A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

On the way back to the Prince An's Mansion, Chen Xiaodong controlled the horse's speed and slowly made his way through the streets, his mouth full of maltose.

When Qin Suiyou was still in the Qin residence, he didn't need to drive the carriage there to settle in since he wouldn't be staying for long. He was waiting outside and was bored when he saw a small vendor carrying two baskets pass by. A sweet smell filled the air. He asked and learned that the vendor was going to set up a stall. He could buy some now, since the vendor's method of selling with a carrying pole was very flexible. So Chen Xiaodong stopped the vendor and bought some maltose.

The reason Chen Xiaodong stuffed his mouth full was because he had a toothache a few days ago. His master took a look but couldn't figure out what was wrong. Based on his experience, his master told him not to eat sweets. But Chen Xiaodong had a sweet tooth and couldn't resist the temptation. He was also afraid of being scolded by his master when he got back, so he thought he would finish eating before he went back.

The carriage was moving steadily when suddenly a large crowd gathered ahead. It looked like a familiar street; they had arrived at Xizheng Street, and the Southwest Bookstore was just ahead.

“Zhengjun, there are quite a few people queuing up at the entrance of the bookstore. I have never seen any bookstore with such good business.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Suiyou lifted the curtain on the side of the carriage and looked out, while Beitang Yan also leaned in behind him.

Because of the large number of people, Lan Feng and two assistants were behind the counter collecting money, issuing and receiving rental forms, and recording bills. Most of the people who came to the bookstore were literate, so customers who wanted to rent books filled out the rental forms themselves.

However, with a large number of people, some people did not understand the general format of the form and made mistakes. This needs to be paid attention to when collecting the rental form, so the efficiency is still relatively slow. As a result, some people who were too lazy to wait at the back of the line squeezed through the crowd to return the books and left. In the process, many people were almost accused of cutting in line. Since most of them were young and hot-blooded students, they could not stand the bad behavior, which made the crowd a bit noisy.

Chen Xiaodong patted the horse to make it move forward a little, then stopped so that Qin Suiyou could see it clearly. As for why he didn't mention Beitang Yan, it was because Chen Xiaodong still didn't know that he had driven the carriage for the Prince Yan, whom he had admired for so long, several times.

"Hey! Is that guy trying to sneak away without paying?"

Seeing someone sneakily moving backwards behind him, Chen Xiaodong exclaimed in surprise.

Just as Chen Xiaodong finished speaking, he saw a figure appear out of nowhere and pin the person down. The person who wanted to sneak away froze for a moment, then inexplicably showed a look of panic, dropped the book, and hurriedly ran away.

Seeing that the book hadn't been taken away, the figure released the man and then took the book and walked towards the back door of the bookstore.

Seeing this, Chen Xiaodong asked again, "Zhengjun, is that person one of ours?"

Qin Suiyou hummed in agreement and said, "It was guards sent by Shuo Han. After all, this is just a small business of mine, and I can't afford to be robbed."

Chen Xiaodong nodded knowingly.

“That’s true. But those dishonest people really need to be taught a lesson. It’s good to have guards. I see that the bookstore is doing so well. Although it has our Prince An’s Mansion behind it, in the long run, it might be targeted and cause trouble by other bookstores. The people that Commander Shuo sent must be capable. This way, the bookstore will be much safer.”

After observing for a moment, Qin Suiyou lowered the curtain.

"Let's go."

Back at the Prince's residence, Qin Suiyou told Beitang Yan to wash his face himself. He had just sat down in the study when Lu Yu walked in.

"I have basically found out the situation in the Northern Region."

Qin Suiyou spread out a large sheet of paper and wrote or drew something on it, gesturing for Lu Yu to continue.

"Due to geographical reasons, the Northern Region is treacherous and perpetually frigid, so no states have formed. Instead, various tribes have occupied areas conducive to survival and formed tribes. Among them, the Snow Eagle, Snow Wolf, and Snow Fox tribes are the largest in the Northern Region. In recent years, they have all intended to devour each other and become the overlords of the Northern Region. However, they were thwarted by a man named Tuoba Yue from an unknown background. He is very ambitious. After subduing the various tribes and becoming the largest leader, he rested and recuperated for a period of time before turning his attention to the neighboring Northern Qian. Tuoba Yue is very capable in military affairs. Last year, the border guards fought him intermittently for a year but failed to inflict significant damage. If it weren't for Beitang Yan leading the army, Yejing would probably have changed hands by now."

Qin Suiyou's pen hadn't stopped writing when he heard Lu Yu say this, and he asked, "You haven't found out where Tuoba Yue came from either?"

Lu Yu shook his head.

"That person is very mysterious. Four years ago, he suddenly appeared next to the leader of the Snow Eagle Tribe and became the leader's adopted son. After the leader died, he directly took over the power of the Snow Eagle Tribe."

"Logically speaking, such a person is not worth bowing down to because of a single defeat. I remember that the Northern Qian army did not penetrate deep into the Northern Region."

Lu Yu said, "Tuoba Yue seems to be an extremely confident person who also highly values ​​martial prowess. Before Beitang Yan became the commander-in-chief, he had fought against him. The two were evenly matched. When Beitang Yan officially became the commander-in-chief, Tuoba Yue proposed a bet: a three-day period with one battle per day and a final one-on-one duel between the two commanders on the last day. The best of three rounds would be decided, and the loser would have to submit to the winner."

Qin Suiyou finally stopped what he was doing, put down his pen, and looked up.

"Beitang Yan was injured in the last match, wasn't he?"

Lu Yu nodded and said, "That's right. The information I gathered said that Tuoba Yue was already defeated, and as a result, Beitang Yan was tricked by one of the enemy's men and shot with a sneak arrow. He was hit by the arrow, fell off his horse, and happened to be on a small cliff. He rolled down and hit a rock, suffering serious injuries. Tuoba Yue, on the other hand, honored the bet and admitted defeat, and even beheaded the man who shot the arrow on the spot."

Upon hearing this, Qin Suiyou remained silent for a moment, his eyes flashing with an ambiguous meaning.

"Who were the envoys they sent?"

"Tuoba Yue personally led the team, which included the sons and daughters of the two former leaders of the Snow Wolf and Snow Fox tribes. They were all high-ranking members of the tribes in the Northern Region. It is said that Tuoba Yue's sworn sister, who was also the daughter of the former leader of the Snow Eagle tribe, was also there. The rest were some officials in charge of various matters."

Qin Suiyou tapped the table a few times with his index finger and said in a low voice, "This pomp and circumstance makes it seem like they're coming for a marriage alliance."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yu said, "The reason why these young executives came seems to be because their parents are dissatisfied with Tuoba Yue and are afraid that he will damage their interests, so they have instructed their children to keep an eye on him. As for Tuoba Yue's sworn sister, it seems that she really came for a marriage alliance."