The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"Your subject, Dugu Tai, hereby impeaches Chu Xiu, the Commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"Embezzlement, abuse of power, and framing of loyal officials are heinous crimes!"

"I beseech Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly; such treacherous and wicked men deserve to be executed!"

In the Golden Palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The voice of Dugu Tai, Minister of Justice, echoed in the Golden Palace, each word ringing with conviction.

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence, and all the officials were shocked!

Everyone turned their attention to this high-ranking, respected, and influential regent and cabinet minister.

Dugu Tai!

As the representative figure of the Dugu family among the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families in the imperial court!

Every move he made could affect the nerves of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Now, he has personally stepped forward to impeach the Commander of the Northern Garrison, which must have a deeper meaning.

Upon hearing these words, Empress Murong Si, the ruler of the Great Zhou Dynasty, became solemn.

Chu Xiu was appointed as the Northern Garrison Commander less than a month after her appointment.

Responsible for supervising all officials and in charge of punishments!

It is the sharpest sword in her hand!

Dugu Tai's move was clearly not aimed at Chu Xiu, but rather a test of her!

Murong Si took a deep breath, her face expressionless, and asked in a low but powerful voice, "Does Minister Dugu have any evidence?"

"Your Majesty, Chu Xiu has privately ordered the Imperial Guards of the Northern Garrison to arrest Zhang Wenqing, a censor of the Ministry of Rites."

“Zhang Jishizhong is a model of integrity in our Great Zhou Dynasty. He has always been upright, honest and incorruptible, with clean hands and a pure heart.”

"May I ask Your Majesty!"

"If Chu Xiu's actions are not an act of corruption, abuse of power, and framing of loyal officials, then how can they be explained?"

Dugu Tai spoke with righteous indignation, each word resounding with conviction.

"Your Majesty, we humbly request that he be dismissed from his post, investigated, and executed by slow slicing, so as to clear Zhang's name!"

As soon as Dugu Tai finished speaking, a group of censors and officials stepped forward and shouted in unison, "We second that proposal!"

Thirteen censors and six supervising secretaries stood up together to impeach Chu Xiu.

The expressions of all the civil and military officials in the court changed drastically!

They finally understood why Dugu Tai had personally intervened!

“Minister Dugu, what you have said is all speculation and there is no conclusive evidence.”

Murong Si frowned slightly, her voice cold and clear.

"His Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Dugu Tai immediately flicked his sleeves, raised his hands high, and looked heartbroken, saying loudly, "I have devoted myself to the Great Zhou, serving the three emperors with utmost care and dedication. Does Your Majesty not trust me?"

"My dear Dugu, that is not my intention."

Murong Si's expression changed slightly, and she quickly explained, "I just want to understand it more clearly."

"Then why doesn't Your Majesty ask the officials in the court whether what I said is true?"

Dugu Tai looked dejected and said with a gloomy expression.

"Lord Dugu is loyal and righteous; we humbly beg Your Majesty to severely punish Chu Xiu!"

At this moment, not only did the censors and officials step forward, but many ministers in the court also stood up and shouted loudly.

In an instant, most of the civil and military officials began to advise Murong Si, and the atmosphere in the court became extremely heavy.

"Good! Good! Good! I am well aware of Minister Dugu's deep concern for the country. Since all of you ministers believe that Chu Xiu is corrupt, abuses his power, frames loyal officials, and is guilty of heinous crimes."

"Then why don't you all come with me to Chu Xiu's residence and personally capture that traitorous minister!"

"I also want to ask Chu Xiu why he has betrayed my trust in this way!"

Murong Si was furious, but she kept her emotions hidden and said slowly and deliberately, "As long as the facts are as you say, I will not tolerate it!"

"Does His Majesty wish to go and see for himself?"

Dugu Tai was slightly surprised. In the past, Murong Si would usually give in when she came here, but he didn't expect her to be so interested in leaving the palace this time.

