Prefect Ke arrived first, still in his official robes. He smiled when he saw Gu Yuzhi and said, "Your subject greets Your Highness."

Gu Yuzhi waved to him, but before he could say two words, Xie Changshi told him that when General Lu arrived, they should go to Mr. Huo's room next door first.

Prefect Ke was a little puzzled, but seeing Gu Yuzhi's bright eyes and mischievous look, he nodded blankly and said, "I understand."

General Lu didn't come, and the group didn't talk about serious matters, but instead chatted casually about the developments in Quanzhou over the past few months.

Speaking of this, Prefect Ke couldn't stop smiling.

He had been the prefect of Quanzhou for many years, but he had never been so unrestrained and full of energy as he was now.

In just a few months, the whole prefecture has become much wealthier than before.

Of course, the support of the young prince's Wen family business was indispensable.

Prefect Ke smiled and said, "Your Highness bought up the properties here from Li Ji Trading Company at a high price and also had other trading companies buy the gold mine at the original price, which has enriched the treasury and made me act without any scruples."

From the repair of city gates to the repair of canals in the city, none of these things are free.

He was penniless and stingy, and the city's drainage system had never been properly cleaned, causing widespread complaints from the local residents.

Things are different now. Prefect Ke even felt that the air in the whole prefecture was much fresher after the sewers were cleaned and professionally maintained.

Gu Yuzhi was somewhat flattered by the praise.

However, he knew that the success of Wen's Trading Company, which had been established and grown to its current size, was not solely due to his own efforts.

As for Prefect Ke himself, he was diligent and conscientious, and his merits should not be measured by the amount of money he received.

Just as Gu Yuzhi was about to speak, he saw Guard Zhao suddenly stand at the door: "Your Highness, General Lu has arrived."

He straightened his toes, stood up, and asked expectantly, "Besides General Lu, is there anyone else? Has Guard Qi come?"

He understood that Guard Qi was doing this to better protect himself and the northern desert, and that he shouldn't slack off in these few short months, but he just really missed Guard Qi.

It's just a short time to talk business, it shouldn't cause any problems, right?

Guard Zhao lowered his head, not daring to look Gu Yuzhi in the eye: "Only, only General Lu."

Gu Yuzhi's face fell immediately. He reluctantly said "Oh," turned around, and sat back down silently. He said in a low voice, "Chief Secretary Xie, you can go next door. If General Lu doesn't realize his mistake, I won't see him today."

Anyway, as Chief Secretary Xie usually says, it's okay if he's not here this time when we're discussing business.

Chief Secretary Xie sighed inwardly. Although he understood that Guard Qi had no choice in the matter, he also felt that General Lu was being far too impartial.

The group moved to the next room, where Gu Yuzhi sat sulking in a chair.

He crossed his arms, puffed out his cheeks angrily, and complained to Wen Shu and the other man in a low voice, "General Lu is really too wicked! I'm not going to talk to him when we go to Jingxiang this time!"

He wants to unilaterally sever ties with General Lu!

The day for reconciliation was chosen to be when they saw Guard Qi again.

Shu Xiaohan and Wen Xiuzhu also knew that Gu Yuzhi did not really not want to pay attention to General Lu, but neither of them expected that General Lu would be so methodical in his actions.

Shu Xiaohan frowned and said, "Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case."

At first, it was speculated that General Lu might be transferred to the Northern Desert Army as a general. Guard Qi had a high opinion of him, and the implication was clear: although General Lu looked like a pretty boy, he was actually a black-hearted man.

Is this person, who agreed to do something outrageous like putting sacks together with the young prince on their first meeting, and who even used this incident to purge a large number of the Chu king's people, really so methodical in his actions?

Shu Xiaohan gave Wen Xiuzhu a wink, but Wen Xiuzhu completely ignored her. He changed the subject and started talking about Quanzhou's specialty foods: "Your Highness, since the inns in Quanzhou have developed new dishes, I think it's time to spread the recipes to other inns."

After the Li Ji Trading Company was eliminated, the Wen Family Trading Company's business empire expanded extremely rapidly, extending not only to Quanzhou and other prefectures such as Dingzhou, but also to businesses such as inns owned by the Wen Family Trading Company.

Once His Highness approves of this specialty dish, the recipe can be shared with other inns.

Since they're all family members of the Xu family, there's no issue of keeping it from spreading outside.

Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head: "I know! I was thinking about this when the shopkeeper mentioned it to me."

Not only will he bring the specialties of the whole prefecture, but after pacifying the northern desert and bringing the King of Chu to justice, he will travel with the Xu family chef and bring all the specialties of the country to the northern desert.

Shu Xiaohan was worried that he wouldn't be able to think about these things, but Wen Xiuzhu's diversionary tactic actually worked.

She gave Wen Xiuzhu a thumbs-up from behind, then quickly gave Gu Yuzhi a thumbs-up, praising him without reservation: "Young Prince is amazing! He's only been learning from Manager Wen for a short time, yet his business acumen is already so high!"

Gu Yuzhi scratched his head: "Business acumen? What's that?"

Shu Xiaohan didn't know how to explain it to him, so she simply said, "It's just praising you, Your Highness, for being so capable that you can figure out how to make money at a glance."

Gu Yuzhi said "Oh," scratched his head, and looked embarrassed: "It's not that amazing!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but pout and glance outside the door.

General Lu has been gone for quite a while now, and I wonder if Chief Secretary Xie and the others have explained the matter clearly yet.

So much time has passed, and General Lu still hasn't come to knock on the door to apologize.

He felt angry again, and even the desire to travel all over the country and eat delicious food couldn't quell his anger.

Shu Xiaohan and Wen Xiuzhu exchanged a glance. Looking at Gu Yuzhi's puffed-up face, they couldn't help but find it both funny and heartbreaking.

This little guy still longs for long-term companionship.

But the excuse of enjoying the food clearly failed, and they didn't know how to persuade him, so they could only sit quietly with the young prince, cross-legged.

After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the faint sounds of conversation from next door could still be heard from time to time, as if even Chief Secretary Xie and the others had forgotten that they should be on their side.

Gu Yuzhi's little face scrunched up like a bun. He jumped off the chair and paced back and forth in the room, occasionally waving his little fist with a cute yet fierce look, as if he were beating up General Lu.

Just when Gu Yuzhi thought that Chief Secretary Xie and the others couldn't persuade General Lu, there was a sudden knock on the door...