Chapter 65: Zhao Jia's Mansion

  In the following days, Gao Yuan led his soldiers to the military camp outside Handan City every day. In the morning, he trained cavalry tactics and infantry formation drills. In the afternoon, he practiced archery and horseback riding skills on his own, and under Zhao Xuan's guidance, he practiced personal martial arts.

  Although Gaoyuan was beaten by Zhao Xuan every time and had to pick up his teeth from the ground, he had also received strict modern military training and had a solid foundation in combat. However, modern military training did not emphasize cold weapon fighting techniques, but through sparring with Zhao Xuan, Gaoyuan gained insight into the subtleties of knife fighting. In just a few days, he made significant progress and was no longer passively taking blows from Zhao Xuan. He could now block several attacks and even launch counterattacks. Moreover, Gaoyuan estimated that if he were to encounter Lie Bo again, he would be able to put up a good fight and not win by such a narrow margin as before.

  While training, Gao also often played Cuju with the soldiers. Li Yinghong still has a strong interest in Cuju now and actively participates in every Cuju competition. Under her influence, new recruits such as Zhong Sunqi and Wu Hongying all like this sport and quickly integrate into the whole army during competitions.

  Unconsciously, it was already the time when Zhao Jia invited him. On this same day, the envoy of Qin State also arrived in Handan. Li Yuhong heard that one of the three great talents of the world, Chunyu Zhongxiu, would be attending this gathering and was very curious. Of course, she wanted to go with Gao Yuan to see what this famous talented woman looked like. Gao Yuan naturally wouldn't refuse. But Wu Honglian laughed at her, saying that she was afraid that Gao Yuan would be lured away by Chunyu Zhongxiu, which is why she wanted to follow along.

  Since the last time, Gaoyuan and Li Yinghong's relationship has also made great progress. When they are alone together, they will be more intimate. Li Yinghong is at an age when she is just beginning to understand love, and she already regards Gaoyuan as her lover. After overcoming her initial shyness and reserve, she completely opens up to Gaoyuan, accepting his kisses and caresses. Except for the final step, they can be said to have been extremely intimate. Moreover, almost everyone has now become very clear about their relationship.

  Of course, Gao Yuan also told Li Yuehong about his affair with Geng Yanwei and her background. Li Yuehong didn't mind it too much because in that era, this kind of thing was normal. Moreover, Li Yuehong sympathized with Geng Yanwei's situation. However, when she first heard the news, Li Yuehong did get a little upset, but under Gao Yuan's gentle consolation and actions, her anger quickly dissipated.

  Geng Yan Yu also knew that Li Ying Hong would definitely be the legitimate wife of Gao Yuan in the future, so she was very respectful to Li Ying Hong and humbly agreed. With Gao Yuan's coordination, the two quickly became familiar with each other and were intimate without any distance.

  So on this day, Li Mu entered the palace with Zhao Wang to meet the Qin state envoys, while Li Yinghong was going to follow Gao Yuan to Zhao Jia's mansion to attend Zhao Jia's invitation.

  Zhao Jia's mansion was located in the southeast of Handan City, because he was the elder brother of King Zhao Qian, although he had no title, but his status was respected, so the area of the mansion was extremely vast.

  The entire mansion is over 300 meters long and wide, with a perimeter of nearly five-meter-high city walls, with high towers at the four corners, and outside the city wall there is a six-meter-wide moat, which is a city within a city.

  They had not yet reached the entrance of the mansion, and Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong walked along the city wall for nearly a hundred meters. On the city wall, there were guards everywhere, among whom nearly 30% were fully armored, almost identical to Zhao's army. Gao Yuan estimated that there were at least 700 or 800 people stationed on the city wall alone, with guns and spears standing upright, flags flying high, showing a strict defense.

  Gao Yuan couldn't help but say: "Zhao Jia's mansion is really big."

  Li Yinghong also nodded and said: "Yes, in Handan City, it can be said that except for the palace, it is his largest mansion."

  Gao Yuan Dao: "Isn't Zhao Jia only a food fief of 300 households? Where did he get the money to build such a large mansion?"

  Li Yinghong said, "This mansion was originally the residence of Prince Pingyuan in the past. The former king gave it to him, but there were no city walls before. It was only after Zhao Jia moved in that he built them. You also know that according to etiquette, Zhao Jia should have been made crown prince, but the former king favored the current king's mother and thus made the current king the crown prince instead. The former king felt somewhat guilty towards Zhao Jia, so when Prince Pingyuan passed away and his daughter returned to her fiefdom to live, this mansion was left empty. Therefore, the former king gave it to Zhao Jia, along with 10,000 taels of gold, which allowed him to build these city walls."

  Gao Yuan also smiled and said: "It's all said that Zhao Jia is the second Pingyuan Jun, it seems that this statement is also somewhat reasonable."

  Li Honghong said: "In the past, Pingyuan Jun had 3,000 guests under his door, and now Zhao Jia has nearly a thousand guests under his door. If this continues for a few more years, it's possible that he'll even surpass Pingyuan Jun."

  Two men walked and talked, unaware that they had already arrived at the city gate. At this time, there were already family members waiting at the door, seeing Gao Yuan coming, immediately welcoming him to come up, asking for his name and surname, and immediately inviting Gao Yuan into the mansion. The guards brought by Gao Yuan also had a special person to receive them. After all, they arrived here, the guards couldn't always follow, of course, Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong were carrying their own weapons, and the servants didn't dare to collect them.

