Chapter Ten: Catching the Deceiver

  Some people say I wrote a new version of Water Margin, see the book reviews for answers.

  Since Li Gu turned around and left, Yan Qing seemed a bit distracted, although he was still talking and laughing, but there were many small movements, which fell into the eyes of people like Gao Qiang.

  Yan Xiao Yi's mind was elsewhere, and Gao Qiang also had his own thoughts. He had been impressed by Yan Qing when he read "Water Margin" before, seeing how loyal he was to Lu Junyi, brave in rescuing him from the law court, clever in uncovering Liangshan's plot, calm and composed when opening up a path for Li Shishi, and unswayed by the temptation of a beauty like Li Shishi. This man was truly a perfect combination of loyalty, bravery, and wisdom, and even describing him as a dragon among men would not be an exaggeration.

  Gao Qiang came to Hebei this time, and more than half of it was to meet Xiao Yige. At this moment, the idea in his heart is like lightning: Yan Qing is extremely loyal to Lu Junyi, and he is also a meticulous person who can see through everything. If Li Gu had an affair with his master's mother, he might be able to deceive Lu Junyi but not him. Now looking at him, as soon as he heard that Li Gu went to see the master's mother, he was distracted, it must be true.

  It was just that Yan Qing, as Lu Junyi's house servant, even if he knew about his master's wife eloping, first of all, it's called catching the adulterers in the act, if not caught red-handed, these two people, one being the mistress and the other the manager, would deny it to death, and naturally Lu Junyi would believe them more, but there was no way to deal with them. Secondly, this matter is a great shame for Lu Junyi, Yan Qing is loyal to him, no matter what, he cannot spread this matter out, so as not to ruin his reputation. It's remembered that in the original book, Yan Qing only told this matter when Lu Junyi returned from Liangshan and refused to listen to advice, insisting on entering the city, it can be seen that he had been enduring for a long time. Alas, Lu Junyi still didn't believe him!

  Looking at the attitude of this young brother, he must have known about this matter, but he can't do anything to these two wild geese, and he can't afford to offend a big client like Xiang Gaoye. His mind is filled with conflicting thoughts, which is why he appears absent-minded. Otherwise, with his many years of experience in the city, how could he have revealed such a flaw so easily?

  With a few turns of thought in his mind, he smiled and said: "Xiao Yige, this Cuicloud Building is known as the first in Beijing, I suppose the business is very good, but I don't know who manages it?"

  Yan Qing saw Gao's inner question, and hurriedly smiled: "It's actually laughable to call it the first in Beijing, this kind of small business can't be considered as such, it's just various officials making a show. My master Lu Da is currently not in the city of Daming Prefecture, he went to Xiongzhou for an official market with Liao Guo, otherwise he would have come to offer you a cup of wine."

  Gao said with a smile: "So, it seems that Xiaoyi is taking care of things here now? But I don't know if Xiaoyi's accompaniment to Xiaosheng has delayed business?" He was giving Yanqing the opportunity to keep an eye on Li Gu and take advantage of the situation.

  Yan Qing's face showed a hint of displeasure, but he only said: "What are you talking about, sir? Yan Qing can accompany you in drinking a few cups of wine, and the entire Cuicui Cloud Building will be honored. What do these trivial matters amount to?"

  Gao was secretly laughing in his heart, but on the surface he kept thanking him profusely. As long as he went to attend to other customers, Gao could take care of himself and continue drinking.

  Yan Qing had already thought of leaving, and at this time he happened to be going down the slope on his donkey. He called a familiar idler from a wine shop to serve Gao Qiang and others, and invited two song girls to sing on one side. After announcing his departure, he said that he would only make a quick inspection up and down and then return, and went out with a flourish of the curtain.

  Gao Qiu drank a few more cups of wine, guessing that Yan Qing had also arrived at Li Guo's place. He asked Xu Guanzhong to accompany him to the toilet, but told Yang Zhi to stay in the private room and not move, letting the little servant continue to serve here as usual.

  After leaving the private room, Gao Qiang beckoned a waiter and asked about Yan Qing's whereabouts, then followed Xu Guanzhong to the last private room on the third floor.

  This private room is the master's personal quarters, usually not receiving external guests. The location is also extremely secluded, requiring passage through several corridors and around a skywell to arrive. Gao Qiang followed the little servant's guidance and walked quickly past, turning a corner, and immediately saw Yan Qing with his back to himself, his ear pressed against a door, seemingly eavesdropping.

  Gao Jian's eyes flashed, and in an instant, he saw Yan Qing's fist clenched tightly, with two blue veins bulging out from the back of his neck. His straight back, like a spear, was trembling slightly, as if he was extremely angry and frustrated about something that was happening inside, but what exactly it was, one could guess with their toes.

  At this moment, every second counts. Yan Qing, although in a state of extreme anger, still has extremely sharp senses and has already heard the footsteps and breathing of someone approaching from behind. Just as he was about to turn around to look, Gao Qiang hastily raised his voice and called out: "Little Brother Yi, why is it taking you so long to come and keep me company drinking?" As he spoke, he quickly stepped forward.

  Yan Qing heard Gao Qiang's call, his whole body shook violently, and he spun around like a whirlwind. A look of terror flashed across his handsome face, his lips trembling as he tried to speak, but before he could make a sound, Gao Qiang had already rushed to the door, grabbed his wrist, and laughed: "Little Yige, what are you doing here?" As he spoke, he didn't wait for an answer, and with a swift kick, the door burst open. The threshold creaked loudly as it broke, and from inside came the simultaneous cries of alarm from a man and a woman.

