Unexpectedly, his reputation has spread far and wide (calling for recommendation votes to rush up the rankings)

  Yu Guozhen raised his head and looked at the sign in front of him. The three words "Gui Jia Yuan" made him a little curious.

  "Hey, young master, it's been a long time since you've come. What brings you here today?" Just as he was wondering, he suddenly heard a flirtatious laugh, and then a fragrant breeze blew in his face, wrapping around his arm, pulling him towards the inner courtyard of the house.

  This was Yu Guozhen's first encounter with this scene, but it wasn't unfamiliar to him. At the same time, he also had a clear understanding of what "Guijia Yuan" was.

  He hadn't reacted yet when Gao Er Zhuang suddenly jumped over from the side and grabbed the woman who was holding his arm, "Let go, you old lady!"

  The woman suddenly cried out in pain and was immediately kicked again by Gao Erzhu, sending her tumbling to the side.

  "Two pillars, forget it, she's just soliciting business." Yu Guozhen said at this time.

  Er Zhū finally stopped, glaring at the woman with a fierce gaze. The woman was panting heavily, having just caught her breath, and was about to burst into tears when Yú Guózhèn's hand appeared in front of her face.

  Yu Guozhen's hand also held a string of pearl bangles, those pearls although not particularly large, but rare is the uniform size.

  "Sister, I'm so sorry for being rude at home. Please forgive me and accept this small gift as a token of apology. I hope you won't mind."

  If it were someone else's young master, after hitting someone and then taking out a pearl bracelet worth several taels of silver, the woman would have to sprawl on the ground and make a scene, trying to extort more. But when the woman met Yu Guozhen's gaze, her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she felt that it was better to listen to this young man obediently. She was a person from the wind and dust, used to seeing all kinds of people, even those talented and noble men who often came to "Return Home Courtyard" rarely had such temperament!

  "It's... it's just a humble woman being rude, I don't dare accept the young master's generous gift!" The woman's eyes gleamed with awareness as she gritted her teeth and struggled to get up.

  "Take it as a reward, I won't say it for the third time." Yu Guozhen's national air was still gentle.

  The woman, however, felt an irresistible force in his tone and stretched out her hands to take the pearl bracelet. She stared blankly at Yu Guozhen for a moment before he smiled faintly and said, "I'm from Wuwei County, Luzhou Prefecture. I've just arrived in Shengze and was hoping to ask you some questions..."

  Just as he was speaking, a sudden burst of laughter came out, this laughter was slightly hoarse, but it also carried a kind of moving and charming magnetic meaning: "This young master has asked the right question, let alone Sheng Ze, even the entire Suzhou government's affairs, there are very few things that our 'Gui Jia Yuan' doesn't know."

  The speaker was a woman in her thirties, but she was dressed to perfection and looked charming and attractive, yet almost untouched by the worldly atmosphere. Yu Guo's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he nodded towards the woman: "This sister has a lot of style."

  The woman was taken aback, a renowned courtesan who had seen countless men infatuated with her beauty and heard numerous flattering words, but the young man's simple "very elegant" left her somewhat dazed. After a while, she smiled: "Young master is mistaken, I am not any sister, if you want to see sisters or younger girls, I can arrange for you..."

  Yu Guozhen smiled slightly. He knew, of course, that this woman was a madam. He shook his head slightly: "No need to go through so much trouble, I think sister is the one I want to see."

  The woman's face turned slightly red, looking shy and embarrassed. She lightly raised an eyebrow: "I'm old, my beauty has faded with age, how can I bear your teasing... May I know your honorable surname and name?"

  Her demeanor was deeply affectionate, and Yu Guozhen's heart exclaimed that this was absolutely a top-notch performance of the emperor level. Her face turned red when she said it would turn red, and her shyness showed when she said it would show. It can be imagined that in her youth, this woman must have been a stunning figure who captivated countless people in the world of love and desire.

  Yu Guozhen. As for his own name, Yu Guozhen was not evasive at all: "My sister's name is still unknown to me."

  He spoke neatly, but his tone was not rough or vulgar. In the eyes of the woman who had seen many famous scholars and rude men, he had a unique charm. The woman thought he looked quite pleasing to the eye, so she smiled and reported her own name: "My surname is Xu, my nickname is 'Fo'."

  "Xu Fo, sister." Even when bowing his head in respect, Yu Guo's waist remained straight as a pen, a habit he had cultivated over the past three years. Xu Fo saw this and had different thoughts in her eyes.

  "This young man's speech is clean and neat, with a refreshing air about him. He looks like someone who has lived among the upper class for a long time, but without that pretentious air... He claims to be from Luozhou Prefecture, but I'm afraid he can't quite pass as genuine... Could it be that he's actually a refined gentleman from the capital?"

  Xu Fo's eyes flickered slightly as he thought of this, then he stretched out his hand to invite the guest: "Yu Gongzi, please come to the elegant chamber for a chat."

  The two went upstairs, and Xu Fo invited Yu Guozhen to sit down and smiled: "Yu Gongzi came to Shengze, what's the matter?"

  She looked curious, if it were someone else, they would have already had the urge to spit it all out, but Yu Guozhen just smiled: "Want to ask about weaving things, also want to buy a few looms at home, didn't expect to bump into 'Returning Home Courtyard's' sister."

  Loom...

  Yu Guozhen's words did not dispel Xu Fo's doubts. If they were recruiting weavers, how could they have recruited her to this brothel!

  "Mother, mother, Mr. Zhang is asking to see you!" Just as Xu Fo was thinking about how to respond, a voice suddenly came from outside the door. In the Returning Home Temple, there was only one person known as "Mr. Zhang". Xu Fo's heart moved and he smiled and got up to apologize: "Young Master Yu, please wait for a moment, I'll go see the guest and be right back."

