Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

Let's sleep together!

We slept together.

sleep.

For a moment, his mind went blank. When he came to his senses, Cang Shuyue's Adam's apple bobbed, and he scolded, "Nonsense! What kind of behavior is this!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but linger on the boy's slightly open collar and his delicate, fair collarbone.

He thought that the child was still young and delicate, so it was normal for him to be clingy. If he really wanted to sleep with him, it wouldn't be a problem.

The bed was a bit small, the bedding wasn't soft enough, and the room wasn't decorated in a lively or festive way...

My thoughts drifted uncontrollably away.

You Lu pouted, "We're all men, what's wrong with sleeping together? I'm doing this for your own good. There are so many mosquitoes on the ship, without Xiao Gua you'd be carried away by them in the middle of the night."

"Yes, Uncle, these mosquitoes are so annoying. Even if they don't bite, they're still very noisy. Let's make do with Seventh Brother for a few nights," the eldest prince advised.

Cang Shuyue seemed to only just notice the eldest prince, frowning as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

The eldest prince pointed to himself. He had come with his seventh brother. Why hadn't his uncle seen him?

Cang Shuyue realized what was happening, her lips curled down slightly, and she coldly refused, "No way."

"Alright then, we'll leave you alone. I'll share a room with my eldest brother, so you'd better pray for yourself." Youlu snorted, truly ungrateful for kindness.

"No." Cang Shuyue blurted out two more words.

Deer: "??"

What's wrong this time?

Yinwu quickly explained, "My master means that if you stay together, it's easy for rumors to spread that you only care about your own enjoyment and don't care about the lives of your elders, which would be detrimental to your reputation, so it won't work."

He broke out in a cold sweat; this kind of jealousy without any official status was truly deadly.

The eldest prince nodded in agreement, "That is indeed disrespectful to one's elders."

"Then what should we do?" Youlu tilted her head. "Give the little melon to the Imperial Uncle, and my eldest brother and I will go feed the mosquitoes?"

"No." Cang Shuyue repeated those two words.

Just as Lu was about to throw a tantrum, he pursed his lips and ultimately chose to compromise, "Together."

Youlu's expression instantly changed, and she said with a grin, "The bed is too small, let's sleep on the floor!"

"Then I'll go to sleep..."

Before the eldest prince could speak, Cang Shuyue interjected, "I'll sleep in the middle."

"That's fine too." The eldest prince didn't seem to care.

He was worried that his uncle didn't want any physical contact with his seventh brother, so he suggested that they sleep in the middle. Since his uncle was willing, then let his uncle sleep in the middle; he didn't mind.

After a flurry of activity, the three of them lay down on the floor where straw mats and blankets had been laid out, with the little melon placed at the head of the bed for easy hunting of any mosquitoes that came near.

A gentle night breeze, carrying moisture, cooled the boat deck, blowing away the summer heat accumulated during the day, leaving the room cool and perfect for a good night's sleep.

With the ship rocking slightly, Youlu and the Crown Prince quickly fell asleep. Cang Shuyue pulled a thin blanket over them and lay straight in the middle, staring blankly at the cabin ceiling.

Suddenly, an arm swung down and grabbed his collar, and from his right came the First Prince's murmured words: "Seventh Brother, stop bragging..."

Cang Shuyue glanced to the side and saw that the eldest prince's brows were furrowed and his face was full of pain, as if he had a nightmare.

He paused for a moment, then kicked the person away.

Just as he finished with the one on the right, a warm and fragrant body rolled in from the left. The boy's long, black hair was spread out on the light-colored bedding, and he looked incredibly docile with his eyes closed. He hugged his arm and rubbed against him gently, "You smell so good~~ I like it, hehehe~~"

A sound of slurping saliva could be heard.

In the darkness, the boy's shallow, long breaths became loud, his heart pounding. Cang Shuyue's eyes deepened as he turned and pulled the boy into his arms, stroking his chin against the top of his head and sighing softly.

