Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Upon hearing this news, Gao Zhao's first reaction was not shock at Lin Chong's arrest, but rather how beautiful that woman must be!

Lin Chong could ignore the slender branches bearing abundant fruit at home, so one can only imagine how beautiful this woman must be to make him do such a beastly thing!

Gao Zhao immediately wanted to meet this celestial being!

But then I thought about it again and realized that might not be the case!

After all, behind every beautiful woman, there's a man who's having a... well, you know... problem!

Perhaps Lin Chong just wanted a change of pace!

So he grabbed a handful of melon seeds he had brought from the teahouse and distributed them to a few of the older women watching. He successfully broke into their circle, and they chatted as they ate the melon seeds.

These old women were quite remarkable; they described Lin Chong's story in great detail, even specifying the exact posture he used when committing the crime!

After listening for a while, Gao Zhao felt as if he were there!

In short, it's even more exciting than watching porn!

This level of immersion... wow... it's comparable to a Platinum-level god!

On a whim, Gao Zhao decided to have a friendly exchange and wanted to discuss the techniques with a few old women. He did have a few unique moves of his own!

However, before she could speak, the door suddenly opened, and Zhang Yunniang, with red eyes and a cold face, looked at a group of old women.

"Oh dear, it's getting late, I should go back and cook!"

"Of course, I haven't bought my groceries yet!"

"Me too! Me too!"

......

The old women gave an awkward laugh and dispersed, leaving Gao Zhao alone, looking at Zhang Yunniang with a sorrowful expression.

"Sister-in-law, Instructor Lin is so foolish!"

Zhang Yunniang looked at him, her eyes growing increasingly red. Suddenly, she rushed down the steps, gritting her teeth and shouting, "Was it you? Did you do it?!"

May was already summer, and Zhang Yunniang's clothes were naturally light and thin. Her sudden rush to Gao Zhao's side caused her breasts to tremble violently, making him dizzy and distracted.

It took him a while to react, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? The misunderstanding between me and Instructor Lin has been cleared up, so how could I possibly harm him?"

Zhang Yunniang couldn't possibly believe him. Was it a misunderstanding? Had it been cleared up? She knew perfectly well!

She stared at him coldly and said sternly, "Who else could it be but you! I know what kind of person my husband is; he would never do such a thing!"

Gao Zhao's gaze swept over her heaving floral bodice, then fell upon her tearful, resentful face, finding it quite poignant. He couldn't help but say, "Sister-in-law, you've truly misunderstood me. Instructor Lin is highly skilled and has helped me a great deal. Why would I want to harm him?"

"Of course you're doing this for..." Before she could finish, Zhang Yunniang suddenly realized what she was doing, quickly stopping herself. Her face flushed red, then she became angry and retorted, "You know perfectly well what filthy thoughts you have!"

Her cute appearance made Gao Zhao's heart flutter, and he even suspected that she was deliberately flirting with him!

He forced himself to calm down, shook his head, and said frankly, "I don't know. I've been studying at the Imperial Academy recently and only returned to the city today for the Dragon Boat Festival. I happened to hear about this!"

Zhang Yunniang was about to speak again, but Gao Zhao raised his hand to interrupt her, calmly saying, "If this matter were as you think, sister-in-law, and I did it, I wouldn't just deny it now. Instead, I would ask you, 'You wouldn't want Instructor Lin to be beheaded, would you?'"

"What...what exactly do you want?" Zhang Yunniang took a step back, her expression shifting rapidly. She bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then asked as if she had made up her mind, "What do you want from me to let him go?!"

"Sigh!" Gao Zhao sighed helplessly, "Looking at you now, I really wish I had done this! But it really wasn't me!"

Zhang Yunniang blushed and felt ashamed and indignant when her secret thoughts were exposed.

"Never mind!" Gao Zhao waved his hand after watching for a while and said, "I'll go see what's going on first!"

"Wait a minute!" Gao Zhao had just turned around and taken two steps when he heard Zhang Yunniang calling from behind.

He turned around in surprise and saw the woman running towards him, suddenly squatting down and bowing, saying, "Please, young master, save my husband's life!"

Gao Zhao looked her up and down, then quickly reached out to help her, smiling, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'll do my best!"

Zhang Yunniang was startled by his sudden action and quickly took several steps back, hiding her hands behind her back. She cursed inwardly that this guy was acting like a normal person just now, but now he was being so frivolous and rude. He was definitely no good!

Seeing her like this, Gao Zhao put his hand under his nose and sniffed it, which made Zhang Yunniang both ashamed and annoyed. She was furious and then left laughing.

"Shameless, slut!" Zhang Yunniang stomped her feet and cursed angrily from behind.

……

Without wasting any words, Gao Zhao went directly to the Left Army Patrol Office to ask the officer about Lin Chong.

The officer spread his hands and said, "Young master, you've really come to the wrong person this time. Lin Chong's case is being handled by the Right Inspector!"

"Tell me!" Gao Zhao pulled out a few bills and stuffed them into his hand.

"Oh dear, young master, no, you mustn't..." the officer hurriedly declined, but as he pushed the money slips away, they disappeared without a trace.

"Lin Chong's situation this time is very troublesome; he'll probably be sentenced to death!"

"What? He's dead already!" Gao Zhao was also shocked. In his mind, the worst that could happen was exile. Even when Song Jiang killed Yan Poxi, he was only exiled. How could Lin Chong be dead for such a small matter!

"That woman was a married woman of good character, according to the Criminal Code..."

"Stop talking nonsense..." Gao Zhao interrupted, "They've all been executed according to the Criminal Code! Let's get serious!"

"It's the real deal!" the officer explained. "He not only humiliated a married woman, but also severely injured her husband!"

"What!" Gao Zhao exclaimed in shock. There was even an assault case involved! Seriously, is Lin Chong really that twisted? He's gone this far…

"So he's dead meat!" the officer concluded confidently, then blinked and added, "Young master, Lin Chong must have offended someone, right?"

Gao Zhao casually replied, "Oh, what makes you say that?"

"Hehe, Lin Chong was dragged here by that woman's neighbor. With his size, if he were really a vicious person, these people wouldn't have been able to catch him!"

The magistrate raised an eyebrow and smiled meaningfully, "Judging from that woman's husband's timid and cowardly appearance, there's no need to hurt him. Even if he were just standing by and watching, he wouldn't dare to move! And judging from the method, it's clearly an attempt to kill him!"

Gao Zhao nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "If I want to save Lin Chong, what should I do?"

"The best solution is to get that woman to change her testimony. If she says it was a false accusation, Lin Chong will be fine!"

As if he had anticipated this, the magistrate laughed and said, "However, that woman is about to bear the blame, and I'm afraid it won't be easy for her. Moreover, if she says in court that she was threatened, she might not only fail to save Lin Chong, but also get herself implicated!"

"so what?"

"Young master, why don't you go back and ask the Grand Commandant to handle it? That would give you more room to maneuver!"

"Oh, that makes sense!" Gao Zhao slipped two more bills over to lure him away, then turned and headed home.

Upon arriving home, he rushed to the study: "Sir, your subordinates were bullied, and you, as the leader, didn't stand up for them. How can you be a leader in the future...?"

The door swung open, and the old steward emerged with a smile: "Young Master, the Grand Commandant escorted Empress Dowager Cheng'en to Yongtai Mausoleum yesterday and will not return for several days!"

Uh... does that mean Lin Chong is doomed?