  After passing through the city gate, there is a vast square of over 50 meters long, all paved with bluestone, and then comes the building complex inside the mansion. As he walked onto the square, Gao Yuan suddenly realized that there were many collision marks on the bluestone ground, apparently due to frequent horse-drawn carriages or heavy trampling, which can only be found in places where soldiers are frequently trained. Gao Yuan also estimated in his heart that Zhao Jia might not be content with just being a rich and noble prince, but had a rebellious mind.

  But thinking about it, this is not surprising. The throne originally belonged to him, but due to his father's favoritism, the throne was passed on to his younger brother. Anyone would be unwilling to accept this. Moreover, since King Zhao Xiang ascended to the throne, he has been indulging in wine and women, entrusting state affairs to Guo Kuo, and has already been recognized by the people of Zhao as a standard incompetent ruler. In such a situation, it is natural for Zhao Jia to think: "If I were the king, I would definitely not be like this, and I would certainly do better than King Zhao Xiang." Thus, he also found an appropriate reason for his own rebellion and usurpation of the throne.

  This time, Zhao Jia invited himself over, probably not just for an ordinary banquet, and he might have his own ideas. Of course, Gao Yuan wouldn't say these things to Li Yinghong. He would wait until he saw Zhao Jia and heard what he had to say before taking action. Under the guidance of the servant, they walked across the square and arrived at the entrance of the building. At this time, Zhao Jia had already come out of the house to greet them. Gao Yuan bowed his hands and said, "Greetings, sir."

  Zhao Jia busy returned the courtesy, saying: "High doctor doesn't have to be too polite, come on, let's go down together. The banquet has already been arranged." After a pause, Zhao Jia said again: "Doctor, please rest assured that Mr. Chunyu and Miss Chunyu haven't arrived yet."

  Gao Yuan smiled and said: "I was overstepping my bounds by bringing Miss Li here, I hope you can forgive me."

  Li Yinghong also came forward and paid his respects, saying: "Yinghong has seen you, sir."

  Actually, the relationship between Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong was not a secret in Handan either. Li Yinghong went to Gao Yuan's mansion every day to find him, and the two often came and went together. Even a blind person could see what was going on. Zhao Jia was also very clear about it, but since Zhao State had an open atmosphere and the two were of similar age, it wasn't considered a big deal either.

  Zhao Jiaxiao smiled and said, "Miss Li's visit to my humble abode is truly a great honor. It's also a good opportunity for Chunyu Cairen to see the beauty of our Zhao country's women. I'm afraid everyone who comes to this banquet today will feel like they've been blessed with good fortune in their past lives."

  Gao Yuan also burst out laughing. Just then, another servant ran over and said, "Young Master, Mr. Chunyu and Miss Chunyu have arrived."

  Zhao Jia hesitated for a moment, and his face showed a difficult expression. Now Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong had already arrived, and according to reason, he should first lead them in and then go to welcome Chun Yu's father and daughter. However, going back and forth would make Chun Yu's father and daughter wait for quite some time. If it were only Chun Yu Bo, it could be forgiven, but accompanying Chun Yu Bo was also one of the three great beauties, Chun Yu Zhongxiu. In fact, she was the focus of today's gathering. If he made the beauty wait for too long, Zhao Jia would also lose face.

  Fortunately, Gao Yuan also saw it and smiled: "Since Mr. Chunyu and Miss Chunyu have arrived, the young master should go to greet them. We are all people of Zhao State, no need to be too formal, but we can't lose our manners in front of outsiders."

  Zhao Jia listened and couldn't help but be overjoyed, hastily saying: "It's rare for Doctor Gao to be so magnanimous, I'll take my leave for a moment." He immediately called over another servant, saying: "You lead Doctor Gao and Miss Li inside, make sure to serve them carefully." Then he hurriedly left, walking swiftly towards the city gate.

  The family member responded with a "yes" and said: "Doctor Gao and Miss Li, please follow me."

  The two followed their family inside, and Li Yinghong whispered: "What's the matter with him? Look at Zhao Jia, as soon as he heard that Chunyu Zhongxiu was coming, he immediately became flustered and abandoned us. He's afraid of losing face in front of Chunyu Zhongxiu. I'll take a good look later, what does this Chunyu Zhongxiu really look like."

  Gao Yuan chuckled and said: "Is it a guest who comes from afar? Zhao Jia is afraid of losing politeness, it's also necessary, why bother with these trivial matters?"

  Although he said so, in Gao Yuan's heart, he also had some misgivings about Zhao Jia. Although it was himself who proposed to let Zhao Jia go and welcome Chun Yu's father and daughter, Zhao Jia agreed too quickly, without even saying a polite word, and immediately went to welcome them, as if afraid that he would regret it. If he were truly a noble person, he would not have done such an impolite thing. Although Gao Yuan wouldn't mind these minor details, he could also infer a person's temperament from them. It seemed that this person was probably just a superficial one who spoke more than he acted and couldn't accomplish great things.

  Two people followed the family through several courtyards, turned several corners, and entered a yard. After passing through a winding path, they arrived in front of a pavilion built on an artificial lake. At this time, there were already several people waiting inside the pavilion. The family led Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong to the pavilion and said: "Doctor Gao, Miss Li, it's here. Please sit down in the pavilion and wait for Mr. Gong."