After the innkeeper and others refused twice, they felt they had enough of the Wen family's people and planned to bring up the issue of raising monthly wages when they came to persuade them a third time.

But to their surprise, the third attempt to persuade them never came.

They earn monthly wages; if they don't work, they have no income, so naturally, the more they spend, the less money they have.

These people can wait four or five days, but half a month has passed. Can they still wait?

At this moment, Gu Yuzhi had no time to deal with the workers who had come to the inn. He swung his leg and looked curiously at Marshal Huo, who was kneeling below.

After such a long period of recuperation, Marshal Huo was finally able to get out of bed.

His first priority was to see Gu Yuzhi.

Gu Yuzhi looked at Marshal Huo's white hair, his wrinkled face full of determination, his eyes tired but clear, his body wrapped in bandages, but his back straight and his aura powerful.

He glanced at Chief Secretary Xie and, seeing that he had already stood up, said, "You should get up quickly. You're still injured. Sit down and let's talk."

Actually, he originally wanted to visit Marshal Huo, but Chief Secretary Xie said it wasn't necessary. Regardless of what they thought, Marshal Huo's current status was that of an exiled prisoner.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Changshi hurriedly stepped forward to help Marshal Huo to his feet, carefully helping him sit down and giving him a light squeeze on his arm: "Marshal Huo, you've had a hard time."

Huo Qiyuan glanced at Xie Changshi and suddenly laughed: "It's not tiring at all. Whether it's training or working in the iron mine, it makes no difference to me."

During this time, Gu Yuzhi had heard too much about Marshal Huo from Chief Secretary Xie, and Teacher Shu had long admired Huo Qiyuan.

Hearing him say that, she immediately started sobbing and wiping away her tears: "How can there be no difference? He used to be a powerful and influential general, but now he's a prisoner, an exile who can be beaten by the yamen runners at will. How can they be the same?"

"Waaaaah... Marshal Huo is so pitiful."

Shopkeeper Wen rolled his eyes, but because his eyes were small, no one noticed: "It's still uncertain whether Huo Qiyuan is a good person or not, and you're already crying."

Shu Xiaohan retorted forcefully: "What do you know!"

As a 21st-century person, she naturally has a fondness for people wearing green military uniforms.

Moreover, this is a veteran general with such a distinguished military record.

Seeing that the two of them were arguing about these things again, Gu Yuzhi shook his head like a little adult and corrected them with a helpless look: "Teacher Shu, even a great general can't summon wind and rain. That's something only gods in storybooks can do!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Changshi burst into laughter: "Marshal Huo is magnanimous."

Huo Qiyuan curled his lips and took the initiative to bring up the matter: "Your Highness, you should know that there is no more iron to be mined in the iron mine. Those who should have been pardoned should have been issued travel permits to return to their hometowns, while our fate will be decided by the Emperor. However, the pardon has been delayed, and the yamen runners are naturally dissatisfied, often beating and scolding those who are exiled."

The Huo family members were all skilled in martial arts, and they also had a high reputation in the iron mine, so the yamen runners naturally didn't dare to vent their anger on them. Those exiled prisoners who had been pardoned were now in trouble, and the two sides clashed several times, with the yamen runners becoming increasingly angry.

"This humble servant knows that these yamen runners have contact with some people throughout the prefecture, so I've been keeping a close eye on them. This iron mine collapse was orchestrated by these yamen runners. They wanted to frame us..."

Huo Qiyuan was silent for a moment, then continued, "Especially our Huo family members, who are completely buried under the iron mine. I learned of this news very late, and could only ask my son to find a way to move them out first."

He knew that his every move was being closely watched by the constables, so Huo Qiyuan had always hoped to use his life to save the lives of others.

However, not long after Huo Liangyao and the others left, the constables noticed that during the struggle, one of the main culprits escaped through the tunnel.

Once this person was about to leave, the news that the Huo family was still alive could no longer be kept secret, and Huo Qiyuan gave chase without a second thought.

His injuries were caused by the collapse of the iron mine.

Gu Yuzhi's face paled as she recalled the moment she found Huo Qiyuan. So much blood; Marshal Huo must have been in so much pain.

He then thought of the smell of medicinal soup wafting from the kitchen during this time, and his little face couldn't help but scrunch up.

Marshal Huo's injuries are so severe, I wonder how long he'll need to take medicine to recover.

His big eyes darted around as he handed over a plate of dried fruit: "Mr. Huo, have some dried fruit."

Because of Huo Qiyuan's current status as a disgraced official, Gu Yuzhi naturally cannot call him Marshal Huo.

However, Mr. Shu said that calling someone by their name was disrespectful, so he called him Mr. Huo.

Huo Qiyuan looked at the plate of dried fruit, somewhat out of sync with Gu Yuzhi's thoughts. He turned to look at Chief Secretary Xie, only to see Chief Secretary Xie's face full of doting smiles.

Chief Secretary Xie explained, "His Highness must have thought that you've been drinking bitter medicine lately, so he wanted to make you sweeten your mouth."

Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head: "Yes, yes, yes. Qin Yuanpan's medicine is very bitter. You should eat more of these candied fruits. They were all made by Xu Mama and they are especially delicious."

Huo Qiyuan hurriedly stood up and bowed to Gu Yuzhi: "Your Highness, this sinful subject is truly unable to express the gratitude in my heart."

When he woke up, he heard that it was His Highness Prince Wen who had found him.

The place where he was injured and fell unconscious was so far from the iron mine that if it weren't for King Wen, he would definitely be a corpse by now.

He had fought on the battlefield for so many years and escaped death countless times, but never before had he felt such clarity and regret as this time.

He would rather die on the battlefield than die as a victim of someone else's schemes.

Gu Yuzhi looked at Huo's slightly misty eyes and scratched his head: "Mr. Huo, you need to get better soon. Xie Changshi and I have already discussed it. You don't need to go anywhere else. Just stay in Xinliang and help me train my personal guards."

Chief Secretary Xie said that, according to regulations, he should have three thousand personal guards.

It's just that there aren't that many people in Xinliang right now.

Xin Liang's current guards are the bodyguards who came to the northern desert with him, as well as some young and strong men selected by Qi Chenglang.

However, because Qi Chenglang and Zhang Yuankai often had to go on escort missions, these young men had not received formal training. The appearance of Marshal Huo filled this gap perfectly.

Huo Qiyuan never expected that Prince Wen would ask him to retrain his troops, even if it was just his personal guards...

He was shocked, his heart still pounding with lingering excitement.

After a long while, he turned to look at Chief Secretary Xie and said carefully, "Your Highness, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to be a criminal."

"Don't worry!" Gu Yuzhi said with a smile, "When Eunuch Ran returned to the capital, I wrote a letter to my brother the Emperor alone, and I mentioned your situation in the letter!"

Huo Qiyuan was even more shocked by this.

No, Your Highness, is it something that can be said so casually that he is still alive and is training his personal guards?