Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

The verification of the silver was handled by people sent by Xiangyang Prefecture. Cang Shuyue carried the still-sleeping boy directly to the backyard of the county government office and rested in a prepared room.

She slept until dawn. When Youlu woke up, the quilt beside her was slightly cool, and Cang Shuyue was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone to work on disaster relief again.

Feeling inexplicably disappointed, he lay on the bed for a couple more rolls before stretching, sitting up, and slipping on his shoes to open the door.

The Pixiu, perched on the headboard, opened its sleepy eyes, smacked its lips, and muttered: "The food from last night hasn't been fully digested yet, and I'm being fed again so early? The beast can't eat anymore."

A deer glanced back at it but ignored it.

A servant boy was waiting outside the door. Hearing the door open, he bowed and asked, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

Youlu was looking for help anyway, and upon hearing this, she said, "Could you please bring me some hot water? I need to take a bath."

I went straight to sleep last night, and now I feel sticky and uncomfortable.

The servant respectfully responded and turned to prepare hot water.

Soon, buckets of hot water were delivered, filling the bathtubs to the brim. Youlu enjoyed a comfortable hot bath, changed into clean clothes, and left feeling refreshed.

Upon seeing him emerge, the servant waiting outside immediately followed, respectfully saying, "The First Prince and the Duke of Zhenguo have both gone to the city to resettle the refugees. The Duke of Zhenguo instructed that if the Seventh Prince inquires, I should take him there."

You Lu shook his head and asked, "Where is Imperial Censor Xu?"

The servant was slightly taken aback, then replied, "Imperial Censor Xu and the officials from the Ministry of Works went to inspect the Nanhe Village area."

"Prepare a horse for me, I want to go to Nanhe Village." Youlu rolled up his sleeves, eager to go.

"This..." the servant hesitated, "The Duke of Zhenguo only instructed me to take His Highness to find him."

Pixiu: [Hehehe, I've got it~~~]

A deer glanced at it, completely bewildered, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "What, can't I go anywhere else?"

"No, no, I'll go and have someone prepare it right away." The servant wiped his sweat. These were all his ancestors, and he couldn't afford to offend any of them. He could only send someone to deliver a message to the Duke of Zhenguo while deliberately stalling for time.

Lu had finished all the pastries and fried dough twists in the chest and was starving. Someone brought him two steamed buns. He squatted in front of the county government gate, eating the buns with plums while waiting for his horse. But instead of a horse, he saw Cang Shuyue with a gloomy face.

"Why are you back?" He jogged a couple of steps to greet her, asking with a smile.

Cang Shuyue grabbed his hand, pulled him onto the horse, and asked in a deep voice, "What are you going to Nanhe Village for?"

"Go patrol and see where there's a risk of landslides." Youlu replied matter-of-factly, stuffing the remaining half of the steamed bun into Cang Shuyue's mouth, saying, "Haven't you had breakfast yet? Hey, I saved this especially for you."

Actually, he couldn't finish the food himself, but he didn't want to waste it.

The icy look in Cang Shuyue's eyes melted instantly. He ate the steamed bun in two bites and said, "You can't ride a horse, I'll take you there."

"Okay, thank you, Imperial Uncle Brother." You Lu, always good at flattering, stuffed two more plums into his mouth and said with a smile, "Imperial Uncle Brother is the best."

The boy's fingers were soft and delicate, and when they accidentally touched his lips, they sent a shiver down his spine. Cang Shuyue couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. He lowered his head and pressed his cheek against the boy's soft face, and said softly, "Be good, sit still and hold me tight."

"Okay." Youlu obediently wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him.

The plums in his mouth were sour, but his heart was sweet. Cang Shuyue hugged the person in his arms tightly, gave a low shout, and spurred his horse forward.

The Pixiu chased after it, shouting: "Wait, beast!"

It takes less than 15 minutes to ride a horse from Nanzhang County to Nanhe Village. Fortunately, when the two arrived at Nanhe Village, Xu Ruohuai and others were just about to leave, and the two met at the entrance of the village.

