My book friend Long Aotian

Chapter 137 Zhen Yun's Tribulation

A special guest came to Tongwen Bureau this morning.

Yesterday evening, this guest sent someone to invite Li Bailong to a banquet, but he was reprimanded by Director Li at the time, who emphasized that "official disciplines must be paid attention to" and that if there is anything, it should be said openly.

So this morning, a woman in plain clothes, without any hairpins or jewelry, with slightly red eyes, came to the second hall of Tongwen Bureau with the help of her maid.

Greetings from both sides.

The woman was graceful and elegant, and her every move revealed a strange charm, a style different from that of a young girl. Marriage and time had left a lingering trace of charm on her noble body.

"Mrs. Gao, please take a seat."

The legitimate daughter of a Beijing official, of noble birth, with her nickname Zhenyun, was chosen by her father as a son-in-law during the reign of the previous emperor and married to Gao Bijin, a newly-appointed Jinshi. Over the years, she has followed her husband in his career, all the way to Huazhou.

She had seen the world. She was the daughter of a high-ranking official and the wife of a high-ranking official. When faced with a major event, she would not panic or cry like an ordinary woman. She came for her husband but did not show any excitement. Instead, she looked at the furnishings in the second hall and saw that the person serving tea was just an ordinary male servant. She said, "Governor Li is indeed an honest official, much better than my husband."

As he said this, his eyes turned red and he began to wipe away tears.

"I knew from the beginning that he was a careless official and would do whatever he wanted. Sooner or later, he would fall. But I never thought that he would commit such a damnable crime!"

She covered her chest and cried, "It's good now. He's in prison. I'm at peace now. I'm left outside living in fear. I don't know when the officials will come to confiscate my property..."

Seeing her tearful face, Li Bailong remained calm and did not try to persuade her. He just said, "Madam, you are too serious. Let me emphasize that I am only a fourth-rank state official. I am not qualified to detain and interrogate the governor of this state. Your husband is only 'limited'. He still has his official position and dignity. He just needs to explain the problem within a limited time under the supervision of this government. Whether he is guilty or not and how to deal with him depends on the study and decision of the officials of the court..."

When Mrs. Gao saw that he had pushed everything away, she realized that it was useless to pretend to be pitiful.

She gritted her teeth and got straight to the point.

"Sir!" She cried sadly, "I don't want my husband to be dismissed from his post and punished!"

"..."

This woman! What are you saying!
Then, Madam Gao said, "I am not unreasonable. It was that devil who caused the trouble first and offended you. He deserves to be punished and dismissed from office. But Tongning's crime is a serious one. If the court is angry, the Gao family will be in danger..."

She prostrated herself on the ground, sobbing, "Husband and wife are one, I followed Gao Bijin and enjoyed all the glory, and he was convicted and dismissed, so I followed him and suffered, and I have no complaints. But the Gao family is full of people of good and bad character, most of them are innocent people, if they are implicated by Gao Bijin and convicted, I will never be at peace in my life... Please give me a way out!"

The noble lady, with tears in her eyes and clothes as plain as snow, actually looked even more pretty and pitiful. She knelt on the ground, her figure highlighted. I'm afraid most people would not be able to control themselves if they came.

Li Bailong had already stood up and walked aside, avoiding her gift.

"Ma'am, you don't have to say such things."

Li Bailong said calmly, "You and Gao Bijin are one. You know how he has been as an official over the years. Even if Tongning is innocent of any serious crime, it is not unjust to dismiss him from office based on his various malfeasances as an official in Huazhou. Now that he has fallen into my hands, how can I know that it is not the justice of heaven that will prevail?"

Madam Gao sobbed, "Yes, yes, he deserves it..."

"Whether he deserves the punishment is still under debate." Li Bailong said calmly, "A state official is Tongning, this is a big deal. I reported the cause and effect to the emperor's uncle yesterday. I believe that with the wisdom of King Zhao, your husband will be judged whether he is wronged or not, and what his crime is. Madam Gao, instead of asking me to show mercy, you should pray that Gao Bijin can have a little conscience when he abuses his power and does not commit an unbearable crime."

Madam Gao said hurriedly, "No... No, although my husband is a little arrogant and domineering, he still has a conscience. Even if he did something overbearing and tyrannical, it would not involve..."

Li Bailong shook his head and said, "Madam, it's useless to say this now. It's better to do something useful."

The woman shuddered and smiled sadly: "Yes, yes, as long as my husband is okay, I..."

She couldn't help but think of the contents of her father's letter.

After Gao Bijin was arrested, she hurriedly wrote an urgent letter to her father for help.

Although the father had retired, he still had vision and connections. He spent a day looking for old friends to find out the cause and effect. Combining the information provided in his daughter's letter, he determined the root cause of the matter.

