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

Chapter 296

The next morning, Zhou Chu left the Fang residence. Thinking back to the previous night, he couldn't help but shake his head. Once the ban was lifted, it was inevitable that he would become somewhat crazy.

At the entrance of the Fang residence, there were many Imperial Guards on duty, including Shen Lian, who had just woken up and was taking over the shift.

Shen Lian was very clear about his position, so he never inquired about Zhou Chu's private life. Moreover, Shen Lian had known for a long time that Fang Hong was a woman. Having been by Zhou Chu's side for so long, Shen Lian knew the most about Zhou Chu's affairs.

"Has that centurion we arrested yesterday confessed?"

Zhou Chu looked at Shen Lian and said.

“He confessed yesterday afternoon. This kind of coward doesn’t need to be tortured at all. His legs would have gone limp in the prison.”

Shen Lian said disdainfully.

Zhang Jun ultimately overestimated himself and underestimated the Northern Garrison Command. Only after entering the Zhao Prison did he realize that things were far more complicated than he had imagined. The mere smell of blood in the Zhao Prison made his legs go weak.

After being subtly guided by Lu Wanshan, he admitted that he was sent by Chen Wanyan to cause trouble.

Zhou Chu just needed a reason to take action against Chen Wanyan; otherwise, it would be too obvious to attack Chen Wanyan right after being reinstated.

Although everyone knew what was going on, they still had to maintain appearances.

"Go and call Lu Wanshan over."

Zhou Chu looked at another captain on duty at the entrance of the Fang residence.

"Yes, my lord."

After bowing respectfully, the man headed straight for the Northern Garrison Command.

Zhou Chu and Shen Lian went to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Now that Zhou Chu had been reinstated, he naturally had to go to work.

"grown ups."

Deng Yu was naturally quite excited to see the Commander again after more than a year.

"Deng Yu, right?"

Zhou Chu thought for a long time before finally remembering Deng Yu's name. There had been so many people and events in the past year that the name Deng Yu had almost been squeezed out of Zhou Chu's mind.

"Yes, my lord."

Deng Yu was flattered and surprised.

He never expected that, after a year, the commander would still remember his name, which made him feel extremely honored.

Zhou Chu patted Deng Yu on the shoulder, said nothing, and casually sat down in his seat.

Deng Yu thought he was valued by Zhou Chu and was overjoyed, wishing he could go through fire and water for Zhou Chu.

"Sir, what are your orders?"

Not long after, Lu Wanshan also arrived at the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters and respectfully greeted them.

"Take your men and arrest Chen Wanyan and Chen Shaozu and put them in the Zhao prison. Don't rush to confiscate their property. Be careful when you arrest them."

Zhou Chu looked at Lu Wanshan and said.

No matter what, Chen Wanyan is the Empress's father, and the Chen family is the Empress's maternal family. Even if there is solid evidence, the Northern Garrison can only arrest him first. As for how to deal with him, it is up to the Emperor to decide.

If this balance is not handled well, it can easily arouse the emperor's resentment, making the emperor think that Zhou Chu does not take him seriously.

As the saying goes, one must consider the owner before beating a dog. Even if Zhou Chu knew Jiajing's true attitude towards Chen Wanyan, the officials did not know it on the surface. If Zhou Chu lost his composure, it would be equivalent to making the emperor lose face in front of the officials.

"Don't worry, sir, I know what to do."

After Lu Wanshan finished speaking, he turned around and went back to the Northern Garrison to order some seasoned veterans. He didn't call any of the hot-blooded young men, as they were often reckless and clumsy.

If it were anything else, it would be fine, but if he doesn't handle this matter properly, he'll lose his job as the commander of the Northern Garrison.

Before Lu Wanshan's men made their move, a message had already spread throughout the capital, and many officials, including Chen Wanyan, knew about it.

"What? Zhang Jun said I sent him?"

Chen Wanyan had just gotten up when he heard the news and almost jumped up.

He had been getting along well with Zhou Chu for the past few days, which made him think that Zhou Chu wouldn't do anything to him. He had just relaxed when he didn't expect that his subordinate, a centurion, would cause him such a big mess, and the key point was that he was completely unaware of it.

At this moment, Chen Wanyan felt extremely aggrieved, as if someone had forced a lump of excrement into his mouth, but he couldn't explain it. If he did, it would be tantamount to admitting that he was afraid of Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Chen Wanyan is currently at the height of his power, with countless people watching him. If he backs down, those officials might think he's incompetent and be disappointed in him, which is the last thing Chen Wanyan wants to face.

So even if he was wronged, Chen Wanyan had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept it.

"He's just a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what makes Zhou Chu think he can be so arrogant towards me?"

When Chen Wanyan arrived at the main hall, there were already many officials waiting there, wanting to give him gifts.

Upon hearing Chen Wanyan's words, their eyes lit up immediately.

"That's right. What kind of status does Lord Chen have? How dare a mere commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard challenge you?"

One of them said with a fawning expression.

"That's right. Nowadays, which civil and military official doesn't show some respect to you, sir? What about the Grand Secretary? What about the Minister of Rites? They can't do anything to you, sir. Zhou Chu is just a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He only relies on His Majesty. His Majesty will definitely side with Lord Chen."

echoed another.

Hearing this, Chen Wanyan became even more confident.

“I didn’t want to stoop to his level before, but if he doesn’t know what’s good for him, I’ll teach him a lesson.”

Chen Wanyan spoke these words with great pride and confidence.

"That's right, what is Zhou Chu? How dare he challenge you, Father?"

Chen Shaozu arrived at the main hall at this moment, yawning.

Last night he took a new concubine, and he originally planned to have a passionate encounter, but his body wouldn't allow it. These past few days he's been indulging in nightly revelry, playing the groom every day.

His already frail body couldn't withstand such exertion, and he had to end it hastily; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to get up now.

"Sir, I specially asked someone to get me a piece of fine agarwood from Annam. Could you please take a look at it?"

One of them spoke, gesturing for the men below to bring up boxes of silver. Chen Wanyan and his son's eyes lit up at the sight. Having lived a life of poverty before, they could never get enough of looking at these riches.

Then the man took out a small box from his pocket and took out a piece of sandalwood from it.

"My lord, my lord."

Looking at Chen Wanyan's greedy expression, the man felt contempt in his heart, but on the surface, he fawned over him and called him "Sir" twice.

Chen Wanyan then realized what was happening and looked at the sandalwood in the man's hand.

He had no idea about this. As the saying goes, a wild boar can't eat fine bran. This official probably knew that Chen Wanyan didn't understand, so he just randomly took a piece of high-quality agarwood and put it in the box.

While high-quality agarwood is valuable, it is not rare; in fact, it can be said that anyone with money can buy it.

"Sir, this is a thousand-year-old agarwood. Each piece of thousand-year-old agarwood is worth a thousand gold pieces."

This person spoke with great seriousness.

Chen Wanyan didn't know anything about agarwood, but he knew about money. When he heard that it was worth a fortune, his eyes lit up and he took it from the man's hand.

"Good stuff, good stuff."

Just as Chen Wanyan was playing with the sandalwood, the Chen family's steward rushed in.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! Lu Wanshan from the Northern Garrison Command has arrived."

No sooner had the Chen family steward arrived than Lu Wanshan and his Imperial Guards followed.

This was only because Lu Wanshan deliberately slowed down; otherwise, how could the steward possibly outrun them?

"Lord Chen, you have openly embezzled so much money. Come with us."

Lu Wanshan pointed to the several large boxes and the valuables inside displayed in the main hall.