Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Xuan Zan left the training ground with an embarrassed smile, his face looking extremely awkward, which made his already ugly face look even worse!

Gao Zhao watched him leave with a calm expression, but his eyes were icy cold.

I was humiliated by an ugly person today!

It's not that he can't accept defeat, but Zhou Ang treated him like an animal, so why was he angry?

It's just a matter of scolding him a few times!

Lu Zhishen, that brute, was always ready to fight him. Did he get angry?

No! At most, I'd just ridicule him a bit!

And then there's that treacherous old minister Gao Qiu... let's just leave him be...

In short, this young master has the magnanimity to handle anything!

But then again, Zhou Ang was acting under orders, while Lu Zhishen was just being himself!

But on what basis does he praise it?

He's so ugly, yet he works in officialdom. Doesn't he understand any social etiquette?

Is it that he truly doesn't understand, or that he disdains to show worldly wisdom to this young master?

This is debatable!

Although the young master is magnanimous, it doesn't mean he has no temper!

Xuan Zan, that ugly devil, is the most cunning. Before the sparring match, he repeatedly refused, but before the fight even started, he first showed weakness to make me, the young master, underestimate him, and then he delivered a ruthless blow!

What else could this be but deliberate humiliation?

Let me practice my martial arts some more, and I will definitely avenge this great grudge!

The person who looked down on me last time was named Gong Sheng. You can ask the Imperial Guards what happened to him!

Oh, and I should also mention this to Gao Qiu. Who knows if Xuan Zan was acting under someone's orders, or if there's some kind of conspiracy behind it!

After all, Gao Qiu was not the only one in the Three Offices; the various forces were intertwined and complex, so we had to be careful!

With this thought in mind, Gao Zhao, who was already exhausted, felt a surge of power within him and began training again according to Zhou Ang's training methods.

When he was drenched in sweat and exhausted from training, Gao Zhao collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. He looked up at the sky and then opened the control panel to check.

Name: Gao Zhao

Gratitude Points: 48

Intelligence: 69+/100

Strength: 50+/100

Physical fitness: 56+/100

Agility: 51+/100

Skills: Calligraphy (Mastery), Martial Arts (Beginner), Berserk

Last time, in order to conquer Xiangnu, I added a little bit of her physique. In the following days, I only gained a few points of gratitude. The rest of my attributes didn't change at all, which shows how lazy I've been during this period!

Without hesitation, Gao Zhao added more points to his physique, reset his physical condition, and then leaped up, stretching his muscles and bones, making soft cracking sounds.

He could feel that he had become stronger again!

His improved physique gave him greater endurance, and this time, even the guards in the mansion couldn't bear to watch him train so hard that they repeatedly came forward to advise him to be more restrained.

Gao Zhao glanced at them, too lazy to even acknowledge them. This was the first time anyone had advised him to exercise restraint in this regard!

When he was training in the military camp, Zhou Ang never advised him like this, which shows that these people are useless and far inferior to Zhou Ang!

If you want to be better than others, you have to be more ruthless than others, especially when it comes to yourself. How can you always feel sorry for yourself and make excuses for yourself?

Look at Lu Junyi, he neglected his wife in order to practice his skills and had his steward take care of her. That's why his martial arts skills are the best in the world, and he is a unique talent in the entire Liangshan!

I, Gao Zhao, am even stronger than him. I don't even have a wife, so there's no reason why I'm inferior to him!

This time, he practiced until the sun was setting when a pop-up window suddenly appeared before his eyes, indicating that his physique had finally improved!

As Gao Zhao watched the afterglow of the setting sun spread across the training ground, he suddenly threw away the stone lock, gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently, and burst into laughter.

Once all attributes reach fifty, it becomes much more difficult to improve them further, but hard work pays off, and he succeeded!

Gao Zhao wiped away his sweat and walked back in the afterglow of the setting sun. The gloom of being defeated by Xuan Zan was swept away, and the positive feedback from the panel attributes made him full of confidence!

