Do You Know?: Rule the World

Little Qin on the side had a gentle smile and curved eyebrows.

"There's no need to be so polite, Zhao Tanhua. Erlang is a straightforward person and doesn't have many friends in the capital who he can talk to."

"Fortunately, he has met a serious scholar like you, Zhao Tanhua. I believe he will be able to focus on studying hard at the White Deer Cave Academy."

Zhao Han bowed and said, "Zhong Huai is a man of generosity and righteousness. I have benefited greatly from his friendship."

Xiao Qinshi kept smiling and raised her hand to gently stroke her temples.

"Zhao Tanhua is really good at talking. If Erlang can learn even a little bit of your steadiness, then his father and I can rest assured."

Gu Tingye only glanced at Xiao Qinshi out of the corner of his eye and said, "Mother is right. If it weren't for Brother Zhao, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to concentrate on my studies so quickly."

"I will definitely learn from Brother Zhao in every way from now on and bring honor to the Marquisate."

Before Xiao Qin could speak, Gu Yankai's eyes were filled with satisfaction, and he said loudly, "Okay!"

"When you go to Bailu Cave, you must pass the imperial examination and come back!"

"Don't worry, father!" Gu Tingye bowed respectfully.

At this moment, a young servant in gray cloth clothes ran over from not far away.

"Second brother, I finally found you. I only ask that you cancel this account book before you leave so that I can report back." The servant stood in front of Gu Tingye, holding the account book and looking earnestly in the eyes.

Seeing this, Gu Yankai's face suddenly fell.

Gu Tingye glanced at the account book and said calmly, "Qianchunlou? I've never been to Qianchunlou since I came back from Yangzhou, so how could I have bought something on credit?"

"It is written in black and white on this paper that it is signed by the second son of the Gu family, the Marquis of Ningyuan, and it also has your seal."

"My seal?" Gu Tingye snorted coldly and ordered Shitou to bring paper and pen.

After dipping his finger into some thick ink on the tip of the pen, he pressed it hard on the paper.

"Take it and compare it carefully to see if it is mine."

The servant took the rice paper and compared it with the account book. He found some discrepancies and said hurriedly, "Second brother, you drank too much wine that day, so there must be some discrepancies with the current account book."

"It's only one hundred and twenty taels of silver in total. Please don't make it difficult for me."

"If I don't get the money, I'm afraid my boss will break my legs when I go back!"

The servant looked pleading and almost cried.

Gu Yankai's expression became increasingly ugly.

Xiao Qin frowned slightly and said softly, "My Lord, please calm down. There are many people here, so please don't blame Erlang in public. Anyway, I will pay this little money for him."

Then she put on a motherly look and looked at Gu Tingye, "But Erlang, you can't buy on credit next time. If it gets out, it will inevitably bring shame to the family."

"Your father has been praising you for being sensible these days. Don't let him down again."

These words seem to be full of care, but in fact every word is hurtful.

It not only confirmed the fact that Gu Tingye bought things on credit, but also implied that he would not change his bad habits and would only disappoint Gu Yankai's expectations.

How could Gu Tingye not hear the hidden meaning in Xiao Qinshi's words? He raised his eyebrows and said, "Mother, please don't put the blame on me."

"When the people from the fourth and fifth rooms go out for drinks, all of them are charged to my account."

"Anyway, I didn't owe Qianchunlou money on credit!"

Gu Tingwei stood aside and said cautiously, "I also don't think Second Brother bought it on credit. The money I used to drink recently was all given by Second Brother. Why would he buy on credit in a small Qianchunlou?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qin took advantage of the situation and gave Gu Tingwei a fierce look.

I can't understand how I could have given birth to such a clumsy son.

Seeing that Gu Tingye was so angry that he couldn't prove himself, Zhao Han said gently, "Since coming to Beijing, I have often had a drink and discussed papers with Zhong Huai. Let me see this account book."

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Chapter 44: Gu Family's Fourth and Fifth Rooms

Upon hearing this, the servant secretly glanced at Xiao Qin's gentle yet sinister expression.

He glanced at Gu Tingye's sharp eyes again, hesitated for a moment, and then held the account book in front of Zhao Han.

"Sir, please take a look. I'm just an errand boy to collect debts. Please don't make things difficult for me." The servant's voice was a little weak.

Zhao Han took the account book very calmly, his eyes scanning between the lines.

Gu Yankai stood with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter. In his heart, he actually hoped that the person who owed money on credit was not Gu Tingye.

After all, as far as he knew, although his Erlang was unruly and dissolute, he was never a coward who dared to do something but not to admit it.

"Brother Zhao, have you figured out anything?"

"I dare to swear on my life that the debt owed by Qianchunlou is definitely not mine!"

Gu Tingye knew that most of the people who owed money were his uncles and cousins ​​from the fourth and fifth rooms, but he had to prove his innocence first.

After a moment, Zhao Han paused, a meaningful smile on his lips: "Interesting."

"On February 26th at 11:30 pm, Zhong Huai was clearly with me at Guangyun Terrace. Could it be that he's learned the art of splitting himself into two bodies and went to Qianchun Tower at the same hour?"

"On March 20th, after I passed the imperial examination and won the third place, I held a banquet at Fanlou to celebrate with Zhong Huai."

