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

Chapter 182

Faced with the enraged Cui Wenkui, all the officials under his command fell silent.

They knew all too well what kind of person the Governor was, since they were always the ones cleaning up Cui Wenshan's messes.

But no one dared to provoke Cui Wenku at this time, and no one would tell Cui Wenku the truth.

Does Cui Wenku really not know? He's just selectively turning a blind eye; this is a common trick used by upright officials.

Those who can survive in officialdom are all shrewd and calculating. If anyone were foolish enough to remind this governor what kind of person his elder brother was, their future would be over.

Xia Yan naturally understood this principle. He knew very well that Cui Wenkui was determined to protect his elder brother's family to the death. In that case, he should stay away to avoid getting splattered with blood.

"Lord Cui, I shall take my leave now."

Xia Yan stood up and said.

"Please take care, Lord Xia. I won't see you off."

Cui Wenku was very annoyed at the moment and naturally had no time to see Xia Yan off.

Xia Yan didn't care and turned to leave.

As for whether Cui Wenkui would be angry with him, Xia Yan didn't care at all. If Cui Wenkui insisted on going his own way this time, he would definitely not get any benefits from Zhou Chu.

It should be noted that Zhou Chu commands an unknown force; the number of people in this force and its combat capabilities are all unknown.

Although Cui Wenkui was the governor of Jiangnan Province, holding both military and political power and commanding tens of thousands of troops, he had no reason to use the army for such official negotiations.

As for having the army impersonate Japanese pirates? Unless Cui Wenkui remembers, no one in the entire Ming Dynasty would tolerate him.

That's breaking the rules.

You can raise bandits to maintain your own power, but you cannot use an army to impersonate Japanese pirates. If this rule is broken, all civil and military officials will feel insecure and no one will tolerate him.

"My lord, it seems that Lord Xia does not want to get involved in this matter."

After Xia Yan left, Zhang Liangyong, the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, said.

"Hmph, this is my family matter after all. It's normal that he doesn't want to get involved. If I can't solve it, Xia Yan can't do anything either. This is Suzhou Prefecture, not the capital. He may be called the Minister of Rites, but he also has Zhang Cong by his side. He's always hesitant and overthinking things. We don't need to worry about him."

Cui Wenku said with a hint of disdain.

Although both were second-rank officials, the Minister of Rites was no match for Cui Wenkui, a powerful regional official, especially in Jiangnan. However, in the capital, it would be a completely different story.

After thinking for a long time, Cui Wenkui finally picked up his pen and wrote a post, which he then handed to the butler beside him.

"Go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and give this invitation to Zhou Chu. Tell him that I have just finished my official business in Yangzhou and will be hosting a welcome dinner for him and Prefect Yan Weizhong tomorrow. Oh, and send another copy to Yan Song as well."

After receiving the invitation, the steward did not dare to delay and drove the carriage straight to the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) headquarters.

As the saying goes, "Even a minor official can be a high-ranking official in front of a prime minister's gate." Although Cui Wenkui was not a prime minister, he was more powerful than a prime minister in Jiangnan Province, especially in Suzhou Prefecture. Therefore, the steward of the Cui family was always arrogant and domineering, and everyone had to bow their heads and smile obsequiously when they saw him.

But when he arrived at the gate of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he dared not put on his old arrogant attitude. As the steward of the Cui family, he was naturally very perceptive and knew how to read people's expressions. No one would have bothered with him no matter how arrogant and domineering he had been in the past.

Because at that time, the Cui family held absolute power.

That won't work now. Didn't you see that Grandpa Cui and his parents were both imprisoned in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

He didn't think he was more intimidating than the eldest son of the Cui family, so his attitude was naturally different from before. However, he couldn't lose the Cui family's prestige, and it was still difficult to strike the right balance.

"Who is here? What is the reason?"

The Imperial Guards on duty at the gate of the Imperial Guards' headquarters stopped the steward of the Cui family.