Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

When Gao Zhao entered the city, it was already noon. Despite the sweltering heat, the city was still bustling with activity, as various vendors hawked their wares.

"Iced cheese, iced cheese, refreshing iced cheese, ten coins a bowl!"

"Steamed buns, steamed buns, freshly baked steamed buns, fragrant and soft, one penny each!"

"Steamed buns, steamed buns, big, white, and soft steamed buns, one string of cash for half an hour!"

……

Gao Zhao abruptly stopped, looking up blankly. He saw a woman on the embroidered tower, dressed in a gauze dress with her bodice hanging low, revealing a deep cleavage. Seeing him looking over, she gave him a flirtatious wink, "Young master, would you like to try my cooking!"

"Pah! This is indecent!" Gao Zhao spat fiercely. In broad daylight, under the clear sky, how could they be so shameless? The world is going to the dogs!

He was a scholar, after all! He immediately looked around, noted down the address, and raised his head to rebuke the woman, "If I weren't busy today, I would definitely give you a good scolding!"

The woman, however, felt no shame. Instead, she giggled and said coquettishly, "Then I'll wait for the young official to teach me a lesson!"

Gao Zhao nodded and continued running, inwardly cursing the woman for being so greedy, asking for a whole string of cash for a steamed bun when a steamed bun from the Imperial Academy only cost a few dollars.

These unscrupulous businesses need to be thoroughly dealt with when the time comes!

He searched several places where those ruffians frequented, but couldn't find them. He then headed towards the Great Xiangguo Temple. When he arrived at the Suanzao Gate, he saw that the group was indeed drinking with Lu Zhishen there!

"Young Master!" Zhang San, Li Si, and the others stood up to greet him.

"I've been looking for you guys for ages, what are you doing here?" Gao Zhao walked up, plopped down under the shade of a tree, and took a drink.

Zhang San explained with a smile, "Sun Yuan was killed yesterday. We were suspected because we gave directions to those yamen runners, so we can only stay here to avoid trouble."

"Hey! These officials are unreasonable. They don't arrest the murderer, but they arrest you who helped them! They really are bullies who prey on the weak!" At this point, Gao Zhao glanced at Lu Zhishen again and sneered inwardly. This Shaolin Temple... the Great Xiangguo Temple is indeed a den of iniquity!

Gao Zhao hadn't taken him seriously since he came in, not even giving him a proper look. Lu Zhishen was coldly sizing him up when he saw Gao Zhao making sarcastic remarks about him, and immediately retorted angrily, "You bastard, what are you looking at me for? When have I ever bullied the weak and feared the strong!"

"Heh..." Gao Zhao sneered, ignoring them, and turned to the others, saying, "Let's revisit Instructor Lin's case!"

"You bastard, explain yourself!" Lu Zhishen roared and lifted the man up. He found this trick worked best on Gao Zhao!

"Put me down, you bald thief!" Gao Zhao struggled and shouted, "I have important business to attend to!"

"Hmph, you think you can fool your grandpa so easily!" Lu Zhishen scoffed. "Do you think I don't know that the case has been cleared up? In just a few days, Brother Lin's innocence will be restored. What else could there be?"

"Damn it, Lin Chong got out, but what about the person behind him who harmed him? Are they just going to ignore him?" Gao Zhao cursed, "You coward! If you're not just bullying the weak and fearing the strong, then you're framing Lin Chong because you're afraid I'll find out about you!"

Lu Zhishen angrily retorted, "Nonsense! I call him brother, why would I harm him? On the contrary, you were the one who coveted his sister-in-law's beauty! I said you were the one who did it!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhao exclaimed, "Hey, this is a good idea!"

"I knew you, you wicked monk, had ulterior motives! You even came up with such a scheme! You really are a villain!" Gao Zhao immediately retorted, "If my mind were pure, I wouldn't think of such a despicable method!"

"You damned brat, how dare you slander me like this! Do you think my fists are just for show?!" Lu Zhishen was so angry at being falsely accused that he glared and puffed out his beard.

