Fatty couldn't help but hiccup after seeing the young man, "Big brother, what brings you here?" Fatty Su asked.
The young man who fatty Su referred to as big brother, was Su Dongpo, the eldest son of the Su family.
"Su Dongpo, bowed to Gu Shang, "Greetings to the Prince Of The North, sorry to bother you, but I must bring my unfilal brother home, our grandfather requires his presence"
"I'm not going" Fatty Su immediately declined, he didn't intend to leave now.
"Su Dongpo, it's been such a long time, why don't you join us?" Gu Shang offered.
Su Dongpo just stood there and watched Gu Shang nonchalantly, he clearly wasn't interested.
Fatty Su immediately whispered something into Gu Shang ears.
"It's not a request, but a command" Gu Shang added.
Su Dongpo narrowed his eyes, but he didn't defy Gu Shang request and took his seat.
Gu Shang couldn't help but scan Su Dongpo, from what he remembered, Dongpo has always been very strict and upright, he's also one of the most resilient people Gu Shang had ever known, but for some reason he looked very tamed and Weary.
This wasn't the Dongpo he knew, at a point in time, he even admired the young man.
"It's been a long time, we have a lot of catching up to do, Dongpo" Gu Shang said as he poured wine into a cup.
The aroma of the wine was just irresistible as it waftered into the nostrils on Dongpo.
"There's nothing to catch up on, your grace. You and I are from two different worlds, and I've never been your friend,
If you have something to say, I'll suggest you go right to it and stop cutting corners" Su Dongpo said calmly, he was definitely part of the few who could talk to Gu Shang so boldly.
"I disagree with you on that, both you are I are the same, if we're being honest. After all we both share the same fate, don't we?" Gu Shang said as he pushed the cup filled with wine towards Su Dongpo.
"I'm no quite getting what your grace is implying?"
"What I mean to say it's that, you are not the successor of the Su clan because, your mother is a commoner just like me.
You and I are more similar than you think" Gu Shang said ruthlessly.
Dongpo clenched his fist under the table, this was something that was very sore for him.
He was smarter and stronger than Su Wen, but because his mother was a low born, he was disqualified from being the successor of the Su clan.
"If I'm being honest, you are part of the few people I admire a lot in this empire. Anybody in your shoes would have gone mad because of the injustice and would have probably turn against the clan and your brother, but you..... You used it as a drive instead.
That's pretty impressive" Gu Shang said with a smile.
Su Dongpo stared as Gu Shang warily, he felt so exposed infront of the young general.
He was two years older than Gu Shang, but why did it feel like Gu Shang was way older than him?
"What's your point?" He asked.
"Why did you join the imperial court?" Gu Shang suddenly asked.
Su Dongpo remained silent, for a while. "To become someone who would fight for the common people, why? Because I know their pain" He paused.
"Is this what you expect me to say, your grace?" Dongpo said as he lifted the cup full of wine and downed it all in one go.
"My reason for joining the court?.... Sigh, I don't have any grand aspiration, or goal to change the world or how the system runs, I'm too insignificant to achieve such a feat.
I don't really know why I joined the court, maybe for revenge" Su Dongpo said as he took the wine gourd and poured himself another glass without a care in the world.
"You didn't do it for the commoners?" Gu Shang asked.
"I don't have what it takes to fight for the commoners, I can't even protect those dear to me, how I'm I going to protect the commoners" Su Dongpo said with a self mockery.
Gu Shang saw fatty Su expression change, it was quite a rare sight to see the fatty so quiet with his head down.
Gu Shang figured this has something to do with Su Dongpo revenge thingy, he didn't know what revenge it was, but he knew best to not meddle in it.
Gu Shang raise the wine cup and began to fiddle it midair.
"If it's power you seek, then I'll give it to you, I'll give you enough power to be able to trample on anything, or one who stands in your way.
I'll give you power enough to fulfill your revenge, and also enough to protect those you want to protect"
Su Dongpo heart begun to beat rapidly as he heard Gu Shang voice, all he could think about was the word power. He clenched his fist in excitement.
"What do I have to do, to obtain such power?" He asked cautiously, in this world there was no such thing as free lunch, there was always a price to pay.
What he wanted to know, was whether he could pay the price or not.
He gritt his teeth and clenched his fist.
"I won't demand much, but you'll have to fulfill two demands of mine" Gu Shang said as he raised his upper lips into a smile.
"My first demand is that you don't abuse the power, use it to protect the people and don't let it ever corrupt you" Gu Shang said calmly.
Su Dongpo nodded, the reason why Gu Shang keeps bringing the past was because, when they were young, he would always preach about an equal world, where nobility and commoners would be equals.
Gu Shang who at that time was a commoner became captivated about the idea, but as they grew they realized how ludicrous they sounded.
"My second demand, it's that you become my hunting hound. I want the resilient Su Dongpo who never backed down once his taken a single bite.
The unruly Su Dongpo who wasn't afraid to take the nobles head on, can you fulfill those demands.
Su Dongpo could feel his blood roaring within his body, he got up and took to the knees. " I Su Dongpo, vow to be a hunting dog and servant, as long as you give me the power I desire, i shall always remain your loyal servant.
Fatty Su sighed, this brother of his came in to drag his ass home, how did Gu Shang turn him into his subordinate.
For other people, this may appear rush and brazen, but for fatty Su, he knew how desperate his eldest brother was to attain power.
Su Dongpo was considering a genius of a scholar, who excelled in both poetry,arts and martial arts. He was truly a generational talent but because of his mother's lineage, the aristocrats thought nothing of his talent.
Infact they'd suppress him at any turn they get, to the aristocrats the biggest crime in the world was granting commoner statuses higher than them, they'll rather die than see it happen.
Su Dongpo being in the Su clan did not help either, the Su clan didn't have much political power in court, they remained neutral and never got involved in politics.
Of course Gu Shang was an exception, he was only suppressing them through threats and violence, something commoner scums like him would do.
Fatty Su took a long sigh before getting out of his seat, "I've lost all my appetite, I'll take my leave"
"Lost all your appetite? You just cleared the whole table, so what appetite are you talking about?" Gu Shang said mockingly.
Fatty Su raised an eyebrow, but couldn't find any words to defend himself, so he just nodded as if affirming that Gu Shang was making a fair point.
Su Dongpo clasped his hands and bowed to Gu Shang, "we'll take our leave, your grace!" Gu Shang simpley nodded.
For some reason, he could see fatty Su wasn't in a good mood, but that's for later.
After the pair of brothers left, Gu Shang suddenly filled his cup with wine before taking a sip of the heavenly wine.
"You know, it's not very courteous to secretly listen to people conversations right? It might get you dead!"