"Um?"
"If you can't find the bad guys, try looking among the people around you."
She met him on the official road that day and realized that he was pretending to be poisoned because of a lung disease. Now that she knew his identity as the Crown Prince, she knew that this was probably to cover something up.
Or rather, to deceive others.
Why do we need to do this?
Lili thought that the Crown Prince's appearance in this remote Nanlin County was most likely to avoid disaster, so this tactic was probably just to confuse those who were monitoring him.
She didn't know why, but her intuition told her that this person was someone close to him.
Gu Ziyi stood up abruptly, his face grim.
After a long pause, he put his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice, "Thank you, I will be careful."
Lili stopped there and didn't say anything more, asking, "What do you want from me?"
After composing himself, Gu Ziyi felt a renewed sense of doubt.
Who exactly is this little dumpling? It's so small, yet it's got quite a few tricks up its sleeve.
They're so young, they're not afraid of not growing tall.
Gu Ziyi smiled again, his gentle demeanor and slight smile revealing his thoughts: "What do you think about the matter of the Prefect of Nanlin County?"
Lili looked at him strangely: "I'm just a little kid, why are you asking me?"
"To be honest, my father sent me to the frontier, but it was my own request."
Nanlin County is located in the southernmost part of the Southern Jin Kingdom. Gu Ziyi is the legitimate daughter of the Empress. Her maternal family is the current Weiwu General's Mansion, and her maternal grandfather is the famous Weiwu General.
The mighty general was stationed on the frontier year-round, guarding the national border.
Gu Ziyi volunteered to come to the frontier for training, citing his desire to learn from the mighty general.
Only he himself knew that he wanted to take this opportunity to leave the capital, get involved, and eliminate the power of the eldest prince's faction.
"Stop, I don't want to hear it." Lili covered his mouth, refusing to listen. "Royal secrets? I can't live with myself, my family can't live with ourselves?"
She's still young. She doesn't want to die at such a young age. What if it implicates the Shen family?
Gu Ziyi was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Okay, I won't listen. I'll tell you later."
Based on the TV dramas she watched in her previous life, Lili thought they were mostly about power struggles and sibling rivalry.
It's so pitiful that someone so young is already in a high position, burdened with so much, and has to fight and kill each other with their brothers and relatives every day.
A look of sympathy crossed the little dumpling's eyes, and Gu Ziyi gave it a light tap on the head: "What are you thinking about?"
Lili covered her head, unusually not rebuking him: "Well, what I mean is, even if someone privately withdraws grain tax, you can't impeach him?"
"Yes, but it will take time to find evidence."
“Then… let’s play the long game.” Lili flashed two teeth.
…………………..
Old Mrs. Shen pressed her ear against the door, straining to hear what was happening inside, but after the first few bursts of laughter, she could hear nothing more.
Inside the room, Gu Ziyi seemed to see the sun after the clouds had parted, his eyes full of admiration as he looked at the little dumpling: "I will instruct my people to do as they say, and I will come to you again if there are any changes in the subsequent matters."
The little dumpling said in a small voice, "I don't want that bad guy to raise the grain tax, not that I want to help you."
Gu Ziyi raised an eyebrow: "Thank you."
Lili was very afraid that these struggles would involve the Shen family. It turned out that Gu Ziyi was the emperor's youngest son. Although he was the empress's legitimate son, he still had several older brothers.
Of these princes, the eldest prince was the most favored, and because he was the eldest son, he was in great conflict with the crown prince's faction.
"You promised to protect our home, okay?" Lili said worriedly.
"Don't worry," Gu Ziyi said firmly.
Old Mrs. Shen strained to hear a sound, but to no avail. Luckily, a servant came in and said that dinner was ready and Magistrate Qin was waiting for them to dine together.
Old Mrs. Shen knocked on the door hurriedly: "Young master, Lord Qin wants us to have dinner together. Have you finished talking?"
Gu Ziyi carried the little dumpling out the door and bowed slightly: "Madam Shen".
"Hey, hey, how's it going? Was the chat... good?"
“Lili is clever and adorable, so Ziyi is naturally delighted.” Gu Ziyi smiled.
"Grandma, time to eat!" Lili thrashed towards Old Mrs. Shen's arms, and Old Mrs. Shen caught her.
"Let's go." Gu Ziyi smiled as she looked at the little dumpling, who was acting coquettishly.
After dinner, Gu Ziyi caught up with Boss Shen, who was walking ahead, and called out to him, "Mr. Shen."
Upon seeing that it was the wealthy young master, Elder Shen hurriedly asked, "Young master, what brings you here?"
Since these were Xiao Tuanzi's family members, Gu Ziyi didn't mince words and asked directly, "I've heard that Mr. Shen is a member of a merchant caravan?"
Boss Shen was surprised, then waved his hand and said, "Hey, he's just a镖师 (bodyguard/escort)."
"I have a business opportunity here, I wonder if you would be interested in doing it?"
Boss Shen was taken aback, first with surprise, then with doubt.
Want to do business with him?
This young master must have mistaken someone for someone else.
“Young master, I am a farmer and do not know how to do business. I only do escort work to supplement my family’s income.” Old Master Shen confessed honestly and smiled kindly. “Thank you, young master. I cannot let you down.”
Gu Ziyi originally thought of them only because they were Xiao Tuanzi's family, but now she genuinely feels that the Shen family is honest and kind-hearted.
"Don't be nervous, please listen to me first." Gu Ziyi waved his hand, "Are you aware of the matter in the prefectural city where the prefect is trying to privately collect grain taxes?"
Boss Shen's expression changed: "This..."
"Don't be afraid, I'm here to cooperate with you. The prefect's tax increase is simply to embezzle the grain, but didn't he say he wanted to use it for disaster relief in Xixiang County?"
Old Master Shen didn't understand these things: "That's what I heard."
"If you want the prefect to step down, you need solid evidence. The prefect definitely won't transport real grain. I'll find a way to get your caravan to take the job and work with me from the inside to secure this evidence, how about that?"
Old Master Shen was shocked by what he heard. What cooperation? What resignation of the prefect? Was this something a farmer like him should be listening to?
"The prefect's pay won't be small, but I'll offer you an additional commission. What do you think?"
Boss Shen was undecided. The reward sounded quite generous. Could such a good thing really fall into his lap?
“I promised Lili that if you agree, I will guarantee your safety on this trip,” Gu Ziyi added.
Old Shen suddenly realized that it was Lili.
"Let me think about it."
Gu Ziyi bowed and said, "Of course, I hope you will consider it carefully."
After returning to the house, Old Man Shen pondered the matter for a long time before finally going to discuss it with Old Woman Shen.
Old Mrs. Shen's expression was solemn: "This is a good thing for the people! I could tell just now that this young master's family is probably not simple. But since he's asking about raising taxes, if that's really the case, then he's doing it for us too!"
The eldest son nodded: "I know, but... is this person really reliable at such a young age? Also, if he gets involved in these struggles, I'm afraid..."
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