My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

Ever since Li Weihao came to sit...stand at home a few days ago, the eyes of those candidates from other places looked at him more strangely. Even he himself didn't know what Li Weihao said or what happened after he returned.

He came out of the Imperial College carrying a bookcase on his back, and then he saw Gao Shi sitting on a horse, wearing his usual clothes, looking at the east in the distance, wondering what he was thinking. Chang An walked over and shouted, "Brother Gao."

Gao Shi came back to his senses, looked at Chang An, smiled slightly, raised his hand to salute Chang An, and greeted him: "Brother Chang."

"What's wrong? You're staring blankly at something. Are you thinking about something?" Chang An asked as he put the book box on the carriage.

Gao Shi sighed and said, "Nothing, it's just that things have been getting more and more complicated recently."

"I miss you, but you haven't been to my house for a long time." Chang An got on the carriage and said, "If you have any troubles, come to my house now and have a meal and talk about it."

"Okay, then Gao Shi will respectfully obey your order." Gao Shi smiled. Perhaps because he had been in officialdom for a long time, Gao Shi's personality had changed a little.

"go!"

Chang An got into the carriage and asked the driver to ride home. When he got home, there were only two gatekeepers standing at the door. Gao Shi was also a little confused.

At this time, shouldn't Madam Gu be standing at the door, ready to greet Brother Chang? And didn't it say that if Madam Gu didn't receive him, Brother Chang wouldn't be allowed in?

He then asked, "Brother Chang, where is Madam Gu?"

"Chang Lang!"

As soon as Gao Shi finished asking, Gu Li appeared at the door, and Chang An immediately smiled dotingly. Then he saw Gu Li walking out with an umbrella in one hand and a piece of cake in the other.

When Gu Li stood at the door, Chang An walked over, then reached out and wiped the snack crumbs from Gu Li's mouth. He said, "Mrs. Gu was late today. Did she steal the snacks again and not share them with me?"

Gu Li shook her head quickly, put the snack in her hand to Chang An's mouth, and watched him eat it. She then said with a smile: "I didn't share with Chang Lang. I came a little late just now because I wanted to bring snacks for Chang Lang."

Later, Gu Li also saw Gao Shi standing behind Chang An, and greeted him, "Mr. Gao, since you are here, please stay and have dinner together."

"Okay, thank you Madam Gu."

After entering Dingkang Marquis Mansion and sitting in Chang An's room, Gao Shicai said, "Brother Chang, if I want to leave the Ministry of War, what do you think will happen?"

"What's the matter? Isn't it just changing from an official back to an ordinary person? What else can it be?" Chang An poured a cup of tea for Gao Shi and said lightly.

On the contrary, Gu Li's reaction seemed a little surprised: "Mr. Gao, are you planning to resign?"

Gao Shi nodded and said, "Not bad."

"Why? Didn't Mr. Gao do well before?" Gu Li was a little puzzled and continued to ask.

"Not ideal." Gao Shi shook his head and said, "I hold a minor position in the Ministry of War. Although I have to handle affairs on weekdays, there are not many things I can decide."

"Being an official is like being a child. You have to start from a young age. Very few people can rise to the top overnight." Chang An also said. At this time, Huaiqin and Zhen'er came in with food. Chang An said, "Forget it, let's talk while we eat."

"I don't think it's because of these reasons." After Huaiqin and Zhen'er set the table, Gu Li said while picking up the dishes.

"Is it possible that Mr. Gao is being ostracized in the Ministry of War?" Gu Li said.

Gao Shi nodded and said, "That's part of the reason."

"Brother Chang, do you still remember the last expedition against the Turks?" Gao Shi said at this time.

Chang An nodded and said, "Of course I remember."

"I don't know why, but they didn't intend to report to Your Majesty at the beginning, saying that Gao Shi was worrying too much. After I informed Your Majesty, Your Majesty issued an edict to intervene," said Gao Shi.

"After receiving the imperial edict, General Wang led his troops to fight, and just in time, he joined forces with Bosimi's people, captured the leader of the Eastern Turks, and brought them into the city of surrender. Thus, this expedition against the Turks ended with a great victory."

"That's good, what's wrong?" Chang An narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had noticed something was wrong. But as a listener who was not a spoiler, he still didn't directly express his opinion.

"For some reason, ever since that incident, some people in the Ministry of War have started to exclude me for unknown reasons." Gao Shi said, "It can't be considered exclusion, but it can only be said that some..."

“It’s an indescribable feeling.”

Chang An nodded, then asked while eating, "How long has this situation lasted?"

