Early the next morning, Xie Changshi arranged for two people skilled at gathering information to go and find out what Gu Yuzhi had asked of them.

Not long after the man left, Qi Wenhan, the prefect of Changzhou, came to visit again.

Yesterday, as soon as Prince Wen left the inn, Qi Wenhan received the news and learned that Prince Wen was in good health, so he rushed over early this morning.

After waiting for quite a while on the first floor of the inn, I finally received permission from Prince Wen. I followed the guards upstairs and stood outside Gu Yuzhi's room to pay my respects: "Your humble servant, Qi Wenhan, the prefect of Changzhou, greets Your Highness Prince Wen."

Gu Yuzhi was already dressed neatly and sat upright in a large chair. He waited for Qi Wenhan to finish speaking before saying, "Prefect Qi, please come in."

Qi Wenhan entered the room, bowed to Gu Yuzhi again, and then stood to the side with his head down: "I heard that Your Highness was unwell a couple of days ago, so I came to visit you today. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

"Prefect Qi, please have a seat." Remembering their plan to rent a house, Gu Yuzhi said with a smile, "Prefect Qi, you've come at the right time. We have something to trouble you with."

Even if Qi Wenhan doesn't come today, Chief Secretary Xie will arrange for someone to invite him.

After all, the problem of lacking money can't be solved in a short time, but the problem of renting a house is urgent.

After only two days at the inn, Gu Yuzhi felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't wait to find a suitable house and move out.

Upon hearing what the king said, Qi Wenhan could no longer remain seated and quickly stood up again: "Your Highness, please speak. As long as it is within my power, I will do my utmost."

Gu Yuzhi pointed to the inn with his little finger: "Currently, everyone from the Wenwang Mansion is living in the inn, which is very inconvenient. Prefect Qi should know a brokerage firm, right? We'd like to rent a house."

Qi Wenhan frowned slightly, secretly wondering what Prince Wen meant.

Is this house a temporary residence, or will it be renovated into a prince's mansion? Should I pay for it myself, or will they deliver it to me?

Seeing Qi Wenhan's troubled expression, Chief Secretary Xie understood and smiled slightly: "The residence Your Highness is looking for doesn't need to be too big. It's just for a temporary stay of one or two years. The specifics depend on the completion of the Prince's Mansion. We are unfamiliar with the area and are afraid of encountering unreliable brokers, which is why we asked Prefect Qi."

Qi Wenhan instantly understood what Chief Secretary Xie meant: His Highness Prince Wen had no intention of making them spend money, nor did he intend to build a Prince's Mansion in Changzhou.

He felt a sense of relief, but also a little embarrassed.

His Highness was only five years old, yet he viewed him with the eyes of an adult.

Qi Wenhan bowed even more deeply: "Your Highness, if you are looking for a house, you don't need to go to a real estate agency. I happen to have a suitable house here, on East Street in Changzhou. It's a three-courtyard house. The previous owner was a wealthy man from Ming County in Changzhou. After his son passed the imperial examination, the whole family moved to the capital. The house was looked after by only one old servant. A few years ago, the wealthy man's family decided not to return, so they entrusted a real estate agency to sell it. However, because the price was too high, it has not been sold yet."

"A three-courtyard complex?" Gu Yuzhi had never left the palace, so he naturally didn't know how big it was. "We have so many people, is it enough to house them all?"

“That should be enough,” Qi Wenhan said with a smile. “The northern desert is vast and sparsely populated. A three-courtyard house should occupy about the same area as a four-courtyard house in the capital, but the price is much cheaper.”

Gu Yuzhi turned to look at Chief Secretary Xie, who then asked, "Since the master wants to sell, would he be willing to rent it?"

That's right.

Gu Yuzhi nodded his head. They weren't buying a house; the wealthy man might not agree.

"Of course they will agree. The house is just sitting empty anyway, and the daily maintenance is a considerable expense. Renting it out will give the wealthy family an extra source of income. Some of the wealthy man's relatives have said before that he complained about the high cost of living in the capital. If that weren't the case, they wouldn't want to sell the house."

Xie Changshi then nodded.

Qi Wenhan is right. Generally, officials in Beijing can only afford to buy a one-courtyard house at most, and those with worse conditions will rent a house.

Being a government official in the capital sounds prestigious, but survival is still difficult.

Chief Secretary Xie then said, "Your Highness is new to Changzhou Prefecture and is not familiar with the city. You mentioned that your residence is on East Street. Is East Street safe?"

“It’s safe.” Qi Wenhan understood that Xie Changshi was tempted, and explained in more detail, “East Street is the center of Changzhou, not far from the government office, and the residents nearby are mostly officials of Changzhou.”

The implication is that there is no safer place in the entire Changzhou than East Street.

Xie Changshi then nodded slightly to Gu Yuzhi.

Gu Yuzhi jumped off the chair: "In that case, Prefect Qi, please lead the way. Let's go take a look at the house first."

Xie Changshi had told him before that no matter how eloquently the brokers described it, they should go and see for themselves.

He glanced up at Qi Wenhan. Surely Prefect Qi wouldn't recommend someone too bad?

Upon leaving the inn, Qi Wenhan's guards quickly brought over the carriage. Qi Wenhan opened the carriage door, and Xie Changshi helped Gu Yuzhi into the carriage. The two then boarded the carriage.

Qi Wenhan whispered, "Go to Master Chen's residence on East Street."

The distance between East Street and the inn was not far. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Gu Yuzhi noticed that the speed had slowed down. With a long sigh from the driver, the carriage finally came to a stop.

Qi Wenhan pushed open the car door, and Gu Yuzhi looked out and saw a vermilion gate with two guardian lions standing beside it, which looked somewhat like the gate in the painting he had seen.

Xie Changshi carried Gu Yuzhi down from the carriage, and Qi Wenhan stepped forward and knocked on the door knocker. After a moment, an old voice came out: "Who is it?"

"Qi Wenhan, Prefect of Changzhou".

The old servant paused slightly, then quickened his pace to open the door, bowing repeatedly: "Greetings, Prefect Qi. I was unaware of your arrival. I apologize for any offense I may have caused."

Qi Wenhan raised his hand: "A distinguished guest wanted to rent the house for two years, so I recommended this place. They came to take a look now."

The old servant was a little slow to react, and it took him a while to fully open the door. He bowed and invited the man in, his face always bearing a fawning smile: "Please feel free to look around. Before the master left, he lived in this house. Everything is still there. Even though he went to the capital, he regularly had people come to inspect and repair it."

Following the servant's instructions, Gu Yuzhi entered the main gate and saw a landscape carved on the screen wall in front of him. He walked around the screen wall and left along the corridor, entering the main courtyard through the hanging flower gate.

There are ten rooms on each side of the main courtyard, three side rooms on each side of the main house, and a row of rear rooms in the back courtyard. Gu Yuzhi counted on his fingers as he walked.

After touring all the rooms, Gu Yuzhi pulled Xie Changshi aside and whispered, "Xie Changshi, is this house big enough for us?"

Chief Secretary Xie immediately understood Gu Yuzhi's thoughts. After a moment's consideration, he nodded and said, "It's enough to live in. I have carefully inspected the house, and it is well maintained. If Your Highness rents this house, you will not need to purchase anything additional."

Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood what Chief Secretary Xie meant: there was no need to spend more money.