The room was quiet for a while before Qi Chenglang suddenly asked, "Your Highness, are you feeling better now?"

Gu Yuzhi looked up blankly, but forgot that he couldn't move his body. He could only say, "It seems, it seems not so uncomfortable anymore."

Qi Chenglang then placed him on a chair to the side, hesitated for a moment, and released the pressure points: "How about this?"

Gu Yuzhi twisted his body and scratched his head, as if apart from a sore throat, he really didn't feel anything else.

Qin Yuanpan and the others finally noticed that the young prince had stopped coughing and vomiting, but his complexion was not very good.

No one pointed this out, for fear that if they did, the young prince would inexplicably start vomiting again.

Xu Mama instructed two servants to clean the council hall, while Gu Yuzhi returned to his room to wash up. He lay on the bed and had Qin Yuanpan take his pulse again.

Prefect Qi stood outside the door, thought for a moment, and said, "Chief Secretary Xie, Commander Liu, shall I go back first? His Highness is in such a state today, I don't know if he has the energy to listen to my report."

Chief Secretary Xie nodded, and Prefect Qi then entered Gu Yuzhi's room. After Imperial Physician Qin announced again that the young prince was alright, he said, "Please rest well, Your Highness. I will take my leave now and visit again tomorrow."

Gu Yuzhi turned her head to look at him, her big eyes darting around, and muttered, "You haven't finished talking about your business yet. Finish it before you leave."

He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

I must have frightened Prefect Qi with my appearance just now...

However, he didn't do it on purpose.

Most importantly, he seems to have slept for a long time after he came back, and now he can't fall asleep at all; he just wants to talk to someone.

Prefect Qi looked up at Judge Qin and saw him nod slightly. Seeing that the young prince was in good spirits, he continued the previous topic: "After our interrogation, it was found that Qian Kang was killed by the magistrate."

Because of the prefect's special status, only two or three people in Li's business knew that he had betrayed the government, and Qian Kang happened to be one of them.

The prefect knew how serious the crime of assassinating a prince was, which could potentially lead to the extermination of nine generations of a family. He dared not take that risk, so the moment Qian Kang was arrested, he had the intention to kill him!

Gu Yuzhi's mouth dropped open in disbelief. After Prefect Qi finished speaking, he snorted and said, "Qian Kang was afraid of being executed along with his entire family after he was arrested? Didn't he know that Li Yanping was plotting to abduct and kill me?"

This scoundrel definitely knew; Li Yanping must have given him a lot of benefits!

Upon thinking of this, Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up: "Did Li Yanping give the magistrate a lot of gifts?"

He clenched his little fist; that must be it!

As Xie Changshi once said, the biggest reason why people do bad things is because of money!

The merchants were just about to buy grain...

Gu Yuzhi looked at Prefect Qi with bright eyes, and saw him nod and say, "Your Highness is right. Moreover, this magistrate also confessed that when Guard Zhang led his men to besiege Li Ji Escort Agency in Qizhou, it was because of his prior warning that Guard Zhang and his men almost met with disaster."

Under Gu Yuzhi's indignant gaze, Prefect Qi continued, "When the magistrate confessed, he told me that he would not get involved in dangerous matters, but would only reveal information in important matters like this. Therefore, Li Yanping gave him a lot of rewards, which were all hidden in the dried-up well in his house."

The matters that Prefect Qi mentioned are all related to the young prince. There are many other matters that are unrelated to the young prince, but those are old stories, and the young prince really doesn't need to worry about them.

Seeing that Gu Yuzhi was puffing up his cheeks and looked like he couldn't be coaxed, Liu Dianyi stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I have brought back all the ill-gotten gains that the prefect obtained. I am just waiting for Chief Secretary Xie to return and put them into the treasury."

Gu Yuzhi blinked and looked at Prefect Qi: "You brought them all back?"

Isn't the prefectural government office required?

Upon seeing his expression, Prefect Qi understood immediately. He instinctively straightened his back, cleared his throat, and said, "I have another matter to report. All the grain stored at Li's Grain Store is now in the Prefect's granary."

If it weren't for the confiscation of Li's Grain Store, Prefect Qi wouldn't have known he was so poor!

The people of Changzhou work hard all year, but they can only fill ten granaries. If there are natural disasters or man-made calamities next year, the grain in Changzhou can only keep the people safe for a month.

But Li's Grain Shop was different. They secretly dug cellars in the barren mountains beside the official road and stockpiled over a million shi of grain, equivalent to the storage capacity of fifty or sixty of his granaries!

For Prefect Qi, grain was the most important thing, so he and Liu Dianyi simply discussed it briefly and peacefully divided up all the goods of Li's Trading Company.

All the grain goes to the prefect's office, and all the money goes to the young prince!

Gu Yuzhi exclaimed "Wow!" and clapped his hands enthusiastically, feeling that the two pieces of good news had eased his sore throat: "Have all the people hiding in Li's Trading Company been caught?"

“That’s about it.” Only then did Zhang Yuankai, who had been hiding in the shadows without saying a word, step forward. “After I returned, I immediately interrogated all the managers of Li’s Trading Company. In just one day, everyone who had any connection with Li’s Trading Company was imprisoned.”

After learning that the young prince had been kidnapped, murdered, and blinded, Zhang Yuankai became somewhat gloomy.

The relentless pursuit further fueled the deepest bloodlust and violence within him, making his interrogations exceptionally simple and brutal.

Regardless of rank, lock all the managers in one cell and interrogate them about the whereabouts of the rest. If one doesn't speak, kill them.

He showed no mercy; his image as a judge returned from hell immediately intimidated the rest of the people.

These managers, who were afraid of death, all confessed before long.

During this period, everyone in Changzhou was on edge, fearing that they would be found to be connected with Li's Trading Company.

This situation continued until today, when the young prince returned, and he finally ordered the release of those who had been repeatedly investigated and found to be without problems.

He felt he was covered in blood and was afraid of frightening the young prince, and also afraid of seeing the fear in the young prince's eyes. So he hid behind the crowd. If Gu Yuzhi hadn't asked about it, he wouldn't have stood up.

Gu Yuzhi stared at him without speaking. Zhang Yuankai felt a little uncomfortable, swallowed hard, and continued, "So far, only one remnant of the Li Ji Trading Company in Changzhou Prefecture has not yet been brought to justice."

He suddenly said in a serious tone, "According to my investigation, although this person does not hold any official position at Li's Trading Company, he is highly trusted by Li Yanping. I suspect that this person is handling some matters between Li's Trading Company and the Prince of Chu."

"Furthermore, the investigation revealed that this person's last known whereabouts were in Jeonju!"