Chapter Fourteen: Qilin

  Recommendation from the inner courtyard: "Rebirth - Elegant and Refined", by Changjian Xiangsi. Just by the name, you can tell it's about elegant pursuits like music, chess, literature, painting, and romance... those who dislike such refined things, beware! Don't say I didn't warn you, hehe...

  After that, Gao Qiang and others wandered around the mansion for several days. One day, they were invited by Li Cheng to listen to the first performance of a new opera at the tile house, the next day they went to Guan Sheng's home to watch the actors perform, or else they would go out on the street to eat snacks, listen to storytelling, and Wang Ma Zi from the Golden Pheasant Tea House was famous for telling stories about the Three Kingdoms. Gao Qiang thought his voice was very similar to that of Shan Tingfang. Each time, he gave a reward of three or five copper coins. Anyway, with the steward of the mansion following them, all expenses were paid by Liang Zhongshu.

  Li Zhongshu was also frightened afterwards. On the first day, he let Gao Qiang go out alone, thinking that with Xu Guanzhong, a local, by his side, nothing would happen to him. However, unexpectedly, they encountered a fire at Cuifeng Building and almost got burned to death. After returning and hearing the report from his subordinates, Li Zhongshu broke into a cold sweat. From then on, he ordered both of them to take turns following Gao Qiang for twelve hours a day, not allowing any carelessness.

  On this day, Zhang Liang was holding a teapot and listening to the story of Zhao Yun's solo ride on Changban Slope, where he rescued his lord Liu Shan with his infant son in his arms. With one spear, he broke through Cao's camp, cutting down two large flags, seizing three spears, killing 54 famous generals of Cao's army, and countless nameless soldiers. Wherever the Qinghong sword went, "clothes and armor were flattened, heads rolled." The great villain Cao Cao saw this from the north slope and ordered Cao Hong to go ask for his name. Zhao Yun casually drew back his spear and replied: "I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan!"

  At this point, Wang Ma's mouth was foaming, his hands were waving wildly, and his hoarse throat seemed to be on the verge of cracking. The teahouse erupted in a chorus of cheers, with several children jumping up and down excitedly beside him.

  Gao had heard this passage countless times before, but at this moment, listening to the ancients talk about the ancients was quite enjoyable. He thought that the tendency of the Three Kingdoms story to respect Liu and suppress Cao might have been established at this time. No wonder everyone who told stories would say "Cao thief". Just as he was about to follow along and cheer, a military officer rushed in and whispered a few words into the ear of the person in charge. The person in charge then walked over with a smile and said: "Sir, my family's General has an invitation, I hope you will take a step."

  As soon as he heard this, Gao Qiang exchanged a glance with Xu Guanzhong beside him, and was secretly delighted in his heart. If Liang Zhongshu had nothing to do with him, he would not have gone to such great lengths to invite him, so there must be some urgent matter to discuss, most likely that Lu Junyi, the high-ranking official, had returned and learned of the drastic changes at home, and was asking Liang Zhongshu to come and turn things around for himself.

  He immediately agreed and stood up, instructing the butler to double the reward. He thought that after today, he would have to pack up and return home, so it was only right to hear the three countries and then return to Bianliang, making a big gesture before leaving.

  He went back to the Liushou Temple, and the gatekeeper led him to the rear hall. Liang Zhongshu was already standing at the door to greet him. Gao Qiang hastily stepped forward a few steps to pay his respects, saying: "Liang Shishu has only to give orders, just let me handle it, why bother with personal instructions?"

  Liáng Zhōngshū saw the situation and was overjoyed, he went forward with both hands to support him, and they entered the hall together, taking their seats as host and guest. Gāo Qiáng then asked: "Uncle called me here, is there something you want me to do?"

  "Ah, my worthy nephew," said Liang Zhongshu with his eyes narrowed, "on that day, your foolish uncle ordered someone to send Yang Zhi's letter to the Eastern Capital by fast horse, and it was forwarded to the Commander-in-Chief's mansion for further instructions. Your respected father is a man of decisive action, and today the reply has arrived. Yang Zhi can return to his post as the Military Director of the Imperial Guard tomorrow."

