Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Gao Zhao finally woke up.

He is currently weak and very sleepy, but because he is so weak, he cannot sleep soundly. Therefore, he sleeps very uncomfortablely, and when he wakes up, he is sleepy again and very irritable!

Struggling to get up and dress, he felt that nothing looked right to him. The servant heard the noise and brought in the medicine that had been decocted. He was stunned when he saw Gao Zhao.

"What are you doing, looking so sullen?" Gao Zhao said irritably, "Get to the point!"

The servant shrank back, pointed at Gao Zhao's clothes, and said, "Rebellion!"

"What's inside out?" Gao Zhao looked down at his clothes impatiently, then at the servant who kept gesturing, and after a long while he suddenly realized that he meant the hem of his clothes was inside out.

When a garment is closed on the right, it is called a right-fastening garment; when it is closed on the left, it is called a left-fastening garment. Wearing loose hair and fastening the left-fastening garment is used to describe barbarians!

He got it backwards just now. He studied it for a long time last night but didn't notice this detail. He's not from this era after all; he seems out of place in every way!

He quickly corrected himself, took the medicine bowl, and drank it all in one gulp. Then he complained, "I slept so badly last night that I was so dizzy and disoriented that I even wore the wrong clothes."

The servant clearly didn't care, taking the empty bowl and smiling, "The Grand Commandant is off today. He just sent someone to tell you to come to his study to see him when you wake up!"

Gao Zhao's spirits lifted instantly; he was finally going to see Gao Qiu!

He was also very interested in this legendary treacherous minister, who was said to have originally been a dissolute young man from Dongjing (Kaifeng) who, by chance, caught the eye of Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) and became a minister in the prince's residence.

After Zhao Ji became emperor, he rose rapidly through the ranks and became the top military officer.

Gao Zhao was very curious about this. Just how good did a person have to be at playing football to achieve such success?

If we follow this logic, then the treatment of football players in later generations was indeed too low!

After quickly washing up, he had the servant lead the way to the study.

Along the way, he kept thinking about what attitude he should take when he met Gao Qiu. According to the book, Gao Yanei was still very afraid of Gao Qiu, so should he also show a timid and hesitant appearance?

It's a pity I haven't studied acting. If I had known this would happen, I would have read the whole book "An Actor Prepares" when I was getting a foot massage.

"Young Master, we've arrived!" As they pondered, the two came to a house. The servant stopped a short distance away and gestured for Gao Zhao to come forward alone.

Gao Zhao nodded, walked to the door, and was about to knock when he heard voices coming from inside.

"Grand Tutor Cai has been reinstated as Chancellor for over a year, and last year he assisted the Emperor in completing the reform of official positions. Now he's starting to target salt and tea. Within ten days to half a month, the Secretariat will surely issue an edict abolishing the existing salt and tea permits!"

"The Emperor, inheriting the ambitions of his father and elder brother, is determined to make progress, and naturally needs financial support. Grand Tutor Cai's actions are for the greater good, even if it means the common people suffer!"

"During the Yuanfeng era, Zhang Zihou vigorously promoted the salt monopoly law, but when he became prime minister during the Shaosheng era, he frankly admitted that the salt monopoly law had harmed the people too much. Now, however, this law is shining brightly in the hands of Grand Tutor Cai!"

"Hehe... I don't know that..."

……

Gao Zhao quietly took a few steps back and stood with his hands at his sides. The conversation between the two sides had gone on for so long that it was probably about to end!

Sure enough, not long after, the door opened wide, and a blond man with golden eyes, a lion's nose, and a wide mouth walked out of the room, followed by a tall, thin middle-aged man who greeted him with a smile.

As the man passed by Gao Zhao, he glanced at him. Gao Zhao quickly bowed and greeted him. The man nodded slightly and took out a jade pendant from his pocket and handed it to him.

Gao Zhao was taken aback, not understanding what he meant. The middle-aged man who came later sternly reprimanded him, "This was a gift from Vice Minister Wang. Why aren't you thanking him?"

"Thank you for the reward, Your Excellency!" Gao Zhao hurriedly accepted it with both hands.

The man nodded and said, "His appearance is quite good, but his physique is a bit weak. If he doesn't want to pursue a military career in the future, he could switch to a civil service position!"

"Haha... Your Excellency flatters me!" The middle-aged man stepped forward and replied, "My son is unruly and incapable of great responsibility. How could he possibly choose for himself? If, in the future, His Majesty were to grant him a sinecure, it would be an incredible stroke of luck!"

The man smiled, said nothing more, and strode forward. The middle-aged man followed to see him off, glancing at Gao Zhao before saying indifferently, "Wait for me in the study!"

"Yes!" Gao Zhao recognized the man as Gao Qiu, responded, and watched the two walk away before turning to go to his study.

Entering the study, Gao Zhao saw bookshelves lined with all kinds of books. He picked up a book, which was Zheng Xuan's commentary on the Book of Songs. He flipped through it and felt dizzy. He pursed his lips and put it back.

"Can you even understand it? With so many books, it's mostly just for show, a pretentious display of refinement!" Gao Zhao was used to projecting his own experience onto others. He didn't believe anyone would actually read such obscure and difficult things, especially someone as ignorant as Gao Qiu!

Hilarious! This person always likes to show off what they lack most!

He then turned to look for other books. This world was so boring, and his body was too weak to enjoy any entertainment. So he decided to find a couple of storybooks to read. Although they weren't as rich and exciting as those from later generations, they were better than nothing.

After searching around without finding it, he looked towards the desk, where such books are usually kept in a more private place.

After searching around, they found no storybook, but instead found an official document. Upon opening it, they discovered it was an official document appointing Gao Qiu as the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Guard.

Only then did he learn that Gao Qiu's full official titles were: Commander of the Palace Guard, Military Governor of Fengguo Army, Duke of Bohai Commandery, with a fief of 2,000 households and a real fief of 900 households.

Moreover, the evaluation of him was very high. It not only said that he "once served in the capital and always upheld integrity", but also compared him to Song Chang during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han and Wang Chang during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han.

Although Gao Zhao didn't know who these two people were, he figured they must be very powerful figures!

It is common knowledge that the emperor's edicts were not written by himself, but were drafted by specially appointed court officials, which shows that Gao Qiu's achievements were obvious to all!

He thought to himself, "This Gao Qiu is definitely not as useless as he is portrayed in the book. He can rise to power by playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football)!"

Playing football is just one of his skills, not his only skill!

Gao Zhao couldn't help but feel wary. He knew his own worth; he could get away with being clever in ordinary times, but he was definitely no match for these old foxes!

Thinking of this, he quickly put the official document back, and just as he was about to restore it, he heard a voice: "What are you doing!"

Gao Zhao froze, looked up, and saw Gao Qiu standing in front of the door, coldly watching him. Feeling guilty, he shrank back and said with an awkward laugh, "I was looking for a book to read..."

"You still think of reading?" Gao Qiu sneered, striding over and glancing at the mess he'd made of the desk. He then looked at the timid Gao Zhao and frowned, saying, "Mencius said: 'When speaking to a great man, treat him with contempt!' Look at the state you're in now!"

Gao Zhao was bewildered. What did that mean? He didn't understand. Was he being told to look down on him?

No, why are you using slang all of a sudden?

PS: The evaluation of Gao Qiu comes from the imperial edict in the seventh year of the Zhenghe era, which appointed Gao Qiu as Grand Commandant and his father as Military Governor. This is adapted here.