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

Time passes quickly like flowing water.

Nearly three years have passed since Zhou Chu's new shop opened.

A lot has happened in these three years.

The most important event was the death of the Grand Eunuch Liu Jin.

Even so, no one in the court spoke up for the Lu family.

This is normal.

The civil and military officials and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have always been at odds.

Who would speak up for a mere commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

So the Lu family members are still imprisoned.

However, thanks to Zhou Chu's presence, the Lu family's life in prison, while not as good as before, was still worlds apart from that of other prisoners.

Zhou Chu bribed the jailers with one hundred taels of silver every month, ensuring that Lu Song's family received a new quilt every two weeks, and that their cell was cleaned by jailers every day.

In prison, the difference in treatment between prisoners who have connections and those who don't is enormous.

After Liu Jin's death, the eldest son of the Lu family came to the capital, hoping to make some connections and see if he could get his family members released.

For this reason, Zhou Chu gave him a lot of money to bribe officials.

Unfortunately, although Liu Jin died, his adopted sons still held power.

The eldest son of the Lu family had plenty of money, but he couldn't give it away. Nobody wanted to offend those powerful eunuchs.

The emperor is still alive.

Zhou Chu knew very well that Liu Jin and the other powerful eunuchs were nothing more than knives in the emperor's hands.

The sword aimed at the civil and military officials.

In today's court, all these officials have been killed. There may be some who were wrongly accused, but by killing every other one, there are bound to be some who escaped the net.

There are many things that the emperor cannot do, because once he does them, there is no room for maneuver between him and his officials.

But eunuchs could do it.

If a eunuch were to do this, others would think that the emperor had been deceived by the eunuch.

Ultimately, as long as the eunuchs were dealt with, the emperor was still considered wise.

This is the art of emperors.

"It's hateful that no one in the court dares to speak up for my Lu family."

The eldest son of the Lu family said with a face full of grief and indignation.

He then tried to return the money to Zhou Chu.

"Take this money and use it to bribe your colleagues; it will benefit you in the future."

Zhou Chu did not answer.

Upon hearing this, the eldest son of the Lu family waved his hand.

“I don’t need to curry favor with anyone. I am like brothers with the Crown Prince. Both the Prince and the Crown Prince treat me very well.”

The eldest son of the Lu family still returned the money to Zhou Chu.

"I've never asked you, elder brother, which prince you serve?"

Zhou Chu asked, somewhat puzzled.

“I follow the King of Xing.”

The eldest son of the Lu family trusted Zhou Chu without reservation.

"King Xing!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu felt a tremendous surge of emotions.

King Xing, the Lu family.

The name of the eldest son of the Lu family is about to be revealed.

At this moment, Zhou Chu felt his heart pounding wildly.

Having traveled through time for so long, this was the first time Zhou Chu felt so close to the future power center of the Ming Dynasty.

The person before us will one day wield immense power.

"Brother, you don't need to come and make arrangements anymore. In a few years, the court will change, and then there will be an opportunity."

Zhou Chu suppressed his excitement and said.

"Where did you get this from?"

The eldest son of the Lu family looked puzzled.

Zhou Chu didn't say anything, but looked around and, finding no one, closed the door.

“Brother, we’re family, so let’s not stand on ceremony. I’ve never said these things to anyone before. Remember, brother, you must not say these things to anyone except the Crown Prince of Xing.”

Zhou Chu spoke solemnly.

The eldest son of the Lu family seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation at this moment.

Over the past few years, his interactions with Zhou Chu, coupled with the praise he received from Lu Song and his wife, have made Lu's eldest son understand what kind of person Zhou Chu is.

Loyal, highly talented, and extremely methodical in his work.

In terms of pure martial prowess, the eldest son of the Lu family might have some confidence.

But in other aspects, he felt that he was far inferior to Zhou Chu.

"I am aware of that."

"That's what Boss Lu said."

"Brother, do you know how the late emperor died?"

Zhou Chu said in a low voice.

"I have heard about this matter. It is said that the head of the Imperial Medical Academy prescribed the wrong prescription to the late emperor."

"That's what the eldest son of the Lu family said."

This was no secret; many people in the capital knew about it.

Zhou Chu sneered when he heard this.

"The head of the Imperial Medical Academy was not originally a court physician; he was a civil official. How did he suddenly become the head of the Imperial Medical Academy? Moreover, he used the wrong prescription and caused the emperor's death. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to confiscate his family's property and exterminate his clan, would it? But this Lord Liu is now safe and sound."

Upon hearing this, the eldest son of the Lu family appeared somewhat dazed, and suddenly felt that the world was absurd.

The Lu family had always been cautious and prudent, serving the emperor, but ended up in prison for offending a eunuch.

Liu Wentai used the wrong prescription, but nothing happened to him.

"To put it bluntly, this Lord Liu was arranged by those court officials. The emperor wanted to seize power from them, so naturally they couldn't tolerate it."

"Although the current emperor is somewhat immoral in his personal life, he does things that are largely similar to those of the late emperor. He is gradually taking power from the civil officials and is now even trying to do what the late emperor did not dare to do: consolidate military power."

Since the so-called "Rule of Renxuan" period, when the governor-general regularly led troops, military power has always belonged to the local authorities.

This was something many emperors could not tolerate.

However, they had no choice but to endure it, even if they couldn't.

After all, without troops at their disposal, their words lack authority.

"Even the late emperor couldn't consolidate military power, and he was already resistant to those civil officials. Now that the emperor wants to consolidate military power, what will become of him? So I predict that in a few years, this man will probably also run into trouble."

Zhou Chu spoke in an even lower voice.

Upon hearing this, the eldest son of the Lu family shuddered, feeling as if he were being pricked by thorns.

He never expected that Zhou Chu would be so bold as to discuss such a question.

"His Majesty has no heir. If His Majesty passes away, these civil officials, led by Yang Tinghe, will definitely think of supporting one of the regional princes."

"I've heard that Prince Xing's health has always been poor, and I'm afraid he won't last much longer. The heir is young, and the ruler is weak and easily bullied. If you were Yang Tinghe or someone like him, and you were supporting a prince to succeed to the throne, would you support a young one or an adult?"

Zhou Chu said meaningfully.

Upon hearing this, the eldest son of the Lu family broke out in a cold sweat.

The way they looked at Zhou Chu was as if they were looking at a monster.

"Brother, you don't need to look at me like that. You just need to remember one thing: follow this prince closely and tell him to keep a low profile for the next two years and pretend to be very obedient."

"In this way, the Lu family will soar to great heights in the future because of our eldest brother."

After saying this, Zhou Chu exhaled a breath of stale air and took a sip of tea.

The eldest son of the Lu family was completely exhausted and was still processing this astonishing information.