On the Prince Wen's side, Qizhou, Dingzhou, and the capital are all working together to get everything done before the Ministry of Revenue opens up the purchase of salt permits.

Qi Chenglang traveled day and night, and arrived at the outskirts of the capital in just five days. Poor mansion's most expensive Akhal-Teke horse was foaming at the mouth when it arrived at the inn on the outskirts of the capital.

Since the Emperor agreed to let them use the escort agency to send messages, Qi Chengjun bought this inn in the suburbs of the capital and replaced it with his own people. When the innkeeper saw Qi Chenglang, he hurriedly came forward to greet him: "Second Young Master".

Qi Chenglang waved his hand and patted the BMW: "Hurry up, find a veterinarian to take a look at it, and also send a message home that I'm back."

The innkeeper had someone lead Qi Chenglang to his private room to rest, and then arranged for someone to deliver a message and feed the horses.

After Qi Chenglang finished washing up, his family arrived, but to his surprise, it was Zhao Xi who came this time.

Qi Chenglang stared wide-eyed at Zhao Xi's noticeably larger belly: "Eunuch Zhao..."

Zhao Xi chuckled, patted his stomach, and said helplessly, "Recently, Consort Shu has been quite fond of cooking, which has benefited us servants. I happened to be out of the palace on some business, and after receiving the news, I rushed over here first."

Consort Shu didn't have a clear understanding of her own cooking skills. The Emperor said that Consort Shu's good intentions shouldn't be wasted, so they, as servants, had no choice but to grit their teeth and finish the drink.

I thought Consort Shu's enthusiasm was just a passing fad, but when she learned from the Imperial Kitchen that all the soup broth had been used up, she was greatly encouraged and took the matter of making soup very seriously.

The reason he's so fat is simple: Consort Shu has a slightly obsessive personality, and she likes to use double the ingredients for all her soups...

Some things don't need to be said too explicitly. Qi Chenglang understood and handed over the secret letter: "This is a secret letter from His Highness Prince Wen to the Emperor. Please make sure the Emperor replies today. Also, could you please ask Vice Minister Su to come and meet with us?"

He scratched his head: "It's really inconvenient for me to come to Beijing."

Who knows if there are any spies of His Highness the Prince of Chu at the city gate? The moment he goes in, His Highness the Prince of Chu might find out about his influence in the capital.

Seeing Qi Chenglang's expression, Zhao Xi knew that this matter was probably not simple. After agreeing, he turned around and left. Once outside the room, he got into a carriage, where Emperor Sangchao, Gu Yuchen, was sitting.

Gu Yuchen lay half-reclined, looking somewhat languid. Seeing Zhao Xi struggling to get into the carriage, he immediately clicked his tongue in disdain: "Zhao Xi..."

Zhao Xi was startled and immediately took out Qi Chenglang's secret letter: "Your Majesty, this is a secret letter sent by Prince Wen. It is said that Guard Qi rushed here at the fastest speed."

To convince the Emperor of the urgency of the matter, Zhao Xi emphasized, "I heard from the innkeeper that Guard Qi's Ferghana horse is foaming at the mouth."

Gu Yuchen then let him go, slowly took the letter and began to read it. A hint of surprise appeared on his usually calm face, which then turned serious. He handed the letter to Zhao Xi: "Who is in charge of salt permits at the Ministry of Revenue?"

Zhao Xi obediently burned the letter: "It's from Gao Shengliang, the Minister of Revenue."

Gu Yuchen raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking to himself that this was quite a coincidence; the Minister of Revenue was not one of the Prince of Chu's men.

"After we return to the palace, have him come here to investigate the salt permits from previous years."

Xiao Liu revealed in his secret letter that Li Ji Trading Company had completely established itself in Mobei and become the leader of the Mobei Trading Company precisely because of the salt permit.

Salt permits issued in a region are limited, but judging from the situation, the number of salt permits controlled by Li Ji Trading Company is more than the number stipulated by the Mobei region.

Zhao Xi's expression hardened: "Yes."

"Also, go and tell Vice Minister Su to let him see Qi Chenglang."

At this point, Gu Yuchen's expression became somewhat subtle.

In his letter, Xiao Liu said that they had decided to unite with the major merchants in Mobei to counter Li Ji Merchants' control of Mobei through salt permits. Therefore, they needed to know who was in charge of salt permits in the Ministry of Revenue. Telling him was just a habitual way of not hiding anything, and they did not intend to ask him for help.

Gu Yuchen rested his chin on his hand, his fingers lightly tapping his cheek, a half-smile on his face. He had a feeling that Xie Changshi and the others had taught Xiao Liu to be a little too obedient.

However, honesty has its advantages; in his eyes, only honest children will be rewarded.

Thinking of this, Gu Yuchen continued, "You should tell Vice Minister Su that as long as Qi Chenglang mentions the salt permit, you should agree."

Gu Yuchen sent Xiao Liu to the northern desert because of a master's prediction about Xiao Liu.

Upon learning of this, Gu Yuchen was conflicted and uneasy, but in the end he hardened his heart and sent Xiao Liu to the northern desert, along with his trusted confidants from when he was the crown prince.

All the officials in the court knew him as a coward, cruel and heartless, even suspecting his five-year-old brother and sending him to the northern desert. They did not know that his real intention was to let his sixth brother take over the northern desert army.

Therefore, at this stage, Xiao Liu is stronger, which will make it easier for him to take over the Northern Desert Army in the future.

Disrupting Li Ji Trading Company's control of the Mobei Trading Company using salt permits would, firstly, strengthen Xiao Liu, and secondly, shrink the King of Chu's coffers.

The swaying of the carriage caused Gu Yuchen's thoughts to wander, until he heard a guard's shout, which brought him back to his senses. He then switched to the imperial palanquin and returned to the imperial study.

Half an hour later, Gao Shengliang, the Minister of Revenue, walked in: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."

Gu Yuchen gave a casual "hmm" and looked up from his book: "Was the salt permit matter handled by the previous Minister of Revenue?"

Gao Shengliang didn't know why the Emperor would suddenly bring this up, and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, the former Minister of Revenue forbade us to get involved in these matters, and there had never been any trouble with the salt permits, so we didn't pay any attention to it."

Gu Yuchen lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, then slammed the book heavily onto the dragon desk: "The Ministry of Revenue's largest source of income is land tax, and its second largest source is salt permits. You, as the Right Vice Minister of Revenue, actually said you didn't care about this matter?"

It's not like Su Quanping, whose mind is completely focused on growing grain and it's normal that he wouldn't pay attention to the salt permit issue. He's the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in charge of these tax matters, yet he claims he doesn't know anything about them.

Gu Yuchen's face darkened completely, and he tapped the dragon desk lightly with his fingers: "Gao Shengliang, do you feel a little too comfortable in the position of Minister of Revenue and want to change chairs?"

What chair?

Are those "chairs" made of straw in the prison cell?

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Gao Shengliang's forehead, and he slammed his head heavily against the floor tiles.

He was indeed not one of the Prince of Chu's men, but he wasn't one of his men before Gu Yuchen ascended the throne either. At that time, choosing to protect himself was perfectly normal. Gao Shengliang never imagined that the Emperor would suddenly turn against him...