Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Gao Qiu showed no displeasure at Yang Jian's questioning; instead, he gave him a grateful look, which gave him a chance to explain.

"I hereby report to Your Majesty that my unruly son borrowed 100,000 strings of cash for salt permits and then immediately sold them to a money exchange for 90,000 strings of cash, receiving only 90,000 strings in return!"

Gao Qiu glanced at Zhao Ji's expression, then bowed again and continued, "After learning of this matter yesterday, I dared not offend Liu Guojiu too much, so I reduced the price by 60%, settling the debt for the salt permit for 60,000 strings of cash!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji nodded, finally understanding why there was only so little money.

Yang Jian laughed again, "Did Grand Commandant Gao miscalculate? There's still a shortfall of ten thousand strings of cash!"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes! My son squandered the money recklessly after receiving it. Just yesterday, he donated two thousand strings of cash to the nursing home. I have failed in raising my son; I am ashamed! I will make up for it!"

As he spoke, Gao Qiu shakily pulled out a pile of money from his body, including stock certificates, salt notes, money certificates, and a bag of rattling copper coins, and so on. Just by looking at it, you could tell that he had put in a lot of effort to collect all this money!

"Yang Duzhi, please count it!" Gao Qiu wiped the sweat from his forehead, forced a stiff smile, and handed over the money.

Seeing his appearance, Zhao Ji's heart softened, and he felt a pang of pity. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, take this money back!"

Yang Jian made no attempt to accept it. Upon hearing Zhao Ji's words, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty's grace, Grand Commandant, please accept it."

Gao Qiu quickly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Ji glanced at him and scolded him with displeasure, "A dignified Commander of the Palace Guards can't even come up with ten thousand strings of cash? I bet you borrowed some money from someone!"

"I am ashamed!" Gao Qiu said, sweating and ashamed, "Your Majesty, please understand. My family is poor, and I lack courage. I live on my salary and the Emperor's rewards. This time, in order to raise money, I even pawned the jewelry left by my mother... I am incompetent!"

Seeing his appearance, Zhao Ji couldn't help but recall the days when Gao Qiu had tirelessly served him, and he felt a pang of emotion. He sighed and said, "I know you are loyal and righteous, and you are also cautious and prudent. Get up!"

After Gao Qiu expressed his gratitude again, he stood up and thanked him repeatedly.

Zhao Ji waved his hand and reassured him, "I've also heard that your son is a bit outrageous, but I didn't expect him to donate money to the nursing home. It shows he has a kind heart; it seems he's not a bad person at heart!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Qiu was not overjoyed. Instead, he bowed again and apologized, saying, "My son is ignorant and has committed another crime. I beg Your Majesty to punish him severely!"

Zhao Ji was taken aback, then frowned and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Gao Qiu hurriedly said, "For some reason, that unfilial son has been going to the homes of poor people in the suburbs these past two days to give away money. The people are afraid that he is a swindler and dare not accept it, but he actually... he actually said that the government sent him..."

"I am deeply terrified by this act of abusing the power of the Emperor. I originally intended to punish him with a rod, but I fear people will say that I am using a minor punishment to cover up a major offense. Therefore, I have come to plead guilty and beg Your Majesty for a decision!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji laughed, raising his chin and asking, "Did the people accept it?"

Gao Qiu was not at all surprised by the Emperor's reaction and hurriedly replied, "Of course we'll accept it. Who in the world doesn't know that Your Majesty loves the people like your own children? As soon as people hear that Your Majesty sent them, they are all filled with gratitude and bow their heads in thanks!"

"Haha..." Zhao Ji laughed heartily, satisfied, "Since it's an act of kindness, then so be it. I forgive him!"

"Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!" Gao Qiu feigned delight and bowed again in gratitude.

Seeing the harmonious atmosphere, Yang Jian chimed in, "Your Majesty, this young master from Grand Commandant Gao's family is no ordinary person!"

"Oh?" Zhao Ji asked with a curious smile, "Besides that, did he do anything else outrageous?"

