Chapter Thirteen: Night Talks Two

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  Looking at Gao Qiang's appearance of patting the railing, Xu Guanzhong couldn't help but smile: "Sir, you actually cherish that Jia daughter so much?"

  Gao Jian was there, sighing. Being asked by him, he became somewhat embarrassed: "Uh, this... isn't quite it, it's just that this matter is really strange, a beautiful woman was forced to wither away, that...". However, what he was sighing about, he couldn't quite put his finger on. If he said it was for the status of women in this era, it wouldn't be quite right - if Miss Jia were a fierce beast, the official would probably not have been so sentimental.

  "Come to think of it, how did you find out about Lu Junyi's secret illness, Guan Zhong?" Gao Qiang suddenly thought of this question.

  Xu Guanzhong smiled: "This is still thanks to the blessing of Madam Jia. My brother Yan Qing was bound by the master-slave relationship and refused Madam Jia, but in fact, he was not without feelings. Afterwards, he lingered in the brothel, mostly to dispel the bitter feeling in his heart, and that's how he got the reputation as a 'playboy'."

  "Oh? Such a thing exists?" The curiosity of the people is most intense in this romantic affair, no matter how much time and space are crossed, it does not diminish. When Gao Fang heard that Yan Qing, such a romantic figure, had another hidden story beneath his charming appearance, he was as if he had just found out that his idol had already had a girlfriend, and immediately became very concerned.

  Xu Guanzhong couldn't help but feel a little amused by this, and his previously tense face relaxed a bit: "I know Yan Qing like a brother, and I'm aware that he's a kind-hearted person. Although he appears to be a charming ladies' man on the surface, he's actually quite shy inside. Since childhood, he was adopted by Lu Da, and he has always been loyal to his master's family. In his heart, his mistress is naturally an unattainable figure like a celestial fairy. During those days when they lived together, laughing and chatting, Xiao Yi's feelings gradually changed, but if it weren't for that night when Madam Jia confessed her feelings to him, Xiao Yi might have never realized that he had romantic thoughts about his mistress."

  “……” shocking secret, shocking secret! Gao Qiang was like he had heard the most secretive gossip news, his eyebrows were about to fly up: What happened next could be guessed with a toe, Yan Qing realized she had fallen in love with someone she shouldn't, and her heart was filled with bitter frustration, so she indulged in sensual pleasures to numb herself, trying to bury this feeling. But who knew that this emotional matter couldn't be suppressed by mere thought, on the contrary, the more one avoided it, the faster it grew, especially for such a forbidden emotion. Xiao Yige's heart was filled with bitter self-mockery during his indulgence in sensual pleasures.

  Hehe, one day, when you realize that you've fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have, this feeling is the most deadly - is that what they say?

  "Then Yan Xiao Yi hid from Lu Da Guan Ren the fact that Li Gu had an affair with their master's wife, and he must have felt guilty towards his master too?" Gao Qiang immediately began to think of possibilities.

  Xu Guanzhong glanced at him sideways, shook his head and said: "This is not to be known. It was only that night after Xiao Yi learned about Li Gu's affair with the mistress, he brought a jar of wine to find me, didn't say a word and got drunk, blurting out the whole secret matter in a daze. I only found out then. The next day he had already forgotten what he said, and I never mentioned it again, fearing that Xiao Yi still thinks this is an unspoken secret."

  Seeing Guan Zhong's expression, he knew there wouldn't be any gossip news to hear and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He then thought: "Guan Zhong, you're not here specifically to explain Jia's daughter's secret affair to me, are you?" Looking at Guan Zhong's talented appearance, Yan Qing was also his sworn brother, he probably wasn't that boring of a person.

  Xu Guanzhong smiled slightly: "May I ask, sir, you went to Lu Da's house today and brought back these account books and letters. What do you plan to do with them?"

