Qi Chengjun, carrying the Emperor's gifts and the return gifts from the various concubines, went to the outskirts of the capital. He knocked on Qi Chenglang's door and, to Qi Chenglang's delight, pushed him into the room with a slap.

"Big brother..."

Qi Chengjun slapped him across the face and roared in a low voice, "You brat, how dare you come to the capital without an invitation! I'll beat you to death today!"

Qi Chenglang squatted down and covered his head with his hands with practiced movements: "I haven't even entered the capital yet..."

"Still trying to argue!" Qi Chengjun slapped him a few more times, making Qi Chenglang appear even weaker, more helpless, and more pitiful.

Geng, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) in the next room, looked at Fan Cong with a puzzled expression: "This, Guard Qi San..."

Fan Cong smiled warmly and waved his hand, saying, "Don't worry, don't worry, it's nothing serious. It's just that the employer has come knocking on our door. We'll have business again when we get back."

Is that so? Chief镖头 Geng remained somewhat skeptical…

The next morning, Qi Chenglang mounted his horse with one eye bruised. With the Emperor's permission, Qi Chenglang and Fan Cong removed their masks after crossing the capital's territory, and from then on, he had the identity of a bodyguard.

As the saying goes, spring brings drowsiness, autumn brings fatigue, summer brings naps, and the three months of winter are the most sleepy. When the weather in the northern desert gets cold, Gu Yuzhi becomes a little sleepy. He doesn't wake up until almost the end of Chenshi (7-9 AM) every morning. Fortunately, thanks to what Judge Qin said, Chen Dianyi didn't call him lazy.

But for some reason, he opened his eyes as soon as it was Chen Shi (7-9 AM), glanced at the snow-covered night huddled together next to his pillow, stretched out his arm to test it, and then shivered: "It's so cold."

Xueye opened his eyes and rolled over on him, and the two of them immediately started making a ruckus.

Hearing the commotion, Granny Xu hurried in and whispered outside the bed curtains, "Your Highness, are you awake? Do you want to get up?"

Gu Yuzhi turned over while holding Xueye, and saw that the sky outside the window was dark. He yawned and said, "No."

Xu Mama had been with him since he was born, so she naturally knew how to persuade him. She smiled and said, "News came from the front courtyard that Guard Qi and his party have arrived outside Changzhou City and will definitely return to the manor at noon today."

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Gu Yuzhi sat up abruptly, pulled back the bed curtains, and said with delight, "Really? Did Chief Secretary Xie go to greet him? He must have brought Mother's reply as well."

He did some quick calculations and realized that more than a month had passed since Guard Qi left: "It should have snowed in the capital by now. I wonder how my mother is doing. I wonder if the fox fur I sent her this time is enough to make a dress."

He frowned and sighed like a little adult: "The palace has never had enough silver charcoal in the past two years. I wonder if my brother will notice this this year."

When my father was alive, my mother was not favored and lived in a side hall without underfloor heating, making winters very difficult. My nanny said that her life only improved after I was born, when she used a mixture of silver wire charcoal and regular charcoal to get through the winters.

He tapped his head: "I'm so stupid. This time, when Guard Qi returned to the capital with gifts, I should have told him to buy more silver charcoal in Hedong."

The area east of the river is rich in silver wire charcoal, so the purchase price is naturally much cheaper than in other places.

While helping her dress, Xu Mama said, "Your Highness is now the Consort Tai Xian, and with the Empress and others taking care of you often, the palace servants naturally wouldn't dare to neglect Your Highness's needs. Your Highness can rest assured."

"Chief Secretary Xie has gone to the yamen. There's been progress on Guard Zhang's side. He left a message for this old servant, saying that His Majesty has agreed to open a security escort agency, and Guard Qi will first deliver the goods back as the head of the escort agency. Her Majesty must have replied to His Highness. When His Highness sees Guard Qi, he should ask him about Her Majesty's recent situation."

Gu Yuzhi nodded his head, understanding. Xie Changshi was telling him to keep his composure and wait until the people from the escort agency left before going to the front yard.

He rolled his eyes, looking shrewd. Gu Mama had just said she was going to send something back. Was it because the Emperor was rewarding him for his service?

Gu Yuzhi covered his mouth and chuckled. Hehe, he was going to have more money going into the treasury again. He hoped his elder brother would understand the meaning of his reply and give him more silver and less cloth and jewelry...

The next moment, Gu Yuzhi realized that he couldn't see these things right away, so he pouted and gestured to Granny Xu, saying with a troubled expression, "When will I grow up?"

After Prefect Qi finished reporting the matter that day, Chief Secretary Xie suggested that the owner of Li Ji Trading Company might be a prince. To avoid revealing his identity too early, he didn't even dare to go to the opening of the escort agency. He heard from the guards in the mansion that it was very lively and that firecrackers were set off for a full quarter of an hour.

Xu Mama comforted him, "His Highness has grown quite a bit taller. If Her Majesty saw this, she would surely be very pleased."

Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head, put the handkerchief on his face, and the early morning fatigue was over. Gu Yuzhi was back to his usual lively self. After having breakfast, he went to school with a nine-year-old boy named Mingli by his side. Mingli was the study companion that Xie Changshi had chosen for him. Of course, Xie Changshi had given him the name.

The meaning is simple: he hopes his study companion will understand things and be able to help him manage his fiefdom in the future.

Mingli tidied up Gu Yuzhi's desk with quick and efficient movements, quietly ground ink on the side, and then practiced calligraphy with Gu Yuzhi. At 1:15 AM, Chen Dianyi stepped in and began today's lesson.

It wasn't until 3:45 noon that Chen Dianyi finished teaching. After assigning the homework, a smile appeared on his usually calm face: "Your Highness, Guard Qi has returned and should be waiting in the main courtyard now."

Gu Yuzhi jumped up and pulled Mingli outside, saying, "Mingli, hurry up! My mother must have replied to me. By the way, you haven't met Guard Qi yet. Guard Qi is so tall, taller than everyone else in the manor. I hope I can grow that tall in the future."

A hint of helplessness flashed across Mingli's face, but she still quickened her pace slightly to make things easier for Gu Yuzhi.

As Gu Yuzhi walked around the covered walkway, he immediately saw Qi Chenglang's tall figure. Just as he was about to speak, Qi Chenglang turned around, his originally bronze skin now dark, and a smile revealed two rows of white teeth...

Gu Yuzhi didn't think much of it at first, after all, it was normal for Guard Qi to get tanned after living in the open for so long. But then Teacher Shu exclaimed, "Where did my dashing Guard Qi escape from?! It's unbearable to look at!"

Gu Yuzhi knew that Teacher Shu admired Guard Qi very much. When they first met, she called him her "male god" and said a lot of things that Gu Yuzhi couldn't understand but knew were compliments.

Upon hearing Teacher Shu's words, Gu Yuzhi quickly covered his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from bursting out laughing. His anxious mood calmed down for some reason, and he stepped forward with very steady steps: "Guard Qi, you're back."

Qi Chenglang knelt on one knee and bowed: "Your Highness, I have fulfilled my mission and returned safely with the return gifts from the Emperor and the ladies of the palace."