Heart of Stone

That feeling was strange; You Lu didn't understand, but he had seen it on TV.

Suddenly, the Pixiu's voice rang out, "Boss, when can we finally eat wontons?"

It stared intently at the wontons in Cang Shuyue's hand, its saliva dripping down its face.

Youlu was suddenly pulled back to reality. He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and covered the Pixiu's mouth.

When they reached a less crowded area, Cang Shuyue turned around and handed him the wontons, saying, "It's not far from the palace gate. Go back by yourself."

Youlu touched the rim of the bowl. After walking all this way, the rim of the bowl was no longer hot to the touch, and the wontons, still steaming, were just right for eating.

He freed one hand to grab Cang Shuyue's sleeve. "Aren't you going to see me inside?"

Cang Shuyue, who was about to leave, paused slightly, glancing down at the sleeve that had been grabbed. Several round white dots on the dark cuff resembled the paw prints of small animals. Further down, his gaze fell upon the boy's slender fingers.

The boy's hands were small, but his fingers were straight and slender. They looked even whiter as he gripped the black fabric of his clothes. It was hard to imagine that such hands could beat Xiao Yunheng, who had practiced martial arts for more than ten years, so badly that he couldn't get up.

He then remembered that these claws had recently eaten pea flour cake.

Cang Shuyue's eyebrows twitched a few times, and he said, "Let go."

He tugged at it, but couldn't budge it.

Youlu, displaying his exceptional shamelessness, blinked pitifully and said, "Brother Imperial Uncle, I don't have a waist token, so I can't enter the palace. Please, be a good person and help me out. I beg you."

He wasn't lying; he truly didn't have a pass that allowed him to freely enter and exit the palace, and if he went there now, he would only be stopped at the palace gate.

Cang Shuyue: "..."

Cang Shuyue fell silent again.

Pixiu swallowed hard, slightly diverting his attention from the wontons, and said, "Boss, the Duke of Zhenguo is very difficult to talk to. We'd be better off going to Lord Xu than asking him for help."

Youlu glared at it, [What do you know? Even a fierce woman can be won over by persistent pursuit. I refuse to believe that with my centuries of cultivation, I can't cling to him!]

Pixiu scratched his head, "Is this how you use that phrase?"

It had been craving it for most of the day and was too lazy to care anymore. While its own boss and Cang Shuyue were struggling, it sucked all the wontons in the bowl into its stomach.

good to eat!

The Pixiu rubbed its belly contentedly.

Youlu was still trying to convince Cang Shuyue with a puzzled look when he turned around and saw that the bowl was empty, which startled him so much that his eyes almost popped out.

Fearing that he would have a hard time explaining if Cang Shuyue found out, he didn't dare to pester Cang Shuyue any longer. He shook off Cang Shuyue's hand and pretended to be angry, saying, "Fine, I won't see you off then. I'll go back myself!"

Feeling guilty, he hid the empty bowl behind his back and scurried away along the wall.

Cang Shuyue, who was almost about to give in, was speechless.

He really has the mind of a child.

He didn't follow, because he knew that the Imperial Guards sent by Emperor Wulong were almost there.

Youlu ran all the way to the palace gate, catching his breath while leaning on his knees, before pointing at the Pixiu's forehead and saying, "You, you! Couldn't you have waited until no one was around to eat it? You're just making me so hungry!"

If he had been discovered earlier, Cang Shuyue would have thought he was being shameless by secretly eating wontons while acting like a scoundrel. That would have been too embarrassing and made him seem very insincere.

The Pixiu pointed at its finger, looking aggrieved. "The beast didn't do it on purpose."

It tried to change the subject, saying, "I told you Cang Shuyue wouldn't agree to give it to you, but you didn't believe me. We should have thought of other ways sooner."

Youlu thought it made a lot of sense and said dejectedly, "I lost. I didn't expect Cang Shuyue to be such a heartless man. I was thinking of recruiting him into the Saviors team, but it seems impossible now."

Pixiu: [What do we do now? Curfew has already passed, and the palace gates are locked.]

Youlu glanced at the tightly closed palace gates, "If it doesn't work, we'll just climb over the wall. A wall this height is no problem for me."

As the human and beast were plotting to scale the wall, a group of people dressed in flying fish robes suddenly rushed up and surrounded them. The Pixiu was startled: "What's going on?!"