"Li Bailong is following the orders of King Zhao and using his power. This is his advantage, but also his limitation. King Zhao is virtuous and the world knows it. Li Bailong is using the name of the emperor's uncle to frame officials. He can still use the excuse of 'avoiding the conflict between Fenglin and Lingyu Road' as a righteous explanation. However, he can use the crime of Tongning to implicate the entire Gao family, which will definitely make the emperor's uncle jealous... So my son-in-law should be able to escape and save his life."

He warned his daughter in his heart: "The factional struggles in the court are becoming increasingly fierce. My son-in-law was born in bad times and was involved in the struggles between major factions. There is nothing to say. We can only try our best to survive in the rapids. Li Bailong must have an important mission. Your husband is just a stumbling block to him. He will kick him aside and no longer care about him, so my daughter does not need to worry."

"Under the six major sects, we are all grass and stone. When your husband took over Fenglinhuoshan to show goodwill, your father felt that it was inappropriate, but he was about to retire and it was difficult to persuade him. Now that he is involved in a major dispute, it is better for him to roll aside. You go to find Li Bailong, respond to his requests, be humble, think about what he has done recently, take the initiative to follow him and cooperate with him, don't wait for him to speak, so that you can ask him for a definite answer..."

The father spoke very cryptically, probably to save face for his daughter.

Mrs. Gao hesitated for a day and a night.

The so-called "meeting every request and being humble", the so-called "take the initiative to go along with him and cooperate with him, don't wait for him to ask", she thought about it over and over again, feeling torn between her conscience and her conscience, secretly annoyed that her father was so cold-blooded and heartless that he actually let his daughter do that!
If you want to know what Li Bailong has done recently...

Of course it was what that damned bastard Gao Bijin had been muttering about for the past few days: "He actually married the courtesan without saying a word!"
She had been struggling with this for a long time. Last night, she gritted her teeth and sent someone to invite Li Bailong to a banquet. She had made up her mind that if Governor Li was really interested, she would treat him to half a cup of leftover wine...

I didn't expect this guy wouldn't come.

After I entered the door today, I hinted at him twice, and finally he said, "Why not do something useful?"

Haha, man!
Never mind, let it be... Gao Bi Jin's face flashed through Mrs. Gao's mind. This deceased man had caused such a disaster and implicated his wife, so he deserved this disaster.

Moreover, the night he was captured by Li Bailong, he was going to the private house in Si Hutong to have sex with an actress! If he hadn't gone out to fool around, how could his political enemies have found him?

As soon as she thought of this, she prepared herself mentally to justify her next actions.

There isn’t even the classic “Husband, I’m sorry” psychological activity.

Mrs. Gao moved her eyes upwards, maintaining her prostrating posture, and glanced shyly at Li Bailong from bottom to top.

The two looked at each other.

In his mind, Ao Zi said grimly: "This Pu Xin girl's head is full of yellow garbage. Haha, I dare say that the moment you press on her, she will give up struggling..."

Li Bailong exclaimed: "You know a lot, haven't you seen a lot?"

Long Aotian said angrily: "Yes! What's wrong? I have a lot of friends, is that not okay!" The spiritual communication in his mind was only a moment, Li Bailong looked at Madam Gao and said: "Madam, I am not taking advantage of the situation..."

Madam Gao whispered, "It's all because of my fate. I'll leave it to you, my Lord..."

"What a fucking bad woman."

Long Aotian said in a whining voice: "Let me analyze this woman's mental journey for you. Look at her eyes, she is reluctant to accept, which shows that she has already..."

Ouch, so annoying!

I’m playing a game and there’s a gaming expert chattering away next to me!
Moreover, it is really hard to understand that Aozi, a mere man, is explaining the boss's combat mechanism from Huangmao's perspective.

Li Bailong lost interest in playing and said directly, "In this case, please let Madam decide to sell all the bookstores and theaters owned by Gao Bijin in Huazhou."

Mrs. Gao looked up in astonishment: "Ah? What?"

Li Bailong was also surprised.

"how?"

He tilted his head slightly, and the sunlight poured into the room, illuminating his handsome profile as jade, adding a bit of casual surprise to the confidence of this court official who had everything under control. Doubt was revealed in his eyes as flawless as black glass. He was actually just a handsome and successful newcomer in the officialdom, with such pure thoughts.

Mrs. Gao came back to her senses and her face flushed.

She was ashamed for a moment and felt that she was so shameless.

He then said timidly, "Store...shop? The ones at Yunjiang Bookstore?"

Li Bailong nodded and said, "Yes, no matter what Gao Bijin's crime is, he can't stay in Huazhou any longer. Madam, you'd better get rid of those properties as soon as possible. You will need cash in the future."

