Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

A deer struggled to swim to the surface, wiping the hair smeared on its face and panting heavily. "That wretched watermelon rind betrayed me! I'll tear you to pieces when I get up there!"

A low chuckle sounded behind him. He whirled around, "What are you laughing at!"

and many more!

His eyes widened in shock. Cang Shuyue was laughing! This giant block of ice was actually laughing?!

[Did he fall into the river and get water in his brain?]

He looked at the person in front of him suspiciously.

The Pixiu floated to his side, [Boss, are you alright?]

"I'm fine, but I suspect something's wrong with Cang Shuyue." He pointed to his head.

Pixiu tilted its head to look at Cang Shuyue, puzzled, and said, "No, he's still putting on that deadpan act, isn't he?"

When Lu looked up, Cang Shuyue had returned to his usual cold and aloof demeanor, like a high mountain snow. However, because his hair was wet from falling into the water and his face was covered in water droplets, he looked a little softer than usual.

"Am I out of my mind and hallucinating?" he muttered to himself.

Cang Shuyue swam a few steps towards him, then suddenly asked, "Are you calm now?"

You Lu snapped out of his daze and nervously rolled his eyes. He didn't deny it, only saying, "It's alright."

Cang Shuyue nodded. "I'll take you up."

After saying that, she grabbed his arm with one hand and pulled him in front of her, while reaching behind his waist with the other.

Summer clothes are thin and cling tightly to the body when wet. As soon as Cang Shuyue's hand covered his body, Youlu could clearly feel the warmth of the other's palm. It was warm and ticklish, and he couldn't help but shiver and subconsciously pulled away.

"I... I can go up by myself." He awkwardly moved to the side.

The soft warmth of his fingertips was fleeting. Cang Shuyue withdrew his hand, which had been frozen in the water, expressionless. His gaze slid from the boy's slightly reddened ear tips to his wet chest, and then back underwater.

So fine, so soft.

The atmosphere became inexplicably awkward. Youlu coughed lightly, "Um, if you have something to do, you can go upstairs first. I'm a little hot and want to soak some more."

Cang Shuyue glanced at him, but didn't say anything or make any other move.

This is even more awkward.

You Lu, in a fit of desperation, said, "Yes, so what if I can't get up there? Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I'm good at lying, but not good at light-footed skills. What's wrong with that?"

Cang Shuyue finally spoke, "No."

The deep voice rose slightly at the end, carrying a hint of a smile.

A deer grunted twice.

Pixiu: [Boss, this boat isn't very high, can't you use your light-foot technique to fly up?]

【Please!】You Lu was speechless. 【Can you be more precise? I'm a soul transmigrated, not a body. This body has no internal energy, no physical strength. Fighting and climbing walls all rely on my years of experience and skills. Without any leverage, how do you expect me to fly out of the water? With your imagination? I declare your physics failing!】

[The beast understands, boss. You're currently at the pinnacle of agility, but zero physique.] The Pixiu suddenly realized, covering its mouth and chuckling. [Besides experience and skill, you also have an iron will, boss.]

The deer rolled its eyes, ignoring the deer, and shouted at Emperor Wulong on the boat, "Father, if you don't save me, you'll lose your precious eldest son!"

Emperor Wulong, who was leaning against the railing listening to the whispers of the emperor, said irritably, "I think you're doing just fine!"

But in his heart, he was thinking of assigning the kid a few more powerful shadow guards; the child was more fragile than he had imagined.

The eldest prince shouted at the top of his lungs, "Seventh brother, don't be afraid! Yan'an has already gone to find a rope and will pull you up right away!"

"Here it comes, here it comes, the rope is here!" Su Yan'an returned carrying a bundle of hemp rope, threw one end into the river, and shouted down, "Little deer, come up quickly!"

Lu swam happily to the side of the boat, grabbed the dangling rope, and the crowd who saw his swimming style fell silent for a moment, then burst into thunderous laughter.

I know what they're laughing at. One of the deer bared its teeth, "So what if it's a dog paddle? Black cat or white cat, a cat that catches mice is a good cat!"

The Pixiu loudly echoed, "That's right! That's how we little animals swim!"

Emperor Wulong laughed so hard he pounded the railing, tears streaming down his face.

The eldest prince and Su Yan'an were so weak that they almost couldn't hold onto the rope.

The queen sighed, pushed the three useless men aside, grabbed the rope, and pulled hard, managing to get Youlu onto the boat.

As soon as the deer came up, it complained, looking aggrieved, "Mother, they're all laughing at me."

"Ignore them." The Queen brushed the wet hair from his forehead, patted his shoulder, and said, "Go and bathe and change."

Youlu nodded obediently. Although the weather was hot and she wouldn't catch a cold, it was still uncomfortable to have her clothes sticking to her body.

"Come on, let's hurry up and wash up. Look at you, all filthy. If word gets out, it will tarnish the reputation of Your Highness, Princess Little Deer." Su Yan'an pushed Youlu inside.

The eldest prince followed for a few steps, then remembered that his uncle was still in the river, so he turned around and said, "Uncle, come up quickly." Then he followed.

Cang Shuyue: ...Isn't anyone going to do something about him?

The empress, who had been all smiles just a moment ago, turned and shouted angrily at the people below the boat: "Aren't you going to get on? Are you waiting for me to come down and fetch you?"

Cang Shuyue pursed his lips, slapped the water's surface with his palm, and used the momentum to leap into the air, successfully returning to the deck.

"You, you." The Empress shook her head helplessly, tugging at his wet clothes. "You should go and wash up too, I have important matters to discuss with you."

When Youlu came out after taking a bath, Cang Shuyue had also changed his clothes. He was always dressed in black, but this time he changed into a dark green outfit. Although it was still a cool color, it looked more vibrant than the unchanging black.

He looked at his own pale yellow round-neck robe again and suddenly felt a little envious; he also wanted to dress cool.

Seeing that everyone else was sitting at the table, he went over and sat down as well.

Emperor Wulong cleared his throat and said, "The results of the disaster assessment will be delivered to Shengjing in the next two days. Calculating the amount of silver will only take half a day, or at most three days. You will then escort the silver to Xiangyang. Make good preparations in the next two days."

After saying that, he stood up, tapped the table, and said in a deep voice, "Yunli, come with me."

The Empress also stood up. "A-Yue, come with me for a moment."

Seeing the four leave, Lu was completely confused and nudged Su Yan'an next to her, "Are they trying to ostracize us?"

"Compared to this," Su Yan'an pushed a peeled lychee in front of him, smiling ingratiatingly, "Little Deer, could you please plead with the Emperor to allow me to go with you to provide disaster relief?"

You Lu rolled her eyes, picked up a lychee and threw it into her mouth. "I'm afraid that won't work. The candidate has already been chosen."

Su Yan'an said anxiously, "Can't we just replace Gu Cheng? He's clearly not on our side, and he might trip us up on the way."

"That's precisely why we need to bring him along. He's very useful. I'm not afraid of him causing trouble, I'm afraid of him not causing trouble," Youlu said mysteriously.

Su Yan'an's curiosity was piqued. "Tell me more."

You Lu shook his head, "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."