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

"Perhaps they want to curry favor with His Majesty."

"The purpose of establishing the Northern Garrison Command is to become a sharp sword in His Majesty's hand."

"Chu Xiu is not stupid. Having offended the Wang family of Taiyuan, his only way to survive is to cling to His Majesty's coattails."

Minister of Personnel Zhao Duo said thoughtfully, "Only with His Majesty's protection can he survive!"

Otherwise, he would surely have died at the hands of the Wang family of Taiyuan.

"I share the same view as Brother Zhao."

Minister of Works Zheng Yun said with a hint of agreement on his face.

Dugu Tai and the others nodded and remained silent.

As for what they were really thinking, that remains unknown.

"Chen Yu, continue to monitor the Northern Garrison Command."

“The more Chu Xiu acts this way, the less likely the Wang family of Taiyuan will be to keep him.”

"At the earliest, it will be one day, and at the latest, it will be three days. Commander Lu Chengfeng of the Embroidered Uniform Guard will definitely make his move!"

A glint of light flashed in Yang Yan's cloudy eyes, and he spoke in a strong and powerful voice.

Why Lu Chengfeng? Naturally, it's because Lu Chengfeng is a dog under the command of the Wang family of Taiyuan.

Since he can't do anything, Feng Siyu will replace him with a dog that can do things better.

"Yes."

Chen Yu responded.

Yang Yan picked up a memorial to the throne and began to read it.

Dugu Tai and the others did not mention the matter again, and instead picked up the memorials to read.

For them, Chu Xiu was more of a source of amusement, a small embellishment to their peaceful lives.

When will Chu Xiu be able to stop Lu Chengfeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or even contend with the Taiyuan Wang Clan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families?

Then Chu Xiu would have the ability to truly make them take him seriously.

The main hall of the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters.

After reading the note in his hand, Lu Chengfeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, changed his expression slightly and said coldly, "What a Chu Xiu! He actually used His Majesty's name to give away rice, flour, and cooking oil to the poor people of the capital for free."

"She really knows how to please His Majesty!"

"These Imperial Guards are under my command!"

"Do you think that with His Majesty's favor, you can gain a foothold in our Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"Don't think about it!"

After a pause, a murderous glint flashed in Lu Chengfeng's eyes, and he said coldly, "Guards."

"Greetings, Commander."

A Jinyiwei commander strode into the hall and bowed respectfully to Lu Chengfeng.

"Tell Kong Yuancheng, tell the Seven Killings Organization, that Chu Xiu must be eliminated as quickly as possible!"

Lu Chengfeng said with a chilling aura, "If he can't handle this matter, I will have someone else do it!"

"Yes!"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard narrowed his eyes and spoke with utmost respect.

Lu Chengfeng waved to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and remained silent.

The commander of the Imperial Guard bowed and then used his light-footed skill to leave.

The Imperial Palace, Taiji Palace.

Pei Guanyin, the female official in charge of writing at the Directorate of Ceremonial, entered the Taiji Palace and bowed to Empress Murong Si, who was sitting upright at her desk handling state affairs, saying, "Your Majesty, news of Lord Chu has arrived."

"Oh?"

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Murong Si put down the memorial in her hand, and looked at Pei Guanyin with great interest on her peerless face, asking her a question.

Jiang Wan'er, the female official in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, also looked at Pei Guanyin with curiosity.

"Your Majesty, Lord Chu has instructed the Northern Garrison to contact major grain merchants in the capital and purchase rice, flour, cooking oil, and other supplies worth 400,000 taels of silver."

“The rice, flour, and cooking oil were transported by the Northern Garrison Commander to the outer city of the capital and given away free of charge to the poor people of the capital.”

Pei Guanyin said with a hint of admiration on her pretty face, "And according to the information that the maid found out..."

The total value of all the confiscated property from the Northern Garrison Command this time should be 800,000 taels of silver.

In other words, Lord Chu took out half of what His Majesty had bestowed upon him and exchanged it for rice, flour, cooking oil, and other supplies, which he then distributed to the poor people of the capital.

"And I won't take a single penny!"

"Minister Chu purchased 400,000 taels of silver worth of rice, flour, and cooking oil, and gave it to the poor people of the capital, taking not a single penny for himself?"

Murong Si paused for a moment, then said in surprise.

After saying that, Murong Si's expression turned serious.

A strange light flashed in Jiang Wan'er's clear eyes. If she didn't know that Chu Xiu was unlikely to rebel, she would have suspected that Chu Xiu was planning to rebel.

Otherwise, why would he do something like this to win over the people?

"Your Majesty, rest assured, no one will be able to attack Lord Chu based on the fact that he gave away rice, flour, and cooking oil for free."

"Because Lord Chu donated these rice, flour, and cooking oil to the poor people of the capital free of charge in His Majesty's name."

"Now, countless people throughout the capital are grateful to His Majesty."

"The hearts of all the people of the capital are with you!"

Pei Guanyin said softly.

Upon hearing this, Murong Si fell silent.

Jiang Wan'er's delicate body trembled, and an expression of disbelief appeared on her face.

This is a truly upright and honest official, loyal to His Majesty, and utterly incorruptible!

It is not an exaggeration for His Majesty to bestow the Taiqing Golden Elixir upon a pillar of the state like Chu Xiu!

Her feelings of goodwill towards Chu Xiu increased greatly, and she began to respect him.

If her previous gestures of goodwill towards Chu Xiu were merely because Murong Si valued Chu Xiu, then...

Therefore, Jiang Wan'er now felt respect for Chu Xiu.

"These are pillars of the state, bestowed upon my Great Zhou Dynasty by Heaven!"

"If all the officials of my Great Zhou Dynasty could be like Minister Chu, then what would prevent my Great Zhou Dynasty from prospering?"

After a long silence, Murong Si spoke with a look of emotion.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations on having such a pillar of the state as Lord Chu to assist you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wan'er smiled and congratulated Murong Si.

"This maid congratulates Your Majesty. If Your Majesty were not wise and powerful, you would not have been able to have an official like Lord Chu to assist you."

Pei Guanyin also offered her congratulations to Murong Si.

Murong Si chuckled lightly, rolled her eyes at Jiang Wan'er and Pei Guanyin, and said, "You two know how to talk."

Jiang Wan'er and Pei Guanyin exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

As Empress Murong Si's right-hand women, the two of them were not competing for favor with each other, but were actually close friends.

"Pei Guanyin, continue to keep an eye on Minister Chu, and at the same time, make sure the Shadow Guards protect Minister Chu's safety."

"We must not allow anyone to harm Minister Chu!"

Murong Si pondered for a moment, then spoke to Pei Guanyin.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Pei Guanyin responded, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, actually, there is another matter I wish to report, which also concerns Lord Chu."

"Oh?"

Murong Si said with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

Jiang Wan'er also looked at Pei Guanyin.

"Your Majesty, last night, Lord Chu was actually attacked at his residence by the Seven Kills Organization, a notorious assassin organization in the martial arts world."

"The Jinyiwei Northern Garrison is currently searching for any trace of the Seven Killings Organization in the capital."

"Lord Chu probably wants to find all the Seven Killings Organization's branches in the capital and wipe them out completely!"

Pei Guanyin considered for a moment and then spoke softly.