Chapter 4: Taking Advantage of the Situation

  "Don't tell Uncle Lu about this, I don't want to trouble him!" Gaoyuan reminded Zhang Yiyi.

  "Yes, young master." Zhang nodded repeatedly, he was just a servant of the Lu family who had sold himself into slavery, and naturally didn't dare to speak out of turn.

  "By the way Zhang Yi, what do I usually do?" Gaoyuan suddenly asked.

  "Young master usually doesn't do much, just practices martial arts, and when he has nothing to do, he goes out for a stroll, playing around everywhere." Zhang Yi replied honestly.

  As soon as he heard this, Gao Yuan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He had originally thought that he was doing something important, but after hearing Zhang Yi's words, he realized that he was actually just an idle person all along.

  "What am I supposed to live on then? Although I have Uncle Lu, I can't rely on him for support all these years!" He looked around the room, which seemed quite well-off.

  Zhang Yi couldn't help but laugh, "Although the young master's parents passed away early, the two elderly people left behind more than 100 mu of land for you. Usually, it is rented out to tenant farmers for cultivation, and the young master only needs to collect rent on time. The young master doesn't have any particularly large expenses, and there is only one person in the household, so life is quite abundant."

  It turned out that he was a landlord who collected rent without lifting a finger. Gaoyuan couldn't help but smile wryly.

  "By the way, Zhang Yi, is there still some grain stored at home?"

  "Yes, last year's leftover grains are still there!" Zhang said.

  "Go pick up a few bags and send them over to Ye Jing's house, I think they're having a tough time." Gao Yuan said.

  "Ah?" Zhang Yileng stared at Gao Yuan in surprise, "Going to deliver grain?"

  "Didn't you hear what I said? Go quickly!" Gaoyuan said angrily.

  "Yes, I'll go right away!" Zhang ran out in a flash.

  Duke Gongzi? Huo Tianliang? Gao Yuan sat on the bed, his fingers snapping loudly, the previous owner of this body was harmed by you, but since it now belongs to me, we must settle this account properly, and also avenge the former owner.

  Now that he's figured it out, the previous owner of this body is definitely dead, but for some reason, he's unexpectedly revived in this body. Since he's benefited from this opportunity, he should do something to ease his conscience. Although he doesn't know who Hao Tianliang is, in Gao Yuan's heart, this guy has already been skinned alive.

  Gao Yuan lay on his bed thinking about how to avenge himself, while at this time, Lu Hong was having a heated discussion with Wu Kai, the county magistrate of Fufeng.

  "Wu sir, I'm not afraid to tell you straight out, this loss can't be eaten in vain. Gao Yuan is like a nephew to me, and now he's been beaten half to death by Huo Tianliang and is lying in bed. If I don't put Huo Tianliang behind bars, this matter won't be settled." Lu Hong's anger was bursting forth, "Don't think that just because he ran away it's over, didn't he just run to Liaoxi City? Unless he runs to Jizhou, in Liaoxi City, old Lu still has some weight in his words."

  County Magistrate Wu Kai sighed and said, "Old Lu, old Lu, why make such a big fuss? Isn't Gao Yuan still alive? I know that Governor Taishou is your former superior, but the Huo family also has a powerful background in the county. You're not unaware of this. If things really get out of hand, both Governor Taishou and Governor Cishi will be put in an awkward position. Why don't we just downplay this matter and let it pass?"

  "No way, my nephew suffered such a huge loss, can't just let it go for nothing! If I back down this time, Huo Zhu will think I'm easy to bully. Hmph, wait and see, his son ran away, but there are still some things that can't be escaped. I'll teach him a lesson first!" Lu Hong slammed the table and turned around to leave.

  "Director Lu, stop! Stop!" Wu Kai was shocked and didn't care about the county magistrate's dignity anymore. He rushed forward and grabbed Director Lu, "Director Lu, I know what you're going to do. This can't be done, if you do it, it will really tear your face apart. This matter involves too many people. Think thrice before acting!"

  "Three thoughts of fart, my old way is just a soldier, no big deal, I'll drag my wife and children to rely on the governor, and let him be his personal soldier again, I don't believe the governor won't want me!"

  "It's not that serious, it's not that serious, just a small conflict between the young masters of the two families, why is it so serious?!" Wu Kai pulled Lu Hong and said with a smile: "To be honest with you, this time it was Huo Zhuo who asked me to come and apologize. He also knows that Huo Tianliang did something wrong, so he prepared a small gift to apologize to Lord Lu. Lord Lu, Mr. Huo has prepared 100 taels of silver as compensation for Gao Yuan's medical expenses."