As long as I strengthen my training, it won't be long before I can surpass him!

The mere praise is but a small pebble on the road ahead; it can be kicked away with a single kick and is not worth worrying about!

He strode along when he suddenly saw Qian Bao'er and Li Qiaoniang walking towards him, looking at them with a smile.

When Qian Bao'er saw him, she remembered the cold reception she received yesterday, so she gave a perfunctory bow and turned her head away from him.

Li Qiaoniang blushed, unable to help but recall his previous words about "mutual affection." Her heart pounded, and she bowed shyly, saying, "Greetings...Greetings...Young official..."

Gao Zhao watched with a smile as the two shadows were stretched long by the setting sun, their shadows changing dramatically with the slightest movement, which was quite amusing.

Especially Li Qiaoniang, whose figure was already full-figured, her silhouette was even more prominent in the shadow, and when she bowed, she appeared even more graceful.

Gao Zhao raised his hand and stretched it forward slightly, and the shadows of the two people overlapped. He subconsciously clenched his fist a few times, as if he were really making a lewd gesture towards Li Qiaoniang.

After Li Qiaoniang finished her greetings, seeing that he did not respond, she instinctively followed his gaze.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, taking two steps back, covering her chest with her hands, her face flushed red.

"What's wrong?" Qian Bao'er turned around and asked quickly upon hearing the voice.

Li Qiaoniang opened her mouth but didn't know how to answer. She couldn't very well say that the other party had made a disrespectful gesture towards her shadow!

"N-nothing..." she stammered, shaking her head, her face turning even redder.

Qian Bao'er glanced at her suspiciously, then turned to Gao Zhao and said, "Young Master, if there's nothing else, we'll be leaving!"

Gao Zhao waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and do what you need to do! I still have something to say to Qiaoniang!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiaoniang lowered her head, her ears turning bright red, her fingers tightly twisting the plain silk handkerchief at her waist. She kept moving to hide behind Qian Bao'er, her heart pounding.

She had clearly seen Gao Zhao's actions just now, and considering that he had previously used an excuse to make her pick pomegranates...

Now that he wants to talk to me alone, what will he say, what will he do...?

She felt both ashamed and flustered, and dared not think any further. Yet, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say no, and a faint sense of anticipation lingered in her heart...

Qian Bao'er was even more furious when she saw Gao Zhao's dismissive attitude. Last time, Gao Zhao had taken liberties with her and forcibly kissed her. Now, he was acting like this again. Who did he take her for?

Are they supposed to come when called and leave when dismissed? That's outrageous!

Qian Bao'er put her hands on her hips and said angrily, "Get out of my way right now! If you harass Qiao Niang again, I'll report you to the Kaifeng Prefecture!"

"Go ahead and sue me!" Gao Zhao said nonchalantly. "You'll be at Kaifeng Prefecture one minute, and I'll take Qiaoniang as my concubine the next. What can you do about it?"

"You...you shameless!" Qian Bao'er exclaimed angrily, "Did you even ask Qiao Niang's opinion? Who would want to be your concubine?!"

"Then how do you know Qiaoniang doesn't want to?" Gao Zhao retorted sharply, "You're not her mother, did you ask her?"

"You..." Qian Bao'er was speechless for a moment, then turned to the shy girl behind her and said, "Qiao Niang, tell her quickly that you don't want to! Qiao Niang, say something!"

Li Qiaoniang's heart was pounding in her chest; she was so embarrassed she couldn't lift her head. Hearing Qian Bao'er's question, she covered her face and said, "You two are arguing, and you have to drag me into it!"

After saying that, he stomped his foot and staggered away.

Qian Bao'er was stunned for a moment, then turned to glare at Gao Zhao. Just as she was about to scold him for talking nonsense, Gao Zhao took the initiative and pulled her into his arms.

"Now that no one's bothering us, let me give my baby a good kiss!"

Before Qian Bao'er could react, he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.

Qian Bao'er's big eyes widened even more, filled with panic and...shyness...