Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Gao Zhao took off his armor and followed Gao Qiu into his courtroom with a nervous heart.

As soon as he entered, Gao Zhao trotted forward and blurted out, "Sir, I did hit Gong Sheng, but it was just an accident. You know how it is in martial arts competitions, swords don't have eyes..."

"What Gong Sheng?" Gao Qiu was taken aback for a moment before realizing what he meant. He frowned and said, "That happened so long ago. Gong Sheng has already recovered from his injuries. Why bring him up again..."

"Ah! How could this be? It's only been a short time, less than an hour..."

Gao Zhao exclaimed in surprise, then realized something was wrong and quickly shut up.

The father and son looked at each other silently, both realizing that they were not talking about the same thing!

"You injured him again?" After a long silence, Gao Qiu spoke first, looking him up and down to see if he was injured.

Gao Zhao scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and said, "One move, I only used one move..."

"Alright, alright!" Gao Qiu, seeing his demeanor, knew nothing was wrong and, too lazy to listen to his boasting, waved his hand and said, "I have important business with you today!"

Gao Zhao was completely bewildered; it wasn't about injuring Gong Sheng!

What could it be? And why do you look so serious?

Gao Zhao felt a little uneasy, but then he thought that he hadn't done anything wrong recently, so it shouldn't be related to him. Therefore, he became calm and said, "Please enlighten me, sir!"

"The matter at the Imperial Academy has alarmed the Emperor!" Gao Qiu's tone was very calm, but one could tell that he was deliberately suppressing his emotions.

Gao Zhao immediately realized that he was referring to the debate between righteousness and profit, and his heart sank. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "Oh, then what does His Majesty say?"

Gao Qiu glanced at him and said calmly, "His Majesty has instructed the students to nominate representatives to engage in a public debate with the Imperial Academy. His Majesty will personally attend the event!"

"Good! Truth becomes clear through debate! Debate is good, we should debate! It will save us from arguing all the time!" Gao Zhao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this result, secretly cursing Gao Qiu for being pretentious and scaring him.

"Hmm!" Gao Qiu nodded, seeing his beaming face, and then added, "The Emperor has personally selected you to participate!"

"Huh? Me? I have to participate too?" Gao Zhao pointed to his nose, looking completely bewildered, his eyes filled with disbelief.

You haven't even figured out the specific difference between righteousness and profit! How can you possibly argue with others?

You can't just go on stage and say "yes, yes, yes!"

"Ha, don't underestimate yourself!" Gao Qiu sneered. "You're a talented scholar personally recommended to the Emperor by Grand Tutor Cai!"

"Ah! Grand Tutor Cai? How did he know me!" Gao Zhao was even more shocked. How could this matter have escalated to this extent!

"Bang!"

Gao Qiu slammed his hand on the table and roared, "What happened that day is not as simple as you say! You'd better tell the truth!"

Gao Zhao was startled and instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he remembered that this matter was not ordinary and could potentially lead to someone's death, so he immediately dismissed the idea and quickly tried to recall the matter in his mind.

That day, after I heard the old man talk about righteousness and profit, I went back to the monastery to ask others about the relevant scriptures and commentaries. Then they started arguing, and I didn't say a single word!

What's more, I was also summoned to see Daishishige...

Gao Zhao was taken aback, his eyes widening instantly. He hurriedly said, "My lord, I also saw the Grand Master of the Imperial Academy and Wang Fu that day!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Qiu's pupils constricted sharply, and he immediately flew into a rage, shouting, "Why didn't you say anything about something so important before! I told you not to associate with Wang Fu, have you forgotten?!"

"My lord, I didn't!" Gao Zhao hurriedly said, "That day, a student suddenly said someone was looking for me. I only found out it was the two of them when I arrived, and they didn't even exchange a few words before letting me leave! I didn't take it seriously at all!"

"You... you're foolish! You've been used!" Gao Qiu pointed at him, wanting to scold him, but then realized it wouldn't help. He sighed, paced back and forth with a sullen face, and pondered a solution.

Gao Zhao wanted to refute him, saying that she was just innocent and didn't know their circle was so chaotic...

But thinking about it, it's better to avoid trouble. He's the one who has to solve this problem, so I'll just have to bear the humiliation for now!

