Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

Gao Lishi immediately understood the meaning behind this and sighed.

He smiled wryly and said, "I thought you were worried about me and couldn't help but care about me, but I didn't expect you to ask me to inquire about your sister. Oh well, it's fine. I'm willing to do anything for you."

Since Ya Ru was sent to the palace, everything in Prince Shou's mansion has been peaceful.

Li Mao was happy to have a peaceful life, and would often go for a stroll around his horse farm, taking Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi to experience the prosperity of Chang'an.

"Your Highness, Commander Guo, I've won again!"

Li Guangbi rode around again, dismounted, and shook the bag of silver he had won. He said smugly, "Although Chang'an is a prosperous city, the horsemanship of these people is just too poor. Compared to me, they are simply no match."

Guo Ziyi laughed and said, "You said before that you didn't want to come to Chang'an, but now that you're here, you realize how good Chang'an is, don't you? If you were in Lingzhou, there would be plenty of people riding horses, but no one would be willing to lose this much money to you."

There's not much else in Chang'an, but there are plenty of纨绔 (wán kù, spoiled brats).

These people were spending money like water at Li Mao's horse ranch, either to win money or to squander it. To Li Guangbi, this was simply an unbelievable spectacle.

He grew up in a remote area and had never seen anyone spend so much money just to hear a sound.

The three were laughing together when suddenly someone came to report.

"Your Highness, someone from your residence has come to say that Eunuch Gao Lishi has sent a visiting card, asking if Your Highness is free tomorrow. He would like to come to your residence to sit down and talk with Your Highness about some matters."

"Gao Lishi?" Li Guangbi was not familiar with Gao Lishi and did not immediately recall who he was.

Guo Ziyi said, "Eunuch Gao was once the head of the eunuchs, serving His Majesty in the palace. Later, His Majesty allowed him to come out and serve as an official. Now he is in charge of an important intelligence agency, the Tianji Pavilion."

Li Guangbi, being a rough man after all, scoffed at these words: "So you're a eunuch! Your Highness, all honest officials dislike associating with eunuchs, fearing they'll bring trouble upon themselves. How could you possibly associate with such a person?"

“Guangbi,” Guo Ziyi nudged Li Guangbi, signaling him to stop talking nonsense, “Eunuch Gao is different from the treacherous officials and powerful eunuchs of the Han Dynasty. He is very capable and a very good person. He has helped me and His Highness a lot before. You haven’t met him yet, so don’t be prejudiced. Once you meet him, you will know that he is an extraordinary person. The bird eggs I brought to the Shuofang Army were also given to me by him. Didn’t you like them very much?”

As soon as Guo Ziyi spoke, Li Guangbi fell silent.

The saying "one thing subdues another" applies here. Li Guangbi was not afraid of Li Mao, but he was easily subdued by Guo Ziyi.

“Since Eunuch Gao wishes to meet with me, I naturally cannot refuse.” Li Mao readily agreed and said, “Go back and tell him that I will be waiting for you at my residence tomorrow, and Eunuch Gao can come anytime.”

After the attendant agreed, he went to deliver the message.

Li Mao had actually expected Gao Lishi's sudden visit.

I just didn't expect him to be so well-informed and arrive so quickly...

It seems that Ya Ru has accomplished what I asked her to do.

Ya Ru, you are such a good helper to me!

Thinking it over, Li Mao curled his lips into a confident smile.

Whether it's Gao Lishi or Li Heng, in the end, they will all be in Li Mao's hands.

The next morning, there was a knock on the gate of the Prince Shou's mansion.

Gao Lishi stood at the door with several loads of gifts, saying he had come to celebrate His Highness Prince Shou's return. The servants and stewards, seeing how polite Gao Lishi was, quickly thanked him on behalf of their master and hurriedly welcomed him inside.

Li Mao was already waiting in the study. When he saw Gao Lishi enter, he stood up with a smile to greet him: "Eunuch Gao, you've arrived. I am honored by your generous gift, so I quickly brought out the best Tibetan tea for you to taste."

Gao Lishi bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness is too kind. I have only brought some small gifts to visit you. They are hardly lavish gifts."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Mao invited Gao Lishi to sit down.

A chessboard was already set up on the desk, and the two sat facing each other, making moves in perfect unison. A game between intelligent people is a contest of wits, and whether expected or not, both were masters of this game.

"I've heard there's been some turmoil in the court lately. Does Eunuch Gao have any new information?" It wasn't time to get down to business yet, so Li Mao wasn't in a hurry. He simply placed a chess piece down as he asked.

Gao Lishi nodded and sighed, "That's true. Recently, the relationship between Li Linfu and the Crown Prince has been quite tense, and the two often quarrel. His Highness the Crown Prince is often sullen because of this, and seems to have little interest in either court affairs or other matters."

Speaking of Li Linfu, Gao Lishi couldn't help but say, "When you were choosing a crown prince, Li Linfu strongly supported you, while I... Your Highness, I was sorry that when His Majesty asked about this matter, I recommended the current crown prince. Please forgive me, Your Highness. Your Highness has a special status and outstanding abilities. If a crown prince had been chosen, His Majesty would probably have been even more wary."

Li Mao smiled, seemingly unconcerned: "I don't care much about these things anymore. Now that His Majesty has decided on the overall situation, I'm too lazy to meddle in those other people's business."

Li Mao's generosity and nonchalance put Gao Lishi at ease.

It seems that, given Li Mao's current situation, completing the task Cai Ping asked him to do shouldn't be too difficult.

He said, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness."

“It’s alright,” Li Mao waved his hand and smiled. “I understand Eunuch Gao’s thoughts. Let’s leave our grudges and entanglements here.”

The two continued their game of chess. Gao Lishi pondered for a moment and suddenly said, "Speaking of recent rumors, the most talked-about topic in Chang'an recently is the arrival of Princess Wusun Yaru in Chang'an, and the fact that she will be made a concubine of the Crown Prince in a few days. Your Highness, you personally brought Princess Wusun Yaru back from Yinshan. She is skilled in singing and dancing, and you personally trained her, didn't you?"

Now we're finally getting to the point.

Li Mao's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled, "Ya Ru is a woman I personally chose for my elder brother, the Crown Prince. She is indeed clever and quick-witted."

"I've heard that Your Highness has an exceptionally talented female tutor who is in charge of teaching Princess Yaru. I wonder if Your Highness could lend her to me? I'm currently preparing to train a few women to send to the officials in the court." After a moment's thought, Gao Lishi finally revealed his true purpose.

Li Mao was not interested in these complicated matters.

He glanced at Gao Lishi and took a sip of tea.

He then chuckled lightly and cut to the chase: "Eunuch Gao wants that female tutor, isn't it actually for Consort Mei's sake?"