The few remaining镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) from the Wen Family Escort Agency escorted the grain lent out by Changzhou, and Prefect Huang also leisurely left Changzhou.

Gu Yuzhi stood by the window for a long time until the镖局 (escort agency) was out of sight, then he swung his legs and sat down in a chair.

He clapped his hands happily: "Haha, lunch is coming today!"

He finally didn't have to take medicinal food at noon today!

Gu Yuzhi was filled with joyful anticipation, but who knew that among the dishes served was a medicinal meal!

Looking at the medicinal dish, Gu Yuzhi felt the smell of Chinese medicine constantly filling his nose, and he couldn't help but want to cry!

Someone please save him!

Gu Yuzhi wore a bitter expression, his good mood for going out for some fresh air completely gone.

He puffed out his cheeks but didn't make a move. The shopkeeper next to him whispered, "Your Highness, when Granny Xu came last time, she told me that whenever Your Highness comes, there must be a medicinal dish."

Under Gu Yuzhi's resentful gaze, the shopkeeper continued, "Granny Xu said that if Your Highness does not use it, she will tell Imperial Physician Qin."

Gu Yuzhi's face puffed up with anger, and after a while she said reluctantly, "I know, I know, you can go down now."

When only his own people were around, Gu Yuzhi pulled Xie Changshi aside and muttered, "Everyone says that every medicine has some poison! Xie Changshi is making me eat medicinal meals three times a day. What if I get poisoned?"

As he spoke, he patted his chest, his expression becoming serious: "Now that you mention it, I feel uncomfortable in my chest."

Chief Secretary Xie smiled as he listened to the prince's rambling voice, occasionally offering a few words of agreement, while the young prince continued talking on his own.

Shu Xiaohan covered her ears slightly, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at Wen Xiuzhu: "Don't you think the young prince has changed quite a bit lately?"

Wen Xiuzhu nodded heavily.

Shu Xiaohan then closed her eyes: "It really wasn't my imagination!"

It seems the young prince has only recently developed a talent for language; his little mouth is always chattering on and on.

However, Xie Changshi and his colleagues felt that they had mistreated the young prince too much before, and recently they had been exceptionally indulgent towards him, acting as a perfect listener to anyone, which made the young prince's desire to confide even stronger.

In the past few days, the other prefects have left one after another, leaving a few people missing. Shu Xiaohan listened to Gu Yuzhi's rambling all day without feeling uncomfortable at all, but Gu Yuzhi felt that Changzhou Prefecture seemed to have become much quieter.

These past few days, he has been meeting with Huang Yanzhang and the others every day, learning from their discussions on livelihood issues and taxation. In the evenings, he reviews the discussions with Xie Changshi, trying his best to gain more experience.

In just a few days, Gu Yuzhi gained a lot of experience in local management that he could learn from.

To prevent himself from forgetting, he wrote all of this down and had Mingli bind them into a book for safekeeping so he could refer to it later.

Five days after Guard Qi and his men left, Gu Yuzhi finished practicing his calligraphy, handed the paper to Chief Secretary Xie, and said with his hand supporting his chin, "I wonder where Prefect Qi and his men have gone, and how much grain they will bring back this time."

Xie Changshi smiled as he examined Gu Yuzhi's large characters, nodding in satisfaction: "Your Highness's handwriting has not only been restored, but it has also become more elegant than before."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuzhi's attention was immediately diverted.

He hadn't really grasped the meaning of what he had said to Xie Changshi: that a person's handwriting is their first impression on others. But after seeing the visiting cards of these prefects, Gu Yuzhi truly understood the significance of those words.

That's why he practiced calligraphy even harder, even though he practiced every day, he still felt that his handwriting was so ugly!

When he wrote the letter to his elder brother, he almost wanted Xie Changshi to write it for him.

But after thinking about it, he felt there was nothing to be embarrassed about, after all, his elder brother and the others had seen his ugly handwriting when he first started learning calligraphy.

Back then, my mother and sister-in-law praised me for being so capable, saying that I could write characters after only a short time of formal education.

Hearing Xie Changshi praise his improved handwriting, Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but cup his face and giggle, "That's good, that's good."

With Xie Changshi's words, he was no longer worried that his elder brother would dislike his illegible handwriting.

He still remembered the first time he wrote a letter himself, his elder brother added a sentence in his reply: "Little Six should practice more."

Gu Yuzhi snorted twice, realizing that he had grown up and could now discern that his elder brother's words were not encouragement, but mockery.

His big eyes darted around as he silently compared his elder brother Xie Changshi's handwriting to his own, and reluctantly concluded that his brother's handwriting was better than Xie Changshi's.

Xie Changshi was unaware that in just a short while, his advantage in calligraphy had been instantly defeated by the Emperor.

He handed over Chen Dianyi's letter: "The land in the northern desert has begun to thaw, and Chen Dianyi has already started preparing for spring plowing."

Gu Yuzhi took the letter and read it carefully. He said sincerely, "Chen Dianyi is going to have a hard time again soon. He might even lose weight again."

His eyes lit up: "Chief Secretary Xie, how about I send a servant to Prefect Chen, the servant from Granny Xu's house, to cook medicinal meals for Prefect Chen?"

It's been so long, he feels he's completely recovered.

Even if he wasn't completely cured, it wouldn't affect him much, so he told Granny Xu several times that he didn't need to take the medicinal diet anymore.

But Granny Xu resolutely refused to change; every meal included a dish that was good for eyesight…

Gu Yuzhi thought tearfully, "Medicinal cuisine is a good thing, so I can't let him enjoy it all by himself!"

Xie Changshi was unaware of Gu Yuzhi's ulterior motives. Recalling how Chen Dianyi had noticeably lost weight every time he visited Xinliang last year, he nodded and said, "Your Majesty, we will take care of it shortly."

Gu Yuzhi smiled smugly and silently communicated with Shu Xiaohan: "Teacher Shu, Teacher Shu, do you need to screen the seeds again?"

The crop seeds for Xinliang were provided by Vice Minister Su and were delivered early on, but because he had lost his sight, Teacher Shu had not yet checked the status of these seeds.

Shu Xiaohan finally got her chance and nodded repeatedly: "Of course! Not only that, Your Highness, I think that with spring approaching, we must go to Quanzhou!"

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Bai Jiwu will definitely be captured by the original Huo family army this time. Although the general of the Mobei army has committed a crime, given Bai Jiwu's true nature as a mere figurehead, the morale of the Mobei army should not be unstable.

Furthermore, once the original Huo family army learns that Huo Liangyao is still alive, they will definitely try to stabilize the entire Northern Desert Army.

And since the prefect of Quanzhou, Ke Liangyi, was also one of their men, Shu Xiaohan believed it was time for them to go to Quanzhou!