"Gentlemen, it doesn't have to be that bad!"

"Let's talk this out!"

"Do not get angry!"

......

Seeing this, a group of hooligans rushed forward to break up the fight. They were speechless; how could these two start fighting the moment they met?

"Master, let's release the young master first and let him tell us his plan!" Zhang San advised. "If we don't eliminate the person behind this, even if Instructor Lin escapes this time, it's hard to guarantee he won't be safe next time!"

"I'll just punch that judge to death and be done with it. What's there to be afraid of?" Lu Zhishen released Gao Zhao reluctantly, still uttering harsh words.

"Bah! Your talent for boasting is far superior to your fists!" Gao Zhao straightened his clothes and said disdainfully, "You always talk about killing others, but who have you actually killed? You've only ever bullied a willow tree that can't be touched!"

"I……"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please calm down!" Li Si quickly stepped between the two men, smiling obsequiously at Gao Zhao, "Young master, please tell me your plan!"

Gao Zhao snorted coldly, took out a map of Tokyo's alleyways hand-drawn by a folk artist from his pocket, looked around on it, marked the area near Sun Yuan's house with a sharp spike, then called over Zhang San and asked him where Sun Yuan usually went, and then marked them one by one.

Then he drew a circle to enclose these places, and then asked a group of ruffians about the route Sun Yuan took from his home to the mill by the Bian River that day.

The rogue answered one by one, and Gao Zhao drew lines according to the diagram.

Seeing his way of thinking, everyone was puzzled and secretly speculated.

Lu Zhishen curled his lip and said, "Nonsense, all that superstition!"

"I won't name names, but I'll criticize one of the monks here. He's barely literate, spends his days drinking and eating meat instead of chanting scriptures and meditating, and when he encounters something he doesn't understand, instead of humbly asking for guidance, he just stands there yelling and spouting nonsense!"

"What's the difference between this and taking attendance!"

Gao Zhao smiled contemptuously, and seeing that the uncouth monk was about to lash out again, he quickly turned to the crowd and said, "Today I will teach you a skill! A person's daily life follows certain patterns!"

"This circle is the area where Sun Yuan usually operates!" Gao Zhao looked at everyone, and seeing that they didn't react, he continued, "You must be wondering again, what's the use of knowing this?"

Everyone looked at each other in surprise. "Huh? I didn't think that way!"

"Then you need to think about this: if Sun Yuan was acting under someone's orders, where did he meet that person?"

"Oh!" Everyone suddenly realized, and Li Si slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Young Master, you mean Sun Yuan is the person we met in this circle!"

"Not bad, a promising young man!" Gao Zhao smiled and nodded. "However, this circle is so large, you're all bound to ask again, where exactly is Sun Yuan plotting with him?"

Everyone looked at each other again, puzzled. Okay, we asked...

Gao Zhao smiled faintly and said, "Then let's look at his escape route today. Look here, he could have run directly there, but he deliberately took a detour! He must have gone to meet the person behind it all!"

Zhang San bent down to take a closer look and exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master, this is a brilliant idea! This route from his house to the Bian River is definitely a detour!"

Li Si nodded and said, "He first ran to Zhujiaqiao Market, then to Maxing Street; he's clearly looking for someone!"

Lu Zhishen sneered, "Heh heh, the Zhu Family Bridge market sells inexpensive tables and chairs, and it's always bustling with people. Horse Street is practically deserted. Who do you think he's meeting with?"

Gao Zhao paused for a moment, then shouted back defiantly, "Who else could be the person behind that, running all the way from Ma Xing Street in the inner city to Zhu Jia Bridge in the outer city, besides that military patrol judge?"

"so what?"

"So...so you're going to kill him! Go ahead!" Gao Zhao said angrily.

Damn it, I'm really bad at solving cases!

I'll just stay quiet and be a handsome man who's only 1.2 feet tall!