Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

Back in the cabin, the eldest prince had calmed down and sat quietly without crying or making a fuss, until Cang Shuyue came in.

"Uncle!" he cried out, throwing himself into Cang Shuyue's arms and bursting into tears.

Cang Shuyue frowned and looked at the Empress with a puzzled expression.

The Empress leisurely sipped her tea, saying, "The sand and dust have gotten into my eyes."

If a child cries, let him cry.

So Cang Shuyue kicked the person away without any mercy, and commented sharply: "Useless thing."

You Lu almost spat out his tea; what a heartless uncle!

"Luckily, he's not my uncle, or I'm afraid he'd beat me to death." He secretly rejoiced.

Pixiu: [Your own uncle isn't even as good as him; at least he's handsome and rich.]

[Shut up.] A deer gave it a look that seemed to want to kill.

The Pixiu obediently covered its mouth and shrank back under the coffee table.

After Cang Shuyue sat down, the Empress coughed lightly and said, "I heard that there is some misunderstanding between A-Yue and Xiao Lu. Since we are all gathered here today, let's talk things out."

The eldest prince crawled back to sit up. "Mother, who told you that?"

Emperor Wulong gritted his teeth, "If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all!"

You Lu raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you guys? Me and..."

"I've sent secret guards to monitor the Seventh Prince," Cang Shuyue interrupted him, his face still expressionless.

There is a deer: Σ(￣ロ￣llll)

How did he reveal this himself?!

The Pixiu covered its mouth and dared not utter a sound.

The Empress and Emperor Wulong were also shocked. Emperor Wulong slammed his hand on the table and stood up, "You, Cang Shuyue, how could you..."

"It won't happen again."

Just as Emperor Wulong was about to point his finger at him and berate him, he withdrew his finger and chuckled under the Empress's stern gaze, "You actually know your mistakes and can correct them. That's truly commendable. You are indeed worthy of being the successor to the Duke of Zhenguo, whom the Empress has carefully nurtured."

Cang Shuyue ignored him, his deep eyes fixed on the person opposite him.

Youlu felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, coughed, and said arrogantly, "Actually, I'm not that angry, but since you sincerely repent, I won't hold it against you."

He thought to himself, "It would be even better if I could get some more gold and silver jewelry as compensation."

The Empress bumped into her younger brother and kept giving him meaningful glances.

Cang Shuyue understood, "I'll give you the painted boat as an apology."

Youlu pouted, "You mean that pleasure boat the Ying family used to ride in? It's all dirty, I don't want it."

"There are others, take your pick."

The Queen's lips twitched. "I told you to show some appreciation, not this!"

"Really?!" With bright, deer-like eyes, she sweetly exclaimed, "Thank you, Imperial Uncle! You're so kind!"

The Pixiu crawled out from under the coffee table, circling and calling out: "We're rich! We're rich!"

The boy's smile was radiant, with dimples appearing and disappearing at the corners of his lips. His sweet "brother" was like heavenly music, striking straight to the heart.

Cang Shuyue felt a slight tightness in his chest, his heart pounding like a drum.

He smiles so beautifully and forgives himself so easily. Could it be that, as my older sister said, he likes me?

No wonder he always looks at me.

At that moment, Cang Shuyue suddenly understood.

The eldest prince said timidly, "Uncle, I want one too."

Cang Shuyue: "That ship is for you today."

The eldest prince was overjoyed. "Thank you, Uncle!"

Su Yan'an, who was silently standing in the background, shed tears of envy. If he were to call the Duke of Zhenguo "uncle" now, could he get a pleasure boat?

That's a pleasure boat!

Emperor Wulong said sourly, "Two brats, bribed with just a pleasure boat."

The Empress smiled and nudged his shoulder, saying, "I'll give you one too."

Emperor Wulong was instantly overjoyed, leaning sweetly on her shoulder and saying coquettishly, "Thank you, Sister Yan, you're so kind!"

