"What? Three more have died? We don't have many people left to use. If more die, we'll really have no one left. Do you expect me to personally take to the front lines in the end?" Ye Yingtao was furious and smashed a teacup with a "crack".

"Madam, please calm down. Hang in there a little longer. Things will get better once the Prince arrives," the subordinate quickly advised.

"I'm afraid the expenses will be even greater if the prince comes. Do you really expect the prince to pay for our livelihood at a time like this? Don't dream. The prince is counting on us to earn money to support him." Ye Yingtao started to speak without restraint again.

"Madam, be careful what you say. Walls have ears. If others hear you, the Prince might want to silence you next," the subordinate warned in a low voice.

Ye Yingtao's unfinished complaint caught in her throat. She took a deep breath and sat back down in her chair. "How many people do we have available?"

“The remaining five are not very skilled, so assassination is out of the question. We can only outsmart them,” the subordinate said.

"Outsmart them? I'm afraid these last five aren't very bright. They're so poor, it's no wonder they can't train many useful people. It seems the power in Nanyang Prefecture is going to fall into my hands." Ye Yingtao said with a gloomy face, her nails, painted with red nail polish, digging hard into her palms.

"I can only rely on the Zhong family's money to support my retirement now; I dare not even think about getting more."

The subordinate, who had been keeping his head down, felt a vein throb on his forehead. This stupid woman was going crazy again. Ever since the prince stopped providing them with money, this woman had slowly started to complain. Taking advantage of the fact that she was the one who provided for his living expenses, she acted recklessly in front of him and dared to say anything.

He did want to write a letter to accuse her, but he was still waiting for this woman to pay him his wages. If he got rid of her now, where would he get the money?

Not only does he need to make a living, but he also has a group of people waiting for him to support. Although only five people are left now, those five people still need to be taken care of.

"Madam, please be patient for a few days. My men have opened an inn on the way to Quanshui Prefecture. We will definitely wipe out the Zhou family in one fell swoop." In reality, they had robbed someone else's inn, and the innkeeper and waiter had already been killed.

Ye Yingtao was aware of all this, but she had no interest in delving into it.

Hearing her subordinate speak with such confidence, Ye Yingtao decided to trust him for the time being. Even if she didn't trust him, she had no other choice. If she couldn't complete the task on her end, she would have to hand it over to the Quanshui Mansion.

The person in charge of Quanshui Prefecture was also a beautiful woman like her, the concubine of a merchant in Quanshui Prefecture. That woman was more cunning and ruthless than her, and often looked down on her and wrote letters to mock her.

Ye Yingtao was furious and disdainful of this. So what if she was powerful? She was still someone else's concubine. She wasn't any more noble. Only she thought highly of herself.

Since Ye Yingtao couldn't cause any trouble, things remained peaceful at the Zhou family's place. Apart from the masked man who appeared that night, nothing else happened until half a month later, when Tangguo and the other two female guards were almost fully recovered from their injuries, and the Zhou family was ready to leave.

Zhao Guihua and Zhou Laoda called Li Qian over and gave him some instructions. Zhao Guihua talked on and on.

"The shops have already been rented out, each for one or two taels of silver. Remember to collect the rent when you go. Also, the woman and two men we bought yesterday will stay here to take care of you two. If you need anything, you can send a message back to the county town to discuss it with my sister and brother-in-law."

If there's anything urgent, you can go to Madam Zhong. We don't know when we'll be back, but we'll send a message back once we've settled down over there..."

Zhao Guihua didn't tell Li Qian that the three people she bought yesterday all had some martial arts skills. On the surface, they were servants who helped with housework, but in reality, they were more like bodyguards.

“Your journey is long and fraught with danger. You should take these three people with you. Da Ya and I don’t need servants to wait on us. We have only a few things to do at home, so why would we need servants to help us?” Li Qian was somewhat apprehensive. He had been sold into slavery since childhood and never thought of having anyone serve him. He didn’t need any, he really didn’t need any.

"No need to say more. We're not going to take these people with us. Let them stay here. If you want to start a small business, you can do it. Let them do things for you. When we're not around, you're their master. You'd better keep these lackeys in check." Boss Zhou patted Li Qian's shoulder earnestly.

When the Zhou family left Nanyang Prefecture, Li Qian saw them off at the city gate. Li Qian's brows were furrowed, clearly worried about them, even though the eldest Zhou and the others refused to tell him what they were going to Quanshui Prefecture for.

But Li Qian wasn't stupid. He was always quick-witted and had been a shopkeeper before, so he thought things through quite deeply. Based on his more than 30 years of life experience, he deduced that the Zhou family must have encountered some trouble, and it seemed like they had gone to seek refuge.

"Be careful on your journey. I'll wait for you to come back. Let us know you're safe when you get there," Li Qian kept reminding them, but he had a feeling that once the Zhou family left, they probably wouldn't be in touch for a long time.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves rang out from behind, and a carriage sped up. Then, the person inside the carriage leaned out and, with the help of her maid, got off the carriage.

She hurried over, took Zhao Guihua's hand and said, "I heard you're leaving the city today, why didn't you tell me?"

After saying that, she stroked Xingxing's fluffy little head and said, "I heard that you are not going back to the county but going to Quanshui Prefecture. Have you encountered any trouble? Why don't you tell me? Perhaps I can help you."

They were very touched that Mrs. Zhong would come to see them off in person.

"Thank you for your kindness, Madam, but this matter requires us to go to Quanshui Prefecture in person to resolve. It's not a difficult matter, so don't worry. We'll be back as soon as it's settled. We're also opening a shop in the prefectural city, and once it opens, we'll really need your help," Zhao Guihua said with a smile.

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