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

"Although you have not committed any major offenses, you have joined the crowd in impeaching Minister Chu, and you must also share the blame!"

"Everyone will be fined one year's salary as a warning to others!"

Murong Si pondered for a moment, then spoke in a calm tone.

"Your humble servants accept the imperial decree and express our gratitude!"

Upon hearing this, the censors secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately shouted in unison, full of gratitude.

"Minister Chu, are you satisfied with this decision?"

Murong Si stopped looking at the censors and officials, and instead turned her gaze to Chu Xiu, asking him with a gentle expression.

"Your Majesty is wise; this humble subject has no objection."

Chu Xiu said with a respectful expression.

"Minister Chu, as the Commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard of our Great Zhou Dynasty, holds a high position and great power, yet you live in a humble room and personally cook your own meals. If this were to spread, outsiders would laugh at our dynasty for not treating its ministers well."

Murong Si smiled slightly and said emphatically, "Therefore, I have decided to bestow upon Minister Chu a mansion."

The reward is a thousand taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, and a hundred bolts of brocade!

"Jiang Wan'er, this matter is entrusted to you. Make sure it is handled promptly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"This is what Jiang Wan'er, the female official in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, replied respectfully."

"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your great favor. I will certainly dedicate myself to the Great Zhou and to Your Majesty until my dying breath!"

Chu Xiu's face lit up with gratitude, and he quickly thanked her.

"Minister Chu, you may dispense with the formalities."

Murong Si waved her hand and said in a gentle tone.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Chu Xiu thanked him once again.

"Alright, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, I will not disturb Minister Chu any longer."

Murong Si left after saying that.

The civil and military officials followed closely behind, filing out in single file.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject respectfully sees you off."

Chu Xiu said with a respectful expression.

Only after the carriages disappeared from Chu Xiu's sight did he turn and enter the courtyard.

Fang Heng quickly followed and went inside together, carefully closing the door behind him.

Right now!

"Congratulations, host, on successfully eliminating corrupt officials. The Positive Energy System is now officially activated!"

"Claim your new player gift pack?"

The mechanical voice of the positive energy system rang in Chu Xiu's mind.

"Yes."

Chu Xiu's eyes lit up, his heart filled with joy and surprise, and he said in his mind.

It's been a while since I transmigrated here, and the system has finally been activated!

It seems his decision to arrest Zhang Wenqing was indeed the right one!

"Congratulations, host. You have received the Innate Qiankun Technique as a reward, ten years of Innate True Qi as a reward, and the Immortal-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique as a reward."

"Do you want to receive the reward?"

The positive energy system asked mechanically.

"Yes."

Chu Xiu couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation, and he said it with unwavering determination in his mind.

Whether it's the Innate Qiankun Skill or the Immortal-Slaying Draw Sword Technique.

Just from these two names, Chu Xiu knew that the two martial arts techniques rewarded by the Positive Energy System were absolutely incredibly powerful!

The words just fell!

The contents of the Innate Qiankun Technique and the Immortal-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique appeared in Chu Xiu's mind.

The Innate Universe Technique allows one to reverse the innate state with the acquired state, starting at the Innate Realm!

It is an unparalleled and peerless Daoist classic!

The Immortal-Slaying Sword Technique requires drawing the sword ten thousand times to achieve minor mastery; one hundred thousand times to achieve major mastery; and one million times to achieve perfection!

As for the Immortal-Slaying Sword Technique, which was a reward from the system, Chu Xiu had already reached perfection the moment he received the reward!

A terrifying blade seemed to appear in his mind.

With a single stroke, the entire world was cleaved in two!

One strike can slay an immortal!

Immediately afterwards, a surge of innate true energy flowed into Chu Xiu's dantian, and the Innate Qiankun Technique automatically activated, absorbing ten years' worth of innate true energy.

In a blink of an eye!

Chu Xiu has already stepped into the Innate Realm!

The innate vital energy circulates endlessly, creating a continuous cycle!

"Fang Heng, I have two matters that require your immediate attention."

"The first thing to do is to investigate Chen Wenli and collect evidence of his corruption and abuse of power."