Inside the Yixin Hall, Emperor Wulong was in a rage.

"Useless! All of you are utterly useless! You can't even find a single person; what use are you to me!"

Another teacup was smashed in front of him, shattering into pieces. Yan Shaobei, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, didn't even blink, and said with his head bowed, "Your Majesty, I have already sent people to search all over the capital. I believe we will soon have news of His Highness."

"Get out! All of you, get out of my sight!" Emperor Wulong roared.

Eunuch Kang gave him a wink, and Yan Shaobei quickly got up and left.

After everyone had left, Duke Kang reassured him, "Your Majesty, the young prince is blessed with good fortune; he will be alright..."

"Don't give me any of this nonsense. All I want now is for Xiao Qi to stand before me safely!" Emperor Wulong raised his hand to interrupt Eunuch Kang before he could finish speaking.

Having no other option, Eunuch Kang had to send someone to invite the Empress.

The Yixin Palace was in complete chaos. The Empress had already heard the news and rushed over before the messenger even left.

Seeing her, Emperor Wulong seemed to have found his pillar of support. He grabbed the Empress's hand helplessly and said, "It's all my fault. He had just returned to the palace, and I made a big show of bringing him to court and openly showed him favoritism. So many eyes are on him, and he has offended so many people. If... if..."

The Empress stopped him, saying softly, "It's alright. The Seventh Prince is skilled in martial arts and is intelligent and quick-witted. He can protect himself without any problem."

"But I'm still worried, Sister Yan, I'm so scared." Emperor Wulong buried his face in the Empress's arms and sobbed.

Eunuch Kang: "..."

It's simply unbearable to look at.

"Your Majesty!" Yan Shaobei returned, cupping his hands in greeting, "There's news of the young prince!"

Emperor Wulong clicked his tongue inwardly, his face showing a mixture of surprise and delight. "Where?!"

Yan Huo hesitated for a moment before saying, "Right at the palace gate."

The Empress: "..." She looked at Emperor Wulong, "You didn't give the Seventh Prince a pass to enter and exit the palace? So all this fuss and commotion, was it all just an act for me?"

Emperor Wulong was sweating profusely. "Sister, please listen to my excuses—no, please listen to my explanation. I was genuinely worried about Xiao Qi. As for the waist token, I was in such a rush this morning, and I was tripped up by Consort Yi, so I forgot to give it to him. It really wasn't intentional."

The Empress gave a slight smirk, turned around, and said, "Return to the palace!"

"Sister, wait for me!" Emperor Wulong chased after her, not forgetting to instruct Eunuch Kang, "Kang Yu, go and fetch Xiao Qi to the palace!"

Kang Gonggong shook his head helplessly and bowed as he watched the Emperor and Empress walk away.

Youlu was taken into the palace by the Imperial Guards and then sent back to the side hall of Yixin Hall by Eunuch Kang. As soon as he entered, he saw his old father huddled dejectedly on his bed, staring blankly at the moon outside the window.

He stepped forward and asked with concern, "Father, what's wrong?"

Emperor Wulong didn't even turn his head, and said irritably, "I was kicked out by the Empress. It's all your fault for running around outside."

You Lu was speechless; he had heard everything from Eunuch Kang. His father had been pestered by Consort Yi for most of the day and had no choice but to stand up the Empress. So, during dinner, the Empress didn't let his father enter the Fengyi Palace. Just then, a young eunuch came to report that he hadn't returned to the palace, so his father used this as an excuse to throw a tantrum, turning Yixin Palace into a mess. This even alarmed the Empress, and in the end, his lie was exposed, completely enraging her.

He said it, but his father, the emperor, was really something else.

Emperor Wulong didn't care about any of that and grabbed him, saying, "Your father is troubled by love. Shouldn't you, as his son, offer some guidance?"

Youlu: "..."

Meanwhile, Qin Tan stood hesitantly in front of his room as it was time for bed. Just then, a sudden thought struck him, and he slapped his forehead, exclaiming, "The young prince's identity hasn't been announced to the world yet, and he didn't bring any tokens with him when he left. Can he even get into the palace?"

He finally remembered what he had forgotten, hurriedly went back to his room to change into his official robes, and ordered his servant, "Quickly prepare the carriage, I need to go to the palace!"