Gu Yuzhi shook his head: "My eyes are fine now. The medicine that Physician Qin prescribed for me is also to nourish and improve my eyesight."

He wanted to tell Guard Qi about the harrowing experience that day, but seeing the scar on Guard Qi's face, he held back and shook his head: "Right, right, tell me about the salt permits, okay?"

He gestured a large circle with his hands: "I'm just so curious."

Gu Yuzhi sat down on a chair to the side, rested her chin on her hands, and blinked at Guard Qi, her eyes bright and cute.

Qi, the guard, felt a pang of pain in his heart, recalling what Liu, the magistrate, had said: when His Highness woke up, his eyes were lifeless and empty, making one feel unbearable pain at first glance.

He really couldn't believe it—such eyes…

Qi, the guard, felt a little down and patted his chest lightly. But then he thought that the young prince's eyes had recovered, and a smile returned to his face: "Your Highness, we not only brought back salt this time, but also gained something extra."

Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up, his eyebrows practically shooting up, and he asked anxiously, "What is it? What is it?"

He tilted his head, his eyes darting around, trying to figure out what he had gained that made Guard Qi so happy.

Guard Qi grinned, making no attempt to keep them in suspense: "It's grain!"

Upon hearing the word "grain," Gu Yuzhi's face showed shock, and after a long while, she exclaimed, "How could this be?"

Qi, the guard, scratched his head and smiled even more sheepishly: "The three merchants from Dingzhou joined the Mobei Merchant Guild in order to obtain grain, so after we returned, we stayed in Jinzhou for a while, thinking of finding local rice merchants to buy rice."

The price of rice in Jinzhou was naturally incomparable to that in Jiangnan, but the main purpose of their trip was to obtain salt permits. The two Japanese soldiers who came to rest in Jinzhou were just testing the waters. They would make a special trip after delivering the salt back to Mobei.

Who knew that on the second day of their rest in Jinzhou, they found out about a reliable rice shop. Shen Yu'an took three managers from Dingzhou to discuss the matter, and when they returned, they brought good news: the rice shop's headquarters were in the Jiangnan area, and they were willing to act as intermediaries for the northern deserts, providing them with rice prices from Jiangnan.

At this point, Guard Qi's eyes reddened slightly: "Back then, we were recuperating in Jinzhou, and I didn't ask about this matter in detail. It wasn't until we returned to Changzhou that Shen Yu'an mentioned it to Consort Liu. Consort Liu, being a bit suspicious, asked a question, and that's when I learned that the headquarters of this rice shop was in Huizhou."

Gu Yuzhi blinked, tilted his head and thought for a moment: "Huizhou? Isn't your eldest brother, Prince Qi, in Huizhou?"

He exclaimed in surprise, "Was it Prince Qi who acted as matchmaker?"

He exclaimed "Wow!" and clenched his little fists tightly: "Young Master Qi is really amazing! He can even open his own rice shop in Jiangnan!"

He also knew that Qi Chengjun had gone to Jiangnan to provide disaster relief after the floods. Later, Chief Secretary Xie told him that Qi Chengjun was now the prefect of Huizhou.

He was very worried at the time.

The several prefectures in Jiangnan are the stronghold of the King of Chu. The Prince of Qi has torn a hole in them and forced his way in. The King of Chu must be very angry and will probably retaliate against him.

Who would have thought that after these past few months, not only had the Prince of Qi not been driven away by his brother, the King of Chu, but he had also opened a rice shop in Jiangnan!

Gu Yuzhi pursed her lips tightly, feeling that she had gained another idol!

Hearing Gu Yuzhi say this, Qi Chenglang straightened his back and said with pride, "Your Highness and I think the same thing. This matter should be related to my brother."

It must be his brother, otherwise what rice shop would give them the price of rice from Jiangnan instead of making a profit at a high price?

Thinking about all this, Qi Chenglang felt a tightness in his chest.

His brother dispatched those guards to escort them all the way back to the northern desert. He wondered how the guards were doing there, whether they were safe...

Gu Yuzhi covered his mouth and laughed for a while. He felt that good things were coming his way again and again. It must be because his good fortune was coming!

He shook his head with delight, but after a while his mood soared again. He pouted and said, "You said before that you encountered several ambushes on your way back? Were our people seriously injured?"

Gu Yuzhi stared at Qi Chenglang for a moment, then looked dejected and sighed deeply, nodding his head to himself: "It must be very serious."

Even the guard Qi was injured, not to mention the other guards.

What's more, there are also the bodyguards from the escort agency. Although those bodyguards travel all over the country, their actual martial arts skills are not as good as his guards.

When Guard Qi and Guard Zhang were in Changzhou, they would train the bodyguards whenever they had free time. He once overheard some bodyguards complaining that Guard Qi and Guard Zhang were too strict with their training, saying that their escort agency already had a good reputation and that they always had highly skilled escorts to escort them on their journeys, so they didn't need to be trained like this...

Gu Yuzhi was very angry. They were not good at fighting and were unwilling to train hard. It would be troublesome if something happened.

As expected, something bad happened!

Upon hearing Gu Yuzhi inquire about the bodyguards, Qi Chenglang's expression grew considerably more somber: "Several bodyguards have left, even Head Bodyguard Geng..."

Gu Yuzhi's mouth was slightly open as she stared blankly at Qi Chenglang, unable to recover for a long time.

He knew Chief Biao Geng!

Qi Chenglang's expression was also quite bad, but when he turned his head, he saw the young prince wiping his face and immediately said nervously, "Your Highness..."

Before he could even offer a word of comfort, Chief Secretary Xie arrived with Imperial Physician Qin and others. They immediately spotted the dejected Gu Yuzhi and asked hastily, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Gu Yuzhi looked up blankly and said, "It's nothing."

He was silently keeping track of his brother, the Prince of Chu's, debts. Once his elder brother, the Emperor, arrested the Prince of Chu, he would take out his little notebook and have someone read it aloud to the Prince of Chu, so that the Prince of Chu would know how many people he had killed!

Without delay, Judge Qin stepped forward to carefully take Qi Chenglang's pulse, glanced at his prescription, and replaced a few of the pungent and cooling herbs. He whispered, "Prefect Xie said he would carefully remove your scars..."

Upon hearing this, Qi Chenglang immediately objected: "Why remove it! His Highness said this is my badge of honor as a man! I don't want to remove it!"

Gu Yuzhi's attention was quickly drawn back to this, and she hurriedly waved her little hands, saying, "No, no, you must get rid of the scars!"

Shu Xiaohan's eyes lit up: "Young Prince, Young Prince! Judging from what Imperial Physician Qin said, he can concoct a medicine to remove scars?"

Gu Yuzhi scratched his head and said silently, "I don't know. But there should be, right?"

He felt a little guilty, and only now did he realize that if Judge Qin couldn't come up with the solution, wouldn't he be creating a problem for Judge Qin?

But if we don't ask clearly, won't Guard Qi's face be disfigured?

Gu Yuzhi's face was full of struggle; she wanted to ask but didn't dare, and her cheeks puffed up.