Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

On the fourth day, the convoy arrived at Longgang Post Station in Xingtai Prefecture. After making all the necessary arrangements, the Crown Prince contacted the local canal transport office to confirm the details of the waterway transport for the next day, so as to facilitate the transfer the following day.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, the convoy arrived in Handan at the scheduled time. Without stopping in the prefectural capital, they went directly to the dock to wait to board the ship.

The bluestone-paved shoreline extends to both sides, with rows of canal boats crowding together, blocking the riverbank completely. The masts on the boats seem to rise from the ground, pointing straight to the sky, and the banners bearing the words "Grain Transport Office" flutter in the wind. Together with the shouts of the porters, the cries of the peddlers, and the sound of the river lapping against the shore, they weave together a unique symphony of canal transport.

The wind is strong today, and the river is rippling, stretching to the horizon.

The silver chest still needed to be re-inspected and reinforced. The eldest prince was busy checking documents and inspecting the silver chest with the postmaster and the ferry manager. A deer squatted on the stone steps that were polished to a shine by oars and wheels, watching through the fence as the boatmen at the neighboring ferry dock repaired their sails. Pixiu ran around on the river, chasing their own tails.

Suddenly, a figure in black appeared in front of the wind. Youlu looked up in confusion and saw Cang Shuyue standing tall and elegant, his tall body completely blocking the raging river wind.

Deer: "??"

As if noticing the confusion on his face, Cang Shu explained in a complicated tone, "The wind was strong, and my face was distorted by the wind."

Youlu quickly rubbed his face, smoothing his disheveled features back into place, and then tidied his wind-blown hair, anxiously asking, "How is it? Is my handsomeness back?"

Cang Shuyue looked at him deeply and nodded silently.

good-looking.

Lu breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, my image is saved."

Yinwu blinked and found that his master was gone. He looked around and finally found him, only to find that Tieshu had moved up to the Seventh Prince again. His heart jumped into his throat.

He practically scrambled over, shouting as he ran, "Master, I have urgent business to report—!"

When Deer heard the sound, he turned around and was suddenly hit hard on the back. With one foot dangling in the air, he lost his balance and fell forward into the river.

"Ahhh!!" he screamed instinctively, waving his arms wildly.

"Be careful, boss!" Pixiu shouted as it ran over.

In the nick of time, my arm was pulled forcefully, and after a dizzying spin, I fell into a cold, fragrant embrace.

The shadows falling on the river surface merged into one.

The Pixiu covered its mouth: [Oh my god, beast!]

The familiar scent, the familiar chest, the familiar sense of security—the scream in his throat was instantly suppressed. Youlu patted his chest, still shaken, and said, "Thank goodness, that was close! I almost got soaked again."

A frizzy fringe brushed against the tip of his nose. Cang Shuyue lowered his eyes slightly and said softly, "I'm here."

"—Report…" Yinwu stared wide-eyed at the two people embracing each other, stammering out the last word.

Was he originally here to offer help and warmth?

Cang Shuyue glanced at him gently, patting the back of the person in her arms as she asked, "What is it?" Her tone was surprisingly calm.

Yinwu swallowed hard, his mind racing for a moment before finally finding an excuse that his master would approve of. He said in a serious tone, "It will be inconvenient to search for poisonous insects after boarding the ship. I would like to ask how to arrange things for the next few days."

Cang Shuyue didn't answer, but lowered his head and asked the person in his arms, "What are your plans?"

His gaze swept over the boy's round, fair earlobes.

Hearing that it was related to her, Lu reluctantly left Xiangxiang's embrace, took a step back to distance herself from Cang Shuyue, thought for a moment, and said, "If there are no fresh poisonous insects, dried ones can be used as medicine. If all else fails, let Xiaogua catch mosquitoes to eat."

When you're traveling, you should make do with whatever you can.

Cang Shuyue glanced at the empty embrace and coldly ordered, "Prepare some medicinal insects."

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Before his master's cold gaze could sweep over him, Yinwu lowered his head and slipped away.

Watching the interaction between the master and servant, Youlu chuckled and teased, "Look how fierce you are, you scared Brother Yinwu away."

Cang Shuyue was slightly taken aback. "No."

A deer tilted its head, "What? There isn't anything?"

Cang Shuyue pursed her lips and answered seriously, "Not very fierce."

Youlu was stunned for a moment, then inadvertently met his focused gaze, and her face inexplicably flushed. "If there's no problem, there's no problem. Why bother explaining? It's weird."

Cang Shuyue gave a soft "hmm" and looked up into the distance.

Looking at his handsome and deep profile, Youlu couldn't help but sigh again, "What a magnificent face. I wish it were mine."

How can we make Cang Shuyue wholeheartedly serve Dayong?

It's driving me crazy.

Because it was an urgent route and the amount of official silver being transported was enormous, the imperial court specially arranged for an official ship to escort it. After inspecting the silver seals and counting and securing the silver boxes, the group boarded the cargo ship bound for Junxian Wharf.

The official transport boats all had strict regulations. They were all vermilion hulls with gold-stamped transport office numbers, official seals on the sides, and a picture of the water-suppressing mythical beast Bi'an painted on the bow. The official transport office flags were also hung on the boats. The official boat that Lu and others rode on was like this.

Once everything was ready, the cargo ship weighed anchor, adjusted its rudder, and hoisted its sails.

The vermilion-hulled boat sailed away from the dock, braving the wind and waves.

Entertainment was scarce in ancient times, and even less so on a ship. Youlu wandered around the entire ship, and when he got really bored, he simply dragged the eldest prince and Yinwu to roll dice. The loser had to stick a sticker on his face.

As soon as Cang Shuyue opened the cabin door, he saw the three of them sitting cross-legged in the shade on the deck. The river wind howled, making the paper strips on the faces of the eldest prince and Yinwu rustle. Youlu was pressing paper strips onto the eldest prince.

He remained silent for a moment, then closed the door and returned to his cabin.

Just as Lu was about to invite him to join them, he saw him turn and leave, and muttered, "Just arrived and already leaving? Doesn't he want to play with us?"

The eldest prince said, "My uncle has always been steady and doesn't like to play around."

Yinwu coughed lightly, "I suddenly remembered something, so I'll stop playing for now."

He got up and crawled into the cabin.

Youlu pouted and said, "Never mind, I'll go play the flute for Xiaogua."

The eldest prince looked delighted. "Seventh brother can play the flute?"

"Mmm." Youlu nodded. "Little Melon loves listening to me play the flute."

"Then I, your brother, must have a taste," the eldest prince said with great interest.

It was rare to have an audience, so Youlu was very happy and pulled the eldest prince back to his room.

Before long, a strange melody filled the entire ship.

Yinwu, who was making tea for Cang Shuyue in the next room, was startled and instinctively grabbed his weapon, shouting, "Enemy attack!"

No sooner had he shouted than the eldest prince burst through the door in a panic, slamming it shut behind him and crying, "Uncle, save me!"

Light footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by the boy's sinister, amused voice: "Eldest brother, where have you been hiding? Didn't you say you wanted to hear me play the flute?"

The eldest prince cried even harder, trembling.

Yinwu hissed and winked. "Master, why don't you go?"

Cang Shuyue: "...Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I don't know anything about musical instruments."