After Gu Yuzhi successfully captured Jiangzhou and confiscated the homes of the prefect, garrison commander, and Gu Yufan's advisors, he watched helplessly as silver and jewelry gradually filled the main courtyard of the Chu Prince's mansion.

Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but snort, "I feel like even a small prefect of Jiangzhou is richer than me!"

At this moment, Xie Changshi and the others lost their mood for teasing. They looked at each other and shook their heads.

Wealth can be a powerful motivator and is the root of all evil.

It's really not safe to keep so much gold and silver treasure here.

Xie Changshi stepped forward and said softly, "Your Highness, news has come from Mr. Huo that he has taken Yangzhou and has also found a lot of stolen goods in the residences of the Yangzhou prefect and garrison commander. He is sending his elite troops to bring these stolen goods over."

Gu Yuzhi's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, and after a long while he finally said, "There's also stolen goods."

He patted his cheek lightly and blinked, saying, "The Chu Prince's mansion is already full; we should send these things to my elder brother as soon as possible."

He tilted his head and thought for a moment: "Guard Zhang, send someone to invite Prince Qi over now, so that he can handle the affairs of Jiangzhou with Chief Secretary Xie, sort out these matters, count the stolen goods, write up the account books, and send the goods from Yangzhou to the capital together when they arrive."

During this period, good news came one after another from Ningzhou, Yunzhou and other places, and Jiangnan can be considered to have been successfully captured.

All he had to do now was wait here, wait for the stolen goods to be sent to the capital, wait for his elder brother's appointment, and most importantly, wait for news from the Duke of Qi.

Thinking of the Duke of Qi, Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but pout and say, "The Prince of Qi hasn't received any news from the Duke of Qi either, he must be worried to death."

Xie Changshi remained silent.

Who wouldn't be worried?

Although the Duke of Qi was formerly the commander-in-chief of the Lingnan garrison, he had been living a life of luxury for many years. Coupled with the huge disparity in numbers and the elusive secret guards around Gu Yufan...

The Duke of Qi's situation must be very bad.

Gu Yuzhi put his hands behind his back, looked up at the gold and jewelry, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He said with a smug look, "Thank you, Chief Secretary, I've thought of a great idea!"

His cheerful tone quickly attracted the attention of Xie Changshi and others, who gathered around him.

"What brilliant idea has Your Highness come up with this time?"

"Yes, yes, tell us quickly, let us have some fun too."

Gu Yuzhi chuckled, shook his head, and said proudly, "Of course it's Xueye and the others! They traveled all the way to Jiangnan to find me, and they've been cooped up on the mountain all this time."

Fortunately, the situation in Jiangnan was unclear during this period, and the people rarely went out, let alone left the city. This allowed Xueye and those large wild beasts to play freely in the mountains.

The more he thought about it, the better he felt it was. He clapped his hands and nodded his head, saying, "It's settled then! Once Mr. Huo arrives and we've handed over all the stolen goods, Mr. Huo and I will take Xueye and the others from the canal to find the Duke of Qi!"

The canal runs alongside the city on one side and through the mountains and forests on the other. They can walk through the mountains and forests without scaring anyone!

Chief Secretary Xie didn't want the young prince to attract so much attention, and was just thinking of a way to refuse him when he heard a series of hurried footsteps behind him.

Jiang Kangming walked over and whispered, "Your Highness, the city guards found a box..."

"A box?" Gu Yuzhi scratched his head, puzzled. "What box?"

Judging from Guard Jiang's strange expression, could it be that there are silver notes in that box?

Jiang Kangming clapped his hands and had someone bring in the box, but he didn't open it. He said carefully, "This box drifted over from the direction of the canal. There's a flag on it that says 'To be opened by His Highness Prince Wen.'"

Gu Yuzhi pointed at himself, his little face full of surprise: "For me?"

He frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly snorted, "Could it be some prefect trying to bribe me?"

Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks and pointed to the piles of gold and silver treasures in the courtyard: "Although I don't have that much money now, I believe I will definitely have it in the future!"

That's why he wouldn't accept bribes from these people!

Jiang Kangming's blank expression held a hint of amusement: "No. The city guards were afraid this was something harmful to Your Highness, so they opened it to check and found it was..."

Gu Yuzhi blinked and urged, "What is it? Tell me quickly, tell me quickly!"

Jiang Kangming paused for a moment before saying, "It's Gu Yufan's head!"

Upon hearing this, the entire courtyard fell silent.

Gu Yuzhi blinked in disbelief, and after a long while, he looked up and said, "Are you sure, are you sure it's Gu Yufan's head?"

His gaze involuntarily fell on the box.

The box, made of golden sandalwood, exudes a faint, pleasant fragrance.

The box was exquisitely carved. If Jiang Kangming hadn't said that it contained Gu Yufan's head, Gu Yuzhi would have definitely thought it was for storing jewelry.

Seeing Jiang Kangming nod solemnly, Gu Yufan finally turned his gaze away, looking at the gleam emanating from the gold and silver jewelry. For a moment, he couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart.

After Xie Changshi turned around and confirmed the matter, he instructed Jiang Kangming to put the head away safely. He then whispered a few instructions, and the people in the courtyard quickly went to get busy.

Only then did Chief Secretary Xie step forward and say, "Your Highness..."

Gu Yuzhi looked up at him with puffed-out cheeks, shrugged and smiled, then pouted and said, "Actually, when Father was alive, I was really envious of him."

Even without Gu Yuzhiming saying it, Xie Changshi knew who this "he" was.

He couldn't leave the palace at will, and he couldn't eat his favorite foods often. In winter, the burning phlegm in the palace had a pungent smell, and the clothes he wore and the quilts he used to sleep under were not the newest...

“During the palace banquet, I secretly watched him and saw that he could joke with the emperor at will, and even be rewarded by the emperor for a single sentence. At that time, I wondered why the emperor didn’t like me.”

Later, as he grew older, or perhaps after hearing more from the palace servants, he understood that since his mother was not favored, he naturally wouldn't be either.

Gu Yuzhi tapped the ground with his toes intermittently: "I've never understood why he's still so dissatisfied when he already has so much."

He had longed for his father's love since childhood, the respect and flattery of the palace servants, and the freedom to eat whatever he wanted at the imperial kitchen. With such a wealthy fiefdom and wealth that he could obtain without hard work, why wasn't he satisfied?

Gu Yuzhi's small head couldn't understand.

He just felt a little depressed when he suddenly learned that Gu Yufan was dead and that his head had been sent over.

He gently patted his chest: "Chief Secretary Xie, although Gu Yufan is a criminal, his death was shrouded in mystery. It's best to investigate this matter thoroughly."