The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

After finishing the tea, Gong Jianzhou put down the cup in his hand, looked at Zhou Yong and said, "Okay, I've finished the tea, so don't keep me in suspense."

"Tell me, what's going on? If you can't give me a reasonable explanation today, there's no end for us!"

Looking at the angry Gong Jianzhou, Zhou Yong wanted to laugh but had to hold it back. If he dared to laugh out loud at this time, Gong Jianzhou would definitely beat him to death.

"Don't be angry, Uncle Changyuan. Let me tell you what happened."

"Earlier today, Su Cheng, the third master of the Su family, got drunk for some unknown reason and ran to Zuiyue Tower to act crazy."

"Not only did he express his dissatisfaction with the court, he also openly insulted and slandered the Empress, saying many disrespectful things that should not be said."

"That was when Zuiyuelou was bustling with business, and many young masters from aristocratic families were present."

"Of course, they heard every word Su Cheng said."

"Whether it's dissatisfaction with the court or insulting and slandering the Empress, either is a capital offense."

"After the owner of Zuiyue Tower learned of this, he sent someone to plead with the Second Young Master, saying he was willing to hand over Zuiyue Tower, and only asked the Empress not to hold him accountable."

"The Second Young Master sent someone to ask the Empress Dowager's opinion. The Empress Dowager suggested that we take over Zuiyue Tower and turn it into Yunli's largest intelligence station."

"Although this Zuiyue Tower is a place of pleasure, most of the people who come here are officials, sons of aristocratic families, merchants from various countries doing business, and dignitaries."

"So this is the best place to gather intelligence. The information we get from these people is the first-hand, most reliable and authentic news."

After hearing what Zhou Yong said, Gong Jianzhou frowned.

"What about Su Cheng? He insulted and humiliated the Empress, and now he's just letting it go?"

What Zhou Yong said before was not the point. Gong Jianzhou’s focus was on whether Su Cheng insulted and humiliated the Queen and whether he received the punishment he deserved.

"After Su Cheng had caused such a scene at Zuiyue Tower, he was beaten to death by Su Chang. Su Chang went to the palace to apologize, but was rejected by the Empress, who refused to even let him into the palace."

"What does this mean? It means that the Queen is about to take action against the Su family and Li Zhaohui."

"So, accurate and reliable intelligence sources are extremely important right now. We must adapt to our roles as quickly as possible, place our people, and screen the existing personnel in Zuiyue Tower, training them so that they can all be used by us."

After Zhou Yong was arranged by Han Ming to work in his own shop, Han Ming discovered that Zhou Yong was not only good at business, but also a good candidate for gathering intelligence.

So Han Ming began to train him in this area, and now Zhou Yong is a very good intelligence officer.

Gong Jianzhou understood what Zhou Yong said, but what Gong Jianzhou didn't understand was why he inexplicably became the owner of Zuiyuelou?

"Tell me, how did I become the boss of Zuiyuelou?"

"Don't tell me you brought this up."

Gong Jianzhou looked at Zhou Yong with a knife in his eyes, as if he would be killed immediately as soon as Zhou Yong uttered the word "yes".

Zhou Yong looked at Gong Jianzhou and couldn't help laughing this time.

"Brother, you really think highly of me. Do my words carry so much weight?"

"This was arranged by the Second Young Master. The Zuiyue Tower has a new owner, so someone should be in charge again."

"The Second Young Master said that until a more suitable candidate is found, you will take over temporarily."

"However, you don't have to worry or be afraid. Zuiyue Tower only wants a nominal master."

"Second Young Master knows that you never come to places like this, and you can't attend such occasions."

"So, Mama Liu and I will take care of the outside affairs, and you just need to be your nominal master in the back."

"But you will be responsible for the transmission of information."

Gong Jianzhou now understood that Zuiyue Tower would from now on be under the name of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion and could not be made public.

The Marquis of Zhenbei's Mansion will not use it to do bad things, but it will use it to collect all sources of information inside and outside Yunli.

The purpose of doing this is not only to prepare for the elimination of Li Chaohui and his remnants, but also to prepare for the multinational war that will come soon.

Zuiyue Tower is a place of entertainment, but the people who can come here are not simple. The information obtained from them is true, reliable and the freshest, unprocessed first-hand information.

Although it is indeed too difficult for Gong Jianzhou to be the boss of Zuiyue Tower, in order to ensure the stability of Yunli Country and make more contributions to the upcoming war, Gong Jianzhou is willing to make sacrifices even if it is difficult.

"okay, I get it."

Now it was Zhou Yong who was uncomfortable. He thought he would have to spend a lot of time talking before Gong Jianzhou agreed.

After all, he knew Gong Jianzhou quite well.

Although Gong Jianzhou was born into the prominent but not very reputable Tang Guogong Mansion, he was a true gentleman who remained untainted by the messy atmosphere in his family and was not influenced by it.

It is really difficult for such a well-behaved person to suddenly accept such an improper and criticized identity.

It was understandable that he couldn't accept it for a moment.

But now, without any further explanation, this person agreed immediately. This quick change is really hard to accept.

"Why are you looking at me? Are you doubting whether the person sitting in front of you is really Gong Jianzhou?"

Gong Jianzhou looked at Zhou Yong's eyes, which were full of disgust.

"Yeah, how come you agreed so easily? This is not like you at all."

Zhou Yong tilted his head and looked at Gong Jianzhou. He was still the same person, but he felt something was different.

"How could I not agree to such a good thing for the country and the people?"

"Although I, Gong Jianzhou, am not a man of great talent, I have a heart dedicated to serving my country."

"For Yunli and its people, I'm willing to die without complaint. Now I'm just suffering some loss of reputation. Why wouldn't I be willing to do that?"

