Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Gao Fei's family lives in the North City District, which is a slum. There are many narrow alleys, and some houses don't even have walls. It is impossible to tell whether it is the east courtyard of this family or the west courtyard of the neighboring family. It is now lunch time in the garrison camp. The people in the garrison camp said that Gao Fei does not eat in the camp at noon every day. He has a disabled daughter at home. In order to make it easier to take care of her, he moved to this dilapidated North City District.

As he passed a small courtyard, Zhang Jingwei casually glanced at the door gods on the small wooden door. He had never seen a house with door gods since he came to this world. Moreover, the painting was top-notch. The colors, the expressions of the figures... this look... is it amazing?!

Gao Fei on the left is wearing armor, holding a silver spear, and looks majestic.

Gao Fei on the right is an official wearing a black hat and a blue robe, but the tiger on his chest is ugly, thin and shriveled.

There was no doubt that the mansion in front of him must be that family. Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Jingwei raised his hand and knocked hard on the door.

"Who's that?!" A middle-aged woman's voice rang out from inside the house, accompanied by a slightly shrill cry. Zhang Jingwei couldn't help but feel puzzled upon hearing this voice, wondering: How could such a fierce person exist in Captain Gao's household? Despite his suspicions, he politely inquired, "Excuse me, is this Captain Gao's residence?"

However, the middle-aged woman responded impatiently: "He's not here!" There was a hint of disgust and irritation in her tone.

Zhang Jingwei frowned slightly and continued to ask, "Since this is Captain Gao's family, when will he return?"

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged woman suddenly opened the door and yelled at Zhang Jingwei: "Why are you so annoying! I told you he's gone, and you're still nagging here!"

Faced with this sudden verbal abuse, Zhang Jingwei did not get angry. Instead, he said calmly: "It's okay, then I'll wait for him to come back in the house." As he said that, he made a gesture to walk into the house.

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman immediately reached out to stop Zhang Jingwei and shouted, "How can you be so ungrateful and ungrateful! How dare you trespass into a private house without permission! Is Lord Gao Fei a dignified official? Be careful, he will come back and beat you with a stick!"

Zhang Jingwei frowned slightly, staring sharply at the bloated, mean-looking middle-aged woman in front of him, and asked in a stern tone, "Who are you and why are you in Gao Fei's house?"

The middle-aged woman put her hands on her hips and snorted coldly, "Hmph, I was specially hired by Mr. Gao to take care of his young lady! At the beginning, it was agreed that I would be paid one hundred yuan for taking care of her for only two days, but what about now? So many years have passed, let alone that hundred yuan, I even paid a lot myself! I think Mr. Gao might want to abandon his disabled daughter!" Her voice was very loud, as if she was afraid that the people around her couldn't hear her. I'm afraid that even Gao Fei's daughter in the house could hear it clearly at this moment.

Hearing this, Zhang Jingwei couldn't help but feel disgusted. He took out a tael of silver from his pocket and asked, "Is this enough?!"

The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up. After accepting the money, she took a bite, leaving a large tooth mark on the small piece of silver. "That's enough, that's enough. We're all neighbors. He asked for help taking care of his daughter, and we'd help him even if it wasn't for free. But it's okay for a day or two, but I'm not sure if it'll take longer than that."

As expected, these people are greedy for money. Their attitude changes after receiving the money.

Gao Fei's home was a small courtyard with a wall that tilted slightly, and the plaster had peeled off, revealing the masonry underneath. The gate was a worn wooden door, its paint chipped and its lock rusted. The ground was paved with stone slabs, and weeds grew in the cracks between the slabs.

There is a well in the corner of the yard, and the stone at the wellhead has been eroded beyond recognition by time.

In the center of the yard stood a sweet-scented osmanthus tree, its trunk already bent and its leaves withered and yellow. Beneath the tree stood a stone table and several stone benches. The table was covered in dust, and the benches were already rickety.

There are some vegetables planted around the yard, but due to lack of care, the vegetables are not growing well. The whole yard looks very dilapidated, but it reveals a kind of ancient atmosphere.

Zhang Jingwei asked curiously, "Has Gao Fu always lived here?"

The middle-aged woman nodded and replied, "Yes, originally the military camp had arranged accommodations for officers like them, but Lord Gao really didn't feel comfortable leaving his precious daughter in a place full of men, so he brought her to live here."

Zhang Jingwei nodded in agreement, "Indeed!"

The middle-aged woman continued, "But to be honest, I've lived for most of my life, and I've never seen an official as poor as Mr. Gao. Look at his family's conditions. It's obvious that he's taking his daughter with him to suffer!"

Zhang Jingwei looked at the sharp-tongued aunt in front of him, frowned slightly and said, "Auntie, if you have nothing else, please go back!" He tried to keep his tone calm, not wanting to make the other party feel too offended.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman's face showed a hint of hesitation. She glanced past Zhang Jingwei towards the small house, still seeming to worry. "This..." She hesitated, but finally couldn't help but speak, "Sir, although my words may have been a bit harsh just now, this is the Gao Fei family after all..."

Seeing this, Zhang Jingwei quickly explained, "Auntie, please don't misunderstand me. Captain Gao and I are close friends, and I'm definitely not someone with bad intentions. I came here today simply to catch up with an old friend."

However, the middle-aged woman was not completely relieved. She looked Zhang Jingwei up and down, shook her head and sighed, "Looking at your appearance, you seem like a well-educated and well-mannered student. I don't think you are a bad person. But even so, I'm afraid our daughter Gao won't easily agree to let a stranger into the house!"

At this moment, a clear and pleasant female voice suddenly rang out from inside the house: "Aunt Wang, go and do your thing. Since this person is my father's friend, he can't be a bad person."

The middle-aged woman's expression softened when she heard Miss Gao's words. She nodded and said, "Since Miss has said so, I won't say anything more. But sir, I hope you won't disturb Miss." After that, she walked out of the house.

Zhang Jingwei quickly said, "I'll just wait outside this courtyard for a while. I won't easily step into the house to bother the young lady."

Xiaolan smiled gently and replied, "Sir, please don't call me that. I'm not a young lady. Just call me Xiaolan. I have a leg disease, so my movements are very inconvenient. If I haven't treated you well, I hope you will forgive me!"

After hearing this, Zhang Jingwei hurriedly said, "Miss Xiaolan, please don't say that. I should be the one to apologize! I just acted impulsively and sent that gossipy woman away. It was really rude. Please don't blame me."

Xiaolan smiled and explained, "Young Master, don't worry about this. Although Aunt Wang's words can be harsh and irritating at times, she's actually a kind-hearted person. She's been taking good care of me these past few days, and I'm very grateful."

Zhang Jingwei raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said softly, "That's good...that...was the painting on the door made by the girl?" His eyes fell on the tightly closed door, and an exquisite painting on it caught his attention.

Xiaolan nodded and smiled, then replied shyly, "This is exactly what I did. Since I can't walk, I can only spend my time painting. But my skills are not very good, so I hope you won't make fun of me." Her voice was soft and gentle, like a spring breeze blowing past her ears.

Zhang Jingwei quickly waved his head and said sincerely, "Miss, please don't be so modest. I have absolutely no intention of complimenting you. This painting has smooth lines, bright colors, and a clever composition. It's truly a masterpiece!"