Little Gua tilted its head, sizing up its two owners who were hugging each other, then looked at the lonely prince who had been kicked to the floor, and stuck out its tongue to scoop up a passing mosquito into its mouth.

As dawn broke, the boat became lively.

When the eldest prince woke up, he found himself lying on the floor, while a deer was sprawled out on Cang Shuyue's arm, fast asleep.

"Are I really that bad a sleeping posture?"

Of the three people, only he rolled onto the floor, and the eldest prince began to doubt himself.

Cang Shuyue slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear. "What time is it?"

The eldest prince glanced at the sky outside the window and replied, "It's still early; it should be early morning."

Cang Shuyue nodded, gently moved her head off her arm, moved her almost numb arm, and got up to change her clothes.

Deprived of its pillow, Youlu grunted twice in dissatisfaction, curled up, found a comfortable position, and continued to snore away while hugging the blanket.

The eldest prince looked on, somewhat envious of his good sleep.

After changing into their everyday clothes, the uncle and nephew finished washing up and left their room, then went to sit down in the main hall of the ship's cabin.

Hot tea was prepared in the spacious and elegant main hall. The curtains were half-rolled up, and the sandalwood incense was wafting in the air. Cang Shuyue sat by the window, sipping his tea and admiring the sunrise outside.

The fog on the river had not yet dissipated, the sun was rising, and sails were hidden in the vast expanse of misty water. A small leaf quickly disappeared where the water met the sky.

Having slept on the floor all night, the eldest prince was experiencing some back pain and was wondering whether he should go back to rest for a while when Cang Shuyue suddenly stood up and said, "Let's go practice on the deck."

The eldest prince immediately looked utterly dejected and said listlessly, "Yes."

When Youlu woke up after a good night's sleep, the eldest prince was already so exhausted from training that he was paralyzed on the deck and couldn't get up. Cang Shuyue straightened his cuffs and instructed Yinwu to take him back to his room.

Yinwu carried the eldest prince back to his room, with Youlu following behind, carrying steaming hot buns. Curious, she asked, "Why did you suddenly make things difficult for the eldest prince, Uncle?"

Yinwu suppressed a laugh and said, "Master said that he neglected his training a few days ago while traveling, and now he has nothing to do all day on the ship, so it's a good time to catch up on what he missed."

"Isn't it a bit much to give him such a strong boost all at once?" Youlu glanced at her older brother, who was struggling to even move a finger, and frowned slightly.

"It's a great thing to receive guidance from the Duke of Zhenguo, and I imagine the Crown Prince would be happy about it." Gu Cheng came over to deliver breakfast, not forgetting to make sarcastic remarks.

You Lu raised an eyebrow. "You also want to be reprimanded by the Duke of Zhenguo?"

Gu Cheng's expression changed instantly. He glared at him fiercely, then turned and left.

Youlu snorted, took a meat bun and stuffed it into the eldest prince's mouth, saying, "Eldest brother, I'll feed you."

The eldest prince looked grateful, thinking that there was no one better than his younger brother in the world.

Yinwu coughed lightly to separate Youlu, and chuckled, "I'll take care of things here. Seventh Prince, you should go and rest. I'll take good care of the First Prince."

Thinking to myself, if you really care about the eldest prince, you should stay away from him.

You Lu was confused. What was wrong with him taking care of his older brother?

For the next few days, the three of them slept on the floor together at night, and during the day, Cang Shuyue would make the eldest prince practice martial arts. The eldest prince didn't know how others spent their three-day trip, but he was very fulfilled and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow every night.

On the evening of the fourth day, the cargo ship docked at Junxian Wharf. After verification, the group disembarked and took a horse-drawn carriage to the local post station for the night.

Over the next two days, they will travel by carriage to Nanyang, then board a boat at Yuyang Ferry in Nanyang Prefecture, travel along the Baihe River, and head south to Xiangyang, thus reaching their destination.