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

The carriage moved slowly down the street, the sound of its wheels clearly audible in the quiet air.

Finally, the carriage slowly came to a stop outside the residence of Wu Xin, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.

"Your Highness, we've arrived at our destination."

The coachman's voice broke the brief silence as Li Mao, supported by the coachman, slowly stepped down from the carriage.

His gaze first fell on the mansion in front of him, and a complex mix of emotions welled up in his heart.

Once upon a time, this place was bustling with activity and presented a prosperous scene.

However, everything has changed dramatically, and the former liveliness has vanished.

The once vermilion gate is now dull in color, and the once majestic stone lions are covered in dust, having lost their former majesty.

The once spacious courtyard is now deserted, with only a few withered yellow leaves gently falling in the breeze, adding to the desolate and lonely atmosphere.

Just then, the two middle-aged men who had been waiting at the entrance of the mansion saw Li Mao step down from the carriage and hurried forward, their steps filled with urgency and anticipation.

Upon reaching Li Mao, the two bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Prince Shou."

Looking at the two middle-aged men in front of him, Li Mao felt a pang of sadness at their slightly haggard faces and graying temples.

These two men were his uncles, Wu Xin and Wu Zhong.

Today, their once gorgeous clothes are nowhere to be seen, replaced by simple coarse cloth garments in rather faded colors.

Li Mao smiled gently, trying to dispel the oppressive atmosphere with his smile.

"It's been a long time, my two uncles."

He quickly reached out to help the two of them up, saying, "Get up, there's no need for such formalities between us, uncle and nephew."

Wu Xin and Wu Zhong stood up, their eyes filled with excitement and emotion.

Wu Xin's lips trembled slightly as he said, "Your Highness, I am truly grateful for your presence."

Li Mao gently patted Wu Xin's shoulder, his eyes filled with concern: "Uncle, we are all family, let's not talk about these things."

As he spoke, he looked around at the somewhat dilapidated mansion, and his feelings of emotion grew stronger.

"It's my fault for being late. I'm sorry to have troubled you two uncles these past few years..."

Wu Zhong sighed deeply, a look of helplessness and bitterness appearing on his face.

"Your Highness, ever since... alas, ever since that incident, our household has been declining day by day. Now we can barely make ends meet."

Li Mao nodded slightly, understanding that his mother's departure had brought a huge impact on the family.

He pondered in silence for a moment, then slowly said, "Uncles, please don't worry too much. Your nephew is willing to do his part to help you alleviate your current predicament."

Wu Xin looked at Li Mao with a hint of hope in his eyes, but he managed to control his excitement.

"Your Highness, let's go inside first and talk about it."

Upon hearing this, Li Mao nodded. "Alright."

The three of them talked as they slowly walked into the mansion.

Most of the flowers and plants in the courtyard had withered, with only a few withered branches swaying in the wind.

The once magnificent building now appears somewhat dilapidated, with the paint peeling off the walls, revealing the mottled base color.

Li Mao followed his uncles to the main hall, where the furnishings were very simple, and the tables and chairs were quite old and worn.

Wu Xin asked Li Mao to sit down and ordered the servants to serve tea.

A moment later, a maid came in carrying a tea tray. Her steps were light, and there was a hint of timidity in her eyes.

After placing the tea on the table, he hurriedly withdrew.

Li Mao picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and found the tea to be somewhat bitter, but it made his thoughts clearer.

He put down his teacup, looked at his uncles and said, "Uncles, I have always been concerned about your difficult life in the past."

"Now that the racecourse has been opened, although 80% of the profits have been handed over to Father, I have still managed to secure 10% of the profits for the Wu clan, which is enough to cover your daily expenses."

"Furthermore, I have obtained the Emperor's permission to ask my two uncles to come to the horse farm to help."

With a smile on his face and eyes full of warmth and expectation, Li Mao said softly, "What do you two uncles think?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Xin and Wu Zhong couldn't help but show a look of astonishment, and even a hint of fear.

They never expected that Li Mao would actually hand over the racecourse to them for operation and management.

But now that Consort Wu Hui has passed away, their patron is gone, and they only think about living one day at a time, having long lost the courage they once had.

Furthermore, merchants belonged to the lowest social class.

Despite their current decline, these civil officials still retain their own scholarly pride.

Thinking of this, the two brothers exchanged a glance.

Then Wu Xin bowed to Li Mao.

"Thank you for your trust in me and the Wu family, Your Highness, but..."

Seeing that Wu Xin was about to reject him, Li Mao's expression became somewhat dejected.

“Uncles, I understand what you are thinking.”

"But I simply cannot bear to see my mother's family continue to decline..."

“My two uncles, nowadays in Chang’an, besides the two of you, there is no one else I can trust.”

Seeing this, Wu Xin and Wu Zhong were filled with hesitation.

In the end, seeing that everything around them was no longer as prosperous as before, Wu Xin and Wu Zhong put aside their ridiculous pride as scholars.

"Your Highness, we agree."

Seeing that the two had agreed, Li Mao smiled and helped them up, then looked at Wu Xin.

"With the help of my two uncles, I can rest assured."

"In that case, I'll give my two uncles a task first."

"The racecourse is doing well now, but the number of warhorses is limited, and more horses are needed."

"Uncle, you need to recruit veterans to raise horses, the more the better. At the same time, recruit grooms from the surrounding villages and give them good benefits."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xin couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

We need more horses, and they have to be warhorses!

We also need to recruit veterans and grooms... This seems quite expensive!

Could it be that Your Highness wants to...?

Thinking of this, Wu Xin couldn't help but hold his breath, widen his eyes, and freeze on the spot.

Noticing Wu Xin's expression, Li Mao smiled slightly and explained, "Uncle, you may not know this, but the number of guests at the racecourse is increasing, and their requirements for selecting horses are also getting higher and higher."

"If they could have more horses to choose from, it would greatly increase their interest and participation, and the racecourse's business would flourish even more."

After hearing Li Mao's explanation, Wu Xin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will certainly do as you command."

Seeing this, Li Mao said nothing more.

But his real purpose was to use these thousands of warhorses to train thousands of cavalrymen in preparation for future plans.

After arranging things for Wu Xin, Li Mao said to Wu Zhong, "As for Second Uncle, you have another important task. I want you to search for beautiful women all over the world."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong's eyes widened in surprise.

"Your Highness, why is this?"

Li Mao calmly explained, "These beautiful women can serve customers who come to gamble on horse races, allowing them to enjoy the pleasure of being accompanied by beautiful women while having fun."

"However, Second Uncle, you should be careful to find a woman who looks like Mother Consort."

Wu Zhong's heart stirred, as if he understood something, but he was not sure.

He looked at Li Mao, his eyes revealing a hint of doubt and worry.

Li Mao saw through his thoughts and comforted him, "Uncle, there's no need to worry. I have my own plans."

"You just need to do as your nephew tells you to do."

Helpless, Wu Zhong could only nod and reply, "Yes, Your Highness. We will certainly do our best."