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

Chapter 143

"Yes, my lord."

Upon hearing this, Feng Shi dared not be negligent. He knew that what Zhou Chu had done today must be extraordinary, and secrecy was essential. Confidentiality agreements were common in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as many things required secrecy, so Feng Shi was no stranger to them.

Meanwhile, in Jiangnan, Zhang Ziyi, the vice president of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, finally met Chu Li. In the past six months, he had heard many people mention this woman's name.

After all, Chu Li's main purpose in Jiangnan was to acquire raw silk, and Zhang Ziyi was the largest supplier of raw silk in the entire Jiangnan region.

However, previously it was Zhang Ziyi's men who liaised with Chu Li. Although Zhang Ziyi had heard his men mention it many times, they were more impressed by Chu Li's business acumen as a woman.

In their understanding, those who can build a large business are basically men. This is partly because in this era, if women had a choice, they would generally not choose to go out into business. Even if a few do go into business, it is difficult for them to make it big.

Because men are naturally rational and women are naturally emotional, the most taboo thing in business is to act on emotion.

Chu Li's alias at this time was Li Xingruo, a name taken from Cao Cao's poem "Viewing the Sea".

"I've long admired the Li family. May I ask what business you wish to discuss with me, Zhang?"

Zhang Ziyi was from the Minnan region. His grandfather impersonated a Japanese pirate and colluded with wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, quickly accumulating a large amount of capital. By his father's generation, they began to launder their wealth, and by the time Zhang Ziyi took over the Zhang family, they had completely cleaned up their reputation.

Through Zhang Ziyi's years of management, the Zhang family has become one of the wealthiest families in the entire Jiangnan region, and Zhang Ziyi himself serves as the vice president of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce.

"Toujia" is a term that originated from the Minnan dialect and is used to refer to wealthy business owners. Many businessmen in the Jiangnan region still use this term to address each other.

"Mr. Zhang, I would like to borrow a large quantity of raw silk from you."

Chu Li disliked beating around the bush and stated her purpose directly.

"Oh? How do you intend to borrow it? How much?"

Zhang Ziyi raised an eyebrow and said.

“I’ll borrow as much as Zhang’s family has, for only half a month. When I return it to you, I’ll give you an extra three cents of raw silk.”

In this era, interest was measured in units of li, fen, and cheng.

One li is one thousandth, one fen is one hundredth, and one cheng is one tenth.

Paying back 3% more after 15 days is already considered a very high interest rate; the more you borrow, the more interest you will accrue.

It would be a lie to say that Zhang Ziyi wasn't tempted, but he couldn't quite figure out what this woman was up to, so he didn't agree immediately.

"Excuse my bluntness, but I'd like to ask, what does the Li family intend to do with so much raw silk?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Li's face showed a hint of displeasure.

"Isn't Mr. Zhang asking too many questions? This is against the rules."

Zhang Ziyi knew he had asked too many questions; according to the rules, he shouldn't have asked such a question. After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Ziyi still couldn't resist the temptation of the high interest rates.

"I wonder if the Li family has any powerful figures?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Li smiled inwardly, knowing that the matter was settled.

In the capital city, at Yang Yiqing's residence, the steward came before Yang Yiqing.

"My lord, the Shuntian Prefecture has also investigated, but they couldn't find any files related to Zhou Chu."

The butler said with a hint of helplessness.

Yang Yiqing was not surprised to hear this.

"It's alright. The files of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are always kept secret. It's normal that we can't find them."

"Sir, should we send someone to inquire about this?"

The butler hesitated for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Yang Yiqing glanced at the butler as if he were an idiot.

"You're asking around for information about Zhou Chu; do you think you can hide it from the eyes and ears of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Upon hearing this, the butler immediately felt discouraged.

"In that case, we have no choice but to join forces with Yang Tinghe. Otherwise, if we let Zhou Chu investigate further, even if we win the dispute over etiquette, I will not be the one to take the credit."

Yang Yiqing sighed.

He had something else to say: Zhou Chu was too arrogant now. Even if he helped the emperor win this dispute over etiquette and brought down Yang Tinghe, even if he himself entered the cabinet and became the Grand Secretary, this Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would probably still be one step ahead of him.

This is something Yang Yiqing cannot tolerate. He is already this old, and since he is going to be the Grand Secretary, he will not tolerate others riding on his head.

"At tomorrow's court assembly, let's set aside the dispute over etiquette for now and first submit a memorial to this commander."

Yang Yiqing was making these plans. He believed that Yang Tinghe hated Zhou Chu even more than he did, and would definitely cooperate with him.

In the imperial court, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.