  She said it tentatively, and Yu Guozhen nodded. Not long after Xu Fo left, a maid came in and quietly poured tea for Yu Guozhen.

  "Little official, this woman is extremely rude! She's clearly talking to us, yet she goes off to see some other guest!" Gao Erzhu said in a low voice: "Do you want to make a scene and get her back?"

  Yu Guozhen glared at him, this kid's personality is much more unruly than Dazhu, wherever he goes, he wants to cause trouble. After being glared at, Gao Erzhu immediately became obedient and stood upright with his chest out.

  After waiting for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Yu Guozhen finally heard footsteps outside. The light ones belonged to Xu Fo, but the slightly heavier ones were unknown to him.

  The door was pushed open, and Xú Fó's smiling face appeared in front of Yú Guózhèn again. This time, her smile seemed more sincere, with less of a flirtatious tone: "Is Young Master Yú from Lúzhōu Wúwèi?"

  "Yes." Yu Guozhen nodded, his eyes gazing past Xu Fo's back.

  Xu Fo's junior fellow-disciple could no longer contain himself, and burst out laughing: "The other day I received a letter from Wuzi Xian-di, saying that he had been studying the practical application of Confucianism with Yu Guozhen - I wonder if it was you?"

  As the voice faded away, the man appeared before Yu Guozhen. He was not tall and had a clear and elegant face, looking to be in his thirties. Although he had a slight mustache, he did not look very old. Yu Guozhen stood up and bowed his hands towards the man, saying: "If you are Xiang An Yu Guozhen, then I am the one below - may I ask your honorable surname and name?"

  "Tai Cang Zhang Yu Zhang Qian Du." The man bowed and said: "Your humble servant has rarely met someone as talented as you, but when it comes to your younger brother, he is full of praise. He says that his manuscript was carefully studied by your younger brother for a long time, and feels that in this world, only the Dongge University scholar is worthy of competing with your younger brother's solid learning!"

  "Zhang Qiandu... it turned out to be Zhang Qiandu of the Fu She!" Yu Guozhen was also slightly moved, although he wasn't very familiar with this period of history, but he knew the name of the Fu She, and after interacting with Fang Yizhi, Fang Yizhi had also given him a crash course on the famous scholars of the Jiangnan region, and Zhang Pu was one of them!

  This man is Zhang Yu, so he immediately understood that the "Woz" Yu Guozhen mentioned must be Chen Zilong, who was on good terms with Fang Yizhi. As for the "Dongge University Scholar", Yu Guozhen had not thought of who it was for the time being.

  "Haha, I didn't expect that Yu Guozhen, who was praised by both Wuzi and Fang Mi, would be only this young... He is indeed a prodigy! Zhang Pu saw Yu Guozhen's face still with a hint of childishness and sighed: "I heard that Brother Guozhen led his family's servants to ambush the water bandits and personally killed the enemy, is this true?"

  Yu Guozhen had already figured out how Zhang Yu knew him. He and Chen Zilong were close friends, often coming and going, while Chen Zilong was also very familiar with Fang Yizhi. Fang Yizhi might have told Chen Zilong about his own affairs, and Chen Zilong in turn told Zhang Yu. This roundabout relationship actually connected him to the founder and leader of the Revival Society at the end of the Ming dynasty.

  "It's true, but it was just over 20 pirates, not worth mentioning." Yu Guozhen smiled and said: "I've long heard Brother Mi talk about Mr. Xi Ming's great name. When I came to Shengze via Suzhou, I specifically went to see the 'Five People's Tomb Stele' written by you, but I never thought I'd meet you here!"

  He was only sixteen years old, although he was considered relatively tall among southerners and could be mistaken for eighteen or nineteen years old. Zhang Yu was already over thirty at this time, and his reputation was extremely loud among the literati of the world. Yu Guozhen's attitude towards him was still humble.

  Zhang Yu sighed again: "The younger generation is to be feared, the younger generation is to be feared... More than 20 water bandits... I have been in spiritual communion with my brother for a long time, so don't call me Mr. anymore, I'm older, just call me brother!"

  Without waiting for Yu Guozhen's response, he turned to Xu Fo and said: "Fo'er, do you know that my younger brother has done great things in Luzhou?"

  Xu Fo's eyes lit up, and although she knew it was just her professional habit, Yu Guozhen couldn't help but feel a little proud. Her gaze, which was both charming and slightly disdainful, swept across Yu Guozhen's face before turning to Zhang Pu: "Mr. Xi Ming, tell Buddha about it. Although I felt that this Mr. Yu is extraordinary at first sight, I still don't know what his accomplishments are!"

  Zhang Yu recounted the story of Yu Guozhen's ambush and killing of the water bandits, which he had read in Fang Yizhi's letter. However, his retelling was vivid and exaggerated. Xu Fo listened with a changed expression, gazing at Yu Guozhen with a different look in his eyes. Then, clapping his hands, he said: "Such an achievement - how can we not drink to it?"

  The applause had just fallen when a maid came in immediately, and cups, plates and dishes were presented like the wind, and the wine was filled up for everyone again.

  (Note: Let Zhang Yu return to the south ahead of time, and historians will not investigate further.)

  I'm shameless again seeking votes dividing line

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  (PS: In the past, I used to ask for votes in the chapter comments, but later found out that unless readers pay attention, chapter comments are not noticed by many people... That's frustrating. I said this week there will be a strong push for classification, but how come the recommendations don't seem to increase? If you think this book is still worth reading, please collect, click and recommend it, or else I'll have to write a segment asking for votes...)