  This opening remark made Gao Qiang slightly unexpected, but this matter had been settled long ago and was only a matter of time. At this moment, Yang Zhi was not present, but was invited by the military officers of the Daming Mansion to drink wine, so Gao Qiang took over the document on his behalf and thanked Liang Shu for fulfilling the friendship with his younger brother. Liang Zhongshu had to discuss the way of loyalty and righteousness, and Gao Qiang responded with a humble "yes".

  After exchanging a few pleasantries, Liang Zhongshu cleared his throat and began to get to the point: "Worthy nephew, I recently met with a mishap at Cuilou, which must have given you quite a fright. Your uncle's care was lacking, and I almost didn't dare show my face to your esteemed father, I'm so ashamed."

  Gao Qianglian thanked him and said that his nephew was young and reckless, disappointing his elders' expectations. In fact, he spoke casually with his mouth, but in his heart, he was waiting for him to mention the three words "Lu Junyi".

  As expected, Liang Zhongshu dragged on for a while before finally turning to the main topic: "Worthy nephew, I heard that on the day of the fire at Cuicloud Building, someone saw you saving the manager Li Gu. Is this true?"

  "Ah, I did indeed rescue someone from the fire that day. However, this person seems to have been shocked out of their wits and still can't speak coherently, so we can't determine their identity or background, making it impossible to return them home. As for whether they are the Li Gu who is the steward as Uncle said, I really don't know." This was also what Gao Qiang had previously discussed with Xu Guangzhong.

  Li the Secretary knew well that he was being deceived, but did not pursue it further. He only accepted 100,000 taels of silver in bribes from Lu Junyi every year and turned a blind eye to his smuggling activities. As for inflating the price of horses when purchasing them and sharing the profits afterwards, this was a common practice that went without saying. Now that Lu Junyi had come to him for help, as long as he could protect his source of wealth, Li the Secretary did not care about anything else. He didn't want to offend Gao Qiu, who held power and influence.

  "Ah, I see. Your noble character is evident in your actions, a testament to the excellent upbringing you received from your respected father." Liang Zhongshu, an old hand at officialdom, spoke with ease: "I hear that this General Manager Li is quite knowledgeable about business matters, and Lu Junyi, the owner of Cuicui Tower, cannot bear to be apart from him for even a moment. I heard that you saved his life, would it be possible to return him to his rightful place?"

  Gao Jian smiled hastily: "If this person is indeed a servant of the Lu family, he should be returned. However, this person is still somewhat dizzy and confused, unable to speak, but there's no way to know who he actually is. What can be done about it?"

  Li the Secretary smiled and said, "That's easy enough. Lu the Third is right here; you can go see him, my worthy nephew." Since Gao Qiu was being stubborn, Li the Secretary didn't bother to argue with him, but instead simply called out for Lu Junyi to come out and settle things.

  As he spoke, Liang Zhongshu patted his hand a few times, and a person emerged from behind the screen. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that this man was over 1.8 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a robust build. He wore a cyan satin robe, a square scarf on his head, and had a pale face with a straight brow and a slight mustache under his chin. His eyes seemed to gleam with an inner light as he opened and closed them. At first glance, he appeared to be a man of great stature. Around his waist was tied a white sash, indicating that he was in mourning for a recent death in the family.

  That man took a few big strides to come before Gao Qiu, and fell to the ground in a kowtow: "Humble commoner Lu Junyi has seen High Official Gao, thank you for your righteous assistance in rescuing me, Li Kui, from the fire." His voice was clear and bright, like the sound of gold and jade clinking.

  Gao Fang took a deep breath: This is indeed Hebei's Jade Unicorn, the Three Unrivaled Lu Junyi! As the saying goes, hearing about someone is not as good as meeting them in person. Meeting them in person is even better than hearing about them. For someone like Jade Unicorn who has a reputation that shakes one side of the river, it's easy to belittle him behind his back. But when you meet the real person face-to-face, you realize that there's no such thing as an empty reputation, and that's truly impressive!

