Chapter 8

"Master!! Master!! What happened to you?"

In the midst of the shouting, a young man of about the same age as Zhao Junchen burst through the door and stumbled to Zhao Junchen's bedside.

When he saw Zhao Junchen's current state—pale face, listless expression, and head wrapped in bandages—the young man's anxiety and worry deepened, and he said repeatedly, "Master, what happened to you? I was only gone for a few hours, how did you end up like this? Don't scare me..."

Previously, when the officials of Lu'an Prefecture were in front of Zhao Junchen, although they showed concern and offered greetings, it was mostly for show, trying to curry favor with Zhao Junchen and fearing his wrath. Thus, their concern lacked sincerity.

But the young man before him, his concern and anxiety were genuine, with no trace of pretense. Even though Zhao Junchen was now a different person, seeing someone care for him so deeply still warmed his heart.

Through the fragmented memories, Zhao Junchen understood the identity of the young man.

His name was Xu Qingyan, the youngest son of Mr. Xu, and he was the same age as Zhao Junchen.

Although his father was a teacher, Xu Qingyan did not like reading and spent his days idly. After Zhao Junchen entered government service, Mr. Xu entrusted Xu Qingyan to him, hoping to ensure Xu Qingyan's future and to have a trusted companion by Zhao Junchen's side. Grateful for Mr. Xu's kindness, Zhao Junchen treated Xu Qingyan like a brother.

Seeing Xu Qingyan on the verge of tears, Zhao Junchen comforted him, "It's nothing serious, just an accident. I'm much better now."

"I was following your orders to contact Guangfa Grain Store... but when I heard you were in trouble, I rushed back immediately..." Xu Qingyan sighed with relief after hearing Zhao Junchen's response and explained.

As the two were talking, the officials of Lu'an Prefecture, who were waiting outside the door, secretly peered into the room, hoping to gather some information.

Both Zhao Junchen and Xu Qingyan noticed their actions.

Xu Qingyan suddenly turned around, pointed at the officials outside, and shouted, "You useless scoundrels, how did you do your job? I was only gone for half a day, and you let my master be injured by a group of ruffians. My master is of noble status. If anything happens to him, can you afford the consequences? If the Emperor finds out, you will all be in deep trouble..."

Under Xu Qingyan's furious scolding, the officials of Lu'an Prefecture all cowered, not daring to respond.

As the saying goes, "The attendants of a prime minister are seventh-rank officials." Zhao Junchen was only a third-rank official, but his attendant had already reduced a fourth-rank governor like Liu Chang'an to silence.

"Qingyan... forget it, this isn't the fault of the officials..."

Since Zhao Junchen had decided to improve his reputation, build alliances, and secure his position, he needed to start now.

However, seeing Xu Qingyan's unbridled, arrogant, and habitual behavior, Zhao Junchen sighed inwardly. It seemed that Xu Qingyan, having followed the old Zhao Junchen for so long, had not learned anything good.

Stopping Xu Qingyan, Zhao Junchen said to the officials outside, "My attendant was impolite and overly anxious. Please bear with him, gentlemen."

The officials, led by Liu Chang'an, all said they would not dare to.

Zhao Junchen continued, "I am feeling tired. Gentlemen, there is no need for you to wait here. Please return. If I need anything, I will have Qingyan inform you."

Seeing Zhao Junchen's attendant return and Zhao Junchen dismissing them, Liu Chang'an and the others exchanged glances and finally left, bowing to Zhao Junchen before departing.

Xu Qingyan, seeing them leave, went to close the door.

However, as Xu Qingyan reached the door, he seemed to whisper to someone. Zhao Junchen looked up and saw that Liu Chang'an had given Xu Qingyan something before leaving.

After closing the door, Xu Qingyan turned around, and the anger and worry on his face turned into excitement and enthusiasm.

