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

Lu Wanshan had never felt such immense pressure as he did at this moment, nor had he ever felt that an hour had been so long.

Seeing that Yang Tinghe and his men were about to force their way into the Northern Garrison, Lu Wanshan secretly resolved that he would risk his life to stop them for an hour.

"What is the purpose of your trespassing on my Northern Garrison Command?"

Just as Yang Tinghe and the others were about to force their way in, a voice came from behind them.

The sound wasn't very loud, but it was very penetrating, and even the noisy crowd couldn't drown it out.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man dressed in a flying fish robe carrying someone out of the Northern Garrison.

Judging from his attire alone, everyone knew that the young man before them was none other than Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The person in Zhou Chu's hand was none other than Liao Feng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

In an instant, the previously noisy officials fell silent.

"Do you gentlemen intend to rebel?"

Zhou Chu took the initiative and spoke first.

"Hmph, you ignorant brat, spouting nonsense! On what grounds do you arrest so many loyal and virtuous officials of my Great Ming Dynasty?"

Yang Tinghe was not intimidated by Zhou Chu's rhetoric and retorted angrily.

"On what grounds? Good question. On what grounds this is the Northern Garrison Command, on what grounds I am the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I can execute first and report later, with the special permission of the Emperor. Lord Yang, tell me, on what grounds?"

"But Lord Yang, you've gathered all the officials to besiege my Northern Garrison Command. Could it be that you harbor rebellious intentions?"

Zhou Chu sneered.

"Zhou Chu, no matter how eloquently you speak today, you must release all your colleagues."

Xia Yan, standing to the side, was completely out of sync with Zhou Chu. He knew very well that if he went along with Zhou Chu, he would easily be led astray.

"You want me to release them? It's not impossible. As long as you have the Emperor's decree, I will release them immediately. Otherwise, anyone who dares to force their way into my Northern Garrison Command will be killed without mercy!"

Zhou Chu said with a frosty expression.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wanshan and the others drew their embroidered spring knives, the gleaming blades causing the officials to panic.

"Zhou Chu, you are incredibly audacious! Do you have any evidence? How could you arrest so many officials of my Great Ming?"

Yang Tinghe was furious when he saw this scene. He hadn't expected the young man in front of him to be so reckless.

Zhou Chu sneered upon hearing this.

"When has the Northern Garrison ever needed evidence to arrest someone?"

Zhou Chu has already gathered enough evidence, but he will not explain it, much less fall into the trap of self-proof, as that would put him in a weak position.

After saying this, Zhou Chu pulled Liao Feng forward and placed the Embroidered Spring Blade in his hand against Liao Feng's neck.

"Lord Liao, do you plead guilty?"

At this moment, Liao Feng's face was deathly pale. Just now in the prison, Zhou Chu produced a lot of evidence that he had never imagined, so much so that he instantly realized one thing: the steward of the manor had betrayed him.

Having understood this, Liao Feng no longer dared to stand his ground. He immediately confessed his guilt and begged Zhou Chu to spare the lives of his sons.

“Apart from Liao Shun, I can keep all your other sons.”

This was Zhou Chu's promise, in exchange for Liao Feng agreeing to confess his guilt in public and entrusting his life to the young man before him.

There was no other way; the evidence Zhou Chu had was enough to warrant the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his entire clan.

"This humble official confesses his guilt."

After saying this, Liao Feng closed his eyes, not daring to look at Xia Yan, Yang Tinghe, and the others.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yan's pupils contracted, and the officials behind him were all in an uproar.

Yang Tinghe was stunned for a moment. He never expected that Liao Feng would actually confess.

At this moment, both Xia Yan and Yang Tinghe panicked because they knew how deeply Liao Feng was involved with them.

"Did you all hear that?"

Zhou Chu looked at Yang Tinghe and the others with a sinister expression.

Before anyone could answer, Zhou Chu moved the embroidered spring knife in his hand.

Stab it!

In an instant, blood began to spurt from Liao Feng's throat, and Yang Ting, Xia Yan, and others who were closest to him were sprayed with blood.

Liao Feng was beheaded on the spot by Zhou Chu in front of all the officials.

Strangely, Yang Ting and Xia Yan did not reprimand Zhou Chu for this, but chose to remain silent.

"Lord Liao actually slandered the Grand Secretary and Lord Xia, saying that the two of them conspired to kill the late Emperor. His intentions are despicable, and he truly deserves to die. What do you two think?"

Zhou Chu smiled slightly.

At this moment, Zhou Chu's smile, as seen by the officials, was like a monstrous demon crawling out of the underworld, utterly terrifying.

Some of the more timid civil officials were already trembling with fear.

They desperately wanted to escape.

"Lord Zhou did a good job killing him. This man had ulterior motives and deserved to die."

Yang Tinghe, who had been furious just moments before, spoke expressionlessly.

"Do you gentlemen have anything else to do? What are you doing gathered around the gate of my Northern Garrison Command?"

Zhou Chu seemed to have forgotten what had just happened, looking at the officials in front of him with a puzzled expression.

"I apologize for disturbing you today."

With things having come to this point, Yang Tinghe had no choice but to accept it reluctantly. After saying this, he turned and left.

With Yang Tinghe gone, Xia Yan naturally wouldn't be the first to speak out. He wasn't sure how much evidence Zhou Chu had, so he didn't dare to offend Zhou Chu easily.

Otherwise, if things really fall apart, it will be very difficult to salvage the situation.

As soon as the two left, the civil officials who had been terrified by Zhou Chu felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They turned around and took two steps at a time, wishing they had two more legs, for fear of being targeted by Zhou Chu.

At this moment, Zhou Chu was like a living Yama in their eyes.

After the officials left, Lu Wanshan and the other Jinyiwei from the Northern Garrison were all in an uproar. They looked at Zhou Chu with admiration and no longer had any contempt for the commander in front of them.

Zhou Chu, suppressing his disgust, nodded calmly and then turned and entered Lu Wanshan's office, looking at the prestige he had finally established.

Lu Wanshan thought Zhou Chu had given him other instructions, so he hurriedly followed.

"Close the door."

Zhou Chu forced himself to speak, suppressing his nausea.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wanshan dared not delay and hurriedly closed the door of the government office.

As soon as the door closed, Zhou Chu's face turned deathly pale, and he vomited with a loud "whoosh".

Lu Wanshan, who was standing to the side, was dumbfounded.

"Is this your first time killing someone, sir?"

Lu Wanshan was all too familiar with Zhou Chu's reaction. Many newcomers to the Embroidered Uniform Guard reacted the same way when they killed someone for the first time. Even Lu Wanshan himself back then wasn't much better.

"Of course, I was just a businessman before, how could I dare to kill someone?"

Zhou Chu took the teacup from Lu Wanshan, took a sip, and said.

"Remember to keep this a secret."

Zhou Chu added a sentence.

"Don't worry, my lord."

Lu Wanshan hurriedly assured him.

At this moment, Lu Wanshan was completely convinced by Zhou Chu. Putting aside everything else, just Zhou Chu's demeanor in front of all the officials was something he could never learn in his entire life.

This kind of person deserves to be a commander; the Emperor truly has keen insight.

"By the way, find a trustworthy person to deliver this letter to Lord Wang Yangming."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he took out a letter and handed it to Lu Wanshan.

The purpose of writing this letter was, of course, to ask Wang Yangming for his beloved student and disciple: Shen Lian.