  With a strong and subtle movement, he quickly got up to support him, saying: "Lu Yuanwai doesn't have to be so polite, I've long admired Yuanwai's great name in the three northern provinces. Today, seeing you is indeed a pleasure, it satisfies my lifelong desire." However, his words were secretly sharp-tongued. When ordinary people talk behind closed doors, they can say whatever they want without worrying about consequences. But saying something like "the three northern provinces' greatest" to someone like Liang Zhongshu, the number one official in the northern provinces, is not exactly well-intentioned.

  Lu Junyi was no fool and hastily expressed his gratitude, saying something like "I'm just a humble commoner, I don't know anything, people's words on the rivers and lakes are to be feared".

  Gao Liang's face was beaming with a smile as he said, "Lu Yuanwai, when I visited your Cuilou Tower the other day, it truly broadened my horizons. Compared to the Fanlou in Eastern Capital Bianjing, it wasn't inferior in any way. Unfortunately, Zhu Rong was heartless and destroyed such a magnificent building. I wonder if you plan on rebuilding this tower?" As he spoke, he clicked his tongue repeatedly, showing extreme regret.

  Lu Junyi climbed up the pole: "The common people rely on this building for their livelihood, and half of their life's blood is in this building. They can only do their best to rebuild the Cuicloud Building. Fortunately, the Han family has some financial resources, which can be barely managed, but there are not many people to take care of it. Luckily, the yamen saved Li Gu, who is familiar with the way of running a wine shop, and he is indeed a great help to the common people. If Cuicloud Building can reopen, the yamen will have made a great contribution."

  Gao Jing listened to his words and secretly locked Li Gu in his own hands, smiling slightly: "Sir, don't worry, I did rescue someone from the fire that day, but this person seems to have been frightened out of their wits and has not regained their senses until now, so they can't identify themselves. I don't know if it's really your servant or not." Still relying on his account first.

  Lu Junyi knew he was just pretending, his family had lost so many account books and letters, how could a confused Li Guo handle it? But now the small tail is pinched in someone else's hand, and the attitude of Liang Zhongshu is also very ambiguous. This High Official lives in the Leave Guard Mansion, but actually hides a person, and Liang Zhongshu doesn't even ask questions. Every year, 100,000 strings of incense money are gone, who knows where it went? Forget it, just hold back your breath for now.

  "Your Honor, since this person is mentally unclear, can we call him out for the common people to identify?"

  "Lu Yuan was being polite, this is a small matter that can be settled with just a raise of the hand. However, after this person was rescued, he often muttered some nonsense to himself, something about tea and horses, I couldn't quite make it out. Does your esteemed household still have such business dealings?" Gao Qiang said languidly.

  Lu Junyi's expression didn't change: "The common people in my household have a hard time making ends meet, but we do have some salted tea and sheep business. Usually, it's Li Gu who takes care of the accounts. If you say so, it seems more plausible. I hope you can let me take a look." Anyway, Liang Zhongshu had tacitly approved his smuggling business, so admitting it wouldn't be a problem.

  "Who would have thought that High Strength would laugh and say: 'Oh, Lu Yuanwai is indeed a wealthy man, I want to learn some ways to make money from you. Alas, although the Eastern Capital is prosperous with all industries thriving, my father is an honest official and is very strict with me, so I am really short of money every day. If I could learn from you how to do some business to make money, I would also have a few more comfortable days.' This is openly setting a price, if you want someone, Lu Junyi, I, Gao Ya Nei, will acknowledge the money, let's settle it."

  Lu Junyi's expression changed slightly, and he stole a glance at Liang Zhongshu. However, he saw the corrupt official holding his teacup, using the lid to gently sweep away the tea leaves on the surface, as if he hadn't heard their conversation. Lu Junyi silently cursed him and forced a bitter smile onto his face: "Sir, you're overestimating me. I'm just a commoner trying to make a living by traveling around, how can I compare to your wealth and nobility? Moreover, having recently lost my wife, I've lost interest in doing business..." As he spoke, he choked back tears.

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