The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 183

"I am the steward of Governor Cui's residence. I am here on my master's orders to deliver a letter to Lord Zhou Hengqi."

The Cui family steward adopted a certain demeanor and said.

"The post is left, but people cannot enter."

The Imperial Guards at the gate didn't even give him a friendly look.

Upon hearing this, the Cui family steward suppressed his anger. He knew very well that this was not the time for him to lose his temper, and he absolutely could not afford to mess up this mission.

"It must be handed over to Lord Zhou."

After giving him repeated instructions, he had no choice but to drive away in his carriage.

"Sir, you are truly a prophet; someone really did come to deliver an invitation."

The Imperial Guard guarding the gate was in high spirits. In fact, he knew the steward of the Cui family. He had met him once or twice before, but the steward of the Cui family back then was so arrogant and domineering that his face was disgusting.

He never imagined this person could be so easy to talk to. In the past, they wouldn't have dared to even think about it, let alone give him the cold shoulder.

Since Lord Zhou arrived, everything has changed. Now, no matter who they meet, they stand up for themselves with extraordinary confidence. Officials who used to ignore them now treat them very differently and dare not offend them.

"Take it to the master immediately, we must not delay his business."

The guard on duty slapped his forehead, turned around, and went into the guard post.

Zhou Chu glanced at the invitation in his hand and casually tossed it onto the desk.

There was no such thing as a good banquet; calling it a trap was no exaggeration.

"Call your men, it's time to get to work."

Zhou Chu looked at Chen Zhao beside him and said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao immediately perked up.

Soon, Zhou Chu, along with Shen Lian, Lin Lu, Chen Zhao, and dozens of Imperial Guards, headed straight for the Suzhou government office.

Zhou Chu will not attend Cui Wenkui's welcoming banquet. There will be no benefit in going; it will only lead to arguing with Cui Wenkui.

However, Zhou Chu wouldn't reply to him. Instead, he simply arrested a few officials from the Suzhou government. This was partly to pave the way for Yan Song so that he could make progress more quickly, and partly as a veiled response to Cui Wenkui.

Over the past two months, Zhou Chu had been gradually setting up these officials in the Suzhou government office, since Chu Liu was idle anyway, so they wanted to give him something to do.

Since Wang Zan's death, Zhou Chu knew that with Yan Song's arrival, these officials would inevitably band together to isolate Yan Song.

Most of the officials in the Suzhou government office had died. Apart from Yan Song, these officials were all transferred from nearby areas and were mostly Cui Wenkui's men. The few or one transferred from other places could not make a difference.

Two months is enough time for Chu Liu to gather sufficient evidence. After all, these are officials of the fifth rank or below. For Chu Liu, who has the backing of Zhou Chu, taking them down is a piece of cake.

Under Zhou Chu's command, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was extremely efficient, and quickly arrested more than a dozen officials and brought them back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters. Zhou Chu did not arrest them all; he arrested some and spared others. His main purpose was to give them a warning. If he could not handle Yan Song, he would lose his job as the prefect of Suzhou.

"Lord Yan, what happened? Why are these Imperial Guards arresting people as soon as they come in?"

Those officials who hadn't been arrested came before Yan Song, still shaken.

"You may not know this, but this Commander Zhou is no ordinary person. He is impartial and incorruptible. Not to mention these dozen or so, he directly dealt with a thousand officials in the capital, including many of them who were third-rank officials."

Yan Song said in a serious tone.

"It seems that Lord Zhou must have gathered enough evidence to make these arrests. I wonder if any of you have any dirt on Lord Zhou?"

Yan Song looked at these people with a meaningful expression.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. As the saying goes, one must listen carefully to the underlying meaning. Yan Song had already spoken so plainly; if they still didn't understand what he meant, they might as well give up on navigating the officialdom.

However, they will not rush to express their opinions. At the very least, they will wait until the results of these people's cases are released before making a decision. Otherwise, wouldn't it be ridiculous if they switched sides to the prefect while the other people were released?

"I hope Lord Yan will take good care of me."

After exchanging some polite words, everyone left.

Yan Song naturally understood what these people were thinking, and he wasn't worried at all. Others might not know, but didn't Yan Song understand? These people had been captured by Zhou Chu, and they thought they could get away unscathed?

On the other side, Cui Wenkui also received the news. He never expected that Zhou Chu would not only disrespect him but also humiliate him in this way.

"It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense!"

Cui Wenkui was like a furious lion, ready to devour anyone he could.