He thought to himself, "Chu Xiu is so young, yet he has taken charge of the Northern Garrison Command. It's hard to imagine that he's not corrupt or accepting bribes."

Where are there any Jinyiwei officials who don't reach out and embezzle money?

Moreover, he was the most powerful commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Once she arrived at Chu Xiu's residence and saw the extravagance of his home, Murong Si would surely have nothing to say.

At that time, she will definitely be completely disappointed with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In this way, he achieved his goal.

All I can say is that Murong Si is still too young!

"Jiang Wan'er, let's depart!"

Before Dugu Tai could speak, Murong Si immediately stood up, walked down from the high platform, and strode out of the Golden Palace with the air of a dragon and the stride of a tiger.

"Let's depart..."

"Jiang Wan'er, the female official in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, shouted loudly."

Grand Secretary Yang Yan followed Murong Si with a blank expression, walking slowly behind her.

Dugu Tai remained calm and composed as he followed Yang Yan out of the Golden Palace with a group of cabinet officials.

The civil and military officials also filed out one after another.

After leaving the palace, the civil and military officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty rode in carriages towards the outer city of the capital.

Soon after, the carriages all came to a stop.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived at Lord Chu's residence."

An Imperial Guard soldier opened the carriage door and respectfully reported.

Murong Si nodded slightly and stepped out of the carriage.

The civil and military officials also got out of their carriages.

"Is this the residence of Minister Chu?"

Murong Si frowned and asked, looking at a magnificent mansion that covered a vast area in the distance, with its gates tightly closed.

Grand Secretary Yang Yan and others naturally also saw the mansion.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed that there was such a magnificent mansion in the outer city!

Dugu Tai remained calm and composed, as if everything was within his expectations.

Murong Si brought all her civil and military officials to Chu Xiu's house, which was undoubtedly like shooting herself in the foot!

“Your Majesty, this residence does not belong to Lord Chu.”

"Lord Chu's residence is diagonally opposite."

However, the Imperial Guard soldiers shook their heads and pointed to a slightly dilapidated courtyard across the street.

"..."

Murong Si remained silent.

The faces of all the civil and military officials were filled with astonishment.

You call this little house a mansion?

Dugu Tai frowned slightly, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, as if he were deep in thought.

"If I remember correctly, Minister Chu is a member of the hereditary Embroidered Uniform Guard of our Great Zhou Dynasty, isn't he?"

Murong Si looked serious and pondered before speaking.

"Your Majesty, Lord Chu is the hereditary commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard of our Great Zhou Dynasty."

"My ancestors once served as the Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Jiang Wan'er understood immediately and said softly.

"Minister Chu, as the hereditary commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard of our Great Zhou Dynasty, actually lives in such a simple house?"

A look of surprise appeared on Murong Si's stunningly beautiful face as she spoke in disbelief.

The civil and military officials couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Does the Great Zhou Dynasty still have officials like this?

But what they were seeing before them forced them to believe that it was real!

"Your Majesty, what you see may not be the truth, and there may be hidden secrets within."

"I have heard that some corrupt officials, having embezzled money, dared not spend it and hid it all under their beds."

Dugu Tai smiled slightly and said with deep emotion, "Living in a dilapidated old house, eating salted vegetables and plain porridge every day, he was so thin that a gust of wind could blow him over."

Anyone who saw them would think they were exemplary honest officials.

Unfortunately, the net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it!

In the end, he couldn't escape the law!

Superficial integrity is sometimes not true integrity.

"Your Majesty, what Grand Secretary Dugu said is very true. Whether Chu Xiu is an honest official or a corrupt official is still unknown."

"We'll be able to tell if it's true or false once we go inside and check."

The censor Chen Wenli said with a look of agreement on his face.

The civil and military officials agreed wholeheartedly and strongly supported what Dugu Tai said.

It is not uncommon for corrupt officials to appear honest.