Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

The Pixiu's wandering around outside for half a day wasn't in vain; it not only figured out the location of the cave but also overheard two extremely important pieces of information.

They are currently located near the Black Dragon Cave Spring at the foot of Gushan Mountain in western Cizhou City, close to the source of the Fuyang River. The place is very secluded, making it an ideal location for illegal crossings and rendezvous. No wonder the kidnappers chose to settle here.

Outside the cave where Lu and the others were imprisoned was a village with more than 30 people living there. They were all armed and patrolled, making it heavily guarded.

[Besides, I also overheard that tonight at midnight they are going to secretly send the kidnapped people to Wei County by waterway, and then go to pick up the people sent from Dezhou.]

The Pixiu angrily waved its paw, ["These people are too wicked! To prevent those sold to other places from escaping, they even drugged them!"]

You Lu frowned, deep in thought: "The worst has happened. The Yi family's trading network is even wider than we imagined."

[As far as we know, they intend to swap the kidnapped individuals between the north and south. However, there are still people kidnapped from Suzhou in Cizhou, yet this time they're being sent to Dezhou, north of Cizhou. Does this mean they're being sent to different places each time?]

Her mind was a bit of a mess. Youlu shook her head, putting the problem aside for the moment, and said cautiously, "The kidnappers are sending the person away tonight. Time is of the essence. Go and tell Cang Shuyue right now so he can make arrangements as soon as possible!"

Pixiu scratched his forehead in frustration, pacing anxiously. "But I can't communicate with him! How can I tell him? We only agreed on a few simple codes; I can't convey such a complicated message!"

Youlu gritted her teeth, turned her back, tore off a piece of her skirt, and bit her finger hard.

A piercing pain struck, but he gritted his teeth to suppress his cries and, with his trembling wrist, wrote a letter on a torn piece of cloth, using the blood seeping from his fingertips.

Seeing his face turn pale instantly and the fine sweat beading on his forehead, the Pixiu sobbed: "[It's all the beast's fault. If the beast had listened to the boss and obediently learned to write, this wouldn't have happened...]"

Youlu finished the last stroke, folded the cloth neatly, forced a faint smile, and said, "It's just a little blood, nothing serious. It was my inadequate preparation; I didn't consider the inconvenience of having you deliver the message."

He gave a wry smile. "I used to rely too much on my abilities and didn't use my brain enough. Now that my abilities are restricted, my weaknesses have been exposed. It's a lesson learned."

Pixiu, her eyes red, licked his bleeding finger until the wound healed. Hearing this, she stubbornly shouted, "[Boss is the best! No arguments allowed!]"

A deer rubbed its big head and laughed, "Go on!"

Pixiu nodded solemnly, picked up the piece of cloth, mustered all its strength, and rushed out of the cave, disappearing in an instant.

Youlu, pale-faced, leaned against the wooden fence, sniffed, and muttered softly, "It hurts so much, I want my boyfriend to hug me. I hope my brother-in-law won't be angry after seeing this letter."

The excruciating pain left him extremely weak, and he fell asleep without realizing it.

However, unlike before, this time he did not have the dream of being chased by monsters, but instead found himself in a dark and claustrophobic room.

The room was spacious and luxurious, with layers of gauze curtains hanging on the jade bed, which was piled with all kinds of toys.

A silver-haired man held him in his arms, patted his back and sang a lullaby. His voice was gentle and ethereal, and he unconsciously relaxed and fell asleep in his dream.

Inside the Yongyun Palace, Fuzhu gently stroked the slightly warm bone jade, slowly infusing it with spiritual power, humming a song and softly coaxing, "Sleep, sleep, my good baby, it won't hurt when you wake up."

He gazed tenderly at the bone jade in his hand, as if it were not an object, but his most beloved younger brother.

"Your Excellency, Imperial Preceptor," a maidservant bowed deeply outside the hall, "the Sixth Prince requests an audience."

The smile on Fu Zhu's face faded, and he said coldly, "I won't see you."

The maid dared not object and bowed as she withdrew.

Fu Zhu gently rubbed the jade bone against his cheek and sighed softly, "When will my mischievous little deer be willing to return to the capital? I'm so tired of waiting."

"Your current body is too weak; you'd better change it quickly. Your brother has prepared a much better body for you, one that has absorbed a lot of good fortune. You should like it, right?"

Outside the palace, the sixth prince, his eyes slightly red from being refused entry, asked unwillingly, "Why is the Imperial Preceptor unwilling to see me? Are you unwell?"

He was convinced by his own reasoning and muttered to himself, "That's it. The Imperial Preceptor has always been kind and gentle to me. He must be unwell and doesn't want me to worry, so he doesn't want to see me."

The maid remained unfazed and directly exposed his self-deception, saying, "The Grand Preceptor needs to meditate. The Sixth Prince has been coming too frequently lately."

The sixth prince blushed with embarrassment and said aggrievedly, "My eldest brother returned to the capital the day before yesterday, and when I went to visit him, he kept talking about my seventh brother. Even my best friend Jian Dan mentioned my seventh brother from time to time. Now that my mother is under house arrest, I have nowhere to go and I am feeling very depressed, so I can only come to the Imperial Preceptor to confide in him."

The maid curtsied and said, "Sixth Prince, there's no need to explain to me."

After saying this, he turned around, climbed the steps, and entered the hall.

The sixth prince looked embarrassed and could only leave dejectedly.

When I woke up, torches were already lit in the cave, and it was dark outside, as dusk was falling.

The injury on his hand no longer hurt at all, and his spirits were not as low as they usually were after an injury. You Lu was a little surprised. Could it be that he had developed tolerance?

He moved his sore and numb arms and legs, and slowly sat up. He turned around and found the Pixiu fast asleep beside his legs. He couldn't help but smile and nudged the little guy curled up in a ball.

Pixiu groaned as it woke up, rubbed its eyes, and seeing him sitting perfectly fine, exclaimed happily, "Boss, are you alright?"

Youlu nodded and smiled, "You're back after delivering the letter? How's the situation at the inn? What does Cang Shuyue plan to do?"

Upon hearing Cang Shuyue's name, Pixiu's expression changed slightly, and he stammered, "The letter has been delivered. Everything is fine at the inn; everyone is continuing their act as planned."

Upon receiving the letter, Cang Shuyue immediately dispatched men to guard the area in front of the Black Dragon Cave Spring. They were to intercept the smuggling boats, disguise themselves as passengers, and meet with the kidnappers in Cizhou to rescue the people. They would then follow the trail to Wei County to search for more clues.

As for the ship from Texas, Cang Shuyue plans to intercept it on its return voyage, again disguising himself and infiltrating to investigate.

Lu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "As expected of my boyfriend, he's so thoughtful."

"Um..." Pixiu hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Seeing this, Youlu asked in confusion, "Is there something else? Could it be that Cang Shuyue is angry because he saw the letter?" He was a little scared.

Pixiu fiddled with his fingers, shrank his neck, and said weakly, "He wasn't really angry, but seeing the letter triggered a relapse of his old illness, and he vomited... vomited blood..."

Its voice grew softer and softer as it spoke.

"What?!" Yu Lu jumped up excitedly.