Gao Qiu's Teaching of His Son

When Gao Jin returned to the mansion, it was already past midnight.

The servant boy in blue robes waiting at the door saw him and hurriedly came forward, "Young master, the Grand Commandant is waiting for you in the flower hall."

"Perfect timing, I also need to speak with Old Deng."

When Gao Qiu entered the back hall of the flower hall, he was pretending to read a book.

Gao Jin asked curiously, "Old Deng, what book are you reading?"

Hearing the commotion, Gao Qiu put the book aside, rubbed his temples, and said, "This is a commentary on the Analects written by Su Dongpo. My son can read it more often; it will be of great benefit."

Mr. Dongpo? Gao Jin pondered for a moment, could it be the one who made Dongpo pork?

"Old Deng, is this the Su Dongpo who made Dongpo pork?" Gao Jin asked.

With a "whoosh," Gao Qiu picked up a book from the side and threw it at Gao Jin.

"Call me Mr. Dongpo! You scoundrel! Mr. Dongpo was incredibly kind to me in my early years, you should address me as Mr. Dongpo or Master Dongpo. How can you call me by my given name? Outsiders will think the Gao family is ungrateful!"

Gao Jin picked up the book and handed it back to Gao Qiu, saying, "Okay, Lao Deng."

Gao Qiu took the book and examined it carefully, as if it were a precious treasure. Only after confirming it was undamaged did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's all your fault, you scoundrel! You almost ruined Su Dongpo's work!"

Gao Qiu carefully straightened the book's legs, closed it neatly, and placed it on the tea table beside him with both hands before beginning to examine Gao Jin.

This sight stunned Gao Qiu, who saw that Gao Jin was neither frowning nor elated.

Unable to figure out what was going on, he simply asked, "How did things go with your matter?"

Gao Jin gave an awkward smile. He didn't know how to explain to Lao Deng that he had killed Cai Xiu, so he decided to trick Lao Deng into rescuing Lin Chong first.

Anyway, Chen's sister said that place was very remote, so no one should have seen it.

"This is a bit troublesome. We might need Old Deng to step in and save my brother this time."

Upon hearing this, Gao Qiu felt more confident, knowing that Gao Jin had run into a wall with Cai Xiu.

He calmly picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and then slowly spoke.

"I told you before, this city of Tokyo is a murky place where yin and yang are indistinguishable, and you are too young to handle it..."

"How was it? Your attempt at the 'retreat' method yielded nothing, didn't it...?"

"You are still young and only think this is a matter of youthful spite and competition. I have seen it all carefully. Without Cai Jing's power, how could a fool like Cai Xiu have the chance to make the young tiger of the Gao family bow down..."

"You must understand that 'retreating' is for building up strength to move forward. If you only know how to 'retreat,' you bastard, you'll achieve nothing sooner or later."

"In this city of Tokyo, you need to use your brain. Stop thinking you're still a young man. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, I'll ask the officials to help you find a job."

"After this, you should have made some progress... Do you understand?"

Gao Qiu had been lecturing Gao Jin until he was drowsy, but when he suddenly heard Gao Qiu ask a question, he jumped up and immediately bowed obsequiously.

"I understand!"

Gao Qiu rarely had the opportunity to educate Gao Jin, and this happened just in time, so he didn't care whether Gao Jin was listening or not, and proceeded to talk at length.

He was quite pleased with himself at this moment, and after hearing Gao Jin's reply, he stopped scolding him and instead started talking about solutions.

"I have some evidence regarding the village that was destroyed when the Cai family's West Garden was built; the whereabouts of several hundred people are unknown..."

If the evidence were useful, Lin Chong wouldn't have ended up in prison.

Gao Jin looked disdainful. "Old Deng, most people in Tokyo know about this, right? Does it even work?"

"You bastard, shut up!" Gao Qiu sneered. "Evidence is useless to others, but it's useful to me! Do you understand?"

"I don't quite understand..." Gao Jin scratched his head, "...Is it because of Old Deng, that you were able to give the evidence to the Emperor?"

"Call me Your Majesty! You scoundrel, you've infuriated me! Have you opened six orifices in your mind?"

Gao Qiu took a sip of tea. "Of course not, it's just because the Emperor trusts me. Complete disbelief versus half-belief makes a world of difference."

"In the imperial court, those officials find new ways to slander and frame each other every year. My son, tell me, what can the emperor do in this situation?"

Gao Jin suddenly thought of Werewolf. Everyone seemed to be a good person and spoke nicely, but only they themselves knew who the werewolves were.

Fortunately, there are many big data and short videos in the future, so Gao Jin immediately had an idea: "Why don't we suggest to the Emperor that we set up a special department to investigate ministers? Let's call it the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Gao Qiu glanced at Gao Jin and said, "My son is quite clever... but our Great Song Dynasty already has this office, called the Imperial City Guard."

"Then why is this still the case?"

"You scoundrel, you've been hanging around Tokyo for so long, don't you know who's in charge of the Imperial City Guard?" Gao Qiu slapped Gao Jin, clearly extremely displeased.

"Old Deng, who is it? Tell me."

"Cai Jing's henchman, the eunuch Liang Shicheng. You want Cai Jing to investigate himself? That's utterly ridiculous."

Gao Jin suddenly perked up. "Old Deng, are you perhaps going to report Cai Jing to the authorities and seek justice for the people?"

"I just praised you for having some brains, how come you're talking like a three-year-old now?" Gao Qiu glanced at Gao Jin with disdain.

"Why would I report Cai Jing? Tomorrow I'll write a formal letter, and you'll come with me to see Minister Cai, give him those things, and that will settle the matter."

"that's all?"

"Yes, that's right. The imperial court isn't like the martial arts world; there's not so much fighting and killing there. It's all about human relationships and social interactions."

Gao Qiu sighed, took a sip of tea, and said, "By the way, how did Cai Renzhi humiliate you? We must get our revenge on him tomorrow."

Gao Jin's heart skipped a beat, and he stammered, "It's nothing serious, can we not go through with Cai Xiu?"

"No! My son, are you being too soft-hearted? You should know that in this capital city, if someone insults you and I don't react afterwards, those powerful officials will think that the Gao family is easy to bully, like jackals smelling blood..."

"Your brothers can go in once, or ten times, or even a hundred times... I don't have that much evidence."

"My son, remember, in this court, you must either not give any openings, or if there are openings, you must teach those who reach out a lesson! Only when they know the pain will they not dare to push their luck."

"...Uh..." Gao Jin agreed with Gao Qiu's statement, but the key issue was...

"Um... Cai Xiu might not be able to come tomorrow," Gao Jin said anyway.

Gao Qiu looked up. "What happened? Did my son beat him up at the banquet?"

"No...no," Gao Jin gritted his teeth and said, "...that Cai Xiu insulted me too much, so I found an opportunity to kill him!"

"Crack!" Gao Qiu slammed his hand on the table, sending teacups and porcelain shards flying everywhere. His tone was chilling.

"You wretched child! Kneel down!"