Mrs. Gao was still very upset.

After the previous misunderstanding, she no longer dared to look Li Bailong in the eyes.

He even muttered, "I'd like to give all these properties to the governor."

“Did you see that!” Long Aotian yelled, “Is that right? Am I right? If you do as I say, this woman will be completely fascinated by you and even willing to let you have her for free! Damn it! Don’t laugh at me anymore! It’s not that those bad women won, it’s just that I, Long Aotian, don’t want to play anymore!”

Li Bailong just smiled and said, "Officials have their own rules. How can I ask for your property for nothing? Please estimate the price of your Huazhou property and we will buy it. Besides, it's not me who buys it. It's the Huazhou Tongwen Bureau that bought these bookstores and theaters."

After seeing off the surprised and confused Mrs. Gao, Jiang Lishu walked out from the back hall.

She said jokingly, "If I wasn't here, would the story of Governor Li using his position to coerce the wife of a criminal colleague into submission and sacrifice herself to him happen here?"

Li Bailong looked at his master seriously and pressed his chest: "Master will always be in my heart, so what you said will never happen."

The master's defense was too low, and his face immediately turned red after being hit: "...Disgusting! So tacky!"

She hurriedly changed the subject: "I thought you were going to take the opportunity to acquire Yunjiang Bookstore, become my boss, and then use the opportunity to show off to me... Why did you want Tongwen Bureau to acquire it?"

Li Bailong shrugged and said, "There are several reasons. One of them is that I brought down Gao Bijin and then swallowed up his assets. After all, it's not a good look and will give people something to talk about."

Jiang Lishu has been helping Li Bailong sort out the personnel and finances of the Tongwen Bureau these days, and he added, "There isn't much money on the Tongwen Bureau's books, right? Where did the money come from for the acquisition?"

She walked to the table, took out an account book and flipped through it. "I know you need money, so I transferred some money five days ago. Do you want me to transfer it to you?"

"That's ridiculous. How can you use your own money to manage your household affairs?"

Li Bailong sat back in his chair, picked up a pen and wrote, saying, "As the governor of the Tongwen Bureau, I borrow 100,000 taels of silver from the Tianyi Pavilion with the IOUs from the Huazhou cultural and creative merchants and the future tea fees as collateral."

"We will also use Yunjiang Bookstore and other properties under Gao Bijin's name as collateral for a period of one year. If the debt cannot be repaid, Tianyi Pavilion will be allowed to take back the above properties to pay off the debt..."

After writing a few words and stamping them, he nodded and said, "Isn't that enough?"

Jiang Lishu thought for a moment and said, "Is it interesting that you transfer money from your left hand to your right hand?"

"Interesting." Li Bailong laughed softly, "Chen Botang's bookstore will open tomorrow. The next stage is to introduce male-oriented books to compete with female-oriented books. The market share of Huazhou female-oriented books will definitely decline. If I take Yunjiang Bookstore into my own hands, I will be beating myself up. It is better to give this bad asset to the government first!"

"When the male channel develops, the valuation of Yunjiang Bookstore's assets will drop to a certain level. Then, let Tongwen Bureau default on the debt and allow Tianyi Pavilion to use the future valuation to take these assets to pay off the debt. The remaining debt will still be paid by Tongwen Bureau..."

Li Bailong said sinisterly: "I won't work in Huazhou forever. After the transfer, if the governor of the Tongwen Bureau who replaces me doesn't obey, hehe..."

Although Jiang Lishu was used to doing business, this was the first time he had seen such a trick: "Vicious, vicious."

Li Bailong said proudly: "I also learned it from others!"

The master thought for a moment, "But this is a bargain for the Gao family."

"How can it be so easy?" Li Bailong snorted, "Gao Bijin was corrupt and committed injustice in Huazhou, so he must be fined! The Gao family took the acquisition money from this governor, so this co-governor will investigate the former co-governor's misconduct and impose a fine! The fine will be deposited into the government treasury, and then this governor will issue an official document to allocate the fine to the Tongwen Bureau as the starting capital for the reconstruction of the country! The money the master spent must be returned! All procedures are reasonable and legal!"

"This money goes out first, then comes in. After a while, GDP is created, right?"

He slapped the table and said, "Damn it! I have the seals of the governor, deputy governor and prefect in my hands. What can this little bitch, Pu Xin, use to fight me?"

Jiang Lishu was stunned by this dirty operation.

At this moment, an officer outside reported: "Sir, the merchants from the Qushiwen Society are here again."

"Tell them that the master is dealing with important matters in this state and they don't want to see him!"

Li Bailong dismissed them, “Tell them that the master will go to Chen Botang’s bookstore when it opens tomorrow. If there is anything, they can report to the master there!”

(End of this chapter)