Chapter 52 Unreserved (Part 2) I've heard that the Zhen family is the most powerful in Hebei…
The following day, Guo Jia and Deng Guo changed into plain clothes, prepared their medical kits, and boarded the carriage to Xu You's residence.
Deng Jie remained silent, looking up at Guo Jia's smiling eyes with unease. She calmed herself and nodded slightly.
The mansion gates were wide open, and Xu You was already sitting in the main hall, looking arrogant, surrounded by several attendants, making quite a show of his status.
When he saw Guo Jia and his wife enter, he not only did not get up, but instead took his feet out of his shoes, threw off his socks, and revealed his rough and old feet.
He deliberately dragged out his words, his smile forced and insincere, "When Mengde greeted me barefoot, I'm greeting you barefoot now! Consider it a return of courtesy!"
Seeing Guo Jia smiling, Deng Jie lowered his head and pursed his lips. Neither of them responded, nor did they show any displeasure. He couldn't help but feel annoyed. He snorted coldly, "My legs are getting worse and worse. Perhaps it's from working hard for the country these past few days. They're sore, numb, and swollen. It's even hard to walk. Madam, could you please take good care of them for me?"
Even though Guo Jia knew that he was pushing his luck, he never expected him to be so shameless.
He withdrew his hand and forced a smile: "This kind of thing... Jia can also do it for me."
These words surprised Xu You. How could the proud Guo Fengxiao be willing to suffer humiliation for his wife? He couldn't let him have his way.
He glanced at the copper basin filled with warm water that the servant had brought over, and said, "Why don't you trouble Fengxiao to wash these old feet of mine? Wash away the filth so that Madam can do her work, won't you?"
Deng Jie tightened his fingers, but Guo Jia pressed them down.
Guo Jia stepped forward two steps and said, "Of course, it is my honor."
As he spoke, he actually knelt down beside Xu You's bed, rolled up his sleeves, picked up Xu You's feet, and immersed them in the water.
As Deng Jie watched Guo Jia's humiliating and burdened figure, a surge of heat rushed to his head.
Recalling their plan before leaving, she suppressed her resentment and knelt beside Guo Jia before he finished washing, taking over his task to wipe Xu You's feet.
"Please relax, sir, and let me massage you."
She pressed precisely on the acupoints on the soles of Xu You's feet with just the right amount of pressure, which pleased Xu You greatly. He couldn't help but squint his eyes and hum, "Hmm...not bad! Madam's medical skills...are indeed quite remarkable..."
Guo Jia stared at Xu You's damned foot being placed on Deng Jie's leg, gritted his back teeth, got up and came behind Xu You, and said with a smile: "Jia can be considered half a disciple of Master Hua, so how about I open up your back for you, and then my wife will use acupuncture to unblock your meridians and relax your collaterals?"
Xu You relaxed, and seeing Guo Jia so obedient, he said happily, "Good, good! It's always the two of you who make me happiest!"
He smugly enjoyed the obedience of the chief priest and his wife under the watchful eyes of all the servants, feeling extremely pleased with himself.
When Guo Jia was about to undress him and expose his back, he waved his hand with satisfaction, dismissing everyone and closing the lattice door.
Deng Jie slowly stood up and exchanged a glance with Guo Jia.
She untied her needle pouch from her waist and laid it out on the table. Xu You was still startled by the sight at first glance.
Deng Jie placed her warm hand on his back and said softly, "Don't panic, sir. I'll start with the smallest one; it won't hurt."
As she spoke, she deftly began to insert the needles. "How is it? Is there any pain?"
Xu You tilted his head slightly: "Huh? I really didn't feel anything... Madam's technique is superb!"
Seeing that he had relaxed his guard, Guo Jia respectfully stood up and took out a brocade box from the chest, saying, "Then I will burn incense for you, sir, to help calm your mind."
As Xu You closed his eyes in satisfaction to enjoy the fragrance, Guo Jia gently shook off the spark in his hand and spoke in a soft voice, yet with a hint of coldness: "Does Mr. Ziyuan like this fragrance? It was carefully blended by my wife and will help you... to be frank with her."