"But the account book shows that he bought fifty taels of silver on credit for wine at Qianchunlou that day."

Gu Tingye hurriedly stepped forward and looked at the account book carefully again. He suppressed his anger and said, "And on the first day of April, I was in the Marquis' Mansion all day and didn't even leave the house!"

"Do I have three heads and six arms? I'm still drinking in Qianchunlou?!"

Hearing this, the servant immediately panicked and his face turned pale.

"These... these are the account books given by the shopkeeper."

"I only came here to collect the debt under the name of the boss, and I don't know any of this..."

Zhao Han closed the account book, looked up at Gu Yankai, and said with a cupped hand, "Lord Gu, it seems that someone is indeed impersonating Zhong Huai to drink and visit prostitutes. I'm afraid it's far more than just Qianchunlou."

"If we don't investigate thoroughly, it will damage more than just Zhong Huai's reputation."

Gu Tingye immediately spoke up, "Father, today I'm going to tell you the truth from the bottom of my heart. In the past, I was a frequent visitor to brothels and prostitutes, and everyone in Bianjing City would call me a dandy scum."

"But this ridiculous reputation has never been just my son's!"

"Fourth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, Gu Tingbing, Gu Tingdi, Gu Tingyang, they all went out to drink and visit prostitutes, and they all mentioned my name."

"In the past, my son was reluctant to argue with them out of consideration for our blood relationship, but now I have reformed and decided to leave home and go to study at the academy."

"If this matter is not clarified, I'm afraid that even after my son is gone, his reputation will continue to be ruined by them!"

Gu Yankai's heart heaved slightly as he looked at Gu Tingye with a very complicated expression.

There was shock, heartache, and an indescribable sense of guilt.

The smile on Xiao Qin's face became a little stiff at this moment.

As early as a few days ago, she deliberately spread the rumor that Gu Tingye was leaving Beijing to study and would not come back for at least two or three years.

Then he secretly sent someone to instigate the people from Qianchunlou to come and collect the debt.

Based on her past understanding of Gu Tingye, she would definitely take responsibility for this mess today.

At that time, the little expectations that Gu Yankai had for him would be greatly reduced in an instant.

During these years, while she was cultivating Gu Tingwei, she quietly ordered the fourth and fifth rooms to continue to throw dirty water on Gu Tingye.

Even if Gu Tingye really passed the imperial examination and came back, no one in Bianjing City would look up to him.

But she never expected that not only did Gu Tingye really change his personality, but also Zhao Han would appear out of nowhere.

"My lord, after all, this is a family matter. I will give him some silver to send him away." As Xiao Qinshi spoke, she raised her hand and stroked Gu Yankai's arm, and then instructed her mother to get some silver for the servant.

"Stop!" Gu Yankai shouted angrily, his mother's shoulders shook with fear, and he stopped immediately.

"Every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt has its owner. I will settle the accounts one by one after returning home."

"It's getting late, Erlang, you should get on board first. Your studies are more important. You don't need to worry about this matter." Gu Yankai patted Gu Tingye's shoulder meaningfully.

Gu Tingye nodded solemnly, then turned to look at Zhao Han, and said with a cupped hand: "Thanks to Brother Zhao for his keen observation, otherwise I would have been falsely accused again."

"When I return from my studies, I'll have a drink with Brother Zhao."

Zhao Han quickly returned the greeting, "Zhong Huai, you are so kind. The journey to Bai Lu Cave is long and arduous, so please take care."

The wind on the river suddenly rose. Gu Tingye glanced at everyone, turned around and strode onto the boat.

"Second brother, you must take care of yourself. I'll be waiting for you to come back home!" Gu Tingwei waved his arms vigorously and looked at Gu Tingye with reluctance.

Gu Yankai looked at the tall and straight back of his Erlang, tears flickering in his eyes.

-

Gonghou Lane.

After Gu Yankai returned home with a grim face, the first thing he did was to send a servant to call the people from the fourth and fifth rooms.

Not long after, Gu Yanming, the fourth uncle of the Gu family, came walking slowly, and Gu Yanzhi, the fifth uncle, followed closely behind him, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"What's up, Lord? Why are you calling us here for no reason?"

After Gu Yanming glanced at Gu Yankai casually, he sat down directly on the chair on the left and picked up the tea brought by the maid.

"Yeah, I didn't even have time to eat breakfast." Gu Yanzhi complained with a yawn.

Gu Yankai clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and threw Qianchunlou's account book directly into their hands.

"See for yourselves!"

Gu Yanming narrowed his eyes and took a look, then burst out laughing. "I thought it was nothing, but it turns out that Erlang is out drinking and visiting prostitutes again!"

"If you ask me, big brother, you don't need to take this matter to heart."

"Everyone in Bianjing knows that Erlang loves to hang out in brothels and other places. We've all become accustomed to it."

Gu Yanzhi stroked his goatee and said, "Yes, Erlang has done all sorts of ridiculous things over the years, from drinking to running up debts and riding his horse through busy streets."

"This is a total of about one hundred taels of silver. Just give it to us. What do you want us to do?"

Listening to what the two of them said, Gu Yankai's face became worse and worse, and the blue veins on his forehead twitched.

"Asshole! Think carefully about who owes this debt!"