Gu Yuzhi blinked and subconsciously looked at Xie Changshi.

Back when Jiangzhou was captured, Chief Clerk Xie had mentioned that Chief Clerk Ling's sister had also gone to the battlefield. When people heard this news, many of them showed disdain.

He didn't quite understand why bringing a concubine to the battlefield would be looked down upon, but he knew that Concubine Ling was a proper and well-mannered young lady from a respectable family. Gu Yufan wasn't worried that bringing her to the battlefield would frighten her and affect the morale of the troops.

He secretly thought to himself that this was not a good thing!

Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks and said, "It really isn't a good thing."

He rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought, before finally saying, "That's not right. Since they're all dead, how do you know that Gu Yufan was killed by Consort Ling?"

The Duke of Qi said in a low voice, "Because there was still one living person at the time!"

After annihilating the Jiangnan navy, the Duke of Qi's first priority was to find Gu Yufan. After several rounds of torture, he learned that the Duke of Qi had already fled with his concubine and advisors.

The Duke of Qi was greatly alarmed. They had been on the run for several days, and he had no idea where they had come from or where they were going. He wondered how far they had gone and whether they could catch up with them.

But to his surprise, the men he sent out soon brought back news that they had discovered Consort Ling's body.

Duke Qi thought that Gu Yufan had killed Consort Ling because he found her in the way, but when he arrived at his destination, he found out that Gu Yufan was also dead, and his head was missing.

There was only one man present, radiating an aura of death, who stood there blankly holding Consort Ling's corpse. He only raised his head when he heard that Consort Ling had arrived.

"So you are the Duke of Qi."

The man's voice was incredibly hoarse as he pointed to a headless male corpse beside him and said, "The King of Chu you're looking for is over there."

Before the Duke of Qi could ask, he continued, "Don't doubt that this is fake, because Jin Hua killed this person with her own hands. I cut off his head, and I believe you will see it soon."

Just as Duke Qi was about to ask for details, the man burst into laughter, looking up at Duke Qi and saying, "My lord, I know you are a man of integrity."

"I beg you to allow me to be buried with her, for the sake of the concubine's help to you."

The Duke of Qi sensed something was wrong and was about to step forward when he saw the man pull out a dagger from his pocket and suddenly slit his own throat. Blood gushed out, and he instinctively opened his mouth to breathe, but soon lost all signs of life.

At this point, the Duke of Qi knelt down: "I thought that the concubine had indeed helped us in secret, so I took it upon myself to bury their bodies together."

He lowered his eyes, not daring to look at Gu Yuzhi: "Please punish me, Your Highness."

Gu Yuzhi blinked and glanced at Xie Changshi, clearly not understanding why the Duke of Qi would ask him to punish him.

After thinking for a moment, Xie Changshi said in a deep voice, "Since Consort Ling has been brought to justice, it doesn't matter where her body is buried. But Your Highness will report this matter truthfully to the Emperor."

Logically speaking, someone of Consort Ling's status should be buried with the people of the Chu Prince's mansion even in death. She wouldn't be entitled to a proper burial and would only be thrown into a random mass grave.

But as the Duke of Qi said, no matter what, Consort Ling helped them on the battlefield.

He explained it to Gu Yuzhi in a low voice, and Gu Yuzhi nodded in sudden understanding.

Gu Yuzhi then glanced at the Duke of Qi, who sighed and said, "However, I never expected that this person would actually send Gu Yufan's head to Your Highness."

It made me search for it for ages.

If he weren't worried about Qi Chengjun, he might still be searching for heads in the nearby mountains right now.

After discussing the matter of the Duke of Qi, the heir of Qi and the others naturally began to talk about the situation in Jiangnan.

When asked about His Highness's use of snakes for communication and his subsequent attack into Huizhou, where he successfully lifted the siege in just one day, Gu Yuzhi smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

Duke Qi was overjoyed. He glanced at Mr. Huo and then focused his gaze on Gu Yuzhi, his voice carrying a hint of seduction: "Your Highness, now that things have calmed down in Jiangnan, and you have done such a good deed, why don't you talk to the Emperor and stay in Jiangnan?"

"The Jiangnan region is far more prosperous than the northern deserts. Most importantly, I can assist you in learning naval warfare!"

Apart from speaking when greeting the Duke of Qi earlier, Mr. Huo had remained silent until now. Upon hearing that the Duke of Qi was actually trying to take someone from him, he couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Your Excellency, isn't that a bit unfair of you?"

"You've discovered His Highness's talent to be a great general, so you want to take advantage of the situation and snatch him away. This is not the behavior of a gentleman!"

Duke Qi chuckled coldly: "What gentlemanly conduct? I have never claimed to be a gentleman."

Lingnan was very chaotic before, and those old clansmen were very cunning. If he were a gentleman, he would have returned to dust long ago, and he wouldn't be sitting here talking to the young prince.

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Gu Yuzhi and said with a smile, "What does Your Highness think?"

Mr. Huo clenched his fists, looking at Gu Yuzhi with some nervousness, thinking to himself, "His Highness probably won't agree, will he?"

Gu Yuzhi tilted his head and thought for a moment, then stretched out his index finger and shook it from side to side: "No way."

Under the slightly puzzled gaze of the Duke of Qi, Gu Yuzhi chuckled and said, "Because I don't think the Northern Desert is bad!"

"Moreover, while things have calmed down in Jiangnan, they haven't calmed down in Mobei yet. Gu Yufan sent people to the Northern Barbarians before. Mr. Huo and I both believe that the Northern Barbarians won't be peaceful for two years and will definitely invade our borders again."

He now hopes that the Northern Di people, knowing that Gu Yufan is dead and can no longer rebel, will think carefully and not invade this year.

He still wanted to store more cotton so that the soldiers in the northern desert wouldn't have to endure the winter so badly.

Gu Yuzhi pursed her lips, glanced at Chief Secretary Xie, then at Guard Zhang and Mr. Huo, and a big smile spread across her face: "Most importantly..."

He counted them off on his fingers one by one: "Chief Secretary Xie, Imperial Physician Qin, Guard Zhang, Guard Qi, Mr. Huo, Granny Xu, Clerk Chen, Clerk Liu..."

He felt like he couldn't even count them all: "So many of my loved ones are in the northern desert. Now that's my home, of course I want to stay in the northern desert!"

Chief Secretary Xie and Guard Zhang knew, of course, that the young prince would not agree to the Duke of Qi's idea, but they still couldn't hide their excitement when they heard him say that.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Qi laughed heartily and turned to look at Mr. Huo: "Sir, you are a blessed man."

People say that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune.

In his opinion, although Mr. Huo had suffered unfair treatment for several years, he was fortunate to have met the young prince, which meant that things had finally turned around!