Xu You casually replied, "Yes, thank you for your kindness, Madam."
"Sir, relax, I'm about to perform my master's ritual."
At this moment, Deng Jie gently flicked the longest and most terrifying silver needle in his needle pouch over the fire, and slowly hovered it about an inch above Xu You's Mingmen point on the back of his neck.
“If this acupuncture point is slightly off, it could result in paralysis on one side of the body, or even death immediately.” Her voice was chillingly calm.
"Hmm...Hmm?!" Xu You shuddered and straightened up, but then cried out "Ah!" as the needle tip pierced his skin, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Mr. Ziyuan, do not move!" Guo Jia pressed down on his head, and Deng Jie took out another silver needle and waved it in front of his eyes.
"Don't panic, sir. It's just one needle; it won't be fatal."
Xu You's body stiffened, cold sweat seeped from his back, and his voice trembled: "What...what do you want to do?! Guo Fengxiao, Deng Shi! Do you know you're plotting to kill me..."
"Murder?!" Guo Jia tightened his grip, his fingers pinching Xu You's head until his knuckles turned white. "Sir, have you forgotten what 'murder' things you've done?!"
"Hiring someone to ambush Yu Jia, using someone else to kill Brother Yu Yuanming, breaking into my house to murder my wife!" Guo Jia's voice grew increasingly fierce. "Oh, right, and there's also the plot to turn Xu Ta against me and assassinate you, Lord Ming... Who exactly is 'murdering' people?!"
"You, you're talking nonsense! How can you make baseless accusations without any evidence?!"
Guo Jia's other hand dropped the jade disc with the black bird and valley pattern. "This was a gift that you, my lord, personally gave to Mr. Xu. It was found on Xu. Can you deny it?"
"Isn't that...we were each serving our own masters in the past..." Xu You said tremblingly, "Fengxiao, Fengxiao, these are all misunderstandings. How about this, in my storeroom there are gold and silver artifacts, jewels and precious objects personally bestowed by Your Excellency, and there are many different kinds. You two can choose whichever one you like. From now on, we will go our separate ways and have no further contact with each other!"
Guo Jia waved his hand, "Not enough, not enough! Sir, you are extremely wealthy, how can this be enough for my poor husband and me?"
Upon hearing that his words were a demand for money, Xu You figured there was still room for negotiation, so he relaxed a little. "Easy, easy! This house and the fertile fields outside the city are all yours! If you don't believe me, you can go to the study now and get my land deeds and field deeds!"
Guo Jia gently pressed on the acupuncture point, and the pain mixed with a tingling sensation made Xu You hiss. "What are you doing! This is all I have in Xudu!"
Guo Jia shook his head. "Hmm... not enough, not honest enough."
Deng Jie pulled Xu You's arm aside and stabbed the three acupoints with a thick needle. The arm immediately lost sensation, startling Xu You into shouting, "Where's my hand? Where's my hand?! Someone, someone come quick!"
Deng Jie held up his palm for him to see, "Don't worry, sir, it's fine, but I can't feel much right now. If you honestly answer Fengxiao's questions, I will naturally remove the needles."
Xu You stared at the tightly closed lattice door, receiving no response, and said angrily, "What else do you want to ask! Everything I have is within your sight, why bother with this!"
Guo Jia walked up to him, looking down at him, and said, "Your Majesty, you once entered the palace to pay your respects to the Emperor. Did the Emperor not bestow any rewards upon you?"
"The Emperor... the Emperor is nothing but an empty shell. Back then, he merely granted me, Yuan Shao, permission to enter the city... He... he appointed me Grand Commandant, a hereditary title... But now I am your man, so what does the Emperor... the Emperor have left to give me?"
Guo Jia nodded in satisfaction. He wasn't lying; it was exactly what Lu Hong had reported.
"Indeed, then... what about Ye City? Are you truly sharing everything without reservation, sir?"
