After they got up, Gu Yuzhi glanced at He Jiarui again, his face full of regret.
It seems we really won't know the situation in Quanzhou until Guard Qi returns.
Starting with Governor He, everyone took turns reporting on what had happened during this period, with a focus on the Li Family Trading Company.
Finally, there was Huang Yanzhang, the prefect of Qingzhou: "The former prefect of Qingzhou has been arrested and brought to justice. Due to the seriousness of his crimes, Governor He sent people to escort him to the capital for interrogation by the Ministry of Justice."
Gu Yuzhi exclaimed in surprise, his eyes filled with delight.
Yesterday he was thinking that he should lock that scoundrel up in the imperial prison, but today he found out that he was really taken to the capital.
He cupped his face in his hands, swung his little feet back and forth happily, and exclaimed joyfully, "Teacher Shu, Teacher Shu, don't my brother and I have great chemistry?"
He chuckled and misused the term: "That's called telepathy!"
Shu Xiaohan...
"Young Prince, this word is not appropriate to use for you or the Emperor."
Gu Yuzhi looked puzzled: "Why?"
Doesn't that mean they have a great understanding?
He didn't even tell his elder brother, and his brother had already arrested the man. Isn't that what you call telepathy?
"The word 'tacit understanding' can be used, but 'telepathic understanding' is mostly used for lovers, such as the empress and the emperor."
Gu Yuzhi nodded, seemingly understanding, then asked curiously, "What is a lover?"
Shu Xiaohan scratched her head vigorously, and when she looked up, she saw Wen Xiuzhu covering half of his face with a fan, his eyes squinting so much that they were almost invisible.
She sighed helplessly and looked up at the non-existent sky.
Everyone says children are full of questions, but she has very little experience raising children herself and has never had this experience. Right now…
Seeing Gu Yuzhi blinking his eyes, his face full of curiosity, she said helplessly, "Young Prince, now is not the time to be curious about these things. Look, the Prefect of Qingzhou is still waiting to talk to you."
Gu Yuzhi responded with two "ohs," his eyes darting around nervously, clearly unaware of what the prefect of Qingzhou had just said.
Chief Secretary Xie was already used to this, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, the Prefect of Qingzhou has come to plead for Qingzhou."
"Huh?" Gu Yuzhi asked in confusion, "Pleading for Qingzhou?"
He scratched his head and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Could it be that they're pleading for that big bad guy?
Really?
Seeing the puzzled look on his face, Huang Yanzhang knelt down again and explained in a low voice, "Your Highness, after I arrived in Qingzhou, I discovered that Qingzhou was severely exploited by the former prefect, and the people of Qingzhou are living in misery. I implore Your Highness to help Qingzhou."
The people are suffering terribly?
Gu Yuzhi felt that, in all his memories, he had never heard of any place where people were living in misery.
Even during the previous floods in Jiangnan, Xie Changshi and his colleagues never said that the people of Jiangnan were suffering.
What exactly did the prefect of Qingzhou do to Qingzhou?!
Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks. He should have known better than to let Xueye scare the prefect of Qingzhou so badly that he broke his leg. He should have dragged him back and had Guard Zhang interrogate him properly. That way, he would have found out exactly what bad things the prefect of Qingzhou had done!
He clenched his little fists: "Was his mansion searched? Confiscate everything he looted!"
Huang Yanzhang shook his head slightly: "This person is very clever. He knew that he couldn't hide the fact that his leg was broken for long, so he transferred all his assets long ago."
He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I found an account book in his residence. The amount in it is huge, and it is sent to a certain place almost every month."
He shook his head slightly and continued, "Unfortunately, this ledger only states the amount and date, but does not indicate who the recipient is or how the money was sent."
A name instantly popped into Gu Yuzhi's mind: His brother, the Prince of Chu!
As for the method...
Gu Yuzhi scratched his head and glanced at Huang Yanzhang: "There's a Li's Escort Agency in Qingzhou too, right?"
Huang Yanzhang's eyes lit up, and his gaze towards Gu Yuzhi was filled with surprise and delight.
His first act upon taking office was to thoroughly investigate the previous prefect's accounts, which had troubled him for a long time.
It wasn't until news came from Changzhou that all prefectures were ordered to thoroughly investigate and shut down Li Ji Trading Company that Huang Yanzhang took action against it.
It was at this moment that he discovered that the accounting books of Li Ji Escort Agency's branch in Qingzhou showed that they received a major shipment every month on the same day. The shipment did not indicate who the employer or the recipient was, but only indicated a general location: Jiangnan.
Before coming to Mobei, Huang Yanzhang had investigated the situation there and had a general idea of the relationship between Li Ji Trading Company and the Prince of Chu. So when he found the account book in the former prefect’s residence, his first thought was that all of these things had been sent to the Prince of Chu’s residence.
He had been trying to find concrete evidence, at least enough to prove that the King of Chu had accepted bribes, but who knew that the Li Ji Escort Agency's ledgers were so vague!
Huang Yanzhang had no choice but to send the evidence, along with the former prefect, to the capital, giving the Ministry of Justice a headache.
But he didn't expect that the young prince would think of Li's Escort Agency as soon as he mentioned this vague whole situation!
Huang Yanzhang suppressed the myriad thoughts in his mind and took a while to catch his breath before saying, "Your Highness is wise. There is also a branch of Li Ji Escort Agency in Qingzhou, but it is not very large. When I searched the escort agency, I found that there was indeed a record in the agency's account book that matched this account book."
Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up: "The escort agency's ledgers must record where the escorts went and who received them, right?"
Huang Yanzhang slowly shook his head: "No, there is only a general information, Jiangnan."
The moment the words "Jiangnan" were uttered, the private room fell silent.
Gu Yuzhi's face turned red with anger. He glanced at the table, thought for a moment, and decided not to punch it. He was very afraid of pain!
However, this thought was fleeting, replaced by confusion and disgust towards the King of Chu.
The fiefdom of the King of Chu is clearly the most prosperous!
He's already so rich, why does he still plunder the people's money? Making life unbearable for the people of Qingzhou?
Gu Yuzhi couldn't fathom what the lives of the people of Qingzhou had been like over the years, that Huang Yanzhang would use those four words to describe them.
He rested his chin on his hands, his eyes drooping.
Huang Yanzhang continued, "Your Highness, I would like to implore you to submit a petition to the Emperor to reduce or exempt Qingzhou from taxes for three years. At the same time, I would also like to..."
He licked his lips, looking extremely embarrassed, and said, "I would also like to borrow some salt and grain on credit in the name of the Qingzhou Prefectural Government."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Yanzhang realized that his face had suddenly turned red, and he lowered his head in extreme embarrassment.
Gu Yuzhi stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with disbelief...
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