Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Worry-Free Cave.

In an extremely wide underground ditch, caves were built and dug out, and this place was also known as Ghost Fanlou.

In one of the luxuriously decorated caves, several people sat at separate tables, their expressions solemn and the atmosphere oppressive.

After a long silence, the middle-aged man at the head of the table slowly spoke: "The imperial court is now watching us. Everyone should be more discreet in the near future to avoid unnecessary trouble!"

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

The person at the head of the table then said, "Now let's talk about the recent losses!"

The men's expressions turned serious, and they began to report.

"While the brothels and other openly operated businesses were not actually damaged due to prior warnings, Gao Zhao's order for the Imperial Guards to conduct successive raids severely impacted business, causing a sharp decline in revenue across all sectors!"

"The Imperial Guards launched a surprise attack on the Rainbow Bridge Wharf, and our 500,000 strings of cash were confiscated by the government. Several key leaders of the Bianshui Foot Carriers were arrested. This supply line has been severed, and the losses are devastating!"

……

The leader at the head of the table listened to the reports, his face grim, his brows furrowed, and he said unhappily, "What's going on with this Gao Zhao? Why did he attack us for no reason!"

"Chief, I know about this!" One of the dark-faced men stood up abruptly, shouting indignantly, "This whole thing started with Fu Jin, one of Mr. Feng's men. He angered Gao Zhao, almost causing the Beggars' Clan to be wiped out. Fu Jin should have been punished for that, but Mr. Feng protected him. Later, because of the Gold-Dissolving Cave incident, Fu Jin led his men to threaten Gao Zhao, which led to this disaster!"

Upon hearing this, the leader turned to look at Mr. Feng, his eyes questioning.

Mr. Feng rose and bowed, stating without hesitation, "This is indeed true. Gao Zhao is the son of Gao Qiu, the Palace Attendant. Fu Jin had a conflict with him, but out of respect for Gao Zhao's status, he always held back and did not do anything drastic!"

"The so-called threat was really just a warning, an attempt to settle things peacefully..."

At this point, Mr. Feng paused, his expression turning somewhat grim, and said, "I just never expected this young man to be so different from ordinary people, to hold a grudge because of this, and to actually go to the Rainbow Bridge Wharf and rob all of our 400,000 strings of cash!"

The leader pondered his words, nodded, and was about to issue instructions when he suddenly paused, puzzled, and asked, "What did you just say? Four hundred thousand strings of cash?"

"That's right! It's exactly four hundred thousand strings of cash!" Mr. Feng affirmed. "The Emperor himself said it in court!"

"Nonsense!" The dark-faced man roared in anger, slamming his fist on the table. "It was clearly 500,000 strings of cash! I saw it loaded onto the ship with my own eyes!"

"Heh..." Mr. Feng sneered, his meaning ambiguous, "You mean Emperor Zhao is lying? He's giving himself false accounts? Embezzling his own 100,000 strings of cash?"

"Feng Guishan, what do you mean by that! Do you suspect I embezzled that 100,000 strings of cash?!"

The dark-faced man was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "There are so many corrupt officials in the court. It's not impossible that those involved would embezzle funds! What makes you think you can suspect me?!"

Mr. Feng smiled slightly, but did not respond to the dark-faced man. He continued to the leader, "I have acquaintances in the inner treasury who have found out the appearance and quantity of the wooden crates. They are exactly the same as the ones we loaded onto the ship, but the amount of money is 100,000 strings of cash less..."

"Heh, I can't imagine what corrupt official would do something like this in full view of everyone! But if it were..."

"What do you mean, 'what if'?!" The dark-faced man's face turned a deep purplish-red as he roared, "You scoundrel, don't try to sow discord! I've followed the leader for years! Back when the Xiaoyao Cave was in chaos..."

"Enough!" The leader shouted, his voice echoing throughout the cave. Everyone immediately fell silent, standing at attention with their hands at their sides, not daring to utter another word.