  "Hmm..." Gao Qiang hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said: "To be honest, I have some grand ambitions. The Lu family's wealth is quite substantial, it's worth making use of." He had been in the Northern Song Dynasty for some time now, and his speech had also become more pretentious. In reality, he just wanted to take advantage of the situation to extort money.

  Xu Guanzhong smiled again: "May I ask, sir, can this Lu Daquan's smuggling of salt and horses be considered a real handle?"

  Gao Qiu was taken aback: "What is Guan Zhong saying? In our dynasty, the law of banning private salt and tea trade has been strictly enforced. Lu Junyi smuggled salt from Liao State and exported tea in large quantities. Isn't this enough to be considered a crime? If it's up to the officials to handle, I'm afraid he'll be punished severely, possibly even exiled 2,000 miles away."

  But Xu Guangzhong slightly shook his head and said, "Not so, the yamen only knows one aspect but not the other. The price of salt in the northern regions is relatively low, and smuggling has long been rampant among the people, as Zhang Fangping, a scholar of the Ren Song era, once said: 'Before the monopoly, the thieves in Hebei were already smuggling, if the monopoly was enforced, then the salt would be expensive, and the Khitan salt would sell even better. This is to say that the smuggling channels have been established, and many officials and people in Hebei think it is profitable. If the salt ban is strictly enforced, I'm afraid it will only increase the profits of smuggling, and only benefit the Liao salt."

  It was after the Renzong Emperor's reign that the salt ban in Hebei became a mere formality. All officials on the roads, even those responsible for catching thieves and bandits, would gather together to accept bribes and engage in corrupt activities, allowing civilians to smuggle and transport salt privately. Moreover, it wasn't just salt; many cattle and sheep from the north were also being secretly sold into our great Song Dynasty. In Bianjing alone, tens of thousands of sheep are consumed each year - how could official markets possibly handle such a large quantity?

  Gao Jian had already heard this and was stunned, smuggling could be so rampant, Xiao Lai couldn't even compare to him! But he still wasn't willing to give up: "Even if selling salt can't bring him down, what about selling horses?"

  "Foolish!" Xǔ Guànzhōng said sternly: "Our dynasty has been lacking good horses for a long time, and the two countries of Liao and Xia in the north strictly control the entry of fine horses into the south. If Lu Da can really import thousands of fine horses from the north every year, I ask you, apart from the military, who would dare to use so many horses? I'm afraid that every year when Lu Da returns with his horse imports, the first thing he does is report to the governor's office to hand over the horses."

  "This...". Gao was speechless, if Liang Zhongshu really had a way to deal with Lu Da Guanren, he himself would be at a loss. Could it be that this time, apart from driving Jia Meiren to death, they would gain nothing and still have to worry about how to deal with Li Gu? However, Gao was not stupid either. What Xu Guanzhong said made sense, after all, you can't just pour cold water, you also need to come up with some constructive opinions: "Guanzhong, what do you suggest I do?"

  Only to see Xu Guangzhong unhurried: "The yamen doesn't have to worry, there is already a plan in place. Just now, Guangzhong had asked Li Gu about the situation, and it's not convenient for Lu Junyi to openly transport salt and horses. The salt is easy to handle, just need to spend some money and transport it from the imperial river, but those thousands of fine horses from the north are quite eye-catching. If the Liao State finds out that our Song Dynasty is secretly buying horses, we can't avoid a dispute, and although the court won't have any big problems, Lu Junyi will be in trouble, so every time he transports them, he has to rack his brains.

  Guan Zhong often discussed with the official, and once heard the official mention the Mengzhou Happy Forest affair. Under the name of the Palace Guard, they protected merchants and travelers, which was a clever move. The local bullies and corrupt officials did not dare to cheat each other, saving the merchants a large sum of money, making it a good deal.

  With a surge of strong spirit, he said with relish: "Guan Zhong, speak your mind freely for me."

