Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 56 Gao Gong's Diary
Suddenly, the name "Yan Jishi" mentioned by Manager Liu changed to "Young Master Yan".

Yan Maoqing then realized that he had fooled him.

So an hour later.

Guided by Manager Liu, Yan Maoqing entered the Duke of Yi's mansion smoothly under the cover of darkness and stood before Guo Xun.

"Yan Jishi, I heard from Manager Liu that you have something extremely important to discuss with me?"

That day, Guo Xun's trusted servant Zhang Xian went to collect gifts, houses, and money, but in the end, he only returned with a question from Yan Maoqing. Guo Xun then regretted his impulsiveness.

After all, Yan Maoqing's question was not without reason.

The fact that he could stand unharmed after being flogged in the West Garden is enough to show that the Emperor showed leniency when he issued the order.

This also proves that Yan Maoqing was not entirely useless; at least he didn't ruin his grand plan. Turning against him now is indeed premature...

To his surprise, Yan Maoqing not only did not answer his question directly, but instead knelt down with a "plop" and bowed deeply:

"You have spent half your life wandering, and you only regret that you have not met a wise ruler. If you do not abandon me, I am willing to become your godfather!"

"???"

Guo Xun was caught off guard and was completely dumbfounded. What was this guy up to now?

In other words, this line is from Lü Bu in the 94 TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and it doesn't exist in the original novel at all.

Otherwise, given Guo Xun's status as a seasoned literature enthusiast, and the fact that he had published a large number of copies of the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms at his Luming Pavilion, he could have discerned Yan Maoqing's treacherous intentions and wolfish ambitions from just this one sentence.

Even so, Guo Xun remained wary of Yan Maoqing.

He was initially respectful but later arrogant, even daring to extort money from him. Now he is being arrogant but later respectful again. Heaven knows what this scoundrel is really thinking.
"!!!"

Zhang Xian, standing to the side, was even more dumbfounded.

Over the years, he had seen many people trying to get close to his master, but he had never seen anyone like Yan Maoqing who immediately became his godfather. He had truly opened up a completely new path, and he was just too damn cunning!

“Actually, you should have come to warn your godfather when you left the West Garden that day.”

Seeing that Guo Xun did not agree, Yan Maoqing was not disappointed, but continued to speak to himself.
"But I'm afraid that with so many people around, if this gets to the Emperor's ears, it might arouse suspicion in my godfather and make his situation even more precarious. That's why I have to keep quiet and wait until things have calmed down before I come to visit."

Warning?

critical?
These two words immediately startled Guo Xun, who was already overly suspicious, and he had no choice but to step forward to help him up:
"Come, come, get up first, and tell me in detail."

"If you say these things today, you will have no choice but to stand with your adoptive father from now on. If you cannot become his son, I'm afraid I won't know where to place your sincere heart!"

Yan Maoqing insisted that he would not get up, resorting to his old tricks again.

Unfortunately, Guo Xun was in a state of needing to urinate and randomly inserting coins, which made him very susceptible to this kind of thing.

So he had no choice but to first order Zhang Xian to bring him a cup of tea, and nodded in agreement.
“Since that’s the case, I will accept you as my adopted son. You have offered me this cup of tea, and from now on we will address each other as father and son.”

"Godfather, please have some tea!"

After performing the proper greetings, Yan Maoqing stood up and said with a solemn expression,
"Now that you and your adoptive father are father and son, there are some things you naturally dare not hide from him. The day you were summoned to the Western Garden by the Emperor, you not only met the Emperor, but also Tao Zhongwen and a Taoist priest named Duan Chaoyong..."

Duan Chaoyong?!

Upon hearing these three words, Guo Xun felt increasingly worried, but at the same time, he became even more certain that adopting Yan Maoqing as his godson today was a wise move.

"and after?"

"Later, you learned that this Duan Chaoyong was actually recommended by your adoptive father. This man has betrayed your adoptive father and confessed that the silverware you presented to the Emperor was funded by your adoptive father," Yan Maoqing continued.
"The Emperor was furious and questioned me about whether I, like Duan Chaoyong, had conspired with my adoptive father to deceive the Emperor."

“I vehemently denied it, but Tao Zhongwen kept obstructing me, determined to confirm my adoptive father’s crime of deceiving the emperor and put him to death.”

"To protect myself and, more importantly, to defend my adoptive father, I lost my temper during the argument and spoke rudely to Tao Zhongwen, which angered the Emperor. I was punished with a cane and thrown out of the West Garden for the crime of shouting in the palace."

"Father, although I have not been exposed yet, with Duan Chaoyong's betrayal and Tao Zhongwen's slander, I am afraid you are in danger."

"Therefore, please take precautions in advance, and do not be negligent and make a mistake!"

"Crack!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Xun smashed his teacup and flew into a rage:

"That scoundrel Tao Zhongwen, I am his sworn enemy. Do you really think I have no dirt on him?"

He had no choice but to believe it, since even Guo Xun's close confidants knew very little about Duan Chaoyong's affairs, and since the emperor was currently handling the matter in secret, very few people in the court knew about it.

Besides, Yan Maoqing is an outsider whom we've only recently come into contact with.
Yan Maoqing was secretly delighted upon seeing this.

very good!

Let them fight already, let the dogs fight, it'll leave a mess.

Anyway, neither of them are good people!

Such a move, where one tiger tries to devour another, could escalate into a major scandal and cause Jiajing to lose face. He would likely not let either of them off the hook.

When that time comes, Yan Maoqing, Guo Xun's newly recognized "adopted son," will naturally be implicated and will be forced to retire and return to his hometown, achieving three goals at once!
……

Meanwhile, in Gao's study.

Under the dim light of an oil lamp, the serious-minded Gao Gong was diligently recording his notes (diary) as usual before bedtime:
[My dear brother Jingqing, I'm sorry, I lied.]

[I have already personally promised to take your warning to heart, so how could I possibly gossip about it during class? Am I, Gao Gong, such a dishonest person?]

[It was only because I finished my lessons today that a palace eunuch stopped me.]

[The eunuch possesses the Emperor's decree; he is acting on the Emperor's orders to summon me for questioning.]

[My father-in-law didn't ask anything else, only why I went into your room last night after we drank together and didn't come out all night.]

Although I do not know why this matter has alarmed the Emperor, I dare not inquire further.

But loyalty and filial piety have always been a difficult choice. If loyalty and filial piety are so difficult to reconcile, how can the bond between us possibly withstand the weight of loyalty and filial piety?

I aspire to be a loyal subject before a good friend, therefore I must fulfill my duty as a subject and tell you everything you said last night.

【Brother Jingqing, you are a reasonable person. I believe you will understand me when you learn of this.】

[However, the palace servants have already issued a decree on behalf of the Emperor, forbidding me from revealing this matter. This is also the duty of a subject. Therefore, I can only remind you in this way, which neither violates the principles of a subject nor betrays the friendship between gentlemen.]

If you no longer wish to associate with me because of this, I understand.

However, my dear brother Jingqing, I was truly happy for you when I learned that you had recovered from tuberculosis.

I said today that I would make it up to you in the future, and that I would do everything in my power to protect you at the Hanlin Academy. This is no lie...

(End of this chapter)