Yun Jiao watched for a while beside them and quickly realized that neither Ruru nor Qi Er were really a match for You Er.
You Er knew how to count cards, but he always controlled the number of his wins, not letting Ruru and Qi Er lose too badly.
Yun Jiao shook her head and walked away.
After playing for a while, the children were sent away by Jiang Youzhi.
Ruru took the sachet given by Yun Jiao, and with her maid, headed to her sleeping quarters.
By this ti, it had already gotten dark.
The two courtyards were not far apart, and the traveling palace was surrounded by high walls. Outside the high walls, there were guards stationed every three steps and sentries every five steps, and soldiers patrolled the periter. With the Emperor present, the entire traveling palace was extrely secure. So Jiang Youzhi did not accompany Ruru back.
Ruru hadn’t walked far when she encountered the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince, upon seeing Ruru, excitedly said, "I’ve been looking for you."
Ruru clenched the sachet, "For what?"
The Fourth Prince whispered, "I saw a rabbit over there during the day. I was planning to call you to catch it with ."
Ruru’s eyes lit up, "Where? Quickly take there!"
The Fourth Prince mysteriously waved, "Follow ."
He glanced at the little eunuch following him and Ruru’s maid, "You two wait here."
"Rabbits are clever. If there are too many people, it will be startled and run away."
The little eunuch obediently stood still.
Ruru’s maid, Xiao Lu, stepped forward, "I should still follow the miss."
The Fourth Prince turned back and glared at her, while Ruru waved her hand, "It’s okay, I’m not going out, and this traveling palace isn’t large. You just wait here for ."
Xiao Lu dared not object further, and could only watch as the Fourth Prince dragged Ruru away.
Ruru asked quietly, "Where did you see the rabbit?"
The Fourth Prince also whispered, "Over there, just follow and you’ll see. I saw it crawl into a tree hole, and I suspect that’s its nest. We’ll dig it out."
As they walked, Ruru kept asking, "How do we dig it out? By hand? I’m not brave enough, what if there’s a snake?"
The Fourth Prince shook his head, "Are you silly? Around the traveling palace, sulfur has been sprinkled everywhere, so snakes wouldn’t dare co near."
Ruru still shook her head, "I still won’t dig. Who knows what’s in that hole?"
The Fourth Prince suddenly said, "It’s right up ahead, let’s not make a sound, rabbits run fast, and we shouldn’t startle it."
The two held their breath and tiptoed forward.
The Dangu Mountain Palace was designed by the famous Jiangnan landscape architect, Master Wu.
Master Wu’s design philosophy was to adapt to the local conditions, keeping the environnt’s original features as much as possible, with natural beauty surpassing all.
Therefore, in this traveling palace, many ancient trees were preserved by Master Wu.
At the ti, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry was strongly opposed to this design.
Because having too many trees in the traveling palace would make it incredibly easy to hide a few assassins.
What about the Emperor’s safety?
But Master Wu firmly refused to alter the plan.
Eventually, the Emperor personally reviewed the design and quite liked it.
He even told the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, "The traveling palace is not the Imperial Palace. I go there to escape the heat. If you cut down all those trees, with the sun shining bare, could it still be cool?"
Thus, the traveling palace was constructed following Master Wu’s design philosophy.
Along the roads of the palace, lush trees lined both sides, making it very cool even when walking during the day.
At this mont, the silvery moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Together with the surrounding insect sounds, it was exceptionally tranquil.
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