Chapter 36: Visiting the Grand Steward Li Ru, the mysterious Miss Li of the Li residence?

As the Magistrate of Luoyang, Gu Yi should logically attend the morning court every day.

But after Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang Army took control of the court, the morning court became a mere formality.

Big and small matters were generally discussed and settled in Dong Zhuo’s Chancellor residence.

And as for the daily affairs of the Magistrate of Luoyang, Gu Yi, who enjoyed leisure, did not want to interfere too much, so he handed almost everything over to his deputy.

Anyway, the deputy was also a Xiliang loyalist and could be considered a trusted person, so there would naturally be no mistakes.

On the third day of arriving in Luoyang,

after everything was settled,

Gu Yi decided to go and visit Li Ru.

As the behind-the-scenes Grand Steward of the Xiliang Army, Li Ru’s status in the army was undeniably high.

And in the court, Li Ru had also been exceptionally promoted by Dong Zhuo to Secretariat Director.

At this time in the Han court, Dong Zhuo’s Chancellor position was naturally the highest.

One level below the Chancellor was the Prime Minister.

But because the functions of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor were roughly the same, Dong Zhuo simply abolished the Prime Minister position and only kept the Chancellor.

Further down, aside from the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers, one would count the Secretariat Director.

The Secretariat Director of the Han Dynasty was originally the deputy to the Prime Minister, assisting the Prime Minister or Chancellor in handling various internal affairs.

However, everyone knew Dong Zhuo’s cultural level.

Letting him handle the cumbersome court affairs was truly impossible.

And Dong Zhuo did not like to handle these things on a daily basis.

Therefore, these affairs all fell onto the head of Li Ru, the Secretariat Director.

Reasonably and emotionally, Gu Yi should also set aside time to specifically visit Li Ru.

The two had met for the first time in the imperial palace hall before.

But the main thing that day was watching Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang Army show off.

Gu Yi naturally did not have the opportunity to talk to Li Ru alone.

And today,

it could be considered their first formal contact.

……

Led by the gatekeeper, Gu Yi walked into the Li residence.

At this moment, Li Ru was sitting in the main hall.

And beside him sat a young girl of about sixteen or seventeen.

This girl’s tight and petite face looked as if it were molded from water.

Her features were exquisite like a painting, her eyebrows were curved, and her thin lips were as delicate as cherries. ===== CHAPTER 76 =====

Her high, straight nose was delicate yet dignified, and dimples appeared slightly on her cheeks.

Every smile and every frown was beautiful and peerless.

Her crystal-clear skin was as soft as jade.

A purple-black long dress covered her body, but it still could not hide her curvaceous figure.

With such an appearance, even without makeup, placed in the later era where makeup sorcery was prevalent, she would be worthy of a ninety-five score.

Even with Gu Yi’s concentration, he was slightly distracted the moment he saw this woman.

However, he quickly reacted and subconsciously assumed this woman was Li Ru’s daughter.

Given Li Ru’s age, it was normal for him to have a daughter of this age.

Gu Yi bowed slightly and said:

"Master Wenyou, I did not know Miss Li was here today; I came here rashly, please forgive me."

Hearing this, a flash of surprise passed through Li Ru’s eyes.

He then glanced slightly at the woman opposite him, only to see the woman quickly give him a look to not speak up.

Seeing this, Li Ru had to smile bitterly and said to Gu Yi:

"Young friend Gu, do not be so formal."

"Logically speaking, I should be the one visiting you."

"If it weren't for your help to Hua Xiong at Sishui Pass, I’m afraid that with his ability, he would have long been defeated by the coalition."

What Li Ru said was indeed the truth.

Although Hua Xiong’s martial prowess was not bad,

compared to top fierce generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he was a bit lacking.

If it weren't for Gu Yi’s help,

Hua Xiong would probably not only have been defeated,

but would have lost his life because of it.

Why was Li Ru so concerned about Hua Xiong?

In fact, Li Ru had a very good relationship with most of the Xiliang loyalist generals.

Especially Hua Xiong, who had once rescued Li Ru from an encirclement while wounded in a certain battle.

Although in the eyes of others, Li Ru was a ruthless person,

having previously poisoned the young Emperor,

within the Xiliang Army, Li Ru’s reputation was excellent.

Although he was a scholar, he could play along with everyone.

"Master Wenyou is too polite."

"That was merely my duty."

"A person who plans and strategizes can achieve victory from thousands of miles away."

"But without someone to coordinate and manage, no matter how powerful the army is, it is just a mob."

"Compared to me, Master Wenyou’s contribution to the victory is even more undeniable."

Gu Yi spoke eloquently.

As the Grand Steward of the Xiliang Army, Li Ru was doing things actually similar to Xun Yu in the future Cao camp.

The massive Xiliang Army,

if there was no one to coordinate and manage,

even if the army’s combat power was strong,

it would ultimately be in vain.

However, although he said so,

if one were to talk about who contributed the most to this victory, it was of course Gu Yi.

However...

who could refuse Gu Yi, who was handsome and spoke so well?

Although there was a suspicion of flattering Li Ru, it was done just right.

Li Ru’s gaze toward Gu Yi could not help but become more amiable.

And the woman sitting beside Li Ru,

at this moment, was blinking her big eyes continuously, not knowing what she was thinking about.

……. ===== CHAPTER 77 =====