Gao Qiu paused, and Gao Zhao quickly stepped forward, anxiously asking, "My lord, what should we do about this?"

"Hmph! Now you know fear!" Gao Qiu sneered, "Your reckless actions this time have likely caused Grand Tutor Cai to misunderstand!"

Gao Zhao thought to himself, "What am I afraid of!"

You bring Cai Jing right in front of me, and I can knock him down with just one hand!

Do you really think my reputation for being invincible with guns and cannons is just empty talk? Go ask Gong Sheng if you don't believe me!

Seeing that he was too frightened to reply, Gao Qiu gave up and instead began to analyze the current situation in the court for him.

"In the first year of the Daguan era, Grand Tutor Cai's second reinstatement as chancellor was orchestrated by Zheng Juzhong, who promised him a position in the Privy Council after the matter was resolved. However, this promise was ultimately not fulfilled, thus creating enmity between the two!"

"Later, Zheng Juzhong further hindered Grand Tutor Cai at every turn, and the two engaged in open and covert struggles, deepening their enmity! Your current Grand Master of the Imperial Academy, Wang Siming, is a student of Zheng Juzhong!"

Gao Zhao's eyes widened suddenly, and he said in a low voice in surprise, "Does Your Excellency mean that the mastermind behind this controversy over the debate between righteousness and profit is Zheng Juzhong and Wang Siming? What does that have to do with me? Even if I met Wang Siming, it would have been a normal teacher-student meeting, nothing wrong with it! Why would Grand Tutor Cai misunderstand?"

"Because of Wang Fu!" Gao Qiu said decisively, "This man is fickle and opportunistic. Although he is currently a member of Grand Tutor Cai's faction, he is secretly contacting Zheng Juzhong. The day he saw you, he must have wanted you to cover up his meeting with Wang Siming!"

"But he underestimated Grand Tutor Cai. This meeting not only failed to clear him of suspicion, but it also made Grand Tutor Cai suspect me as well!"

"Oh..." Gao Zhao suddenly realized, and after thinking for a moment, said, "So Grand Tutor Cai recommended me to test whether you, sir, have sided with Zheng Juzhong?"

"Not bad!" Gao Qiu nodded, quite satisfied with his quick thinking, and continued, "Since I've recommended you, then participate. Perform well, and perhaps you'll win the Emperor's favor and be rewarded with an official position!"

Gao Zhao remained unmoved by such temptation. He was a man of high moral character and would never accept such a coveted official position. Besides, he couldn't argue his way out of it...

Instead, he looked at Gao Qiu and asked curiously, "According to what you've said, the court is currently controlled by two factions: Grand Tutor Cai and Privy Councilor Zheng. May I ask which faction you belong to? That way, I can be closer to them in the future!"

Gao Qiu's face darkened, and he said sternly, "I belong to the third faction, the Emperor's faction!"

Gao Zhao suspected that he was just making empty promises to him, and his face was full of disbelief!

Gao Qiu was reluctant to explain, but fearing that his reckless actions might bring trouble, he still asked, "Why do you think the Emperor went to such lengths to appoint me as the Commander of the Palace Guard?"

In the past, Gao Zhao would have immediately retorted, "You're good at football!"

However, having been in the Song Dynasty for some time and encountered so many people and events, he knew it wasn't that simple. Just as he was hesitating about how to answer, Gao Qiu spoke up, "Because of loyalty!"

"Besides training the Imperial Guards, the Palace Guard also oversees the palace security and all the regular guards! If His Majesty wishes to emulate his father and brothers, how can he be at ease without trusted confidants in charge of these matters!"

Gao Zhao suddenly thought of the Ming emperors, who were easily soluble in water...

Seeing his astonished expression, Gao Qiu smiled slightly and said, "So, I am destined to belong to the official faction! Once I pledge allegiance to someone else, I will lose my foothold!"

Gao Zhao suddenly realized that on the day he mistakenly met Gao Qiu, Wang Fu had said so many words to win him over, but Gao Qiu had been pretending to be confused the whole time. So that's how it was!

"Go back to Biyong tomorrow!" Gao Qiu patted his shoulder and said gently, "Prepare well, don't embarrass yourself in front of the Emperor!"

"Yes!" Gao Zhao bowed in agreement, thinking of the old man in the Biyong Hall, who might be able to help him!