People in the south love to drink tea, and Helue Town is located near mountains and rivers, and tea is produced nearby, so there are teahouses and tea stalls everywhere.
In a popular tea stall where a seat costs two cents and refills are unlimited, a tall and burly man dressed as a Daqi official looks strange.
"You said you slept in the Dongyue Temple last night and were taken in by the Dongyue Emperor?"
The man's name was Zeng Wu. He was Kong Hanan's good friend in the town. He was a generous and righteous man. He was also lucky enough to work as a yamen runner in the town. He often took Kong Hanan out for a meal.
Kong Hanan invited him here so that he could use the convenience of the official position to inquire about the news of the Gu Mansion.
Feeling something was amiss, Zeng Wu rubbed his face, regaining his proper stern demeanor on official business. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Did the Great Emperor Dongyue take you in in a dream?"
Kong Hanan knew that Zeng Wu suspected that he was dreaming, but the emperor really took him in in a dream.
He could only nod helplessly and sighed: "Old Zeng, none of this matters. What matters is, do you know any news related to the Gu Mansion?"
Zeng Wu's face was solemn: "Master Gu, he is a truly good man. He built bridges and roads, benefited the local area, and was an honest official, never committing any crime..."
"Stop, stop, stop... This isn't the Gu Mansion, nor is it a government office. It's just a run-down tea stall. The Emperor told me that Master Gu is dead."
Kong Hanan interrupted Zeng Wu's nonsense, looked around, moved closer to Zeng Wu, and spoke in a low voice.
"If he was truly incorruptible, how could he have built such a luxurious mansion? Where did he get the money to benefit the locals?"
Did you dream that the Emperor told you that Master Gu was dead? How much do you hate Master Gu?
Zeng Wu's expression started to look strange again, and he suspected that his brother had hysteria.
But Kong Hanan was skillful in speaking. Ordinary people always had hatred towards the rich, and workers would naturally be in opposition to their superiors. Sure enough, when talking about gossip, Zeng Wu was shocked.
He looked around, moved closer to Kong Hanan, and started talking about gossip enthusiastically.
It turns out that for a high-ranking official like Gu Qiang who returned to his hometown, local officials had to pay their respects to him frequently. After all, this was a feudal society, and they did have some inside stories.
It’s hard to say what dirty deeds Mr. Gu has done, but there are indeed problems with the Gu family.
Years ago, Mr. Gu was indeed seriously ill. His eldest son was so filial that he prayed to God to sacrifice himself in his father's place.
So, the eldest son suddenly became a fool, and Mr. Gu's illness suddenly recovered.
Moreover, when he was alive, Mr. Gu preferred his second son who was capable and good at making money. However, his second son was sent to the north to do business some time ago, and the third son naturally became the next generation of the Gu family's helmsman.
Kong Hanan had also heard a little about the story of the eldest son of the Gu family taking his own life in place of his father. He thought that it was a noble family trying to build momentum for their own child, but he didn't expect that this would actually lead to a story of a feud between brothers.
Kong Hanan, who experienced the supernatural events personally and became a ghost messenger, keenly noticed that something was wrong.
"There must be something wrong with this third brother!"
Zeng Wu covered his face. Isn’t this obvious?
This guy, after taking a nap in Dongyue Temple, became even more dazed.
Zeng Wu jokingly asked Kong Hanan, "So what are you going to do? You can't just go to Mr. Gu's house and tell him that your life is over, right?"
Yes, this is indeed a bit impolite. Kong Hanan rubbed his forehead in pain.
He is a ghost messenger now, but he is still alive. He can't really float in in the middle of the night to take souls as the legend says.
Zeng Wu drank the tea in front of him, patted Kong Hanan on the shoulder, and said, "Don't blame me for not helping you. I have news for you. It is said that the second young master of the Gu family will be back soon. There may be some trouble in the Gu family by then. You just wait patiently..."
Kong Hanan was still stuck in the dilemma of being impolite and didn't come to his senses for a while.
Zeng Wu shook his head, paid the bill, and went back to the yamen to report in.
Kong Hanan once said that if you are not active after get off work, there is something wrong with your brain, and Zeng Wu deeply agreed with him.
The sun gradually dimmed and the tea stall was about to close, so Kong Hanan had no choice but to get up.
He was in a daze, his mind full of thoughts about how to capture Mr. Gu's soul, and before he knew it, he had once again walked to the Gu Mansion.
"Hey, isn't this Brother Kong? Why do you look so sad?"
When Kong Hanan heard the voice, he looked over and saw a scholar in blue clothes, about the same age as him, but shorter and more plump, riding a tall horse and bowing to him.
This man was called Gu Hao, the son of the second wife of the Gu family and the grandson of Mr. Gu Qiang. He had studied at the local school with Kong Hanan, but due to the class difference, their relationship was only that of an acquaintance.
"It's a bit difficult, and I can't figure out how to deal with it for the time being."
Kong Hanan scratched his head. He didn't know why, but he always felt that he was not in good shape today.
As the saying goes, it's best not to talk about deep things with someone you're not familiar with. Gu Hao was just being polite, but Kong Hanan took the conversation unexpectedly. He had no choice but to follow up and ask, "What's the problem? Tell me about it. Maybe I can help you."
Seeing Kong Hanan's distraught look, he became a little wary: "Brother Kong, are you short of money?"
Kong Hanan was a little annoyed. He was indeed short of money recently. A few days ago, a fierce ghost asked for ghost money to buy his life. He was a little sensitive to the word money.
The shame and anger on Kong Hanan's face made Gu Hao more convinced of his own judgment. "Brother Kong, if it's because you're short of money, then I have to apologize. Although my father has recently earned tens of thousands of taels of gold in the north, that's not something I can control. I really can't help you."
In the Great Qi State, one tael of gold was equal to ten taels of silver, which was equal to ten strings of copper coins, and equivalent to ten thousand copper coins.
Kong Hanan and Zeng Wu had just spent the entire afternoon drinking tea together using four copper coins.
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