  "One hundred taels?" Lu Hong snorted, "Does he think I'm a beggar?"

  "This is for Gao Yuan, and there are 500 more taels for you, Lord Lu. Lord Lu, shouldn't this fire be extinguished by now?" Wu Kai said with a chuckle.

  "Consider him lucky if he understands, otherwise I'll make sure he can't swallow his own spit!" Lu Hong nodded in satisfaction.

  "Alright, that's settled then. Tomorrow, Lord He will send the 600 taels of silver to your manor, Lord Lu. As for the Gao family, you can take care of it yourself, Lord Lu. It seems Lord He is too proud to personally go and apologize?" Wu Kai said.

  Lu Hong nodded and clasped his fists together, saying: "In that case, I'll consider the matter settled. Lu takes his leave!"

  Watching Lu Hong'ang take a big step forward, Wu Kai couldn't help but smile, good fellow Lu Hong, and took the opportunity to make a fortune.

  The sound of footsteps came from the back hall, and a stout middle-aged man walked out, "Thank you, Mr. Wu, for your kindness!" He bowed to Wu Kei until his head touched the ground.

  "It's nothing, Lao Lu is not an unreasonable person. This time you can be considered to have escaped disaster, if you really provoke Lao Lu, he will make trouble in the county, and with the governor as his backing, you won't end up well, right?"

  "It's not that Lu Hong is anything special, the key is that Governor Ta has had it in for me for a long time. If he gets the chance this time, of course he'll take advantage of it. I'd rather lose some money and avoid disaster. With Governor Ta holding military power, if he really wants to make things difficult for me, those above will only treat me as a scapegoat."

  "Your young master is really good at causing trouble, flirting with decent women on the street and even killing people. If it were an ordinary person, it would be fine, but he just had to provoke Old Lu's people. Isn't this looking for trouble? Paying out money will serve as a lesson, Lord Huo."

  "Yes, yes, Lord Wu, I won't disturb you any further, I'll take my leave!"

  "Please, please!" Wu Kai said with a smile, watching as Huo Zhu walked out with a swagger.

  "In the middle of speaking, he earned a thousand taels, it seems that this Huo Zhu is really rich! Don't look at Lu Hong's rough appearance, but he's actually very astute. After making a scene, he earned a large sum of money. If this matter were to be exposed, it wouldn't necessarily end well for anyone. At most, it would be a lose-lose situation." Wu Kai turned his head and looked at the person standing in the corner of the room, saying, "Master Xing, what do you think?"

  "What adults see is indeed true. Under the command of Governor Taishou, there are many loyal soldiers, and Lu Hong can stand out among them, stationed in Fufeng City as a county lieutenant, isn't it to control certain people's necks? If someone makes Governor Taishou dissatisfied, Governor Taishou will wave his hand, and the swords will dance here at Lu's place, and certain people will suffer greatly. Can ordinary soldiers be entrusted by Governor Taishou to stay here as nails?"

  Wu Kai shook his head. "The governor is also in a difficult position, he's also dancing on the tip of a knife. Our Liaoxi County is a border county, and the governor has thousands of soldiers to feed. The imperial court has never given us any money, I don't know how many people are eyeing this position. Fortunately, the governor has some backing in Jicheng, so he's been able to hold onto his seat. However, the governor still needs to raise military funds on his own, and it's impossible for our county alone to support them. Naturally, he'll have to take some benefits from certain people. If he takes too little, the governor won't be satisfied, but if he takes too much, those people will be dissatisfied. This is an extremely difficult thing to do. They're mutually restrictive, and Lu Hong has also seen this point clearly, which is why he's been clinging to Huo Zhu so tightly. If this matter were to spread throughout the county, the governor would naturally be overjoyed, and even if it's just a small amount of money, he'll still make sure to get his hands on it. Once the governor makes a move, those people will have to pay out a lot of blood. Compared to that, this thousand or eight hundred taels is nothing."

  The county magistrate is more cost-effective, sitting stably on the fishing platform, and whoever it is must give you face. Whoever does business must also divide some profits to come over.

  Wu Kai burst out laughing. "They all have a powerful backer in Jicheng, we can't afford to mess with them, but as the saying goes, a strong dragon doesn't oppress the local snake, and my Wu family is after all the local snake of Fufeng, so naturally we must put on a show of strength."