Witnessing this, Youlu sneered, "A clever copycat!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

As the saying goes, a smile can dispel all enmity. No matter what happens in the future, at least they can be happy together today.

After sailing for a while, the pleasure boat entered the still lake in the eastern suburbs. Further ahead was the vast lotus field that Su Yan'an had mentioned before.

"Shall we go pick lotus flowers?" Su Yan'an asked cautiously.

He didn't say it directly, but everyone understood what he meant: he was worried about running into the Ying family and ruining the fun.

You Lu really didn't want to see those people, and said, "I'm not going."

Besides, picking lotus would definitely get his clothes wet, and he had already changed his clothes and didn't want to change again.

Anyway, once we have the pleasure boats, there will be plenty of opportunities, so there's no need to rush it today.

"Then we won't go," the Empress said.

Since no one objected when she spoke up, Emperor Wulong ordered the boatmen to stop the boat.

The painted boat stopped in the middle of the lake, gently rocking with the azure water.

Youlu asked the boatman to bring him a fish basket and fishing rod, put on a straw hat, and sat at the stern to fish, enjoying the scenery on both banks while gathering his ingredients for the night.

There were no songs, dances, or games prepared on the boat, but Emperor Wulong and his entourage, having nothing else to do, followed suit and sat in a row at the stern, each with a fishing rod, competing to see who could catch the most fish.

The lake reflects the mountain scenery, a carefree place between heaven and earth.

As the sun set, the pleasure boat returned to port. Amidst the glow of the sunset, the group put away their fishing rods and went back to their cabins for dinner. The ingredients for dinner were the fish they had caught; the boat's cook prepared a whole fish feast.

Tofu and crucian carp soup, mandarin duck fish rolls, cold fish skin salad, braised fish in a clay pot, and fish slices stir-fried in fermented rice wine... A whole table full of dishes, all made with fish that have just been caught, so fresh that you can swallow your tongue.

"These fish in the lake are so ungrateful! Not a single one of them has taken my bait! Next time I'll just cast the net and catch them all!" Emperor Wulong shouted angrily while gnawing on a fish head.

Yes, His Majesty the Emperor has taken the air force today.

Youlu stood up to pick up the fish belly on the other side, but before he could reach it with his chopsticks, a long, strong hand picked up the fish belly first and put it into his bowl.

He immediately pushed his luck, saying, "I also want fish soup."

Cang Shuyue glanced at him, picked up his bowl, ladled out a bowl of soup, and handed it to him.

As the deer sipped the delicious fish soup, it exclaimed, "Having long arms is really great!"

The Pixiu clung to his trouser leg, pleading, "Boss, even the beast wants to eat fish, waaaaah~~"

Youlu didn't want to pay attention to this glutton, but when she looked down into its teary eyes, she softened and stuffed two pan-fried crucian carp into its mouth.

Eat up, eat up. Be smarter next time.

The Pixiu was moved, ["Waaah, thank you, boss!"]

After dinner, before it was completely dark, the group went to the deck to cool off. Suddenly, they heard the sound of drums and music in the distance. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw the pleasure boat that Cang Shuyue had borrowed.

As dusk settled on the horizon, in the distance, one could see a huge pleasure boat brightly lit, bustling with singing and dancing. In comparison, the pleasure boat where Lu and the others were located looked pitifully small.

The two boats drew closer and closer, and the painted boat behind clearly intended to compete for passage. When they were almost side by side, the boat on the opposite side suddenly stopped.

The music and laughter stopped abruptly, and a group of elegantly dressed young men and women rushed to the deck, knelt down, and kowtowed tremblingly towards the small pleasure boat.

What is a royal boat? It is a painted boat used by the emperor and decorated with iconic royal ornaments. Anyone who is not blind can recognize it at a glance.

Emperor Wulong stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze disdainful.

Despite his lowly position, his imposing presence remained undiminished. The people on the opposite boat were so frightened that they dared not even breathe until they watched the pleasure boat in front of them sail away into the distance, at which point they finally exhaled.