Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

"Senior brother, you mustn't act impulsively..."

Lin Chong knew the power of the Beggars' Clan. Seeing Lu Zhishen leave without a care, he hurriedly tried to chase after him, but Gao Zhao pulled him down.

"Young master, what are you doing...?"

Gao Zhao sneered, "You scared Lu Qian away, now I have no one to protect me. You have to stay and protect me!"

Lin Chong then remembered Lu Qian, but when he turned around, Lu Qian was nowhere to be seen. He said helplessly, "Young Master, you know how badly Lu Qian tricked me! It's only natural that I seek revenge!"

"I know, so I don't blame you!" Gao Zhao shrugged. "But the problem now is that I have no one to protect me! Going out of the city is so unsafe!"

Lin Chong looked conflicted, and patiently said, "But I have something to attend to right now and can't get away. That senior brother is known for his chivalry; if he really clashes with the Beggars' Clan, I'm afraid he'll suffer!"

"I don't care! Anyway, you're the one who got rid of my guards. If anything happens to me, you'll be responsible!" Gao Zhao turned to Gao Yi and the other man, saying shamelessly, "You both saw it. Lin Chong drove Lu Qian away and now he doesn't care about him at all. If he encounters danger when he leaves the city today, it will definitely be related to him!"

Fu An nodded repeatedly, saying, "It's possible he colluded with thieves to deliberately plot revenge against the young master!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhao clapped his hands and laughed, "Oh dear, now that you mention it, my thinking is much clearer! That's quite possible! First, they use a pretext to remove my guards, then they send thieves to assassinate them! What a vicious scheme!"

Lin Chong was trembling with rage. "I was right here! In broad daylight, under the open sky, they're just making baseless accusations!"

He was filled with grief and indignation. "I, Lin Chong, am a fine man with great skills, yet I am not given any important position and instead suffer this filth under the hands of this villain!"

"Fine, let's go!" Gao Zhao mounted his horse and waved his hand, saying, "Lin Chong, if we get away unscathed today, that's fine. But if we encounter any villains, hmph, don't say I didn't warn you!"

Having said that, Gao Zhao spurred his horse to leave.

Lin Chong glanced at the street corner where Lu Zhishen had disappeared, then at Gao Zhao, and sighed, "Young Master, wait a moment, I'll go!"

"Ah, that's more like it!" Gao Zhao, sitting on his horse, shook his head and lectured, "Instructor Lin, you're a fine young man too. Spending all your time with these scoundrels is a waste of your prime!"

Lin Chong was stunned, a sense of panic rising in his heart. He had actually been lectured by such a spoiled brat. He should take a good look at himself!

He suppressed his resentment and patiently explained, "Young master, you don't know, that senior brother is extremely generous and righteous, definitely not some scoundrel!"

Gao Zhao shook his head and said, "Lin Chong, you are highly skilled and have superb martial arts. As the instructor of the Imperial Guards, you spend your days loitering in the streets. Look at the time of day, and you're already drinking at Fanlou. Is this something a respectable person should be doing?"

These words struck a chord with Lin Chong. He was proud of his abilities, but he had nowhere to use them and could not express his feelings freely. He was also being bullied by this scoundrel of a high-ranking official. He was extremely frustrated!

"Nowadays, the Imperial Guards are lax in their military preparedness, and many soldiers are not interested in training. Instead, they have gone to learn miscellaneous skills to curry favor with their superiors. What can I, a mere instructor, do..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly remembered who this person was, and quickly stopped, cupping his hands in apology, saying, "Please forgive me, young master, I misspoke!"

Gao Zhao waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's alright. I know you can't stand this mess and you're feeling down! Let me ask you, did the Imperial Guards only start to fall into disrepair today?"

Lin Chong pondered for a moment and said, "No, I've heard that during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, there were instances of soldiers using unusual skills and tricks to gain merit!"

Gao Zhao nodded, glanced at him sideways, and said calmly, "So, this kind of vulgarity is so deeply ingrained that it's beyond redemption. Can you solve it?"

Lin Chong smiled wryly and said, "My official rank is too low; how could I possibly solve this?"

"You're wrong again!" Gao Zhao shook his head, looked at him and smiled, "This kind of custom is deeply ingrained and difficult to change; how can it be changed by an official position! In the past, when Prince Shu reformed the laws, he faced tremendous resistance! Yet, in the 150 years of the Song Dynasty, there was only one Prince Shu!"

Lin Chong was stunned, his eyes filled with astonishment. He simply couldn't believe that such words would come from the mouth of Gao Zhao, this纨绔 (playboy)!

Gao Zhao noticed his expression and continued slowly, "In the torrent of worldly affairs, just gaining a foothold is already incredibly difficult; to stand out from the crowd is probably harder than climbing to heaven!"

"Those who worry about their country are always the ones who suffer the most throughout history. Their ambitions are thwarted, and they either live a dissolute life or die in despair. Lin Chong, which one do you think you are?"

Lin Chong was speechless. He just felt that his talents were not being recognized and complained about it. He hadn't risen to the level of worrying about the country and its people. But when Gao Zhao asked him this question, he didn't know how to answer!

A sense of shock crept into his heart. This young master seemed different from usual. Could he have copied these words from somewhere to deceive him?

Seeing that he did not answer, Gao Zhao did not press him further, but simply said to himself, "I recently read a sentence in the Doctrine of the Mean that has greatly inspired me: 'What Heaven ordains is called human nature; to follow one's nature is called the Way; to cultivate the Way is called education.'"

Lin Chong looked bewildered, then clasped his hands in a respectful bow and asked, "May I ask what the meaning of this is, young master?"

"This is to encourage you to do more good deeds!" Gao Zhao smiled proudly, immediately applying what he had heard from Chen Dong yesterday. Then, he pointed at him and said, "Although you are a martial artist, you should also read more books to broaden your horizons. Otherwise, when your time comes, you will lament that you are a talented person who has not been recognized!"

"What you say is true, young master!" Lin Chong was greatly ashamed and hurriedly changed the subject, "May I ask what business you have with leaving the city, young master?"

"Of course, it's about doing good!" Gao Zhao raised his riding whip and pointed, saying, "Don't refrain from doing good just because it's small! I'm just a nobody, I can't do great good deeds, but these small acts of kindness are within my power!"

Lin Chong was stunned. Doing good deeds? What an obscure term!

There are many kind-hearted people in Tokyo who give away porridge and medicine, but the word feels very out of place when applied to Gao Zhao, a playboy.

To his surprise, Gao Zhao actually went to a village in the suburbs after leaving the city.

Upon entering the village, they immediately ordered the village headman to be summoned, and then subjected him to a barrage of threats and intimidation before having him lead them to the homes of the lower-ranking households.

As soon as they entered, they told the poor people that they were sent by the government to provide relief, and then they handed out money... They seemed very experienced in this!

They visited two villages, but the situation remained the same. By the time it was getting late and everyone was heading back home, Lin Chong was still in a daze!

They really came to give alms!

I thought he had his eye on some farmer's daughter!

Gao Zhao was also very happy; after a busy day, he had earned thirty points of gratitude.

The reason we were able to visit two villages this time was mainly because we didn't pay the other villagers, which wasted time. We learned our lesson last time; the cost-effectiveness was too low!

He was very satisfied with today's harvest and chatted and laughed with the others as they entered the city. Just as they were about to have some fun together, several burly men blocked their way.

"Young Master Gao, our gang leader wants to have a talk with you!"