  "Think of Lu Da Guan, who travels to various places every year for business. He must have used countless soft and hard tactics to get through the many roads he has taken. If he could borrow the great banner of the Temple Commander's Mansion, I'm afraid it would be impossible to refuse? The commander-in-chief in front of the temple is in charge of the military, and sending horses and military supplies is a trivial matter. Who dares to make a fuss? As long as the mansion puts out this sign, will Lu Da Guan still dare not comply?"

  Gao Jianxi was overjoyed upon hearing this, but suddenly thought of something: "Guan Zhong, your sworn brother Xiao Yigong is also aware of this matter and has been loyal to Lu Daquan, could he be the one causing trouble in between?"

  "Yuanzhong is confused again." Xuguang Zhong spoke bluntly to him: "Xiao Yi has feelings for Jia's daughter, and personally witnessed her miserable death in the great fire at Cuilou, how can he not be indignant and speechless? How can he not resent Lu Daifu? Even if he still serves Lu Daifu out of loyalty, this grand mansion is probably not a place that makes him happy. Why doesn't Yuanzhong take this opportunity to recruit Xiao Yi?"

  Overjoyed and surprised, to have a subordinate like Yan Qing who is intelligent, brave and loyal, it's everyone's dream, just like playing Three Kingdoms games and wanting to recruit Zhao Yun. But things came too quickly, and he didn't dare to confirm: "Guan Zhong, can you tell me in detail?"

  Xu Guanzhong smiled and said, "Can you put yourself in Lu Daquan's shoes for a moment? This official returned from Xiong State to find that his own Qingyun Building had been burned down by fire, and his wife had also perished inside. Although he was rid of an eyesore, it still troubled him deeply. At this point, Xiao Yi told him that the account book had been seized by the yamen and Li Zongguan had been arrested. How would you feel if you were in Lu Daquan's position?"

  Gao Jian thought for a moment and said, "If I were in his shoes, at this moment I would find someone who can calm down the commander of the Imperial Guard, and that person would be none other than Liang the Defender."

  Xu Guanzhong clapped his hands: "The yamen said it's right! This Lu Junyi is the richest man in Hebei, and he's also transporting salt and horses on a large scale, which is an eyesore. If you say that there's no connection between him and the governor, I'm afraid even he himself wouldn't believe it. However, the current situation is special, and the governor wants to make friends with the old marshal because of the matter of Cai Xianggong's return to power. How could he possibly offend the yamen over this small matter? It's naturally a case of 'one size fits all', at most they're just probing the yamen's attitude to see how to get past this hurdle."

  "It makes sense!" Gao Qiang also followed his train of thought: "At this time, I just need to keep a low profile and say that there's no difficulty in doing so. Everything is because of Li Gu's mischief, trying to cover up his own treachery by accusing the master's family first. Lu Da Guan Ren is transporting fine horses from the north for the country, and I admire him very much. I want to make friends with him and use the name of our Temple Commander's mansion to transport horses together, so that we can all contribute to the country."

  "If Lu Da officer agrees, it will naturally be a great auspicious sign. For the likes of Li Guo who seeks to gain fame by selling out, I won't let him off lightly within the yamen. Please follow me on the road, and we'll settle accounts with one knife in a secluded place. Xiao Yige is indeed a righteous man for taking revenge as the master, but since he has committed the serious crime of murder, this mansion will naturally not be able to stay. It's better to temporarily avoid it at my commander's mansion." As he spoke, a sinister smile appeared on Gao Qiang's face.

  Xu Guanzhong also sneered: "If Lu Daquan is obstinately ignorant, then sorry to say, the upright and just Governor Liang will not tolerate any deceit. How can he let off those treacherous merchants who have destroyed the salt and tea laws? They will naturally be punished by having their homes confiscated and being sent to the army. The righteous scholar Li Gu has rendered great merit in reporting this crime and should receive a heavy reward. Who is light and who is heavy, Lu Daquan should know what to choose."

  The two of them exchanged a glance and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

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