"Look at the state of you all! What kind of behavior is this!" The leader's gaze swept coldly over the crowd, and he sneered, "Our enemies haven't even done anything to us yet, and you're already fighting amongst yourselves! I trust Old Hao; he wouldn't do anything to line his own pockets! This matter is over, and you are not to mention it again!"

"Here you go!"

Everyone responded in unison.

The dark-faced man was extremely excited, his eyes were red, and he looked deeply grateful.

Mr. Feng smiled without saying a word, which was quite meaningful. Many things cannot be accomplished immediately and require patience. The leader may truly trust him now, but the seeds of doubt have been sown and will sprout sooner or later!

The leader looked at everyone with satisfaction and said, "The most urgent task right now is not to assign blame, but to solve the problem. Tell me, what have you all done?"

The other man cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the leader, we have already used our connections to find Cao You and have him speak to Gao Zhao on our behalf to make peace... However... Gao Zhao thinks five thousand strings of cash is too little and refuses to budge!"

"Five thousand strings of cash isn't enough? He really thinks he's someone important!" The leader shook his head and sneered, "Then how much does he want?"

"He didn't say!" the man said hesitantly. "He said he would do something, and let us decide for ourselves!"

"Oh, so this is a threat!" The leader scoffed, turning to the dark-faced man and asking, "Have you completely severed ties with the Bianshui Foot Gang?"

"It's all been cleaned up!" The dark-faced man nodded. "After their incident, I withdrew all the personnel from the eastern market district. If Gao Zhao goes there to cause trouble, he'll only find nothing!"

"Excellent!" The leader laughed with satisfaction. "Let's see what tricks this newly appointed Attendant Gao can pull and how high a price we'll have to offer!"

"Haha..." Everyone laughed, but Mr. Feng was secretly alarmed. The leader had mentioned Gao Zhao's promotion so readily, which showed that he was very well-informed!

And what about his performance just now...?

Just as everyone was laughing, a man suddenly burst in from outside, panicking, "Chief, something terrible has happened! Gao Zhao has led his troops and wiped out our pawnshop!"

Everyone was shocked and looked at the newcomers. It was no ordinary pawnshop; it was an important channel for them to sell stolen goods!

The leader was also greatly alarmed and hurriedly asked, "How did he know about that place! I deliberately mixed that pawnshop among the other four, whose relationships are intricate and complex. How did he manage to distinguish them?"

"He didn't try to explain!" the visitor said with a wry smile. "He wiped out all five families!"

Everyone: "..."

Damn it, this bastard really doesn't follow the rules!

Meanwhile, inside the pawnshop, Gao Zhao was commanding the imperial guards to arrest the shopkeeper, clerk, and others, looking quite triumphant.

Zhou Ang rushed over and reported, "At the gate, the stolen goods have been counted, and the value is estimated to be a million strings of cash!"

Gao Zhao glanced at him, then said calmly, "One person acts for personal gain, two people act for the public good. Shi Qian, you should also take stock!"

"Yes, sir!" Shi Qian accepted the order and left.

Gao Zhao continued to deal with the shopkeepers who threatened them by revealing their owners. Instead of getting angry, he had people record the incidents and make them sign and seal them.

While they were busy working, Shi Qian rushed back and reported, "Upon returning to the palace gate, the total amount of embezzled funds was over 128,400 strings of cash!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ang quickly replied, "You only ordered cash; there are other rare and precious treasures..."

"Zhou Ang!" Gao Zhao interrupted him loudly, glancing at him sideways and saying indifferently, "You're quite the expert in appraising antiques and treasures?"

"Uh..." Zhou Ang hesitated, "This subordinate doesn't understand!"

"If you don't understand, what gives you the right to price those stolen goods?"

"Uh... this..." Zhou Ang was speechless, and awkwardly said, "Then these treasures..."

"That's easy!" Shi Qian interjected. "Just send them to the Ge Men's house and let them examine them one by one!"

"Oh dear... Old Shi, how could you... do this!"

"Those who are capable should do more work!"

"Oh dear, I just can't do anything with you!"

……

Zhou Ang grimaced as he listened, feeling that his upright soul was completely out of place with these people!