"Brother Xu!" Youlu shouted loudly, waving vigorously.

Hearing the voice, Xu Ruohuai looked up and exclaimed in surprise, "Little Deer!"

A deer slid off the horse and ran quickly to Xu Ruohuai. After looking him over carefully, it said with a grin, "I haven't seen you for half a month. How come you've become so dark and thin? I almost didn't recognize you. If Old Xu and Aunt Li saw you, they would probably think you're a monkey from some mountain."

"You brat!" Xu Ruohuai was both amused and annoyed. Just as he was about to raise his hand to grab You Lu by the neck and give him a good beating, a sharp gaze swept over him. He quickly changed the direction of his outstretched hand, patted You Lu's shoulder, and laughed, "You're a prince now, and you still have such a sharp tongue."

Who would have thought that the boy who stayed at their house would turn into a prince? Fortunately, although the two had some misunderstandings, they had long since made up and became brothers despite their initial misunderstandings. Otherwise, he would have lost his head.

Yes, they became friends after a fight, even though he was the one who was beaten.

You Lu took it as a compliment and bowed, saying, "You flatter me."

Staring at Cang Shuyue's icy gaze, Xu Ruohuai dared not overstep his bounds, and respectfully greeted him, saying, "May I ask what brings Your Highness here?"

This was the first time she had seen him so polite and courteous. Youlu chuckled and scolded, "Being an official really changes you. You speak so formally. Don't give me that, I'm not used to it."

Xu Ruohuai felt ashamed. He didn't want to be disrespectful, but the Duke of Zhenguo's glare was so intense it felt like he was being slowly torn apart.

Then Deer said, "I heard you were patrolling the villages at the foot of the nearby mountains, so I came to check on you. Maybe I can be of help."

One second Xu Ruohuai was trembling with fear, the next he was overjoyed, slapping his thigh and laughing, "That's wonderful!"

Forget about the glares, he grabbed Youlu and started to turn back.

"Lord Xu, I'm afraid this is inappropriate." The accompanying official from the Ministry of Works' Water Conservancy Department stopped the two, disapproving, "Seventh Prince doesn't understand water conservancy. Please don't joke about matters concerning the lives of the people."

This man, surnamed Chu, had been at odds with Xu Ruohuai ever since he arrived in Xiangyang. If Xu Ruohuai wanted to ride a horse, he would have someone lead a donkey; if Xu Ruohuai wanted to eat steamed buns, he would have someone make pancakes. He just wanted to make things difficult for Xu Ruohuai.

Previously, Xu Ruohuai had kept Xu Zheng's teachings in mind and had tolerated the matter repeatedly, considering it was all trivial. Now, seeing him deliberately picking a fight again, he frowned and said, "What's wrong with just inspecting the mountain?"

Before leaving, his father didn't say it explicitly, but his words implied that Xiao Lu was extraordinary and urged him to listen to Xiao Lu when the time came. Although he didn't understand the reason, he knew that his father, who was as cautious as he was, would not harm him or do anything detrimental to the people. Therefore, he chose to trust Xiao Lu unconditionally.

While he thought this way, others did not. In the eyes of other officials, Youlu was an uneducated, narrow-minded, and uncouth man who grew up among the common people. Even if he became a prince, he would be nothing more than a pretty face with no substance, and his words would be completely unreliable.

Therefore, several officials in charge of the Ministry of Works also joined in trying to dissuade them.

Anticipating obstacles, but not expecting them to come so quickly, Youlu raised an eyebrow and rolled up his sleeves.

But Cang Shuyue coldly replied, "If anything goes wrong, I, the Duke, will take full responsibility."

The group of people fell silent instantly.

Cang Shuyue nimbly dismounted, lowered his sleeve, and said softly, "Don't hurt your hand."

Youlu rolled his eyes and accepted the explanation.

Xu Ruohuai was slightly disappointed; she had thought that Xiao Lu would beat up the guy surnamed Chu to help her vent her anger.