Chapter 104 There are fish in the water
"I want to plead for Jie Qianchou. As the saying goes, 'A thousand pieces of gold can buy a horse's bones.' If even such a stubborn person pledges allegiance to you, it will benefit your prestige."
"Besides, you have just entered the city, and the powerful families of Yanyang City are all watching and waiting. Only if you are tolerant will they feel at ease. Otherwise, if the Li, Jin, and Hong families attack you, they will have second thoughts, and the Grand Tutor will suffer from being attacked from both sides."
"If you truly cannot tolerate Jie Qianchou, once this predicament is resolved, I can easily find an excuse to kill him."
Fearing that Guan Zhiwei would disagree, Gao Huan listed his reasons one by one, trying to be as persuasive as possible.
Guan Zhiwei didn't want to listen to his long-winded explanation, so she waved her hand and said, "Whatever. You're tolerant, isn't that a good thing?"
Gao Huan pondered the sentence over and over, feeling that it contained some extraordinary meaning.
"The Grand Tutor wanted to kill him because he insulted me?"
Guan Zhi smiled and said, "No, it's because of Yuan Chizheng."
Gao Huan revealed a disdainful expression: "At least in advising against killing Yuan Chizheng, Jie Qianchou was not wrong. If Yuan Qiuhe had been willing to take his advice, this city would not have fallen so quickly."
Guan Zhiwei thought about it and realized that what he said made sense; Yuan Chizheng was indeed a troublemaker.
Gao Huan tentatively said, "Jie Qianchou is one of the best among Yuan Qiuhe's strategists. He comes from a very high family and is very talented. He is indeed quite capable, but his words are too sharp, which makes him unpopular with Yuan Qiuhe."
Guan Zhiwei pouted: "I don't like him either. A strong person should be capable, not nitpicking and finding fault with others."
Gao Huan considered the matter carefully: "In my opinion, if the Grand Tutor is willing to treat scholars with respect, he will still submit to the Grand Tutor."
Guan Zhiwei looked impatient and sneered repeatedly: "There are so many people in the world, why should I coax him? Did he give me any money? Not a single penny. He's just making a fuss over there, acting like a noble prince, expecting me to cooperate with him? Does he even know what's important? Does he think I'm his bed, that I can be cold when he wants, hot when he wants, or on his bed whenever he wants?"
“The Xie family is willing to pay this amount as a tribute to the Grand Tutor.” Gao Huan held up his hand, showing his five fingers.
Five tons?
Five thousand tons.
Guan Zhiwei's expression changed instantly: "I think Jie Qianchou has the potential to become a loyal minister and a good general."
"Your expression changes pretty quickly."
"Oh dear, who isn't just a common person?" Guan Zhiwei said with a smirk, "They all bring gifts and offer suggestions; I'm happy to listen to any advice."
Gao Huan deliberately asked, "Grand Tutor, has forgiveness solved all your worries? Shouldn't you ask Yuan Chizheng's opinion?"
Guan Zhiwei replied vaguely, "A-Zheng is understanding and won't have any objections."
Gao Huan smiled and said, "The Grand Tutor is really good to Yuan Chizheng; he even asks for his opinion."
Guan Zhiwei said seriously, "Yes, I'm much better to him than I am to you."
Gao Huan paused for a moment, looked up at Guan Zhiwei, and said indifferently, "Although I can't rank ahead of Zhi Junyuan, I'm still confident that I'll rank ahead of Yuan Chi. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought up the matter of relieving Thousands of Sorrows."
Guan Zhiwei clicked her tongue.
They had a fierce argument, which ended with her leaving. When she returned, the war was raging, and she had no time to discuss these personal grievances.
Now their eyes meet.
Gao Huan began to gaze at her intently again.
Guan Zhiwei reached into her pocket and held out her hand: "This is for you."
"What is this?" Gao Huan asked, picking it up and examining it closely, his face displaying an indescribable expression.
Guan Zhiwei laughed and said, "The imperial seal is real. The one in the capital is fake, as Yuan Qiuhe said."
Gao Huan knelt down with a thud, raising his hands above his head: "I dare not accept this, please do not mock me, Grand Tutor."
Guan Zhiwei grinned at his somewhat frightened expression and said, "If you don't want it, then I'll throw it away."
With a thud.
Gao Huan stared blankly at the splashing water.
He panicked and flipped over the railing on the bridge.
He was so fast that Guan Zhiwei couldn't catch him.
He tossed his cloak aside and jumped into the water with a splash. It was winter water, and the biting cold felt like knives cutting all over his body. His calves throbbed, and he gritted his teeth, thrashing about in the water like a drowning fish.
Guan Zhiwei was shocked: "Are you crazy? Jumping into the water in the dead of winter! Get up right now!"
"I can't find it." Gao Huan was frantic.
He was soaked to the bone, his hair was wet and stuck to his skin, and his face was paler than paper, lifeless.
Guan Zhiwei lay on the bridge and shouted, "Because I didn't throw it down, I just threw a stone."
Gao Huan's heart suddenly relaxed, and he sank heavily into the water.
The icy water swallowed him.
The water became calm, then suddenly shattered as if glass had broken. He surged out, clutching a fish in his hand.
"Grand Tutor, there are really no grass carp in this water, only goldfish."
"...Hurry up and get on, or you'll lose a few more lives in jail."
Gao Huan shivered as he got ashore. Guan Zhiwei draped his cloak over him, took him to the nearest room, had someone light a brazier, brought him clothes, wiped off the water droplets, and helped him change into new clothes.
These few movements alone nearly killed him; his face was ashen, his body was ice-cold, and he looked like a living person.
Guan Zhiwei retorted speechlessly, "Even if I really threw that jade seal in, it wouldn't be worth you jumping in to look for it. You usually seem quite smart, how come you do something so stupid?"
"Wasn't that also to help the Grand Tutor check if there were any fish in the water?" Gao Huan tried to save face.
Guan Zhiwei scoffed at his nonsense and said, "I'll find someone to get you some ginger tea. Or, I'll find you a doctor."
"No, it's not necessary to go to that much trouble." Gao Huan's teeth chattered, his vision blurred, and his hands trembled.
He rummaged through his old clothes for a while, found an awl, and plunged it into his heart. His veins bulged, and with a forceful pull, he collapsed to the ground.
"..." Guan Zhiwei watched helplessly as he choked.
She even exclaimed with admiration, "So efficient and decisive!"
The wound from the awl was small and healed quickly.
His pupils focused.
It's alive again.
It returned to a state of being half-dead but still alive.
Guan Zhiwei looked him up and down: "Don't lie, tell the truth. You're so skilled at it, has it been done several times already?"
“Sometimes when I work late into the night without sleeping, my body breaks down and it’s easier to just die. Sometimes I’m half-dead and in pain, so I just have to cut myself. I later found that using an awl is the best way to die quickly, with a small incision and no mess on my clothes. The only problem is that you have to pull it out quickly after you’ve stabbed me, which really tests your last-minute technique.”
Gao Huan carefully wiped the blood off the awl, then put it away to use again next time.
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