Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 209 Avoiding Water

The Yuguo Palace School is located in the southeast corner of the palace city. Morning light shines through the carved window lattices of Jingzhi Hall onto the shiny brick surface inside the hall.

The princes and noble ladies were taught in the east and west halls respectively. While the teachers were not present, they all frolicked in their respective small groups.

As Que Shu walked through the wooden corridor, he could vaguely hear the noble ladies in the east hall chatting and laughing, adorning themselves with flowers and playing with fish, discussing the latest clothes and jewelry.

Perhaps because he was not yet old enough to be enamored with love, Que Shu walked straight into the west hall without looking to the side.

The fourth son of the Marquis of Changning patted the shoulder of the sixth son of the Earl of Yixuan beside him and laughed at everyone, "Yan Pangzi's riding and archery yesterday was truly 'majestic'! Everyone who saw it would praise it... What a fine horse!"

The crowd burst into laughter, and looking at the three men's plump bodies, they exclaimed, "A divine steed! Truly a divine steed!"

Yan Liu blushed and muttered, "Yesterday I hit the bullseye with one arrow."

The young master of the Left Minister's family raised an eyebrow and said jokingly, "That's right, that divine steed has already delivered you to the target."

Enraged, Yan Liu made a move to unleash his signature move, "Mount Tai Pressing Down!" The young master of the Ministry of Works quickly dodged.

"I'll crush you, you skinny little pony!"

"This is an insult to scholarship! An insult to scholarship!"

The onlookers, always eager for a good show, clapped and cheered.

Just then, someone shouted, "The hostage prince of Xuan Kingdom has arrived!"

Instantly, the laughter stopped abruptly, and all eyes turned to Que Shu before quickly shifting away, as if there was a strange sense of unease about him.

Que Shu was already used to this kind of disregard. Only when passing by the Seventh Prince of Yu Kingdom would they politely nod to each other as a greeting.

He silently walked to his seat. When he first arrived, he could feel countless eyes scrutinizing him, some curious, some indifferent. More than half a year has passed, and even the rarest animals become tiresome to look at. It has evolved into an invisible rejection.

He had long been accustomed to this state of isolation, yet he still found the world absurd and bizarre. In this foreign palace, the noble ladies only distanced themselves from him, while it was the lowly and humble palace slaves who bullied him.

Even if Que Shu is precocious, he is still just a ten-year-old child, and he cannot yet understand the truth.

After taking his seat, he skillfully opened the book box, as if activating an invisible barrier, making him stand out from his surroundings.

"Scholar Yan has arrived!"

Another low, suppressed shout rang out. The young noblemen, with their youthful spirits, paid no heed to manners. Some leaped up, others used one hand to support themselves on the table and some somersaulted. Their movements were practiced and swift, and in an instant, they all returned to their seats and sat upright. They were clearly seasoned offenders.

Scholar Yan entered, nodded in satisfaction, and began his lecture…

Nothing happened today. During his midday rest, Que Shu, as usual, went to hide behind the artificial hill by the lake in the Imperial Garden.

Que Shu lay on the lawn with his hands behind his head, sunlight filtering through the leaves above. This was his own little world, a place where he could temporarily forget about other people and things, empty his mind, and simply feel the breath of heaven and earth.

Just then, a few leaves fell on Que Shu's face. Que Shu picked them up and examined the tender green leaves, feeling that something was wrong. Looking up, he saw a white ball of fluffy feathers bubbling on a branch. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a raccoon dog.

The little kitten's snow-white fur was dotted with yellow spots. Its four paws were pawing at a branch as thick as an arm, wanting to get down but too scared to do so.

Que Shu watched as the little raccoon shakily tried to stand up. Before it could take two steps, its paws slipped and it almost fell. It could only cling to the branches and remained motionless for a long time, as if it had lost the courage to move again.

It was trapped, Que Shu thought, and a feeling of shared misfortune arose in his heart.

If the two countries were to go to war one day, he would be the first to hang the flag at the front of the army as a sacrifice. Wouldn't that be like dancing on a rope high in the air, where one wrong step would mean certain death?

Que Shu got up, walked to the tree trunk, took off his outer robe, and began to climb up using both his hands and feet. At least he could save the fox.

The already thin tree trunk was further weakened by the weight of a person, causing the end to sag.

"Meow~" The little kitten bristled and meowed at the big guy who was slowly approaching him.

"Come here, sweetie."

Que Shu lay on the tree trunk and reached out to the kitten, cautiously approaching it little by little.

"crunch-"

Finally, just as the branches were about to give way, it grabbed a cat's leg, endured being scratched several times, and retreated to stand firmly on the main branch.

"You ungrateful little thing." Que Shu rubbed the cat's head hard, and unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth.

“This is my raccoon dog.”

A clear, crisp sound came from under the tree. Que Shu looked down and saw a little girl of about eight or nine years old carrying a food box, looking up at him with her big, bright eyes.

“Yu Mi…”

Que Shu had no connection with her, but the Yu sisters, who were new to the palace school, were so famous that even if he ignored everything else, he couldn't help but hear about them. This was because it was already a great favor of the emperor that these two families of disgraced officials were not implicated, yet they were still allowed to enter the palace school openly, which was simply unbelievable.

His classmates all said that Marquis Wei Yun was favored by the emperor and was enjoying great favor. He had just led his troops on a southern expedition when his two wives' younger sisters entered the palace school.

The Yu sisters must have been in a rather awkward situation, otherwise they wouldn't have brought the cat to school.

Do you not have any friends either?

In an instant, a thought flashed through his mind.

"Can't you get down?"

Yu Mi looked up with her round face, appearing completely innocent.

"Oh..." Que Shu seemed to just realize, "I can get down by myself."

After saying that, Que Shu tucked the kitten into his inner lapel and retreated down the tree trunk.

The unexpected happened at that moment; his foot slipped on the moss on the tree trunk.

Yu Mi saw a parabola fall, the splashing water breaking the calm of the lake.

"Help! Someone come quick!"

Hearing the shouts, a group of palace servants rushed over and surrounded the lake.

"Quick! Save..." Yu Jue stood on the lake shore, pointing at the figure splashing in the lake, and said anxiously, "...Save the cat!"

Soon, after a flurry of activity, Que Shu and the kitten were both rescued and brought ashore.

"Meow~"

Taking the tiny kitten, its fur soaked to the bone, Yu Mi poked its head, wrinkled her nose, and scolded, "You naughty child, you're not allowed to eat today!"

"What's your raccoon's name?"

"Hmm..." Yu Mi pondered for a moment, "I haven't decided yet. Since it has suffered such a calamity today, how about... we name it Water-Avoiding!"

He then handed the food box to Que Shu: "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving Bi Shui. These are some snacks made by the cook in the manor. Please don't find them offensive."

"You're welcome."

Que Shu did not refuse and took it. After all that commotion, he was indeed hungry.

The palace servants gathered here all had their own duties, and seeing that there was nothing else to do, they dispersed. Yu Mi thanked them but did not linger, and took her leave with the cat in her arms.

Que Shu watched the departing figure and thought to himself that Yu Mi's ability to enter and leave the palace and establish connections was a way to gain more information. Even if it didn't work out, so what? He didn't have many resources to rely on anyway, so he should seize every opportunity.

Opening the food box, Que Shu picked up a piece of pastry, bit into it, and chewed on the well-intentioned gesture she had been scheming for.