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

"Your Majesty, besides the two I mentioned, there is another person in the palace who we need to be wary of."

After Zhou Chu accepted the post of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he looked at Zhu Houcong and said.

"Who is this person?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong perked up.

Although the officials in the court bullied him, he was not in any great danger. However, to put it bluntly, he was a complete stranger in the palace.

It should be noted that there is also the Empress Dowager in the palace, who is in charge of the entire palace.

This made Zhu Houcong feel very insecure, and he wished he could keep Lu Bing by his side at all times.

"Zhang Yong, Director of Ceremonial Affairs."

Zhou Chu said.

This Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who is over fifty years old, is no ordinary man.

When Zhu Houzhao fell into the water, he did not die immediately. The people of the capital and Zhou Chu all heard that the emperor had died from drowning.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao survived for nearly half a year after falling into the water before being treated to death.

To be precise, Zhu Houzhao fell into the water half a year ago.

When Zhu Houzhao returned to Beijing from his inspection tour of Nanjing, he passed through Tongzhou. Jiang Bin, the former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, sensed something was amiss and made Zhu Houzhao linger in Tongzhou for a long time, ordering his officials to come to Tongzhou for an audience.

However, this was not in accordance with the proper procedures, so Jiang Bin was accused of plotting a rebellion by Yang Tinghe and others.

In the end, Jiang Bin had no choice but to send Zhu Houzhao back to the capital. Not long after returning to the capital, Zhu Houzhao fell into the water.

After Zhu Houzhao fell into the water, naturally some people would not stand idly by and watch him die from the imperial physicians' treatment, including Jiang Bin.

Yang Tinghe and others, together with the Empress Dowager and Zhang Yong, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, kept a close watch on Jiang Bin. In the end, after Zhu Houzhao was killed by the imperial physician, these people joined forces to arrest Jiang Bin, accuse him of treason, and smeared him extensively.

However, Zhang Yong was also a complex person. The problem with things in the world is that people are multifaceted, and many things are intertwined.

In the original history, Zhang Yong was considered loyal to the Jiajing Emperor, or rather, he died of illness before the emperor could turn against him.

After all, he is older.

Whether a person is loyal or disloyal, virtuous or not, often changes over time. One cannot simply judge a person based on a single stance.

"Your Majesty can use this person for now, but you must also be wary of him. Also, Your Majesty must be careful of all the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace. Later, have Zhang Yong take on a task to slowly screen all the palace maids in the palace."

Zhou Chu gave instructions.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong felt a chill run down his spine. If even the palace maids in the imperial palace could not be trusted, then that would be terrifying.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If there were no people from their faction in the palace, how did his elder brother, uncle, and grandfather all die?

"Since Zhang Yong is untrustworthy, why did you still make him do this?"

Zhu Houcong asked, puzzled.

Zhou Chu smiled when he heard this.

"It is most reasonable for the Directorate of Ceremonial to handle this matter. It would be against the procedure to entrust it to anyone else. However, we are not actually letting Zhang Yong do it. We are just letting him be in charge. The actual implementation will still have to be screened by my elder brother and uncle."

Zhou Chu didn't finish his sentence, but Zhu Houcong, being so intelligent, understood immediately.

Replacing palace maids and eunuchs on a large scale is an easy task that will offend people. Zhang Yong's nominal appointment is the one that offended people. The task was put in charge of by Lu Song and his son Lu Bing. This way, the palace maids and eunuchs can be thoroughly screened without worrying about others sending people in.

"This method is wonderful."

Zhu Houcong couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and exclaim.

"Weighing instruments, let Huang Jin take you to see that Snow-Treading Black Steed, and see if you like it."

At this moment, Zhu Houcong, having shaken off his previous gloom, spoke with great enthusiasm.

He had just taken the throne and was completely clueless, not knowing where to begin.

After this conversation with Zhou Chu, everything became clear to him, and Zhou Chu even helped him untangle all the loose ends.