Xu You was taken aback, then said with a mournful face, "You...you still dare to ask about Ye City? After the trouble you two caused three years ago, my commercial and financial power was taken away by Shen Pei long ago!"
Deng Jie, in response to Guo Jia's questioning, stuck the needle into Xu You's head. Xu You screamed in pain again, stretching out his other trembling hand to Guo Jia: "I'll talk... I'll talk!"
Guo Jia nodded slightly, Deng Jie removed the silver needles from his head, and Xu You's eyes welled up with tears from the pain. He took out half a bronze talisman from his pocket, "I... I only have half a token of the Zhen family's trade route... They transfer their commission of gold and silver to Hanoi on the seventh of each month, and then try to transport it to Xuchang... This time they really have nothing to hold back!"
Guo Jia unceremoniously pulled out the bronze talisman, and with a wave of his hand, Deng Jie removed the silver needles from his body one by one.
"What about the other half?"
"The other half... is naturally in Madam Zhen's hands... I can't get my hands on that."
Xu You was panting. He suddenly remembered that nine years ago, it was this person in front of him and the then-young girl "Madam Zhen" who had conspired to trick him, forcing him to sign a contract in front of Zhen Yu, which split the bronze talisman in two.
Guo Jia smiled as he fiddled with the object in his hand, then suddenly raised his voice and said, "Zhongkang, did you hear me clearly?"
Xu Chu's massive figure emerged from the darkness of the inner hall, carrying a pale-faced maid in his hand, who was trembling as she wrote on bamboo slips with a pen.
"Xu Chu?!" Xu You turned around in alarm.
Guo Jia put his arm around Deng Jie, pushed open the main hall door, and quickly led her away.
"The traitor Xu You! He has colluded with Yuan Shao, framed his colleagues, stolen from the treasury, set fire to the palace and injured people, deceived the emperor, and plotted treason! The Minister of Works has decreed: such a treacherous and ungrateful wretch is of no use to be kept alive!"
Xu Chu's voice lingered in the hall.
Guo Jia continued walking, covering Deng Jie's ears with his hands, pressing his body close to her back, and whispering in her ear, "Xu Ziyuan brought this upon himself, he deserves to die. Don't look, don't listen, don't think, you just need to think about my affairs..."
Despite Guo Jia's layers of protection, the muffled sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air and a head rolling to the ground, mixed with the screams of maids and servants in the courtyard, still struck Deng Jie's heart.
She gripped Guo Jia's sleeve tightly, a hot tear squeezing from the corner of her eye.
Guo Jia returned to Cao Cao with the bronze talisman and advised, "The Zhen family has extensive trade routes, and this is only half of their business. Once you conquer Ye City, you must take the Zhen family under your control; the other half is in their hands."
"Zhen Shi..." Cao Cao turned the bronze talisman over his shoulder, examining it closely. A charming smile crept onto his lips, and his tone held a hint of anticipation. "I've heard that this Zhen Shi is the most beautiful woman in Hebei?"
Guo Jia coughed lightly and sat down next to Cao Cao, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "This... Lady Zhen is Yuan Shao's daughter-in-law and was also a student of Wenruo's daughter. My lord... isn't this inappropriate?"
Cao Cao was taken aback, then cleared his throat. "I...I didn't mean that...I was thinking that Pi'er should be getting married by then...hmm."
Guo Jia scoffed, "Young Master Pi is only fourteen years old..." He was glared at by Cao Cao's sharp eyes, and immediately changed his tone, "...it will be just the right time when we conquer Ye City!"
Cao Cao pursed his lips and sighed, "If Ang'er were still here..."
Guo Jia poured him a cup of tea and pushed it in front of him, saying, "My lord, do not worry. All the young men in the manor are talented and promising. In the future, they will naturally contribute their abilities to your cause without reservation."
Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then solemnly took Guo Jia's hand and said, "At that time, we will rely entirely on Fengxiao's assistance."
Guo Jia was greatly surprised. He had never imagined that Cao Cao would be so unreserved towards him. Moved, he shook Cao Cao's hand in return: "Jia Ding will do his utmost to live up to your trust, my lord."
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