"The second matter is to inform all the commanders of our Northern Garrison to wait for me in the main hall of our Northern Garrison Office."

Chu Xiu slowly opened his eyes and said to Fang Heng.

He wasn't going to let it go so easily!

He was flogged one hundred times and demoted to the post of postmaster at a border post station.

Think beautiful!

These censors and officials were always right when they investigated; almost none of them were innocent of corruption.

He will not let Chen Wenli leave Beijing alive!

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Fang Heng's expression turned solemn, and he spoke in a firm and powerful voice.

Chu Xiu nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Fang Heng bowed and then slipped away.

Half an hour later.

The main hall of the Northern Garrison Command.

Fifteen commanders of the Northern Garrison gathered together.

"The lord has arrived!"

A loud shout came from outside the hall.

Chu Xiu strode into the hall with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger.

"Greetings, my lord."

The officers of the Northern Garrison knelt on one knee before Chu Xiu and shouted in unison.

"No need to be polite."

Chu Xiu walked to the main seat in the hall and sat down, waving his hand.

"Thank you, sir."

The group slowly rose to their feet.

"I know that many of you are working for aristocratic families."

Chu Xiu calmly surveyed the crowd and said, "I will only ask one question: are you all willing to serve me?"

If you are willing, I can forgive and forget everything that happened before.

If you are unwilling, leave my Northern Garrison Command now and give up your position as commander of a thousand households, and I may spare your lives!

However, if you remain in my Northern Garrison Command and continue to serve aristocratic families, then don't blame me for being impolite!

Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they stared at Chu Xiu with cold eyes.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had numerous large and small aristocratic families, which together formed the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty is itself the largest aristocratic family in the Great Zhou Dynasty!

It can be said that the influence of these powerful families has permeated every corner of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a special institution that was supposed to monitor all officials and powerful families, had been infiltrated by these families.

The real secret controller of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Northern Garrison Command was the Wang family of Taiyuan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families!

Of course, they were not yet qualified to contact the Wang family of Taiyuan.

Anything the Wang family of Taiyuan needed the Northern Garrison Command to do was ordered through Lu Chengfeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Now Chu Xiu is telling them not to work for the aristocratic families, which means they won't work for the Wang family of Taiyuan.

This is their fate!

The Wang family of Taiyuan didn't even need to lift a finger; Lu Chengfeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, could have taken their lives!

"My lord, please forgive me, but I cannot agree!"

"Your subordinates have shed blood, exerted effort, and risked their lives for the Northern Garrison Command! Even if you haven't made any great contributions, you have certainly put in the hard work!"

"There's no reason for me to give up my position as a commander just because you said so, sir. That's not fair!"

A tall, burly, and sinister-looking middle-aged man said in a cold voice.

"Indeed, sir, it seems you cannot make us withdraw from the Northern Garrison Command!"

"When we were serving the Northern Garrison, you weren't even born yet. What right do you have to ask us to leave the Northern Garrison?"

"This subordinate is not satisfied! My lord, you want to get rid of me? No way!"

"..."

The officers of the Northern Garrison Command echoed his sentiments, speaking with righteous indignation.

In the entire hall, only one commander of the Northern Garrison stood by with his arms crossed, watching from the sidelines.

This commander, Pei Shiji, is the only one like Chu Xiu who is no more than twenty years old and has just inherited the position of commander.

"Very good, you are all very good. I admire your integrity!"

Chu Xiu's face showed admiration. He stood up and praised it highly.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the officers of the Northern Garrison changed slightly, as they guessed what Chu Xiu meant by those words.

Chu Xiu's figure flashed, and a flash of sword light appeared!

The stern-looking commander of the Northern Garrison Command looked on in astonishment, staring at Chu Xiu in disbelief.

A line of blood appeared on his neck.

The commander of the Northern Garrison opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but could not make a sound and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The entire main hall of the Northern Garrison Command was deathly silent!

Everyone stared at Chu Xiu in utter shock. None of them had expected that Chu Xiu would suddenly kill someone without a word!

What's even more terrifying is that Chu Xiu, who seems weak and frail, actually possesses such a terrifyingly fast blade, so fast that they can't even see it clearly!