"Shao Fang?" Gao Gong pondered and said, "What are you doing here?"

"He said he had something important to report to the master." Gao Fu replied.

"Eh... He is just a gangster, what important matter could he have?" Gao Gong pulled his needle-like beard, wondering what this guy's purpose was.

"Did the villain reply to him?" Gao Fu asked softly.

"Now that you're here, let's meet each other." Gao Gong was bored and wished someone would come and talk to him.

"Yes." Gao Fu responded and went out to pass on the message.

~~

Outside Gao Laozhuang, the person who came was Shao Fang.

Last month, he paid a visit to Xu Jie in Huating and felt humiliated, so he angrily headed north with his son-in-law Shen Yingkui. After a tiring journey of 2,000 miles by boat, they finally arrived in Xinzheng County.

The father and son found a hotel in the county town, stayed there, washed off the dust on their bodies, and had a good rest for the night.

Today, he dressed up from head to toe and came to Gaojiazhuang to pay a visit to Gao Gong.

Shen Yingkui was in his early twenties. He was handsome and strong, but he looked bookish.

He glanced at the situation in the village vigilantly and whispered to Shao Fang, "Father-in-law, there are several secret guards at the entrance of the village."

"Normal." Shao Fang wore a tall hat and a wide belt, and gently waved a feather fan, but his eyes were filled with ambition, which was out of place with his calm scholar-official attire.

"If no one had protected Gao Huzi, he would have been killed many times by those people."

"Then who is protecting him?" Shen Yingkui asked curiously.

"Who else could it be?" Shao Fang said calmly, "Given Gao Huzi's offensive temper, only His Majesty would treat him as a treasure."

"Your Majesty has been protecting Gao Xinzheng?" Shen Yingkui opened his mouth slightly in surprise. "Doesn't that mean that Your Majesty still wants to use him?"

"Of course." Shao Fang sighed and said, "Otherwise, why would we travel such a long distance to find him?"

In fact, Shao Fang and the people behind him always preferred Xu Jie as their favorite candidate.

Firstly, we are all from the south, so our interests are relatively the same. Secondly, Lord Xu is more gentle, forgiving, and quiet, so it is more comfortable to work under him.

However, the goddess has feelings for the king, but he is not interested. Shao the hero flirts with her but the other person does not appreciate it. What can he do?

We can only give up the near and take the far, and settle for the second best.

"Father-in-law, I heard that this Gao Huzi is a firecracker who gets mad easily. I'm afraid he's even harder to deal with than Xu Huating."

"You're wrong." Shao Fang shook her head and said, "It's true that Lord Xu is a very friendly person, but no one can guess what he's thinking. Gao Gong shows everything on his face, so there's no need to guess... If you just go along with him, it'll be easier to get along with him."

After a pause, he sighed softly and said, "It's just that I have to be more restrained under him. I don't feel very comfortable."

As he was talking, an old servant came out, bowed and said, "You two, my master wants to see you."

~~

As the father-in-law and son-in-law followed the old servant into the farm, they saw a brand new golden archway with four large characters "Good Teacher and Wise Minister" inscribed on it. This was written by Emperor Longqing and given to Master Gao as a talisman.

Otherwise, there are countless vassal kings in Henan, and with Master Gao's hot temper that easily offends people, his house might be set on fire at any time.

When you pass the archway, you can see blue brick and tile houses, the road is paved with stone slabs, and there are drainage channels on both sides.

Although it is far from comparable to the exquisite Jiangnan courtyards, it still stands out among the other palaces in Xinzheng County, except for the prince's mansion.

The two men came to the large house in the center of the farmhouse. They saw that although the five-courtyard house was large, it was no different from an ordinary landlord's house. There was not even a pair of imposing stone lions outside the door. Compared with the Tuisi Garden of Lord Xu in Huating, it was so shabby that it did not even look like a Lord's residence.

In fact, in terms of family background, Gao Gong's family is much stronger than Xu Jie's.

His grandfather Gao Kui was a juren during the Chenghua period and served as a Langzhong in the Yuheng Qinglisi of the Ministry of Works, in charge of mountains and lakes, bridges, roads, boats and vehicles, weaving, certificates and deeds, and military equipment manufacturing, which was the most lucrative position in the country.

His father, Gao Shangxian, was a Jinshi in the 12th year of Zhengde, and served as the Shandong Provincial Education Commissioner, Shanxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and Guanglu Temple Junior Secretary.

His elder brother Gao Jie became a Jinshi in the 14th year of Jiajing, and served as the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Censorate and the Right Councillor of Shaanxi.

The second elder brother, Gao Duo, was the right captain of the Jinwu Guard.

The fourth brother is a talented man with experience in the Governor's Office.

The youngest brother, Gao Jian, was the magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture.

The Gao family had been a prominent official for generations, and all the brothers were well-known and talented. It was unimaginable that the Gao family didn't even have a garden.

The father-in-law and son-in-law followed Gao Fu around the screen wall, passed through the hall, and entered the back house, where they saw a fierce old man wearing a net scarf and a half-worn Taoist robe, lying on a mat under the camellia stand in the right corner of the yard.

Seeing that there were outsiders trying their best, the old man sat up, grimaced, and cursed in Xinzheng dialect, as if he was very unwelcome to them.

"This, is this Mr. Gao?" Seeing that the old man seemed to be mentally unstable, Shao couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, thinking to himself, could it be that Gao Gong has gone crazy?

"This is the old master." Gao Fu hurriedly explained, and whispered: "He is old and a little confused."

"So you are the High Chancellor." Shao Fang quickly bowed and said, "When the High Chancellor was the Imperial Censor, I was once summoned to fight under your command against the Japanese invaders. I still remember your heroic appearance at that time, wearing armor and holding a sharp weapon!"

"Oh..." Gao Jie immediately found him more pleasing to the eye. He shook off the servant's hand, took Shao Fang's hand, and excitedly recounted his glorious achievements in the past.

"At Yanziji, I command a huge army!"

"In the Yangtze River, I am training the Tianhe Navy!"

"Below the city of Jinling, I fought alone against tens of thousands of Japanese pirates..."

Shen Yingkui broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. What the hell is going on?

But Shao Fang was very excited and responded loudly, making the old man run around.

If Gao Fu hadn't been unable to bear it any longer and had forced the old man in, the two of them would have knocked their heads to the ground and become sworn half-brothers.

In the flower hall, Gao Gong had already become impatient waiting.

When Gao Fu brought Shao Fang in, his face already looked bad.

The Gao family is full of people with bad tempers. Before his eldest brother became confused, Gao Gong had the worst temper. He immediately frowned and asked, "Why did it take so long?"

Gao Fu hurriedly explained that the old man took Master Shao aside and chatted with him for a while.

Gao Gong's expression eased a little, and he snorted, "Everyone gets old one day, there's no need to make a fuss."

"Mr. Gao, you are overthinking. I have always admired Prime Minister Gao. I am so happy to see him again." Shao Fang's ability to speak differently to different people is truly unmatched.

"Please sit down and have some tea." Gao Gong waved his hand and asked Shao Fang to sit down. He said, "I heard that the Danyang hero has always been active in Jiangnan. What brings you to our place?"

Gao Gong is not Xu Jie. If you talk to him, it will be confusing. You will be kicked out of Gao Village within three sentences. So Shao Fang changed his tactics and said directly:

"I'm here to ask a question - Prime Minister Gao, do you want to return to the cabinet?!"

"Hiss..." Seeing that he asked so directly, even Gao Gong didn't know how to answer. He could only laugh exaggeratedly twice and said nonsense:

"I ate green onions and didn't brush my teeth."

ps. Second update.