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

On the day of Wang Zhi's wedding, almost all the officials of Huizhou Prefecture came. Even though the Wang family did not send them invitations, they all brought a congratulatory gift before leaving.

"Father, is that Lord Zhou? I have never seen a county magistrate so obsequious."

Wang Heng looked at Wang Zhen and asked.

"Keep your voice down. Hon Hai owes its current status to this person's support."

Wang Zhen glared at his son and said, fearing that Wang Heng might be unaware of the situation and offend the important person in front of him.

In fact, it wasn't just the county magistrate who was being obsequious; even the prefect of Huizhou Prefecture was showing the same obsequious expression in front of Zhou Chu.

This was an eye-opener for the guests who came to attend Wang Zhi's wedding. Many of them had never even seen a county magistrate before, let alone a prefect. To them, a county magistrate was the highest-ranking official, and a prefect was an even more unattainable figure.

But this very important figure was now incredibly obsequious to a young man, practically kneeling down in his presence.

Those who didn't know Zhou Chu's identity were all guessing which prince or nobleman he was. Now that Wang Zhi was a general, it wouldn't be surprising for these people that such an important figure would attend his wedding.

After Wang Zhi finished the wedding ceremony, Zhou Chu stepped forward and took out the imperial edict given to him by Emperor Jiajing.

"Wang Zhi and his wife accept the imperial decree."

Zhou Chu shouted.

Wang Zhi's courtesy name had only been established for a short time, so Jiajing naturally did not know it. Therefore, the imperial edict used the name Wang Zhi.

Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Wang hurriedly knelt down in front of Zhou Chu.

"The minister accepts the order."

"The daughter of the people takes the order."

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Wang Zhi has rendered meritorious service in guarding the Eastern Sea for the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, his wife is hereby granted the title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady, enjoying the salary of a Third-Rank official. This is the imperial decree."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he closed the imperial edict and handed it to Wang Zhi.

Wang Zhi was deeply moved by the Emperor's profound kindness and immediately kowtowed.

"Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude."

"This humble woman...this subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses her gratitude."

Wang Zhi and his wife expressed their gratitude.

After kowtowing, Wang Zhi respectfully accepted the imperial edict with both hands, held it above his head, and placed it in the main hall for worship.

Upon hearing the imperial edict, the Wang family's guests erupted in uproar.

"A third-rank imperial consort? What's that?"

One of the guests looked at a scholar standing to the side and asked a question.

"You don't understand, do you? A title of imperial decree is an honor bestowed by the emperor upon the wives of officials who have made great contributions. Officials of the fifth to first rank are titled Lady of Imperial Decree, while those of the ninth to sixth rank are titled Lady of Imperial Decree. Lord Wang's wife is a Lady of Imperial Decree of the third rank. In terms of official rank, she is on par with officials of the third rank, and her salary is also that of a third-rank official, but she has no real power."

The person next to him explained in detail.

The others looked on with envy when they heard this.

"So, does that mean Lord Wang's wife holds a higher official rank than the Prefect?"

Another person pressed for an answer.

"Speaking solely of official rank, that is indeed the case. Not only is the rank high, but the salary is also high. In recent years, the imperial court has increased the salaries of officials. The salary of a third-rank official is now about four hundred taels of silver per year. It is said that at the end of each year, they will be rewarded with three to five months' salary based on their performance."

The man continued to explain.

"So much? Four hundred taels? My goodness, I've never even seen a ten-tael silver ingot."

A person next to him said with a look of shock.

It wasn't just him; in fact, most ordinary people used copper coins. Even when they occasionally used silver, it was usually in small, loose pieces. Many people had never seen a ten-tael silver ingot, which was quite normal.

For a moment, these people didn't know whether to envy Wang Zhi or his wife.

In recent years, the salaries of Ming Dynasty officials have almost doubled. In addition, with the performance evaluation system and the strict inspection of officials in various places by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there are far fewer corrupt officials.

