Although he was a county magistrate, Gao Zhixian was a thoroughly honest official. In his years in office, he had never embezzled a single ounce of silver. All the expenses of the mansion came from that meager salary.
Even so, since Mrs. Gao's death, Gao Zhixian would spare no effort to buy Gao Xiner whatever she wanted from childhood to adulthood. Fortunately, Mrs. Gao left him a huge dowry after her death, otherwise, Gao Zhixian would not know how sorry he had been for his daughter over the years.
But I didn't expect that after ten years of hard work, I would actually raise such a thing.
When Gao Xiner saw that Gao Zhixian was really angry, her expression changed immediately. She squeezed out two tears and looked at Gao Zhixian with tearful eyes.
She is seventeen years old this year and is old enough to get married. She is extremely happy at the thought of marrying Hu Shuo immediately.
Therefore, Gao Xiner felt that today, for her future happy life, she decided to fight.
"Dad, Xin'er begs you, I really think I'm in love with you, but you can help us, this star-crossed couple, to be together."
Gao Xiner grabbed the arm of the Gao Zhixian and begged him non-stop. Thinking of the nonsense and the way that man kept taking his daughter's money and never returning it, it was obvious that he was a bad person. The Gao Zhixian immediately decided that no matter what, he would not marry his daughter to such a man.
Recently, Prime Minister Li's accomplices in the capital have been forcing him to obey Prime Minister Li and work for him wholeheartedly, which has made him exhausted. But he didn't expect that his daughter would be so troublesome.
Gao Zhixian rubbed his forehead, pulled Gao Xiner's arm away abruptly, glared at her and cursed.
"You're still a pair of miserable mandarin ducks. I think if you really marry him, you'll be a pair of miserable crows. No, you want to marry someone like Hu Shuo. I absolutely won't allow it. Just give up on this idea."
This was the first time in her life that her father had been so cruel and resolute to her. Gao Xiner's eyes immediately turned red and she immediately started arguing with the magistrate Gao. She jumped up and down and made a fuss.
"I don't care, Dad. I'm going to marry Hu Shuo no matter what."
Kochi Prefecture's expression turned stern.
"What if I don't allow it?"
Gao Xiner was now somewhat resentful of her father, her brow furious, "If you really don't allow me, I will sever our father-daughter relationship and never see each other again in this life."
Kochi Prefecture: “…”
Looking at his daughter who treated him like an enemy, Kochi Prefecture was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to react. What a sin, what a sin.
He was so furious that he couldn't control his temper for the first time. He immediately slapped Gao Xiner, who was full of anger.
Zhou Beichen was stunned when he heard the "pop" sound, and then he was filled with boundless emotion.
If his daughter dared to do what Gao Xiner did and sever the father-daughter relationship for a man, he thought, in a fit of rage, he would probably beat Zhou Zhaonuan so hard that she couldn't get out of bed, so that she would never dare to have such an idea again.
However, thinking of his well-behaved and lovely daughter, Zhou Beichen couldn't help but smile. His daughter was the best and most sensible. Duan Ran would not be like Gao Xiner. He had never slapped his daughter.
Gao Xiner's face was tilted to one side after being hit. She was stunned by the pain and had lost her previous arrogance. She covered her face with one hand and looked at Gao Zhixian in disbelief, her eyes blurred with tears.
"Dad... Dad, how could you hit me like this? Woo... Woo, I don't want to pay attention to you anymore. Even if you come to comfort me and apologize to me, I won't pay attention to you. I'm going to find Brother Hu Shuo."
Gao Xiner looked at Gao Zhixian with eyes full of hatred. Without waiting for Gao Zhixian to say anything, she covered her face and ran away.
Gao Zhixian raised his right hand, feeling extremely regretful, but then he changed his mind and thought that instead of this, it would be better to let her see Hu Shuo's face clearly. He had already investigated Hu Shuo behind the scenes. This man was the prime minister's master, and all the silver his daughter had given him was lost in gambling by him. Gao Zhixian had also spoken to Gao Xiner, but Gao Xiner just didn't believe him.
The magistrate had just instructed the yamen runners and the young lady to protect her when Zhou Beichen walked in from behind the gate with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. The first words he said when he saw the magistrate were...
"Kozhi County, I see your daughter is so willful and unreasonable. It's obvious that she wasn't disciplined enough when she was young."
Kochi Prefecture: “…”
Looking at the man who came in a crescent-colored robe and said this to him as soon as he came, he felt a little ambiguous. That was not right. He was so anxious that he did not invite anyone in today.
"May I ask your Excellency, are you..."
Kochi Prefecture narrowed his eyes, feeling that this person had a great background. Not wanting to offend anyone right away, he spoke in a very polite tone.
Zhou Beichen's eyes lit up. This guy wasn't too stupid. He might be of great use.
He glanced at Deshun, who understood and immediately trotted over to pull the increasingly confused Kochi-xian aside and carefully showed him something. Kochi-xian's mouth opened in surprise, and his eyes almost popped out.
He hurried back, ran to Zhou Beichen, and knelt on his knees. "Your Majesty, long live the emperor. I didn't know you were coming here, and I failed to greet you. I beg your forgiveness."
Zhou Beichen stared at him intently for a while. He had long known this man's reputation, so there was naturally no need for him to say anything more. He paused and said something.
"County Magistrate Gao, it's true that you are an honest official, but your daughter is not as good as mine. My daughter is well-behaved, obedient, and sensible. Duan Ran is not like your daughter. She doesn't have you as her father in her heart, but only that Hu Lang."
When Zhou Beichen said this, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, showing that he was very happy.
Kochi Prefecture: “…”
He was totally confused for a moment. What did the emperor mean? How should he respond? Could he simply be showing off his daughter? If so, the emperor was not at all like the tyrant that the people described him as. He was clearly a kind father.
However, even if he showed off, it was useless. In his heart, no matter what, his Xin'er was the best. She was his precious daughter. He believed that his daughter would always be sensible. It was also his fault that he raised a good daughter into a waste. After his wife died, he always felt sorry for his daughter, so he spoiled her too much.
"Your Majesty is right. The Princess of the Heavenly Family is naturally not comparable to my little daughter."
Gao Zhixian said this carefully, and sure enough, he saw the corners of Zhou Beichen's mouth curled up unconsciously. He sighed that he had made the right bet, and kept thinking in his heart, could it be that this show-off of his daughter is not only liked by him as a father, but also by the emperor?
Zhou Beichen straightened his expression, looked at Gao Zhixian, and continued.
"Lord Gao, I came here today to find out if any of Prime Minister Li's followers have been trying to pressure you into following Prime Minister Li's lead."
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