Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

What Xu Zheng was about to say surprised You Lu somewhat.

"It's nothing much, I'm just passing on a message from Princess Jiahe. She said she's discovered something strange and hopes Your Highness can visit her tavern sometime."

This piqued Lu's interest. "How's business at the Jiahe County Princess's tavern?"

Shen Yuyao is his cash cow; there will be many places where he'll need money in the future, so he can't afford to neglect her.

Xu Zheng laughed and said, "Business is booming. The shop is full of people every day, and there are also many merchants who come to order wine. It seems that the Princess of Jiahe's business is going to expand beyond Shengjing."

You Lu was surprised; this was somewhat unexpected. After all, it had only been two months, and it was truly remarkable that it had developed to this extent. Shen Yuyao truly deserved to be called a business genius.

Now that she has asked Xu Zheng to pass on a message, it must be something very important.

Nodding, Youlu said, "I will visit the tavern tomorrow."

Having completed his task, Xu Zheng cupped his hands in farewell and was about to take his leave when You Lu called out to him, "Old Xu, how have things been at your residence lately?" As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Ruohuai, who was talking to the First Prince behind him.

Xu Zheng understood, and a look of relief appeared on his face. He said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Everything is fine at the manor. Although there were some minor setbacks, they were handled properly after Ruo Huai returned. There are no more worries now."

This implies that Xu Ruohuai has dealt with the spies that the Third Prince placed in the Xu residence.

Unexpectedly, Xu Ruohuai was able to be so ruthless as to deal with his own confidante.

What he didn't know was that when they were far away in Xiangyang, Bai Qingqing, who was staying at the Xu residence, had poisoned Xu Zheng's wife.

However, because the Xu family was always on guard against her, she did not succeed.

Later, Xu Zheng wrote to Xu Ruohuai explaining the matter. With the evidence conclusive, Xu Ruohuai naturally could no longer protect Bai Qingqing, who had poisoned his family. The first thing he did upon returning to Beijing was to report the case and send Bai Qingqing to prison.

Because of Lu's intervention, Xu Ruohuai went to Xiangyang, broadened his horizons, and naturally understood many things. He had long since lost his affection for Bai Qingqing.

In addition, he was away from Shengjing during this period and had no time to spend with Bai Qingqing, so there was no affection between them. When Bai Qingqing poisoned him, he did so without hesitation, and he was naturally ruthless in dealing with her as well.

Through the flapping of a butterfly's wings, Xu Ruohuai's fate has been completely changed, and the Xu family has thus escaped a calamity and will have a different future.

Youlu was very satisfied with the result. He patted Xu Zheng on the shoulder and said, "Old Xu, you can rest assured. Once you get through this hurdle, Brother Xu will have a smooth road ahead."

Xu Zheng nodded with a smile and said gratefully, "It's all thanks to Your Highness."

You Lu shook her head in disagreement, "Everyone makes their own way. I just played a guiding role. Human will can overcome anything, and the future is always in our own hands."

He is Bai Ze, who can see the past and the future. The past cannot be changed, but it can be learned from, allowing people to remember lessons and correct their mistakes. The future serves as a reminder, helping people avoid the wrong path.

The future he saw was merely one of the forks in everyone's destiny, the most likely outcome given the current situation, not a predetermined fate. Each person's future holds countless possibilities and can be changed.

This is also one of the values ​​of his existence: guiding the right people onto the right path. The prerequisite is that those being guided can hold firm to their beliefs and dedicate their efforts to changing the status quo and creating a new future.

Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to reveal it casually, since revealing heavenly secrets would bring divine retribution.

Seeing that it was getting late, after bidding farewell to the Xu family father and son, Youlu climbed onto Cang Shuyue's back and walked and chatted with the eldest prince as they headed toward the Moon Laurel Garden, where the moon worship ceremony and palace banquet were about to be held.

The Moon Laurel Garden is located beside the Banquet Moon Pond. The palace is surrounded by golden osmanthus trees. From a distance, the fallen petals cover the ground like golden snow. As soon as you get close, you can smell the rich fragrance of osmanthus in the wind.

