Before they had been out shopping for very long, Gu Yuzhi had already bought a lot of small items.

There were gifts for his sisters-in-law, gifts for his elder brother, and gifts for his mother; everyone received one.

Gu Yuzhi didn't know if his elder brother and the others had ever seen these trinkets before; he certainly hadn't.

In his mind, if he hadn't seen it, then it meant his elder brother hadn't seen it either!

Anyway, it's normal that my brother and the others have never been to the Northern Desert before and haven't seen these things!

Qi Shiwei could barely fit him in his arms!

His face showed a hint of grievance, as if he wanted to say, "Your Highness, you didn't come out today to buy things!"

Whether Gu Yuzhi overheard Qi's thoughts or not, just as they were about to turn the corner, Gu Yuzhi finally stopped and turned to Qi, saying, "Qi, Qi, take your things back to the inn first. We'll wait for you here."

Qi, the guard, was slightly taken aback, but he had indeed wanted to put the things back for a while. He gave a few instructions to the guards behind him and hurried towards the inn, almost flying away.

Only then did Prefect Ke ask, "Would Your Highness like to stroll around some more?"

Gu Yuzhi shook his head vigorously: "We're not going shopping anymore, we still have important business to attend to!"

He covered his mouth and chuckled secretly: "If news comes out tomorrow, Chief Secretary Xie will definitely suspect me."

He puffed out his chest and declared loudly, "But I'm not afraid! I'm out for a walk to digest my food, I'm here to go shopping!"

Having bought so many things, Chief Secretary Xie would dispel any doubts he might have.

Gu Yuzhi shook his head, as if to say, "Do you think I buy things just to give as gifts?"

wrong!

I call this creating an alibi!

Gu Yuzhi smiled at Shu Xiaohan and said, "Teacher Shu, Teacher Shu, did I use this word correctly?"

Shu Xiaohan said helplessly, "Yes! But Your Highness, don't you feel like you're trying to hide something?"

Gu Yuzhi's arrogant expression vanished instantly, his mouth slightly agape, his face full of confusion: "Why?"

Shu Xiaohan patiently explained, "Your Highness has important business to attend to in Quanzhou. Chief Secretary Xie knows Your Highness well; you wouldn't have spent so much money on these gifts before you bought the mine."

"Most importantly, your habit is usually to make purchases when you're about to leave."

Before each trip to Xinliang, the young prince would buy things for Chen Dianyi and the others the day before.

Since the construction of Xinliang began, the young prince's habit has never changed.

He himself may not have noticed, but Chief Secretary Xie, who kept a close eye on the young prince, couldn't possibly be unaware of it.

Gu Yuzhi's mouth was slightly open. He scratched his head and after a while looked at Manager Wen and whispered, "Manager Wen, Manager Wen, is what Teacher Shu said true?"

Does he really always make a habit of buying things a day in advance?

After Manager Wen nodded, Gu Yuzhi pouted.

Although these things weren't bought for nothing, this excuse is no longer valid!

Gu Yuzhi walked forward reluctantly, and was soon caught up by Guard Qi.

Everyone's here, it's time to get down to business!

Prefect Ke led the group around the bustling street for quite a while, until the prosperity gradually faded away, before he led them into a side alley.

As they walked, Prefect Ke whispered, "Your Highness, most of the people who came out of the military camp are in that alley ahead..."

He pointed forward along the alley, but raised his hand slightly, indicating that he wanted to go around the street and walk into another alley.

Gu Yuzhi was a little puzzled and was about to ask when he suddenly felt that he had grown much taller.

It turned out that Guard Qi had picked him up and put him on Guard Qi's shoulders.

Gu Yuzhi first gasped softly, then exclaimed in delight, "Wow! It's so high!"

He placed his hands on either side of Qi's cheeks, grinning as he looked at the now somewhat shorter Prefect Ke and his entourage, his legs swinging gently, occasionally letting out a crisp laugh.

After the group circled around to the street in front, Prefect Ke led them into a courtyard: "After General Lu told me about His Highness's plan last time, I specifically looked for the property deeds and found that most of the owners of the houses on these two streets are from Li's Trading Company."

In other words, the people who run brothels are the people from Li's Trading Company.

Previously, Imperial Guard Zhang swiftly arrested all the people from Li Ji Trading Company, but whether it was because Imperial Guard Zhang was in a hurry to send Bai Jiwu back to the capital, or because someone was secretly tampering with things, in any case, this alley was not investigated.

If it weren't for the young prince's sudden idea, he wouldn't have thought to check who lived here and thus discover this pattern.

“The house we are in now belongs to a junior manager of the Li Ji Trading Company in Quanzhou. When the Li Ji Trading Company was raided last time, only two or three houses in this alley were searched, and this house was one of them.”

The courtyard wasn't large, and the group quickly reached the back door.

Prefect Ke opened the back door a crack and pointed to the small courtyard across the way, saying, "Last time when Guard Zhang and the others were about to take Bai Jiwu away, one of them would come to this house after his day off. He would usually appear here at 1:15 PM and leave at 1:15 AM."

Gu Yuzhi silently calculated that this person would stay in this courtyard for twelve hours after leaving the military camp.

He scratched his head: "Does this house belong to that man?"

Prefect Ke subconsciously shook his head, then suddenly stopped, remaining silent for a moment, truly unsure how to explain to the young prince.

Gu Yuzhi noticed Prefect Ke's actions and exclaimed, "If it's not this man's, how come he's been here for so long? Could this house actually be an inn?"

His brows furrowed as he carefully examined the unremarkable place, which had no signboard and looked like just an ordinary family home.

General Lu spoke up at this moment: "You could call it their house. Actually, quite a few people from the Northern Desert Army have bought houses in Quanzhou, and because they know each other, they buy houses very close to each other."

He gestured lightly with his hand: "This alley is basically full of people from the Northern Desert Army."

Gu Yuzhi gave a vague "oh," glanced at Prefect Ke, and thought he was acting strangely. Wasn't this just what that person meant by "it's their own family's idea"? Prefect Ke even shook his head.

Just as he was about to ask a few more questions, the door of the house opened, revealing a woman with disheveled hair but exquisite makeup on her face.

It wasn't summer yet, and the nights in Quanzhou were still a bit chilly, but the woman seemed oblivious to it. Dressed in a light gauze, her snow-white arms were faintly visible under the lamplight.

She first looked around, and seeing that the alley was quiet and deserted, she walked out barefoot, hung a sign on the right side of the gate, and then turned around and closed the gate...