In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

After everyone left.

Inside the main hall, only Li Yuanchang and Qin Keyu remained, while Fang Weng and the others waited outside.

Seeing that the atmosphere was quiet, Li Yuanchang prepared to speak.

To everyone's surprise, Qin Keyu spoke first, smiling as she said, "Your Highness, I've heard of you."

"oh?"

"It seems my deeds in Liangzhou are quite famous," Li Yuanchang said with a smile.

"No, not in Liangzhou, but in Chang'an."

"I've been to Chang'an," Qin Keyu said, suddenly opening her almond-shaped eyes wide and staring straight at him, showing no shyness or stage fright whatsoever.

"Your Highness, what does it feel like to beat the prince consort?"

A sudden question almost made Li Yuanchang stumble and fall again, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

"That feeling isn't good."

"Don't learn it, it's too exhausting," Li Yuanchang replied humorously.

puff! !

"Hahaha!" Qin Keyu burst into laughter instantly, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"Your Highness, you're hilarious! No wonder Sister Situ loves you so much."

Li Yuanchang wasn't in a hurry to talk about serious matters; talking to this girl was quite interesting.

He smiled and said, "Is that so?"

"How do you describe me, my lady?"

"Sister Situ said that His Highness is gentle, considerate, and very handsome. She said a lot more, basically praising His Highness to the skies."

"Tsk tsk." She smacked her lips mischievously.

Li Yuanchang couldn't help but chuckle: "I'm not good at anything, but she is."

Upon hearing this, as if something had been triggered, Qin Keyu's eyes lit up with a fierce gossip.

"Your Highness, compared to that Wu woman who caused such a stir in Chang'an, do you prefer her, or Sister Situ?"

Li Yuanchang froze for a moment, as if he had been frozen in place.

The scene was somewhat awkward.

But Qin Keyu seemed to have gotten really into it, and wouldn't let go, staring intently at Li Yuanchang.

Li Yuanchang smiled bitterly, unable to answer the question at all. One was his beloved confidante whom he had been forced to live apart from, and the other was his wife with whom he shared a bed and truly supported each other through thick and thin.

Even if he has the answer in his heart, he can't possibly say it out loud.

Just when he didn't know what to do.

Situ Lan's voice suddenly rang out: "Your Highness, the tea is here."

She appeared in her palace attire, illuminating the scene like a ray of light and breaking the awkward situation.

In an instant, both Li Yuanchang and Qin Keyu's expressions changed slightly.

"Madam has arrived." Li Yuanchang looked over and subconsciously stood up to greet her, feeling slightly flustered, worried that Situ Lan had overheard him.

There was always an unspoken agreement between him and Situ Lan that neither of them ever mentioned that famous wedding in Chang'an.

He observed for several breaths and only felt relieved when he found no abnormality on Situ Lan's face.

Qin Keyu was just gossiping, but she wasn't stupid. Since Situ Lan had come, she didn't press the matter further and instead changed the subject.

"Your Highness, Sister Situ sent word that you have some questions for me?"

Li Yuanchang nodded: "Yes."

Do you know the Wang family of Huabi County?

"The Wang family of Huabi County? You mean the Wang family of old man Wang Qifu?" Qin Keyu frowned.

"Yes, that's the one!" Li Yuanchang's eyes lit up; he really knew it.

"Their family went bankrupt and died a few years ago because of business failures."

"My father had dealings with their family before."

"Why did Your Highness suddenly ask this?" Qin Keyu asked.

Li Yuanchang said, "I want to know how their business collapsed? Did they offend someone? Or is there some hidden story?"

He kept asking questions. He had already learned a lot when he came to Liangzhou. The reason why Liangzhou was so poor and why many popular goods in the Tang Dynasty could not be imported was because the officialdom was too corrupt.

Extortion, blackmail, and free purchases are rampant.

So when he found out the identity and background of the person who was crying foul, he immediately thought of these things.

Qin Keyu's reaction was also subtle.

"Your Highness, may I speak?"

"Of course, what can anyone do to you if I tell them?" Li Yuanchang laughed.

Qin Keyu took a deep breath, clearly hesitated for a moment, then her mischievous expression vanished, and she said very seriously, "As far as I know, there are indeed some hidden reasons for the Wang family's destruction and death."

Li Yuanchang frowned; it was indeed so.

"Their family mainly deals in cloth. Although it's not much in the Tang Dynasty, they are considered one of the most prominent families in Liangzhou."

"At that time, it was the right season, and the kudzu and hemp in Liangzhou were growing exceptionally well, so the cloth business was booming."

"But at the same time, a flood struck the north of Liangzhou, and the crops failed completely."

"That area occupied at least a third of Liangzhou's fertile land. Not only did the people suffer from a complete crop failure, but the government was also unable to collect grain taxes and had no way to explain themselves to Chang'an."

"So the tax burden began to increase that year."

"The heaviest burden naturally fell on the cloth merchants who were making the most money at the time. I heard my grandfather say that it was practically like having a knife to your throat."

"Many cloth merchants left because of this and never returned."

"But the Wang family was from Liangzhou, and their patriarch refused to leave. He paid a large amount of taxes at first, but I heard that the taxes kept increasing, so the patriarch Wang Qifu stopped paying."

"Later, when I heard the news, it was that a fire broke out at the Wang family's house, killing dozens of people and destroying a large amount of cloth."

"His eldest son said that he had incurred huge gambling debts again, lost all the family property, and also said that the Wang family owed money for goods, came to collect debts, injured others, etc., all of which came out at once."

"But according to my family, they don't believe these things. The Wang family has a very strict family tradition and is already very wealthy. How could they possibly default on their debts to others and even have to sell their assets in the end?"

After listening, Li Yuanchang roughly understood the situation.

He then asked briefly, "Miss Qin, have you heard of Lü Jie, the son of the Legal Advisor of Liangzhou?"

"Him?" Qin Keyu's eyes revealed a look of disgust.

"Do you know him?"

Qin Keyu frowned and nodded: "I know him, he's also a merchant."

He even came to my house to propose marriage.

"His reputation in the Luomayi area is extremely poor. By the way, Your Highness, he's currently in the business of textiles!"

"In the past, almost all of Wang's kudzu and hemp fields were bought up by his people."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang sneered, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

Once you understand this, it's almost clear: the father has legal authority, and the son is "buying for free" outside, but there's no evidence.

Otherwise, there would be no such coincidence in the world.

"Alright, Miss Qin, I understand. Thank you." He already had a plan in mind. After tricking Lü Jie back, he would interrogate her using unconventional methods, obtain the relevant account books, and then he could basically determine the nature of the crime.

After eliminating the Lü family father and son, he replaced them with his own people to take charge of the legal affairs, and then dealt with some long-standing wrongful cases one by one. In this way, he would have complete control over the judiciary and finances of Liangzhou.

This was a necessary prerequisite for his later efforts in economic development.