Xu Qingyan took out a thick roll of silver bills from his sleeve, quickly walked to Zhao Junchen's bedside, and exclaimed, "Master, Master, we're rich!! Just now, Liu Chang'an gave me a roll of silver bills. I checked, and there are twenty bills, each worth five thousand taels, a total of one hundred thousand taels. He said it was a gift from all the officials of Lu'an Prefecture to calm your nerves. It seems your injury scared them, and they are afraid of your wrath, so they coughed up a lot of money, one hundred thousand taels!! We're rich, Master, your injury was worth it!!"

The impact of one hundred thousand taels had made Xu Qingyan speak without thinking.

It seemed that a master's character influenced his attendant.

After dancing around for a while, Xu Qingyan noticed that Zhao Junchen showed no excitement, only leaning against the headboard, quietly watching him.

Seeing Zhao Junchen's reaction, Xu Qingyan was startled, and his face showed unease.

He and Zhao Junchen were both master and brother, with a deep bond. Because of his gratitude to Mr. Xu, Xu Qingyan, though an attendant, was never treated as a servant by Zhao Junchen, which is why he dared to say things like "your injury was worth it."

Xu Qingyan was startled and uneasy because he knew Zhao Junchen well. In the past, if someone offered one hundred thousand taels, Zhao Junchen, being greedy, would have immediately jumped out of bed, snatched the silver bills from Xu Qingyan, counted them carefully, and danced around with Xu Qingyan, saying, "One hundred thousand taels, Qingyan, my injury was worth it..."

No, even five thousand taels would have been enough to make Zhao Junchen do that.

However, now, facing one hundred thousand taels, Zhao Junchen showed no reaction, which was definitely abnormal.

Could it be that Zhao Junchen, though appearing normal, had become mentally confused after the head injury?

Thinking this, Xu Qingyan no longer cared about the silver bills and quickly walked to Zhao Junchen's side, asking repeatedly, "Master, what's wrong? Are you still feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor?"

Xu Qingyan did not know that this Zhao Junchen was not the same as before. Before the穿越, Zhao Junchen had always been calm, not particularly interested in money, and spent little. The two million three hundred thousand taels he had embezzled were enough for his lifetime, and the additional one hundred thousand taels were just a bonus, not something to be overly excited about.

Moreover, this one hundred thousand taels was certainly not clean money. The combined salaries of all the officials in Lu'an Prefecture would not add up to this much, even if they saved every penny for their entire lives.

Seeing Xu Qingyan's worried expression, Zhao Junchen sighed and said, "I'm fine, just thinking about other things."

Although Xu Qingyan was greedy and opportunistic like his former master, his genuine concern for Zhao Junchen made Zhao Junchen reluctant to scold him.

Seeing the confusion on Xu Qingyan's face, Zhao Junchen changed the subject.

"By the way, Qingyan, you mentioned Guangfa Grain Store. What were you doing there?"

Hearing Zhao Junchen's question, Xu Qingyan's confusion deepened, and he said, "Master, didn't you instruct me to contact the owners of the major grain stores and have them buy the disaster relief grain from the government, then you would smooth things over and bring the money back to the capital..."

Hearing Xu Qingyan's explanation, Zhao Junchen felt a bitter smile.

The disaster relief grain was a matter of life and death for tens of thousands of people. The old Zhao Junchen had actually been planning to profit from it.

If this continued, Zhao Junchen's fate would likely be a tragic one.

Seeing Xu Qingyan's confusion deepen, Zhao Junchen knew he had revealed himself and had to explain, "You know, I was hit on the head and am a bit confused..."

Seeing the bandages on Zhao Junchen's head, Xu Qingyan accepted the explanation but became even more worried, asking, "Should I call a doctor?"

"No need. The doctor said it's temporary and will recover with rest."

After a pause, Zhao Junchen asked, "Have you sold the disaster relief grain yet?"

"Not yet. We only arrived in Lu'an Prefecture yesterday and contacted the grain stores today."

"That's good... that's good..."

Zhao Junchen murmured.

Unconsciously, it was already evening.

The rest of the day passed with Zhao Junchen continuously asking Xu Qingyan for information, while Xu Qingyan worried about him.