Gong Jianzhou did not have the opportunity to serve the country before, but now that he has this opportunity, he will naturally spare no effort to serve the country.

What he just said may sound like exaggerated compliments to others, but only Gong Jianzhou himself knows that what he just said is true, without any falsehood or water.

Zhou Yong looked at Gong Jianzhou and smiled. At this moment, he finally understood what was different about Gong Jianzhou.

The young man who was once trapped in a deep mansion has now completely broken free from the shackles on him and is beginning to transform.

"Since you're already here, let's not expect to go back to sleep tonight. Let's discuss what to do next."

Gong Jianzhou had already lost all his sleepiness. He wouldn't be able to fall asleep if he went back anyway, so he might as well get into his new role as quickly as possible and adapt to it first.

"Okay, what do you have in mind?"

Gong Jianzhou had no experience in this kind of thing and was a complete novice.

Compared to Gong Jianzhou's lack of experience, Zhou Yong is much more experienced in this area.

"Such a big incident happened at Zuiyuelou tonight, so it's impossible for them to open right away."

"Although no one will come to cause trouble, we still need to keep a low profile. Why not just close the business for half a month?"

"Take this opportunity to make a big change to Zuiyue Tower. Place our people in and replace some of the people here."

"Check these people in the building one by one. Keep those who are useful and have training value, and discard those who are unusable and have no training value."

Gong Jianzhou nodded and said, "Okay, let's do it."

Although he knew nothing about doing business and organizing intelligence, he felt that Zhou Yong's arrangement was the most reasonable.

No matter who owns Zuiyue Tower now, or who is backing it, everyone only looks at what is on the surface.

If Zuiyuelou does not close down quietly at this time and continues to open for business as if nothing had happened, it will inevitably be pushed to the forefront and become the target of public criticism.

Once Zuiyuelou becomes the target of attack, its reputation will be damaged, and a damaged reputation will automatically make it despised by dignitaries.

Because the people who come here are all those who like to have fun, but none of them are fools, and no one would do anything to offend the queen.

If Zuiyuelou were despised by those dignitaries, then there would be no point in it continuing to operate.

"Replace all the guards here with our people. There must be no problems with the guard defense."

Gong Jianzhou was very careful and attentive regarding potential safety hazards. His previous experiences at the Duke of Tang's Mansion had taught him an unchanging fact.

That is, no matter when, people trained by oneself are much safer and more reliable than those called from outside.

"Well, that's no problem. We still have enough manpower."

Not long after Shen Tianjiao came here, she began to train a large number of talents of all kinds, and now it has begun to take shape.

"As for the people in this building, it's too difficult to check them one by one. We need someone who knows their background to help us."

Gong Jianzhou lowered his head and thought for a moment before asking, "The former proprietress of Zuiyuelou should be the one who greeted me at the door just now, right?"

"What's her name?"

"Liu Chunmei, but the authenticity of this name is unknown."

People like Liu Chunmei have a boss behind them and are just tools working for the boss. They usually hide their true identities and use fake identities to show themselves to others.

They do this to better protect themselves and their families. After all, no one knows which will come first, danger or tomorrow.

As tools, they will definitely be the first to be sacrificed when danger comes.

"Is she reliable?" Gong Jianzhou knew nothing about Zuiyue Tower and the people there, but he knew that Zhou Yong must have had a preliminary understanding of the situation there, otherwise he would not have been sent here.

"There shouldn't be any major problems. She's controlled by her boss, who has already surrendered to protect himself. She probably won't and wouldn't dare to do anything out of the ordinary."

"Otherwise, the person controlling her will definitely kill her before we even take action."

In order to obtain intelligence, Zhou Yong changed his identity all year round and mingled in the streets and brothels of the city. He had long since developed a unique skill in identifying people.

Although he didn't know what kind of person Liu Chunmei was, he knew very well the boss behind Liu Chunmei.

Since he has revealed his identity and handed over Zuiyue Tower in order to protect himself, it means that he is willing to surrender. Such a person will never allow his subordinates to cause chaos.

"Don't be careless. It's better to be safe than sorry." Gong Jianzhou is a cautious person. She will not let her guard down until she is sure that this person is really okay.

"Place a secret sentry beside her to monitor her every move."

"That's natural. The person has already been selected and will arrive tomorrow."

People who gather intelligence are naturally alert and sharp, and weekends are no exception.

Although he knew that there was a boss behind Liu Chunmei, he did not dare to relax at all and trusted Liu Chunmei completely.

"Who is the boss behind Zuiyuelou?" Gong Jianzhou held it in for a long time and finally asked the biggest question in his mind.

Zhou Yong shook his head and said, "I don't know either. No one has ever seen him. There are all kinds of rumors out there."

"Some say he's a powerful court official, others say he's a high-ranking official with the backing of aristocratic families, and still others say he's a retired prince enjoying his retirement at home."

"Anyway, there are all sorts of rumors, but they're all just speculation. This Zuiyue Tower has stood in Shangjing for nearly twenty years, but the mysterious mastermind behind it has never revealed himself."

"But what is certain is that this person has considerable power and background."

"In the twenty-plus years that Zuiyuelou has been in the capital, no one has ever dared to cause trouble."

"If it weren't for that old fool from the Su family who suddenly went crazy and did something like this, it would have caused a sensation throughout Shangjing."

"The owner of this Zuiyue Tower wouldn't actually give up the Tower he's run for so many years."

"This Zuiyue Tower is not only a symbol of wealth, but also a symbol of identity and status."

"Those who can enter here are either rich or noble, and there is no ordinary person."

Gong Jianzhou understood that this mysterious figure who had never appeared before was not only someone many people could not afford to offend, but also someone he could not afford to offend.

It’s better to ask less. The less you know, the better.