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

Chapter 472

Young people always have to encounter some setbacks before they can recognize the dangers of this world and understand that many things are not as they wish.

Yang Lian thought this way, and so did many other officials who curried favor with Mao and Ji.

Even Mao Ji felt that Zhou Chu was beginning to change.

Xia Yan, seeing that Zhou Chu made no move, not only did not relax, but felt a chill run down her spine.

Zhou Chu now gave him a familiar feeling, just like when Chen Wanyan was in power. Zhou Chu was also extremely low-key, but later facts proved that this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was never a pushover.

If we were to say who among these people understood Zhou Chu the most, it would undoubtedly be Xia Yan. Xia Yan had dealt with Zhou Chu the most. The memory of Zhou Chu leading the Imperial Guards into his mansion and killing his servants right in front of him was still vivid in Xia Yan's mind.

Not to mention Xia Yan's later experiences in Jiangnan, which was a memory Xia Yan least wanted to recall. During that time, Xia Yan was almost always on edge every day.

Xia Yan felt that Mao Ji either didn't understand Zhou Chu well enough, or he did understand but was pretending to be confused. In any case, many things were being pushed forward by people like Yang Lian, and he only needed to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor.

If it succeeds, Mao Ji will become the Grand Secretary. At that time, it will be almost certain that Xia Yan will enter the cabinet, and even Yang Lian will be promoted to the cabinet.

If this situation were to actually happen, these people would once again be able to control everything in the court.

The emperor's power extends only ten steps and a thousand miles; beyond this range lies the area beyond which imperial power cannot reach.

On the contrary, it was this group of civil officials who were able to firmly control all the land in the entire Ming Dynasty.

This wasn't the first time Yang Shengzhai's case had been brought up in the imperial court. In fact, almost every time there was a court assembly, someone would impeach Yang Shengzhai. Some used Yang Shengzhai to impeach Zhou Chu, while others used Yang Shengzhai to impeach Yang Yiqing.

To put it bluntly, Yang Shengzhai was just a prelude. Everyone understood that the reason this young man dared to act so lawlessly in Jiangnan was simply because he had the backing of Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and his grandfather, the Grand Secretary.

Everyone knew that Yang Shengzhai's position as a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was only temporary, and it was unclear how long he could hold it. He might be imprisoned soon, but that didn't matter.

What's important has always been Zhou Chu and Yang Yiqing behind him.

Many people are unclear about the relationship between Zhou Chu and Yang Yiqing, which is why Yang Lian and others risked public condemnation to test Zhou Chu. Once Zhou Chu chose to remain silent, that would be the time for them to take action against Yang Yiqing.

Zhou Chu's silence was only the first step. The second step was the current situation in the court. Yang Lian knew very well that the first impeachment would not have much effect. Yang Yiqing was the first Grand Secretary, and he was not so easy to bring down.

But that's not important. What's important is that they want to send a signal to the civil and military officials in the capital through this impeachment: they are going to take action against the Grand Secretary, and someone wants to be promoted.

Ambitious officials will naturally seize the opportunity to board the ship, otherwise, once Mao and Ji become the Grand Secretary, it will be of no use for them to curry favor with Mao and Ji.

Those who can help Mao and Ji in this process will be remembered and promoted after Mao and Ji succeed.

The subsequent attempts to curry favor are not worth mentioning.

"You say the Yang family is oppressing the people of Anning Prefecture? I haven't heard of that. But Yunnan is too far from the capital, so it's hard to say. Isn't Princess Mu Yunping from the Mu family in the capital these past two days? The Mu family should know about what happened in Yunnan. Huang Jin, send someone to summon Mu Yunping and have her explain what happened."