"Not absurd at all!" Yang Jian laughed. "Last night, the Imperial City Guard raided a Beggars' Sect hideout and rescued more than ten children who had been tortured and mutilated. The person who discovered the hideout and sent someone to invite the Imperial City Guard was none other than this Gao Yanei!"

"So this lad truly is loyal, courageous, and resourceful! Gao Qiu, you have done a good job raising your son..."

Zhao Ji turned his head, about to praise Gao Qiu, but saw that Gao Qiu looked completely astonished!

"You don't know either?"

Gao Qiu nodded silently.

Emperor Huizong laughed and said, "Your son is indeed a handful. I think you should leave him alone and send him to the Imperial Academy!"

Gao Qiu was taken aback for a moment, then overjoyed, and quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

……

While Gao Qiu was receiving an audience at the palace, Gao Zhao also encountered an acquaintance outside—the blond-haired, golden-eyed Wang Zhongcheng, who revealed the salt and paper money reform.

Gao Zhao was a very grateful person. Although he didn't get much money, he did get the news from the person and had a chance to make a fortune. He couldn't ignore such a benefactor, so he went up and greeted him.

They have a firm grasp on all aspects of human relationships and social interactions!

Wang Zhongcheng stared at him in surprise for a moment before recognizing him. He smiled kindly and said, "Oh, it's you! What brings you to court with your father today?"

Gao Zhao, however, was quite frank and said openly, "I made a mistake, and you have brought me here to apologize to the Emperor!"

"Haha..." Wang Zhongcheng shook his head and chuckled, then pointed at him and said, "You've already apologized to the Emperor, so it must be more than just a small mistake!"

Gao Zhao was somewhat embarrassed, gave an awkward smile, and was about to speak when another person walked up beside him, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Excellency, Young Master Gao!"

Gao Zhao looked up and saw that the person who had come was none other than the Imperial Censor Huang Baoguang. He bowed and said, "Imperial Censor Huang, how is the case going?"

Huang Baoguang's face immediately darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "The Imperial City Guard interrogated the leaders of those beggars yesterday and found that it wasn't Fu Jin! There's also no evidence to support the charge of the Right Army Inspector of Kaifeng Prefecture protecting them. The case can be closed today!"

"Oh, thank you for your trouble, Imperial Censor Huang!" Gao Zhao cupped his hands in greeting, his expression unchanged, as if he had expected this.

Huang Baoguang looked ashamed, cupped his hands to cover his face, and left.

Looking at the two men, Wang Zhongcheng laughed, "So Huang Baoguang's case is related to you!"

Gao Zhao nodded: "I reported it to the police!"

Wang Zhongcheng smiled and asked, "Are you satisfied with this result?"

"I'm not satisfied. This is clearly using someone as a scapegoat!" Gao Zhao answered frankly.

Wang Zhongcheng asked in surprise, "Then why don't you seem angry?"

Gao Zhao waved his hand magnanimously and said, "When I see injustice on the road, I draw my sword to help; this is the essence of righteousness! As for the outcome, that's the government's business, and it has nothing to do with me!"

Wang Zhongcheng was even more surprised: "You've even read Mencius?"

Gao Zhao smiled modestly: "I know a little bit!"

Wang Zhongcheng then asked, "And if you were an imperial censor, what would you do?"

Gao Zhao replied without hesitation, "Make a big deal out of it! A mere judge won't attract any attention. Let's impeach the Prefect of Kaifeng and put the world on our side. I don't believe anyone would dare to engage in such petty scheming under the public eye!"

Wang Zhongcheng looked him up and down, then asked, "So how do we impeach him? Accuse him of accepting bribes too?"

"It's too ordinary, it won't attract anyone's attention!" Gao Zhao waved his hand and said, "These kinds of things need to be sensationalized! If I were an imperial censor, I would say that the prefect secretly sold orphans from the nursing home to the Beggars' Gang for personal gain and disregarded human life!"

Wang Zhongcheng's eyes lit up immediately; this was too exciting!

This boy should be used by our Censorate!