  In the blink of an eye, Li Gu's face turned ashen, his clothes disheveled, one hand holding up his pants as he hastily retreated backwards, the other hand subconsciously covering his eyes, unsure if it was due to the dazzling light outside or shame. In the private room, a slender woman stood bent over in front of the table, her clothes disarrayed, her hands propping herself up on the surface, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably beneath the silk wrapping, her two long legs straight as a pen under the thin veil, appearing to have reached an extreme state. However, this woman's head was bowed low, her hair scattered and hanging in front of her face, obscuring her features.

  These two cries came out, Yan Qing's face changed greatly, and he reached back to grab Gao Qiang's wrist, saying: "Sir, please wait, this is my master's residence, but it's not convenient for you to be called in." However, his hand was tightly grasped like a lock, and Gao Qiang shook it several times but couldn't get rid of it. He pointed at the pair of men and women and said: "Xiao Yige, I don't know which one of these two is Lu Da Guanren?"

  Yan Qing was quite capable, and unexpectedly still able to argue: "The officer has misunderstood, this is my family's Li General Manager meeting with his wife here, it's not convenient for the officer to observe." As he spoke, he added strength to his hand, a pair of white hands that seemed to be only plucking strings and playing the Xiao, but in reality, he was pulling him so hard that his footsteps were unstable.

  At this moment, Xu Guanzhong walked up a few steps from behind and sneered: "The wife of General Li is really beautiful, how can she be so similar to Madame Lu's wife, Mrs. Jia?" In fact, the woman had a head of black hair covering her face, and it was impossible to see her appearance, but Xu Guanzhong had seen Madame Lu before, so he called out like this, and there was no way to deny it.

  Yan Qing's whole body felt a wave of weakness, his handsome face no longer had any hint of color, his hand relaxed slightly, and he had already let go of Gao Qiang's hand.

  Gao Qiang was overjoyed in his heart, and Xu Guanzhong indeed had a clever mind. Although they hadn't discussed it beforehand, their coordination was perfect. Now that the affair had been exposed, he needed to take control of the situation. He turned around and dragged Yan Qing with him, flashing into the private room. Xu Guanzhong followed closely behind, shutting the door with his hand and leaning against it, scanning the room coldly with his arms crossed.

  Until this moment, the woman finally stopped trembling, as if she had lost all her strength and collapsed to the ground, leaning against the table leg, curling up a pair of long legs, her hands weakly covering her chest, slightly raising her head to look around, her sweaty face was covered by scattered black hair, only revealing a pair of eyes that were hazy with despair, but still looked calm.

  Gao Liang glared at the woman from head to toe, pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his legs and smiling: "Director Li, I presume this is the daughter of Lu Da's family? But I don't know if you two are settling accounts or what?" At this moment, the atmosphere was eerie with a hint of obscenity, and the smile on Gao Liang's face was also 70% sly and 30% obscene.

  Li Gu's face was as pale as death, his hands holding up his pants as he stood in place, his lips trembling for half a day, but unable to utter a single word. Suddenly, Jia Shi let out a cold laugh and said: "You're still a man, yet when things come to a head, you're such a coward, daring to do it but not daring to take responsibility?"

  Gao Qiang slapped his thigh and gave Jia's wife a thumbs up, saying: "Good! This woman is really a heroine among women, speaking with conviction and having such a beautiful face, truly a red apricot that was born to be picked!"

  She thought that Jia would be ashamed after hearing this, but instead she was nonchalant, let out a cold snort, slightly shook her head to the side, revealing a charming and seductive face. A few strands of hair were soaked with sweat and stuck to her cheek, wrapping around her lips, and she said with a pout: "Since I did that thing, I've put everything aside. This moment has appeared in my dreams countless times, it's just become real now. This official says I'm a heroine among women, but I don't dare accept that, I just let go."

  Yan Qing, who had been standing by, was already furious, but didn't know what to do. At this moment, she couldn't hold back anymore and shouted: "You shameless woman! How dare you be so indecent and unscrupulous? What did the master ever do wrong to you that you would collude with such a despicable thing?!"

  However, the party that should have been hanging its head in shame suddenly raised its momentum: "Yes, I am promiscuous, I am shameless, I flirt with wild men, what's it to you?! Which point did your master not wrong me? Joke! I'd rather ask him which point he was right about me! He married me and brought me home for seven years, except for the time on our wedding night when he touched my body, for the rest of the time he treated me like a mud doll or a wooden puppet, every night he came back and went to sleep with his head turned away, without even a word of intimacy, what kind of husband and wife is this?!

  Yan Qing's anger increased, and he stepped forward, saying: "Shut up! The master is a heroic figure of today, with many important things to do. What does an ignorant woman like you know? You can't even follow the proper path for women, yet you dare to shift the blame onto the master?"

  "I'm a woman, I don't understand big things, but I'm also human, I want people to understand me, I want people to love and cherish me. When the night is deep and I wake up, I want to have a strong arm to lean on. What's wrong with that?! Your heroic master only knows how to make friends with heroes, wield swords and fight, when he comes back, he doesn't even understand romance, yet he says that 'the gentle village is the tomb of heroes' is nonsense! Then why did he marry me?!"

  Jia took a few deep breaths, her chest heaving violently, her black and shiny eyes wandering aimlessly, before suddenly falling on Yan Qing's handsome face. She smiled miserably and said: "Little Yigong, tell me the truth, is it because of you that Master treats me like this?"