The rain had not stopped the next day. A drizzle was floating overhead, making the streets and roads wet, but the rain was not heavy.
Guo Shao wore a wide-brimmed straw hat to go to work. Gao Huaide gave him a high salary in the morning, and after leaving work, he went to the Dong family to discuss the details of the marriage proposal with the matchmaker. Guo Shao thought that marriage was more important, so he left the Guards Office after the morning roll call. He first went home to get the money, and he should also give gifts when proposing marriage, and he couldn't let the matchmaker pay for it out of his own pocket.
The Dong family was in the east of the inner city, so Guo Shao and his followers followed the direction and walked through the alleys. At this time, he ran into an acquaintance: Zhao San Kuangyi.
As soon as they reached an intersection, they saw Zhao San and a companion riding horses coming from the side street. Guo Shao didn't think much about it and immediately reined in his horse and leaned against the side of the street. You can ride a horse in the city, but you can't gallop, otherwise it will cause chaos in the city with many pedestrians. Therefore, Guo Shao easily controlled his horse.
People were coming and going on the street. Guo Shao was wearing military uniform and a piece of light soft armor as a symbol, but his followers were not wearing armor or weapons, and all wore cloth robes. Zhao San and others seemed not to notice Guo Shao, and were walking slowly while talking to him.
Let's wait a moment, Guo Shao told his followers.
He recognized Zhao San at a glance. He had only met this person once, when he was a guest at Xiang Xun's house. But Zhao San's appearance and figure were very similar to Zhao Kuangyin, and Guo Shao was very familiar with Zhao Kuangyin's appearance, so it was easy for him to recognize Zhao San.
Guo Shao hid here because he didn't want to go up and say hello. It was purely personal preference. He didn't have a good impression of Zhao San and didn't want to associate with him. That was all.
Suddenly he recognized that the scholar in robe beside Zhao San seemed to be Zhao Pu. Guo Shao had met Zhao Pu twice when he was in Huainan. Later he remembered that this man seemed to be Zhao Kuangyin's counselor, who was quite famous but not yet famous.
This made Guo Shao curious, and he realized that the street that Zhao San and others were walking on was a little different: Li Chuyun's home was nearby.
Guo Shao looked back and told a familiar follower, pointing at Zhao San and the other two, "Lu Chengyong, follow them. See where they are going. They are more conspicuous on horseback. Lead them. We will wait for you near Li Chuyun's house. When you see clearly, come and join us."
Yes. Lu Chengyong saluted.
Guo Shao frowned and said: Be careful, don't let anyone find out.
The two sides went their separate ways. Guo Shao waited for Zhao San to pass, then took the rest to the cross street, following the direction Zhao San came from. Not long after, they turned a corner at another intersection and saw Li Chuyun's residence. Guo Shao saw a teahouse at the intersection, so he exchanged horses with his followers and went up to sit and wait. In order to talk conveniently, they found a secluded spot near the street with a screen partition.
After waiting for a long time, Guo Shao saw Lu Chengyong coming back from upstairs, so he asked someone to go down and call him. Lu Chengyong rode his horse around for a few circles, without even looking up. This guy was really dull, which made the servants at the gate of Li Chuyun's mansion look at this wandering man warily.
Finally, the person who came downstairs called him and brought him upstairs.
There were few customers in the teahouse in the morning. When Lu Chengyong came up, Guo Shao gave a signal and asked someone to watch in the corridor. Lu Chengyong walked up and said: The two men went up Zhuque Street and rode north. The horses ran fast on the street. I was afraid they would find me, so I didn't follow them. But I heard some important words along the way.
After hearing this, Guo Shao thought that the important words of the Zhao family might be very important, so he dismissed his attendants and continued to ask: What did you hear them say
Lu Chengyong said in a deep voice: That fat young man seems to have taken a fancy to the lady from Li Chuyun's family.
What? Guo Shao was shocked. The Li family's wife was a lady from a wealthy family and rarely went out. Li Chuyun had no contact with the Zhao family. What was going on
Lu Chengyong shook his head and said, "I don't know." The fat young man said to his companion Zhao Pu that he could not forget the Li family's wife after seeing her once, and it would be a pity not to marry her. Zhao Pu also advised him that Li Chuyun would not agree to the marriage. The fat young man said, "Brother Zhao, think of a way for me." Later, the two of them whispered for a while, and there were many people on the street, so I couldn't hear clearly.
Guo Shao's face changed when he heard this. When he first met Zhao San, he had a hunch that this man was young but not ordinary, but he had always thought that he was young and not powerful, so he didn't pay attention to him for the time being, and only paid attention to Zhao Kuangyin. Unexpectedly, when he met him again, he immediately realized that Zhao San might cause him big problems.
The lady of the Li family can marry anyone, but she cannot marry someone from Zhao Kuangyin's family. Guo Shao can no longer care about his aversion to Zhao San and his personal emotions. He can't just sit back and watch for the sake of the situation. If the Li and Zhao families become relatives, it is hard to say whether Li Chuyun will stand on Zhao Kuangyin's side in the future, or on his side with Li Chuyun's good brother Luo Yanhuan.