While it's not entirely true that there was none, it was still far better than during the Zhengde era, a fact that ordinary people felt most keenly.

Thanks to the performance evaluation system, the previous phenomenon of lazy and negligent governance has improved a lot. If not all cases are handled by officials, then at least most cases will be dealt with promptly when the people report them.

In fact, it wasn't just these ordinary guests who were envious; even the magistrate of Shexian County or the prefect of Huizhou Prefecture were green with envy when they heard that Wang Zhi's wife had been specially granted the title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady.

Only after entering officialdom did one realize the true value of this title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady. To put it simply, this title alone meant receiving a lifetime salary equivalent to that of a third-rank official, four hundred taels of silver a year. This alone was enough to ensure that an entire family could live a life of comfort and even luxury.

Not to mention the honor of being a Lady of Imperial Decree, which was an extremely prestigious honor for the entire Wang family. The Wang family genealogy could even have a separate page dedicated to the Wang Zhi couple.

It was only then that the prefect gradually realized how much the emperor favored Wang Zhi.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Wang Zhi was stationed in Japan, and the prefect of Huizhou knew that silver-carrying ships were constantly transporting silver from Japan to the Ming Dynasty.

This concerns the very foundation of the nation; how could the emperor not take it seriously?

Having figured this out, the prefect became even more frustrated. Why wasn't it his own daughter who married Lord Wang? If they had formed a marriage alliance with the Wang family, they would have had Wang Zhi as their backer. Wang Zhi controlled the vast wealth of Japan, and even a small amount of it would have been enough for his family to rise to prominence.

After Zhou Chu finished reading the imperial edict, he came before Wang Zhen and his son, Wang Heng. This made Wang Zhen and Wang Heng tense up instantly, and they hurriedly got up and knelt before Zhou Chu.

"This humble subject pays his respects to Your Excellency."

Wang Zhen and his son said respectfully.

"No need for formalities. I have an excellent relationship with Honghai. He served under me when he was a soldier, and I can say that I trained him from scratch."

Zhou Chu waved his hand and smiled.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen and his son stood up, but dared not look up at Zhou Chu, keeping their heads down and waiting for Zhou Chu's next instructions.

"What's your name?"

Zhou Chu looked at Wang Heng and said.

In fact, someone had already compiled the information about Wang Zhen and his son into a detailed file and handed it to Zhou Chu, but Zhou Chu still had to pretend to be serious.

"My name is Heng, and my courtesy name is Liuzhi."

Wang Heng said nervously.

"A good name. It seems that Master Wang was a scholar in his youth."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he sat down on the stool next to him and looked at Wang Zhendao.

"In reply to your question, sir, I have studied for a few years."

Wang Zhen said respectfully.

At this moment, Wang Zhi had already placed the imperial edict. When he saw Zhou Chu questioning Wang Zhen and his son, he was immediately startled, fearing that his uncle and brother might be disrespectful and offend the adults. He hurriedly came over.

"Honghai, what are your plans as your elder brother?"

Zhou Chu smiled as he watched Wang Zhi walk over.

"My lord, I have not made any arrangements."

Wang Zhi said respectfully.

Even though Wang Zhi had previously wanted to take Wang Heng to Japan, he wasn't stupid. Since Lord Zhou had asked this question, he must be trying to arrange a job for his brother. How could Wang Zhi refuse such a thing?

"Then let him come back to the capital with me. He'll first go to the Southern Garrison Command. I'll see if he has the talent to lead troops. If he does, I can specially recruit him into the next Royal Military Academy."

Zhou Chu smiled.

Taking Wang Heng with him and placing him in the capital, giving him a job, was both a favor and a deterrent to Wang Zhi.

Although Zhou Chu trusted Wang Zhi, Japan was ultimately related to the foundation of the nation, so Zhou Chu naturally had to treat it with caution.

"Thank you, sir."

Wang Zhi pulled Wang Heng along and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir."

Wang Heng simply knelt down again and kowtowed.