Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Gao Zhao's prison visit completely broke Lin Chong!

When he woke up after being tied up and beaten that day, he thought it was a misunderstanding and even tried to explain it to others.

It was clear that the crowd was furious, leaving him speechless. When they wanted to take him to Kaifeng Prefecture, he didn't take it seriously, thinking that he could explain things clearly here.

It wasn't until he entered the Right Army Patrol Court and met the judge who was handling the case that he realized something was wrong.

After a series of interrogations, he was indeed convicted of assault for rape, and despite his loud protests of innocence, it was to no avail.

Only then did he realize that he had been framed, and that it was very likely that the judge had orchestrated it!

He was anxious but helpless. A jailer who had taken money told him that his father-in-law was spending money and pulling strings outside, and that he shouldn't worry!

He was slightly relieved, thinking that he had been wronged and had done nothing wrong. He believed that the lowly judge could not cover up the truth and that justice would eventually be served.

Even if justice is not served for him, or if some money is spent to change his punishment to exile to a remote and harsh military prefecture, he would accept it as long as he can keep his life!

However, Gao Yanei's words today have left him in utter despair!

The Prefect of Kaifeng had just been impeached and was in a sensitive period. At this time, he would absolutely not dare to show favoritism. Not to mention asking his own father-in-law to use money or pull strings, even Gao Qiu would not dare to get involved in this mess.

He broke into a private residence, assaulted a woman, and injured her husband. The nature of this case is too heinous. If no strong evidence is presented, no one can save him; he will only be sentenced to death!

But what evidence could there be for such a thing?

Unless he can prove he lacked the ability or the means to commit the crime...

But he's been married for years, so nobody believes him when he says that!

Although Gao Zhao later said many things about trying to save him, these were just words of comfort and could not be taken seriously!

Even Gao Qiu couldn't do anything about it, so what could he possibly do?

Lin Chong was in despair, his heart was ashen, and he looked at the gloomy prison, tears streaming down his face.

I never imagined that I, Lin Chong, with all my skills, would be framed by such despicable means!

But now that things have come to this, all we can do is lament our helplessness!

Gao Zhao hid in the shadows, secretly observing Lin Chong's reaction. Seeing his despair, he was secretly delighted.

Instructor Lin, you can be sad for a few more days!

But don't worry, I, the young master, will definitely step forward at the last moment and save you from this predicament!

Let you also know the importance of loyalty and gratitude shown by the young master!

After leaving Kaifeng Prefecture, Gao Zhao had nothing to do, so he headed towards Jieshen Lane, hoping to find some good investment opportunities to earn a little money and improve his life!

After all, his net worth plummeted from 90,000 guan to 7,000 guan, and he was living a very difficult life!

What can you do with this little money? It's not even enough to buy a decent house in Bianliang.

He had wanted to move out of the Palace Marshal's Mansion for a long time, partly because the streets were always crowded and it was very annoying!

Secondly, it's too inconvenient. Like today, if he returns to the manor, Gao Qiu will definitely find out and then make wild guesses about whether he skipped school or not... It's even more troublesome!

The problem is, your guess is wrong too!

I clearly asked for leave, but you slandered me as truant. Isn't that defaming your own character?

These treacherous officials love to judge others by their own standards!

So, without his own house, he felt very insecure. Like tonight, he had nowhere to go and could only seek shelter in brothels... It's heartbreaking to think about!

As I walked and pondered, I soon arrived at Jieshen Alley. As soon as I entered, I heard a commotion.

He looked closely and saw a group of wealthy merchants with bitter faces hawking their salt certificates, with prices as low as 35% of the original price, but very few people were interested.

This scene filled Gao Zhao with a sense of unease. He had once sold salt permits here, though he had offered a 10% discount back then…

Of course, that's not important. What's important is that we're in the same profession. He's a very empathetic person, and seeing this scene, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow.

So he went over and chatted with one of them for a bit, asking him why the price was so low.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the merchant immediately perked up and said, "Young master, these salt permits are excellent! You can buy them for 35% of the price, pay the remaining 30% as tax at the salt monopoly office, and then you'll receive a new salt permit with full value—a profit of 35%!"

Gao Zhao glared at him, displeased, and said, "Then why don't you go and change?"

The merchant chuckled sheepishly, "I... I just have too much... If I don't sell some, I can't afford to pay the taxes!"

Gao Zhao then looked at the merchants selling salt permits around him, and thinking that this fellow was trying to fool him, he said, "Tell me properly, and maybe I'll buy a few!"

The man immediately looked miserable: "The new certificates are revolving notes, long-term notes are for one year, short-term notes are for six months, and they expire and become worthless! I don't sell salt, so I can only sell them cheaply!"

"Oh!" Gao Zhao suddenly realized that Cai Jing's move was truly disgusting, completely destroying the monetary function of salt certificates! All those wealthy households who had previously hoarded salt certificates as money were now completely ruined!

Gao Zhao keenly sensed that there was an opportunity to make money in this. If he could get in touch with the people in charge of the salt monopoly, he could make a fortune by manipulating things!

But such an opportunity will never come his way; it will definitely be taken by Cai Jing's own people!

Moreover, Gao Qiu had always kept his distance from Cai Jing and his ilk; this was a matter of political stance and could not be acted upon recklessly.

"I can't afford to play this game!" Gao Zhao shook his head and turned to wander off to other places.

After wandering around without finding anything of interest, and seeing that it was getting late and the lanterns were coming on, Gao Zhao found a flower boat, listened to music and drank wine. When he was quite tipsy, he remembered that he had made an appointment with someone the next day was the Ningkuang Festival.

To ensure he was in good spirits, he went to an inn to rest and slept until dawn before hurrying off to keep his appointment.

……

Feng Sanniang waited at home for a long time until her husband finally came out. She breathed a sigh of relief, opened the wardrobe, and took out the new clothes from the bottom to change into.

But when she thought about how she had secretly changed into new clothes and gone to the temple fair with other people behind her husband's back, she felt a little guilty.

I didn't really want to go, but then I thought about it again and realized that I had already promised to go that day. It wouldn't be good to break my promise suddenly. After hesitating for a while, I decided to go anyway, since it wouldn't be a big deal!

If you're upright, you have nothing to fear. You have a clear conscience and you won't do anything outrageous!

What can a boy who blushes even when talking to a woman do to her?

Besides, there are so many people at the temple fair!

If he dares to be rude, I'll shout, and I'm afraid that will scare him out of his wits!

"Hehe..." She couldn't help but laugh when she thought of the scholar's panicked appearance.

She then laid the clothes out on the bed, and suddenly her eyes fell on the tube top. She remembered the scholar's words to her before they parted the day before, and she couldn't help but blush.

"You think I'll wear it just because you tell me to? Humph, dream on! I'm not wearing it!"