Guo Shao realized that his backyard seemed to be on fire.
There were many generals under his command who had surrendered to him. But the most talented generals were Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan; Guo Shao's brother Yang Biao was slightly inferior, and Luo Mengzi was even less so. If Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan defected, Guo Shao would suffer a heavy loss. After all the efforts, he gave them the opportunity to make meritorious contributions and specially cultivated and promoted them, but ended up planting two nails in his own army.
No, this must not happen. Guo Shao is not clear about the situation now. How did Zhao San meet the Li family lady? Li Chuyun secretly had contact with Zhao Kuangyin's family.
What Zhao Pu said about Li Chuyun not agreeing should not be false. It is not easy for the Zhao family to poach people from Guo Shao, especially someone like Li Chuyun. The people of the Zhe family were not very nice to him back then, but Li Chuyun did not easily betray Mr. Zhe, but he should not be careless. Guo Shao vaguely remembered that the person responsible for planning the Chenqiao mutiny should be Zhao Kuangyin's brothers and aides, and it is very likely that Zhao Pu, otherwise Zhao Pu would not have left an impression in Guo Shao's memory.
These two thieves were able to accomplish such a big thing as planning to seize power. Their minds, tactics and talents are definitely extraordinary. If they were determined to marry the lady from the Li family, they might really have a way.
Guo Shao was at a loss as to what to do. He asked someone to pay for the tea and went downstairs. He led the horse and paced on the street for a long time, not knowing where to start.
At this moment, a young girl suddenly came out of Li Chuyun's house, walked up to Guo Shao and said: "General Guo, you are here to visit my son, so why don't you come to my house?"
Guo Shao saw that she looked familiar and thought that she seemed to be the maidservant of the Li family's wife, so he said casually: We are just passing by here. General Li should have gone straight up. The master of the Li family is not at home, so it is inconvenient for me to visit him.
The maid pointed to the teahouse across the street where Guo Shao had just come out and said: "General Guo, if you are willing, please go over there and find a private room to wait. My wife wants to see you."
This didn't seem right at the doorstep of General Li's house. Guo Shaowei hesitated a little.
The maid said: It’s okay only when we’re at the doorstep.
Guo Shao also wanted to meet Madam Li, so he didn't say much and said: "I'll go over first. I'll ask my personal soldiers to wait at the entrance of the teahouse and ask Madam Li to come up and have a chat."
Guo Shao walked in again, and this time he paid for a separate, quieter private room, with a bamboo curtain hanging at the door, but no door. Guo Shao sent someone to guard the door, and went in alone to wait.
Not long after, Madam Li arrived. She was wearing a light-colored jacket and skirt, plain in color, but very fitting and elegant. The size of the jacket was just right, highlighting her plump and round chest and waist and hip lines. The stand-up collar didn't reveal any skin, but it had its own temptation. Li Chuyun had never held a high military position before, so he was willing to raise a daughter, and he really raised her to have the temperament of a lady from a noble family.
After she entered the room, she took off the veil on her head, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes looked at the ground. Guo Shao hurriedly stood up and moved the chair opposite the table, and asked Madam Li to sit down. After Madam Li sat down, he let go of his hand from the back of the chair.
Li said: Why are you looking for me now
Guo Shao thought to himself: I'm not here to look for you. I'm just hanging around in front of the Li family's door, not going in directly. It seems like I'm here specifically to see Madam Li.
Li said again: I came to see you today just to talk it out so that I don't have to worry about you anymore. You have to return the insoles I gave you last time. From now on, we don't owe each other anything, just pretend we never knew each other. As she spoke, her voice became a little out of tune.
Guo Shao felt that the atmosphere was not right, as if they were breaking up. They had never been together, so how could they break up? He was confused and couldn't figure out the relationship. Finally, he couldn't help but answer the question irrelevantly: There is a young man named Zhao Kuangyi. Have you seen him
Li was silent for a while, then nodded and said: I have seen you, what do you think of me
Guo Shao's forehead darkened and he said: You are still a teenage girl who has not yet married, and you have a clean family background, so you cannot meet any man casually.
Li said: Then is it inappropriate for us to meet now
Guo Shao was speechless.
He was so angry that he couldn't help but say: "Don't be fooled by Zhao San's honest and righteous appearance. You are young and don't know people, but I know his background. He is not a good person. Your father and I are like brothers. I am worried about you, so I advise you kindly." The more he spoke, the angrier he became. That guy was evil-minded from beginning to end.
Li sneered and said: You are a really strange person. You are so happy to marry the queen's family, but you ignore me and treat me like a piece of trash.
That's absolutely not the case. Guo Shao interrupted her and said, "I still care about Madam Li, but I have my own reasons."
Thinking back to when no one cared about him before, but now he was helpless. In his previous life, he didn't know who told him that ancient people could have three wives and four concubines, and Guo Shao would definitely beat him to death. Both the Tang and Zhou dynasties had laws prohibiting bigamy, and the punishment ranged from beating with a stick to exile for three thousand miles, and divorce was also required.
Guo Shao thought of Fu Ermei, and even if he didn't consider marriage, he didn't want to let her down.