnosed with pregnancy just a few days ago." A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

Youlu didn't explain, but instead said, "You live in Dongkou Alley, and you have a loquat tree in your yard, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The coachman nodded repeatedly, his doubts vanishing instantly.

"Then there's no mistake. Your wife is whispering sweet nothings to Old Wang from next door under the loquat tree. If you go back now, you can catch them in the act."

"What?!" the coachman shouted, his eyes wide with rage.

"Calm down. Even though the child isn't yours, your wife is still yours. The most important thing now is to win her back," Youlu kindly comforted him.

The coachman cursed, tossed his apron aside, and was about to leave when he stopped after taking only two steps, hesitating, "Lord Gu, if I leave now, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to the magistrate. This job..."

Youlu immediately patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, I'm here! It's just hiding a needle in a horse's hoof, leave it to me! The magistrate and I are in the same boat, would I lie to you? A mediocre man doesn't lie to another mediocre man!"

"But..." A struggle flashed in the coachman's eyes.

You Lu continued to fan the flames, "The reason you took this job that could cost you your life was to give your wife and children a better life, but now the children aren't yours, and your wife will soon belong to someone else. Tell me, what are you after?"

The coachman's eyes hardened. "To hell with it! I quit!"

He immediately threw down the horseshoe in his hand and stormed off in a huff.

Once the groom had gone some distance, Youlu grinned triumphantly and called out, "Eldest brother, come out!"

The eldest prince emerged from the shadows, his face filled with surprise and uncertainty. "Seventh brother, why did he address you as Lord Gu?"

"Of course it's because I lied," Youlu said with a grin.

"You impersonated Gu Cheng to deceive him?" The eldest prince belatedly realized, "And why would you do that?"

A deer picked up a horseshoe from the ground. "Because I discovered that he had taken money from the magistrate and wanted us to have an accident on the road tomorrow, and the magistrate is the Third Prince's man. So I tricked him by saying that I was Gu Cheng, here to supervise him in doing bad things."

The eldest prince's expression darkened slightly. He hadn't expected that his third brother would act so hastily on the very first day.

"Don't worry, the problem has been solved. The stable boy's own affairs are in trouble, and he's no longer in the mood to help the magistrate." Youlu thought he was worried and gave him a reassuring smile.

The eldest prince sighed in admiration, "Seventh brother, I am no match for you."

Youlu wasn't modest at all. She patted his shoulder with a smile and said, "Of course you can't compare to me. I have a cheat code."

The eldest prince, puzzled, humbly asked, "What is 'hanging'?"

This was difficult to explain, so Youlu quickly changed the subject, "Did my eldest brother need something from me?"

The eldest prince then remembered his purpose and said, "It was Magistrate Wu who said he had prepared some wine and dishes to welcome us. I wanted to refuse, but Gu Cheng readily agreed, so I had no choice but to come and invite you to dine with me. Now it seems..."

He shook his head and continued, "I'm afraid it's a trap."

Since Magistrate Wu was a man of the Third Prince's brother, it was highly unlikely that he would simply host a banquet for them; it was very likely that he had set a trap.

You Lu muttered, resting her chin on her hand, "It's not quite a trap, they wouldn't dare do it openly. I bet they're trying to ruin your reputation."

The trip is for disaster relief. If news spreads that they are indulging in food, drink, and entertainment on the way, they will likely be accused of being pleasure-seeking and disregarding the suffering of the people, which would not be a good thing.

"No matter what their purpose is, as long as we don't go, we'll be fine."

"That's rather impolite..."

"Is etiquette more important, or your reputation?"

"Okay, I'll listen to Seventh Brother."

The eldest prince's eyes hardened.

You Lu threw away the horseshoe, dusted off his hands, and said, "Did we bring our own groom? Just in case, we should have someone check these mules and horses."

The eldest prince nodded.

The two turned and went back to the backyard of the government office. The eldest prince ordered people to check the mules and horses, and sent someone to tell the county magistrate that he was too tired from traveling today and wanted to rest early, so he would not attend the banquet.

Inside the Wu residence, the portly Magistrate Wu and Gu Cheng were exchanging toasts. Magistrate Wu confidently declared, "Lord Gu, rest assured, I have made all the arrangements. Once the Crown Prince enters my household, regardless of whether he enjoys the fine wine and sluts I have prepared, he will have no choice but to accept his fate."

Gu Cheng took a big gulp of wine and said with a stern face, "I'm afraid he won't even come to your door."

He had been holding back his frustration all the way, and he was finally able to vent it out.

Magistrate Wu clicked his tongue. "I've heard that the Crown Prince is gentle and polite. Surely he won't disrespect me?"

"Heh~" Gu Cheng sneered, "The First Prince won't, but the Seventh Prince will."

The mere mention of that kid ignited his anger, so he simply picked up the wine jug and poured the wine directly into his mouth.

"This..." Magistrate Wu couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The two sat for a while longer, until all the delicacies on the table had gone cold, before the messenger arrived.

Upon hearing that the eldest prince and others were not attending the banquet, Magistrate Wu was completely dumbfounded.

Gu Cheng scoffed coldly, "If you don't want to come, then don't. The real show is yet to come."

Magistrate Wu hurriedly replied, "I have made all the arrangements for the groom; everything will be perfect." He raised his wine cup, "Come, Lord Gu, let me offer you a toast. I hope you will put in a good word for me with the Third Prince in the future."

Gu Cheng pushed away his wine glass. "It's getting late, I should go back too, otherwise the Crown Prince and the Duke of Zhenguo will become suspicious."

Speaking of the Duke of Zhenguo, he felt a surge of unease again.

It was only the first day of his journey, and everything was already going wrong. Gu Cheng became increasingly frustrated, worried that his plans for tomorrow would fail again. After leaving the Wu residence, he did not return to the backyard of the government office, but instead went to where the carriage was parked.

Seeing a man changing horseshoes in the darkness, he grabbed the man and whispered, "Is everything done?"

The groom, who had been assigned to the job, nodded blankly, "It's all done."

Gu Cheng was relieved and returned to his room reeking of alcohol. He even had a wonderful dream about a deer being thrown off a carriage and trampled, which made him laugh out loud in his sleep.