As dusk fell, the full moon slowly rose in the east. In three quarters of an hour, the moon-worship ceremony would begin. Outside the Moon Laurel Garden, the scarlet carpet was covered with elegantly dressed women, all of whom were members of the imperial family attending the banquet.

Amidst the noisy crowd, Youlu spotted the arrogant and domineering Fifth Princess at a glance. She was as spoiled and brainless as ever, showing no restraint whatsoever despite the Yi family's involvement in the poisoning case; in fact, she was even more outrageous.

In an instant, he had a good way to find the Yi family's account books.

Patting the eldest prince beside him, Youlu asked, "What's the relationship between eldest brother and fifth sister?"

Not knowing why he suddenly brought up the Fifth Princess, the First Prince smiled wryly and said, "My Fifth Sister isn't very close to anyone."

You Lu was speechless. It seemed that the Fifth Princess was even more heartless than he had thought, but this was a good thing for him.

He leaned close to the eldest prince's ear and whispered, "Eldest brother, go and try to get closer to the fifth princess. If she ignores you, tell her to come to me."

The eldest prince roughly guessed what he wanted to do and hesitated before saying, "Fifth Princess won't help us, after all, the Yi family is also her backer."

"No, no, no, the Yi family is not her support, but her prison." Youlu shook her finger.

The eldest prince was skeptical, but he nodded and went in first to find the fifth princess.

Lu patted Cang Shuyue on the shoulder again, "We'll go in later, put me down now."

Cang Shuyue shook his head and said, "I'm not tired."

"I know you're incredibly strong. You could carry me around the palace ten times without getting tired, but with so many people coming and going, they'll laugh at you if they see this." Youlu tugged at his ear.

It's just that their current location is a bit off-center and the sky is a bit dark, so people entering can't see them; otherwise, it would have caused a sensation long ago.

"It's alright." Cang Shuyue remained unmoved.

Youlu didn't know whether she felt more sweet or helpless, so she could only make up an excuse, saying with a wry smile, "But my legs are numb, I want to go down and walk around a bit."

As expected, Cang Shuyue stopped being stubborn, gently put him on the ground, squatted down and gently rubbed his calves, looking up at him with concern and asking, "Are you in pain?"

Youlu pulled him up, stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips, laughing, "Don't feel uncomfortable. You've carried me for so long. I'll give you a massage tonight to help you relax."

"Mmm." Cang Shuyue smiled and half-embraced him, affectionately pressing her forehead against his.

A subtle fragrance wafted through the air, and the person before her had eyes as bright as stars. With a slight thought, Youlu broke off a sprig of osmanthus and pinned it to his chest, saying with a grin, "Standing here, I feel like even our kisses smell like osmanthus."

"Do you like it?" Cang Shuyue lowered his eyes to look at the osmanthus in his arms, his heart burning with warmth.

He won the laurel wreath; in the baby's heart, he truly is number one.

"I love it!" Youlu smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, throwing herself into his embrace.

"My heart is like yours," Cang Shuyue sighed softly.

Once everyone had gone inside, the two emerged from the osmanthus grove, stepped onto the felt carpet, and entered the Laurel Garden side by side.

The banquet was set up by the water. Along the way, there were osmanthus trees lining the path, and the fragrance of osmanthus wafted through the air. From time to time, palace maids and eunuchs carried jade plates and golden cups and moved among them, either laying out brocade mats or arranging offerings, making final preparations for the moon worship and palace banquet.

As dusk fell, moisture seeped into the palace gardens, lingering within the magnificent halls with crystal screens and mica windows. The glass palace lanterns, lotus lanterns, and rabbit lanterns hanging under the vermilion corridors were all lit, their light spilling onto the water's surface, making the ripples resemble shattered gold.

The princes and ministers had mostly arrived, and they were all gathered in small groups. As soon as they stepped into the venue, You Lu clearly felt that the venue was quiet for a moment, and then it became lively again, although there were occasional glances cast his way.

You Lu raised an eyebrow, completely ignoring the scrutinizing gazes.