Construction began on the fiefdom, with large sums of money being poured out. Even though Chief Secretary Xie had made plans well in advance, Gu Yuzhi was still so worried about the increasingly empty warehouses that he ate two fewer bowls of rice.

That evening, Xie Changshi opened the storeroom again and had someone count the silver and send it to Xin Liang.

Gu Yuzhi hugged Xueye's neck and muttered softly, "I'm doomed, Xueye. In another two months, I might become the poorest prince in history again."

Hearing Gu Yuzhi's complaints, Xie Changshi couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Your Highness, there is no need to panic. The escort agency is on the right track, and the medical clinic is gaining a reputation in the northern desert. No matter what, Your Highness's situation will not be worse than last year."

Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks and thought, if Xie Changshi said it that way, then he seems to be not bad.

Just then, a guard rushed in to report: "Chief Secretary, there's been some movement from Huang Fu's side."

Huang Fu and Qian Kang were able to get out of bed after two or three months of recuperation, but Huang Fu's leg was completely ruined. He either had to be carried or ride in a carriage when he went out.

Compared to his previous high spirits, Huang Fu is now shrouded in gloom.

During this time, Huang Fu had been thinking about who was behind this underhanded trick, and after much thought, he finally pinpointed the Wen family as the suspect.

The reason is simple: the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the Wenfu镖局 (escort agency) is highly skilled in martial arts, and the two robberies they sent ended in failure.

Things don't happen more than three times. These two robberies have made Wen's Escort Agency famous. Not to mention the northern deserts, at least in prefectures like Changzhou and Qingzhou, almost everyone who wants to transport goods chooses Wen's Escort Agency.

Huang Fu couldn't understand why, given how blatantly the Wen family was trying to steal business, his boss was still hesitant and unwilling to take action.

He looked at his numb leg and sneered repeatedly.

If the owner is unwilling to take action, then let him handle it himself!

Did the Wen family really think that just because they had a little background and a little money, they could completely establish themselves in the Northern Desert? That's utterly delusional!

Huang Fu spent a day outside the Wen family medical clinic, and after returning home, he arranged for someone to investigate the pharmacy's apprentices.

Qian Kang's method was insidious, but it could make the Wen family's medical clinic disappear from the northern desert overnight!

He couldn't bring himself to do it, but it's all because the Wen family are stupid and despicable!

However, Huang Fu did not expect that Xie Changshi and his men were masters of planning before acting. If they failed to kill Huang Fu once, they would continue to lie in wait. This time, they were determined to strike decisively and make sure that Huang Fu could never recover.

Therefore, he did not withdraw his surveillance on Huang Fu and Qian Kang. Not to mention that Huang Fu had been guarding the entrance of Wen's Medical Clinic for a whole day, if Chief Secretary Xie wanted to know, he could find out how many cups of tea Huang Fu had drunk in a day!

So when Huang Fu's men began investigating the medicine boy, Xie Changshi's men also released some bait.

Whether Huang Fu would fall for the trap or whether the bait would work, Xie Changshi had no way of predicting.

But it doesn't matter, he'll just fuel the fire.

As His Highness said, we should use bait to enforce the law; once the bait is laid, the fish must take the bait.

Chief Secretary Xie whispered a few instructions, and the man quickly withdrew. Only then did Chief Secretary Xie report to Gu Yuzhi: "Huang Fu has already begun investigating the medicine apprentices. As expected, Huang Fu will find a way to contact them in two days."

To make someone betray you, there are basically only a few methods: first, money; second, threats from family members.

Chief Secretary Xie quietly instructed Gu Yuzhi on how to analyze the situation and find a breakthrough point when encountering similar situations in the future, so as to use the breakthrough point to wipe out the opponent in one fell swoop.

Gu Yuzhi nodded repeatedly, then asked with some concern, "Chief Secretary Xie, what if they both betray us?"

Chief Secretary Xie stared at him intently: "May I ask Your Highness, in the palace, what happens to a disloyal servant?"

Gu Yuzhi's face paled, and she slowly uttered two words: "Kill with a cane!"

When the Emperor was still in power, the concubines in the palaces competed fiercely for his favor. It was common for them to develop one or two of their own people in other people's palaces. Once a concubine was banished to the cold palace or was given a cup of poison to die, the fate of those spies was summed up in two words: beating to death!

Knowing something is one thing, but doing it is another.

Chief Secretary Xie said with a solemn face, "Your Highness, have you considered that if we hadn't gone to the clinic's opening that day, we wouldn't have known about Qian Kang and Huang Fu's schemes, and the apprentice would have ultimately betrayed you? Putting aside his fate, have you thought about how the people in your household would have survived?"

Judge Qin took the plunge and went to the clinic, supposedly to teach Shi Nan medicine, but he still saw patients.

If something happens to the clinic, the first person to be threatened will be Judge Qin.

If things really escalate to an uncontrollable point, he could step in to protect Judge Qin, but what about the innocent civilians who would be implicated in the conflict between the two medical clinics?

Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks, his mood growing heavier and heavier.

Xie Changshi said that Huang Fu regarded human life as worthless, but he still felt that Qian Kang's method was vicious, so this method must be paid for with human lives.

Seeing his reaction, Chief Secretary Xie knew he must have understood: "Your Highness, mercy to the enemy is cruelty to us. Besides, if someone truly betrays Your Highness, you don't need to dirty your hands; just send them to the yamen."

It's not very acceptable for ordinary people to beat their servants to death. Since His Highness doesn't want to reveal his identity, the disloyal servants should be sent to Prefect Qi.

"Although they won't be beaten to death, they won't have a good ending."

Men would work in places like iron mines, while women would be sent to military camps to become the lowest-class military prostitutes.

However, there's no need to explain these things too clearly to His Highness right now.

Gu Yuzhi nodded his head: "Don't worry, Chief Secretary Xie. If you really betray me, I will definitely not be soft-hearted."

Seeing Gu Yuzhi's serious expression, Chief Secretary Xie finally smiled and said, "If it were a few months ago, and Your Highness hadn't had Guard Qi put the sacks on, Huang Fu and the others would have definitely taken their time, making it even less likely that we would have been able to find any fault with them."

Gu Yuzhi blinked and looked over: "Does Chief Secretary Xie mean that Huang Fu is in a hurry now that his leg is broken? If he's in a hurry, wouldn't it be more likely that we can find something to use against him?"

He rubbed his hands together excitedly: "Then can we buy Li's Pharmacy?"

Wasn't that exactly what the people at Li's Trading Company did before? They found a way to make Longchang Escort Agency go out of business, and then bought it over...

What a pleasant surprise!

Xie Changshi hadn't expected Gu Yuzhi to think of this, and a genuine smile appeared on his face: "Your Highness is right. This time, we can find a way to make Li's Medical Clinic get out of Changzhou completely."

With the backing of a merchant guild, it's not something that can be easily shut down by mere trickery. Chief Secretary Xie needs to add fuel to the fire and make it burn even brighter.