Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Seeing Gao Zhao's blank expression, Gao Qiu shook his head helplessly and sighed, "I always tell you to read more books, but you only care about fooling around. In the future, when you're entertaining guests, people will inevitably say that you're ignorant and incompetent. Wouldn't that be a disgrace to the Gao family!"

Gao Zhao felt deeply ashamed, thinking to himself that if he had known he was going to travel to the Song Dynasty, he should have at least read a few of the Four Books and Five Classics when he was getting a foot massage. Not only would they be useful now, but they could also have impressed the foot massage girl.

"Your words are wise, but it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. I've decided to start studying seriously from today."

Gao Zhao has one good point: he can honestly admit his mistakes. Whether he corrects them or not is another matter...

Gao Qiu had clearly heard this kind of nonsense many times before, and didn't take it to heart at all. He waved his hand and changed the subject, asking, "What have you been up to lately? What trouble have you gotten into this time?"

"No! I've been at home the whole time these past two days, I haven't even left the house."

Gao Zhao spoke with great confidence; he really hadn't gone out these past two days. Besides, going out was pointless; it was just too exhausting…

Gao Qiu glanced at him sideways and said indifferently, "What's going on with Lin Chong? He's been loitering in front of the mansion gate these past two days!"

"Oh, this... I guess he's here to settle scores with Lu Qian!" Gao Zhao's eyes darted around, and he betrayed Lu Qian without hesitation. You want to get rich from me? How can you not take the blame when it matters?

"Looking for Lu Qian to settle scores?" Gao Qiu asked suspiciously. "I heard they were best friends, so why would they suddenly start fighting? And why is Lu Qian hiding in the manor?"

Gao Zhao's face stiffened. He hadn't expected Gao Qiu to ask such a question! You are a second-rank official of the imperial court and the supreme commander of the Three Military Guards. Do you really need to care about the affairs of a lowly instructor?

Why not use that time to figure out how to train the Imperial Guards?

This is a topic I should be the one to answer; you just need to accept it immediately! How am I supposed to answer when you keep pressing me for details? If I don't answer well, wouldn't that damage our father-son relationship?

That's incredibly low emotional intelligence, sir!

Gao Zhao thought for a moment and realized that it was unlikely that he could completely abandon the relationship, since Lu Qian was still being taken in by him.

After a slight hesitation, he replied in a low voice, "This matter, in a way, also has something to do with me..."

"Hmph!" Gao Qiu, with an air of certainty, tapped the table heavily with his fingers and coldly snorted, "Speak!"

"On March 28th, the birthday of Mount Tai, I went to the Mount Tai Temple to play and met Lin Chong's wife. We chatted for a bit. Later, Lu Qian found out about this and mistakenly thought that my wife was interested in me, so he plotted to trick me into going to his house with her. Later, Lin Chong arrived..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish speaking, Gao Qiu slammed his hand heavily on the table and roared, "On the birthday of the Eastern Peak, women go to burn incense and fulfill their vows, but you go to harass respectable women, and then you even plot to ruin their reputations! Now that Lin Chong has come knocking on our door, you still dare to try to downplay your actions and make excuses!"

"No, no!" Gao Zhao waved his hands repeatedly, hurriedly explaining, "I really didn't smear her reputation. You can ask Lin Chong if you don't believe me!"

Gao Qiu stared intently at him. Seeing his calm expression, which did not seem feigned, he guessed that he had truly failed and was therefore so composed.

His expression softened slightly. After pondering for a moment, he decided to test his eldest son and sighed, "Alas... Lin Chong's martial arts skills are not bad, and I originally had great uses for him. But after your commotion, how can I use him anymore?"

Gao Zhao was surprised to hear this and said, "That's irrelevant! I didn't insult his wife. No matter how much they said, it was just children playing around! When the adults called him over, they said they knew about it and even gave me a scolding. Naturally, he was extremely grateful and felt that he had gained the adults' favor, so he'll be devoted to them from then on!"

Seeing Gao Qiu raise his hand, he hurriedly added, "Of course, it's just talk about disciplining me; you mustn't take it seriously! If you actually lay a hand on him, it would be giving him too much face and damaging your dignity!"

Gao Qiu paused slightly as he reached for the teacup. He really wanted to slap him. Now you know how to protect my dignity? When you were being ridiculous, why didn't you think about that?

He calmed himself down and tentatively asked, "I think it would be better to hand Lu Qian over to Lin Chong. That would better win his loyalty. What do you think?"

"Absolutely not!" Gao Zhao shook his head repeatedly, saying, "That would be far too disloyal!"

"What's the value of loyalty?" Gao Qiu scoffed dismissively, saying indifferently, "Everyone in this world has a price. Lu Qian is incompetent and lacks loyalty; keeping him around is just a nuisance. He's nowhere near as valuable as Lin Chong!"

"That's not how it works! If we hand over Lu Qian today because Lin Chong is valuable, then next time we encounter someone more valuable than Lin Chong, will we hand over Lin Chong as well?"

Gao Zhao earnestly advised, "Handing over Lu Qian is a small matter; it may seem like we've made a profitable deal, but in reality, we've lost the integrity of the Gao family! It's a huge loss, sir!"

Gao Qiu turned and looked Gao Zhao up and down for a while before nodding and saying, "What you said makes sense! Lin Chong is nothing in the world anyway, so let's do as you say!"

"Your Excellency is wise!" Gao Zhao was overjoyed. This was not only about the integrity of the Gao family, but also a test of Gao Qiu's loyalty. He wanted to see how much influence his adopted son, Gao Yanei, had.

After all, his status and position all came from Gao Qiu. If he couldn't even protect Lu Qian, then he would have to be more cautious in his actions in the future.

The current results are not bad; Gao Qiu is clearly willing to listen to his advice, which means he will have more room to maneuver in the future.

After explaining the matter, Gao Qiu further admonished him, "You're not a child anymore; you mustn't act so recklessly in the future! If it weren't for my influence, Lin Chong would never have let you off so easily!"

"Your teachings are correct, sir. I have decided to reform myself." Gao Zhao said this, but in his heart he thought, "If it weren't for your power, how would Gao Yanei dare to act so recklessly?"

"How many times have you said this? I'm too lazy to investigate. Go on!" Gao Qiu had finished reprimanding him, so he waved him away and picked up the documents on the table to read without looking up.

A moment later, seeing that Gao Zhao hadn't left and was standing there looking hesitant, he frowned and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Gao Zhao hurriedly took a silver teapot from the side, poured hot water into Gao Qiu's cup, and said with a forced smile, "My lord, I overheard you talking about the matter of imperial favor outside just now, this..."

"Ha! Want to become an official?" Gao Qiu raised his head and looked at him with a half-smile.

Hearing Gao Qiu's teasing, Gao Zhao quickly became serious and said, "Actually, whether I hold an official position or not doesn't matter. My main concern is to share your burdens and serve the court!"

Gao Zhao only just remembered that when the imperial examination was in full swing, in order to become an official, besides passing the exam properly, one could also rely on one's father's connections!

Only those poor students without connections would study so hard, hoping to pass the imperial examinations with flying colors!

As for the sons of high-ranking officials like myself, our official positions are already secured from the moment we are born; all that remains is for them to be granted official titles.

The imperial examination? Ha, who in their right mind would take that kind of exam!