Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

The best way to relax after staying up all night is to take a hot bath and then get a good night's sleep.

After taking a bath, no one came to disturb her, and Youlu lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep.

The bed was rock hard, the pillow was the wrong height, the blanket wasn't fragrant or soft enough, and that annoying face kept popping into my head. In short, everything about it was irritating.

Seeing him tossing and turning like a pancake, Pixiu kindly suggested, "Why don't we go and retrieve that human-shaped pillow and the portable incense burner?"

They were practically about to blurt out Cang Shuyue's name.

The deer, puffing out its cheeks, pulled the blanket over its head and yelled, "I want to sleep! Don't bother me!"

Pixiu shrugged and floated out the window.

Although her mind was a mess, she was so tired that she fell asleep in no time. However, she didn't sleep soundly and woke up several times.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already late afternoon. The sun was shining brightly outside, and the summer heat seeped into the room through the cracks in the doors and windows, making me sweat profusely.

One deer was awakened by the heat. When it opened its eyes, it found that the blanket was still covering its head, and its forehead was covered in sweat.

No wonder I always feel like I can't breathe properly in my sleep.

He sat up groggily, muttering with his eyes closed, "Brother Imperial Brother, I'm so hot."

However, no one came to wipe his sweat or fan him as usual, nor did anyone bring his clothes to his bedside.

He suddenly came to his senses, glanced around, and found that the Pixiu was not there either.

The traitor must have gone to find Cang Shuyue.

With a disgruntled grumble, Youlu had no choice but to get up and fend for himself.

After washing up and leaving his room, he subconsciously glanced at the room next to the First Prince's room, which was the room where Cang Shuyue had stayed when he stayed at the Nanzhang County Government Office.

The simple door was tightly closed, and there was no sound from inside. It was unclear whether the person hadn't returned or had gone out again.

After aimlessly wandering around the county government office and finding no one there, he went to Xiadong Village.

Last night's thunderstorm washed away part of the newly built dike that hadn't completely dried yet. Fortunately, the damage wasn't too great, and after being reassured, the villagers quickly recovered and actively resumed their work on the reconstruction.

The eldest prince woke up at noon, quickly ate lunch, and rushed to Xiadong Village to continue his work.

Last night felt like a dream to him. After waking up and understanding the cause and effect, his feelings were complicated and overwhelming. Relief, shame, and bitterness filled his heart, making him unwilling and unsure how to face Youlu.

So when Youlu came looking for him, he ran away. He used being busy as an excuse to ask Xu Ruohuai to take care of Youlu, and he didn't even dare to turn his head back.

Xu Ruohuai walked up to Youlu and saw him staring blankly at the Crown Prince's back. He comforted Youlu, "Give the Crown Prince some time. He will figure it out."

Youlu smiled broadly, "I know."

His elder brother's reaction was exactly what he had expected.

Regardless of the reason, he did take advantage of his elder brother's feelings for him last night, forcing him to confront the harsh realities of life. This was indeed cruel, and he could understand if his elder brother harbored resentment or even hated him.

He has no regrets.

It's just that there will inevitably be a little disappointment.

Xu Ruohuai patted him on the shoulder and said, "You didn't come this morning, and the children in the village have been talking about you. Go and see them."

The deer nodded.

Xu Ruohuai rejoined the work team. The eldest prince hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and asking, "How is Seventh Brother?"

Xu Ruohuai gestured for him to lend a hand, then said in a pretentious tone, "Not very good."

The eldest prince, who had helped him carry the bamboo cage filled with pebbles to the riverbank, looked worried upon hearing this, "What's wrong with Seventh Brother?"

"He had a fight with the Duke of Zhenguo and came to find you, but you avoided him. I saw that Xiaolu's eyes were red." Xu Ruohuai was just making things up, adding fuel to the fire.

The eldest prince was indeed anxious. "Is Uncle blaming Seventh Brother? Why is he acting like this? It's not Seventh Brother's fault!"

