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

Chapter 136

Zhou Chu said.

"Aren't you afraid that if my two younger brothers find out about my situation, they might do something irreversible?"

At this point, Zhang finally couldn't hold back any longer and revealed her true, vicious nature.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu immediately sneered.

"Does the Empress Dowager really think those civil officials consider you one of their own? Whether it's the Duke of Changguo or the Marquis of Jianchang, if they were to rebel, those civil officials would definitely give them their full support."

"But their support for these two rebels doesn't mean they're on your side. If something goes wrong, they'll take the blame, and you won't get any benefits. Has the Empress Dowager thought this through? To put it bluntly, that could mean the extermination of nine generations of their family."

Zhou Chu said with a face full of disdain.

Upon hearing this, Zhang's breath caught in her throat.

She was well aware of how the civil officials were using her, but she also wanted to use them to constantly clean up the messes for her two younger brothers and seize resources, whether political or smuggling resources in Jiangnan, to ensure the rapid rise of the Zhang family.

Just as Zhou Chu said, Zhang had no doubt that once her two foolish brothers failed in their rebellion, the civil officials would not hesitate to abandon them, and might even kick them while they were down.

Zhang's words were just meant to scare Zhou Chu. Unless absolutely necessary, she would never allow her two younger brothers to rebel. No matter how wronged she felt, as long as her two brothers were safe, the Zhang family could rise again.

On the contrary, if these two had shown even the slightest sign of wanting to rebel, they would have been unlikely to succeed. Afterwards, the civil officials would have gotten away with nothing, but the Zhang family would have been completely finished.

Putting aside everything else, Zhang knew that Wang Yangming was in charge of Nanjing.

"Your Majesty is a wise woman. I simply do not wish for the people of our Great Ming to suffer the ravages of war. I believe Your Majesty is also a person of great principle and would not do anything unwise."

Zhou Chu's words were like knives, piercing Zhang's heart.

After hearing this, Zhang seemed resigned to her fate, slumped down, and ignored Zhou Chu.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Zhou Chu naturally wouldn't bother with Zhang anymore.

Zhou Chu made a special trip here to thwart Zhang Shi's ambitions. As long as Zhang Shi doesn't want her two younger brothers to cause trouble outside, she will have to stay quietly in Ning Shou Palace.

If Zhou Chu hadn't come, I was really afraid she would have caused trouble and gotten into some trouble.

However, since we've come to the palace, we naturally have to see the emperor.

Zhou Chu strolled along, and the palace was now like his backyard. The entire palace was filled with eunuchs and imperial guards. Wherever Zhou Chu went, all the eunuchs lowered their heads in fear, afraid that they would be killed if they looked at him for too long.

After being informed, Zhou Chu entered the Imperial Study.

"Hengqi, I heard that the Empress Dowager has summoned you again?"

In fact, before the Embroidered Uniform Guard went to report to the Emperor Jiajing to summon Zhou Chu to the palace, they had already informed him of the matter.

This was also Zhou Chu's order: all matters within the palace must be reported to Jiajing first, and the emperor would then decide whether or not to inform him.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards served the Emperor first and foremost, and only then did they serve Zhou Chu, the commander.

Clearly, Jiajing was extremely satisfied with both the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Zhou Chu at this moment. Only now did he feel like the master of the entire palace, instead of living in constant fear as before.

"Yes."

Zhou Chu relayed his conversation with the Empress Dowager in Ning Shou Palace word for word.

"Hmph, it would be great if the Zhang family had the guts to rebel."

Jiajing said angrily.

He had long heard about the actions of Zhang's two younger brothers, after all, the two were completely inhuman and had aroused the wrath of both heaven and man.

In the past, Zhang always covered for them and kept things under wraps.

"Hengqi, the gentry of Jiangnan are a formidable force. How should I deal with them?"

Jiajing looked at Zhou Chu and asked.

When faced with a problem, consulting Zhou Chu had become a habit for Jiajing.

In his eyes, there seemed to be no problem that Zhou Chu couldn't solve, even though some of his solutions were a bit too crude.

"Does Your Majesty aspire to be like Emperor Wen of Han, or simply want to fool those civil officials and call it a day?"

Zhou Chu suddenly asked a question.

Emperor Jiajing's idol had always been Emperor Wen of Han. Zhou Chu said this to strengthen the resolve of the young emperor before him.

"I naturally wish to be on par with Emperor Wen and restore a bright and clear world to my Great Ming."

Upon hearing this, Jiajing spoke with a solemn expression.

"Can Your Majesty achieve a state of mutual trust between ruler and subject, just as Duke Xiao of Qin trusted Duke Shang back then? No matter how the world slanders or defames me, if Your Majesty can remain trusting, I will certainly assist Your Majesty and surpass Emperor Wen."

Zhou Chu spoke these words with a very serious expression.