"It doesn't matter," Gao Shi sighed and said, "This situation started to happen after I entered the Ministry of War."

"Apart from this situation, is there any other reason?" Chang An gently put his hand on Gao Shi's shoulder, and then asked in a strange tone: "Brother Gao, why did you eat so little today?"

Gao Shi lowered his head and looked at his bowl, which was as big as his face. Then he looked up at Chang An with a confused look on his face. He said naively, "Isn't this bowl the biggest one in Brother Chang's house?"

"Yes." Chang An nodded.

"Then... it's not less, right? It's the same amount."

"Then why is there still so much rice left? I thought Brother Gao had lost his appetite." After Chang An finished speaking, he sat back down and asked again, "Brother Gao, apart from being ostracized, is there any other reason?"

Gao Shi nodded and said, "There is indeed another reason, because Gao Shi is still young and lacks talent. Although the people in the Ministry of War are somewhat ostracized, they have to admit that their talent is higher than Gao Shi's."

"Gao Shi was able to successfully pass the imperial examination and take up the post of Director of the Ministry of War, all thanks to Brother Chang's help."

"It's okay. The Ministry of War doesn't rely entirely on what's in books to do its job," said Chang An.

"But everyone in the officialdom enters the imperial examination system. I have only a limited amount of knowledge..."

"It's better not to embarrass yourself."

Chang An nodded, and then said: "This is your business, Brother Gao, I can't decide for you. I have never been an official, so I don't have any suggestions on these matters."

"I can only say that if Brother Gao has made a decision, whether to stay or leave, I have no right to say anything. But since Brother Gao has already decided to leave, I suggest that Brother Gao resign from his position."

When Gao Shi heard this, he laughed and said, "I knew it. I knew Brother Chang would say that."

Chang An also laughed and said, "From what Brother Gao said, it seems that you have already resigned?"

Gao Shi nodded, which was considered as an admission. Gu Li then asked: "Why did you resign so quickly? Mr. Gao could have worked and studied at the same time. Why did you leave so quickly?"

"It's okay. I've already submitted my resignation. It's just a matter of time before it's agreed," said Gao Shi.

"Brother Gao, what are you going to do next? Leave Chang'an or stay in Chang'an to continue studying?" Gao Shi asked.

"I'm not planning to leave yet. Let's talk about it later." Gao Shi said, "For the next period of time, I'll go back and be Madam Su Meng's bodyguard for a while. I'm just afraid that she has already recruited other people as her bodyguards."

"My sister hasn't recruited any new guards yet. I think Mr. Gao can give it a try." Gu Li said.

As he was talking, he suddenly heard a few knocks on the door, and then heard Su Meng's voice coming from outside -

"What? What bad things are you saying about me again?"

After confirming that it was Su Meng's voice, Huaiqin went to open the door. Although it was Su Meng who was speaking outside the door, it was not just Su Meng who came, but also Zhang Aiyu, who was holding little Zhang Ji in her arms.

Su Meng said directly: "Chang'an, Li'er, Mr. Gao."

Zhang Aiyu said very politely: "Meet Marquis Dingkang, his wife, and Chief Gao."

"Mrs. Zhang looks pretty good. I guess she has been recuperating well, right?" Chang An smiled and said, "Come over and have a meal together."

"You are welcome, Marquis Dingkang."

"Forget it, forget it. You still need to nourish Li'er. Mr. Gao eats a lot to begin with. If we add a few more of us to the mix, won't Li'er have enough to eat?" After Su Meng finished speaking, she pulled Zhang Aiyu to sit aside.

"So, what did you mention me doing just now?" Su Meng asked.

At this time, Chang An and Gu Li turned their eyes to Gao Shi who was eating, and motioned him to speak. Gao Shi then asked awkwardly: "I wonder... has Madam Su Meng hired new guards?"

"No." Su Meng shook her head and replied, "Why did Mr. Gao suddenly ask about this?"

Gao Shi then scratched his head a little embarrassedly and said, "It's just... I have resigned from my post and am no longer an official. I just want to ask Madam Su Meng if she is still recruiting guards."

Su Meng was confused and laughed at Gao Shi's anger. Then he said, "Why did Mr. Gao resign? Although the monthly salary of a chief is not much, it is at least more than what I have here, and you don't have to work so hard."

Gao Shi shook his head and told Su Meng the whole story while eating. Su Meng sighed and said, "Mr. Gao told me that I could start a new life after becoming an official. I didn't expect that the new life would end before even a year had passed."

"That's all."