Li Yanping's downfall was another major blow to Li's Trading Company. Qian Kang and others, who had been waiting for Li Yanping to return so they could retaliate, had no choice but to keep a low profile once again.

Because Li Yanping's return brought not only his own coma, but also news that the King of Chu had been restrained.

The most terrifying thing is that the Wen family has gotten close to King Wen, importing and selling cloth and other goods from Jinzhou to him. In return, King Wen has allowed the Wen family to open a grain store in Xinliang.

Some of them had also suspected the relationship between the Wen family and Prince Wen, but it was never confirmed, after all, Prince Wen was too young.

What six-year-old can run a business? It's good enough if they can even recognize a few words!

Gu Yuzhi, unaware that his age had shielded him from criticism, looked at Shen Yu'an with suspicion: "Guard Shen, according to you, Li Yanping's illness isn't that serious. He'll get better sooner or later, so what's there to be happy about?"

Even if someone vomits blood, it's not a big deal.

Is this what Teacher Shu meant by "a scourge that lasts for a thousand years"?

Gu Yuzhi cupped her face in her hands, clearly not very interested in Li Yanping's injury.

Shen Yu'an said, "Your Highness, I have discussed with Manager Mu and Manager Yu that while people in Li's Trading Company are currently unstable, we can try to acquire some of their businesses, such as inns."

An inn has been built between Xinliang and Changzhou. To ensure the safety of those staying at the inn, many traps have been set up outside the inn, and the servants and accountants inside have all been trained.

Although they couldn't compare to these guards, they were still capable of holding off ordinary bandits.

However, so far, the inn has not accepted any other guests besides them.

Perhaps it was because he had traveled around a lot as Young Master Wen, but Shen Yu'an believed that he had some talent for doing business.

Regarding the Emperor's grand reward, Shen Yu'an keenly sensed that their inn could make money: "Your Highness's discovery of the new grain is now known throughout the Sang Dynasty. I predict that many merchants will go to Xinliang to inquire about the new grain seeds."

“Your Highness, we can only provide accommodation at the inns in Changzhou City, but we must provide food at the two inns on the official road from Xinliang.”

The cotton Your Highness discovered last time has been confirmed by those people to be usable for weaving; we are just waiting for the spinning machine to arrive.

He dared to guarantee how sensational cotton would be in Sangchao once it was introduced next year!

The two inns along the official road will definitely be packed with people!

He glanced towards the kitchen: "Those who were learning from Granny Xu, are they ready to graduate?"

For travelers, having a hot meal in such a desolate place is already a great satisfaction; if the food could also have some flavor, it would be even more perfect.

Therefore, according to Shen Yu'an, the chefs in these two places do not need to have great culinary skills at all.

What they need to do now is seize territory.

Gu Yuzhi was somewhat confused and asked silently, "Manager Wen, is what Guard Shen said alright? But isn't the food at the inn also very important?"

He would never go to an inn with bad food again.

Manager Wen explained in a low voice, "The two inns by the official road are different from the inns Your Highness stays in in the city. They are for travelers who are just passing through and don't really care about the taste of the food."

“However…” he shook his fan, “but I think Your Highness doesn’t need to worry too much about the taste. Apart from Your Highness and Chief Secretary Xie, the food in the manor is all made by these same people, so it’s not that bad.”

Teacher Shu glanced at Manager Wen and immediately understood that the young prince was using his own standards to judge whether the food at an inn was good or not.

If that's the case, I'm afraid there won't be many decent inns in the entire Sang Dynasty...

Oh, I see!

Gu Yuzhi nodded his head as if he suddenly understood, and his tone became much more cheerful: "Master Xie, then you should tell those people that we'll be going to the inn starting tomorrow."

The reason for promoting these people was originally to serve the inn, so after the inn opened, they were always ready, just waiting for Chief Secretary Xie to give the order so they could pack their things and leave immediately.

Chief Secretary Xie nodded in agreement.

Shen Yu'an chuckled and continued, "Your Highness, I have another matter to discuss with you today. The owner of the inn on East Street is looking for someone to take over the business these past few days."

This is the main reason why he came to see the young prince today.

Shen Yu'an glanced at the young prince without leaving a trace, feeling that the young prince carried some kind of luck.

"I have already inquired and found that Qinlin Inn was originally the largest inn in Changzhou, and its guests were all wealthy and noble. It was only after Li Ji Trading Company entered Changzhou that Qinlin Inn's monopoly ended."

Gu Yuzhi tilted his head and thought for a moment: "But when we went to see it last time, the inn was doing very well, so why would they let someone else take over?"

Manager Wen had said before that the owner of the inn must be a big shot behind him, otherwise it would have ended up like the Longchang Escort Agency, being schemed against and going bankrupt.

With such a strong background and a thriving business, why would you want to transfer ownership?

He puffed out his cheeks, indicating that he couldn't understand it.

Shen Yu'an whispered, "The boss's backer is being transferred from Mobei."

After a moment of silence, Xie Changshi asked, "Is the master's backer Governor Zhu?"

The only official to be transferred from the northern frontier recently is Governor Zhu.

Gu Yuzhi had only met Governor Zhu once last year when he first arrived in the northern desert, and his impression of him was very shallow. When Xie Changshi mentioned him, he couldn't remember what Governor Zhu looked like for a while.

He tilted his head to look at Shen Yu'an, who smiled and nodded: "Yes, it's Governor Zhu. Moreover, the owner took the initiative to approach me about this. No one in Changzhou knows that the Inn is going to be transferred yet."

Governor Zhu wasn't stupid; he could tell what was really going on with the Wen family business just by looking at Prefect Qi's attitude towards it.

It was no secret that the Wen family had built an inn along the official road. Governor Zhu could certainly guess the Wen family's intentions, so this inn could be considered a gift that Governor Zhu had given to Prince Wen before he left.

Chief Secretary Xie quickly understood this point, explained it to Gu Yuzhi in a low voice, and then advised, "Your Highness can rest assured to accept the invitation to visit the inn in person."

During his years in the northern desert, Governor Zhu accomplished little, but he also made no major mistakes.

Xie Changshi knew from their last meeting that this man was tactful and rarely offended anyone.

This time, it must have been because of the Emperor's reward that he privately approached Shen Yu'an to discuss the transfer of the inn.

“Shen Yu’an can take over the inn at market price.”

Being able to get this news before others is already an advantage, so Your Highness must handle the financial aspect carefully and not leave any room for criticism.