Seeing his indignant expression, Xu Ruohuai chimed in, "Yes, yes, Your Highness, you should go and comfort Xiaolu, don't let the child cry because she's upset."

"..." The eldest prince fell silent instantly, feigning a flustered state, and said, "I'm too busy to go myself, so I'll trouble Imperial Censor Xu to comfort my seventh brother. As for my uncle, I'll speak to him myself."

Xu Ruohuai shook his head helplessly.

As soon as they arrived at the village chief's house, Youlu was surrounded by a group of little radish heads.

Children are very perceptive of emotions. When they see that a child is unhappy, they try their best to make him laugh.

Seeing the children's innocent and bright smiles, Youlu's low spirits were instantly cured. He quickly cheered up and took the children to the open space to play sandbag and shuttlecock, having so much fun that he forgot all about it.

As dusk approached, the village chief carried a full basket of dried herbs out of the house. A deer saw him and asked, "Village chief, are you going to the city to deliver medicine?"

The old village chief nodded and said kindly, "These are the herbs you and the children collected a few days ago, and they were just dried today. I heard that Xikou Village suffered a disaster yesterday, and the whole village moved into the disaster relief tents in the county town. Many people also caught a cold. I thought that Doctor Jian must be short of medicinal herbs right now, so I wanted to send them over before dark."

Lu remembered that Jian Dan had been providing free medical consultations in Nanzhang County, helping disaster victims who had been resettled in the county town. Many of the medicinal herbs were collected and delivered by people from nearby villages.

He was about to head back anyway, so he said, "I'm going back to the county town anyway, I'll take it to you."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Young Master Lu." The old village chief handed him the medicinal herbs with a smile.

Aside from government officials, ordinary people did not know his identity and simply called him "Young Master".

A deer, carrying a basket on its back, waved goodbye to the children and embarked on its journey back to the city.

The government requisitioned a small clinic to provide free medical consultations. When the deer arrived, the young doctor was taking the pulses of the sick disaster victims, and the temporarily hired apprentice was busy preparing medicine. Everyone was so busy that they barely had time to breathe.

It was getting late, and there was still a long queue at the entrance. At this rate, it would be difficult to see all the patients, let alone before dark, or even until midnight.

Youlu handed the herbs to the apprentice, then found someone to deliver a message to the county government. He then moved a table and chair next to Jian Dan, knocked on the table, and announced loudly, "Those who come later can come here for treatment first."

Jian Dan glanced at him amidst her busy schedule, frowned, and whispered, "Seventh Prince, please don't cause trouble."

Youlu ignored him and raised his voice again, shouting, "It cures all diseases! Try it and see if it works!"

At first, no one came to him for treatment. After all, Jian had been practicing medicine there for more than ten days and had already made a name for himself. He was a newcomer, so naturally no one dared to believe him.

But soon, some people who weren't too sick and didn't want to keep waiting in line came to his table, just to give it a try.

Then, the team from Jian Dan's side gradually moved to his side.

After finishing their work, the eldest prince and his entourage returned to the Nanzhang County government office, but Lu was nowhere to be seen. Upon asking, they learned that he had gone to the clinic to provide free medical care.

As dusk settled and rain began to fall, the eldest prince handed Xu Ruohuai an umbrella and said with an embarrassed smile, "It's raining. Seventh brother didn't bring an umbrella. I'll trouble Imperial Censor Xu to make the trip."

Xu Ruohuai had already planned to do so, so he didn't refuse. But just as he was about to leave, he saw Cang Shuyue enter with a cold face. He quickly stopped and bowed, "Greetings, Duke Zhenguo."

He could smell a faint scent of alcohol on Cang Shuyue when he was close by.

Cang Shuyue nodded, glanced around at the people in the room, then looked at the umbrella in his arms, snatched it away, and said, "I'll go pick him up."

Xu Ruohuai: "..."

Are these two really not in that kind of relationship?