Three days later, news of the fire at Li Ji Escort Agency in Qizhou, which burned all night, reached Changzhou. When the prefect of Qizhou led the city's garrison to rescue people, they found several corpses in the training ground of Li Ji Escort Agency. The chief escort of Li Ji Escort Agency was arrested.

Li Yanping, who had been busy reconciling accounts and hadn't had a proper rest recently, felt dizzy and his mouth tasted metallic again after hearing the news.

He gripped the corner of the table tightly to keep himself from fainting.

When he opened his eyes again, he managed to swallow back the mouthful of blood that was about to rush out of his throat.

Damn it, is Li Ji Trading Company cursed by the year's ruling deity? Nothing has gone smoothly since the beginning of the year!

Li Yanping looked at the thick stacks of account books on the desk, gritted his teeth, and said, "Continue!"

Salt production is now the top priority; everything else must take a backseat to it.

His Highness the King of Chu was able to bring the 100,000-strong navy of Jiangnan under his command, wasn't it all thanks to real money?

Now that Qi Chengjun has torn a hole in the seemingly impenetrable Jiangnan region, if something happens in the Mobei region, His Highness's situation will be in danger!

After the salt permit issue was resolved, he went to consult a master to see how to reverse the decline of Li's Trading Company in the northern desert.

When Gu Yuzhi heard the news, he was packing his things. Chen Dianyi sent word that the weaving workshop had produced the first batch of cotton cloth, which was indeed more comfortable and warmer than ramie cloth.

Gu Yuzhi couldn't contain himself any longer and excitedly told Xu Mama to prepare things, as he was going to Xinliang.

However, since the inns along the official road had opened, Xu Mama didn't prepare much food for the road, but rather brought dried meat and other things for Chen Dianyi and Marshal Huo.

He was standing in the backyard, looking up at Granny Xu loading the cart, when he turned around and saw Chief Secretary Xie rushing in and whispering, "Your Highness, news has come from Qizhou."

Judging by the time, Guard Zhang has been in Qizhou for several days now...

His big eyes darted around, and seeing that Chief Secretary Xie had no intention of speaking there, he quickly led him to the council hall: "What did Guard Zhang say? Did he capture him? Can our men go to Qizhou now?"

Gu Yuzhi pouted.

They said it should be done as soon as possible, but it felt like a long time had passed. None of the people sent out in three groups—Guard Qi, Guard Zhang, and Commander Liu—had sent back any news.

This filled Gu Yuzhi with melancholy, and he couldn't sleep well for several nights in a row, forcing the tone-deaf Shu Xiaohan to sing him lullabies for several nights in a row.

Before Xie Changshi could speak, Shu Xiaohan hurriedly interjected, "Relax, Your Highness, Guard Zhang must have brought back good news."

Gu Yuzhi also hoped things would go as smoothly as they wished, and looked expectantly at Chief Secretary Xie, who nodded but did not seem particularly pleased.

He scratched his head, his tone no longer as lively as before, and asked in a small voice, "Chief Secretary Xie, what happened?"

He had witnessed Zhang's prowess firsthand. He had interrogated all the bandits whose identities had been changed. Surely the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) of the镖局 (escort agency) were not as capable as the bandits?

Why is Chief Secretary Xie frowning so deeply? Could it be that Guard Zhang is in danger?

Gu Yuzhi jumped off the chair and looked up anxiously, asking, "Is Guard Zhang injured?"

Although Guard Zhang was the deputy head of the guards, he was more skilled at interrogation and his martial arts skills were not as high as Guard Qi's.

What's more, this time they only brought a dozen or so people with them.

Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks, put his little hands behind his back, and walked back and forth like Xie Changshi, his little face full of anxiety.

Just as Shu Xiaohan was about to offer some words of comfort, Xie Changshi nodded and said, "Yes, Guard Zhang is injured. Imperial Physician Qin has received the news and is on his way there."

It's so serious that we need to get Judge Qin to handle it!

Gu Yuzhi's little face scrunched up like a bun, she was terrified, but she still kept cheering herself on like a little adult.

He knew he was just a child, and that he could cry when he was scared, but he always remembered that he was a prince...

Gu Yuzhi turned around and quickly wiped her cheeks with her small hands, her eyes red as she asked, "How did Guard Zhang get injured? Was it done by someone from Li's Escort Agency? How is Li's Escort Agency doing now?"

With puffed-out cheeks, he couldn't resist taking Xueye and rushing towards Qizhou.

If anyone from Li's Escort Agency dares to hurt his people, he will make them pay the price!

Gu Yuzhi's breathing became heavier and heavier. Xie Changshi, who was still reviewing the events, realized that something was wrong and hurriedly explained, "There was a problem when we went to Li Ji Escort Agency to arrest people. The entire Li Ji Escort Agency was burned down."

"Guard Zhang said that they found over a thousand pounds of gold that had already been melted down in the damaged house of Li's Escort Agency."

Gu Yuzhi's eyes widened in disbelief. Over a thousand pounds of gold?

What does this mean?

Gu Yuzhi simply couldn't calculate it. If thousands of catties of gold were smelted into gold ingots, how many taels would that be?

He puffed out his cheeks and wondered how much gold his elder brother had given him after he came to the northern desert.

This tiny security escort agency actually hid so much gold!

Gu Yuzhi's big eyes darted around, then he remembered what Chief Secretary Xie had just said: "So, is it that Guard Zhang's condition isn't that serious?"

"Guard Zhang was ambushed, but his condition is relatively good. Judge Qin went there because the Prefect of Qizhou was stabbed and is still unconscious."

Seeing Gu Yuzhi's surprised expression, Xie Changshi sighed deeply and continued, "Although there were many unexpected events when we went to the escort agency to arrest people, at least the chief escort of Li's Escort Agency was brought back."

"Guard Zhang didn't dare to delay and interrogated him overnight. Who knew that on the night after the chief镖头 was captured, someone broke him out of prison."

Clearly, neither Zhang Yuankai nor Wei Chengrui expected that even after the man had been captured and imprisoned in the prefect's jail, someone would still dare to break him out!

The people who came to break into the prison were clearly very familiar with the layout of Qizhou Prison. They silently killed the jailer and guards and went straight for Guard Zhang and Wei Chengrui.

Because the interrogation was to test criminals, which could potentially implicate the King of Chu, there were very few people in the interrogation room.

If it weren't for Zhang Yuankai's superior martial arts skills, which allowed him to fight his way out with Wei Chengrui, and the fact that the guards from the Prince Wen's mansion who were waiting outside heard the commotion and came to his rescue, Zhang Yuankai would probably have lost his life in Qizhou.

Zhang Yuankai did not elaborate on the dangers involved, but Xie Changshi, being who he was, had already guessed it.

He glanced at Gu Yuzhi, whose face was somewhat pale, and said in a low voice, "Unfortunately, when the other side realized they couldn't take the chief镖头 (chief镖头, a term for a镖师, a镖师 who specializes in escorting镖师), they simply killed him. Not only that, because Li's镖局 (Li's镖局) was destroyed by fire, Guard Zhang and his men searched several times, but they found no useful clues."

The ledgers, lists, and other such things all seem to have been destroyed in the fire.

Chief Secretary Xie's expression was solemn: "Your Highness, we may have been too optimistic before. The extent to which the northern desert has been infiltrated is far beyond our imagination."

They still have no clue about the person who tipped off Li's Escort Agency.