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

"It's over, it's over..."

The madam's vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground.

What happened at Baihualou today will surely spread throughout the capital and even the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.

It seems that the business of their Hundred Flowers Pavilion will plummet in the future.

After such a major incident, which of the civil and military officials would dare to come to Baihualou to play?

Who wouldn't be afraid of accidentally offending Chu Xiu and being captured by him and the Northern Garrison's elite cavalry at Baihualou?

"Lord Zhang is finished!"

"That's right, being dragged out of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion naked by the Northern Garrison Commander Si Ti will make him the laughingstock of the entire capital!"

"Lord Zhang and the others are too sentimental. Chen Wenli has already been demoted by His Majesty to a minor post station manager in Beidi County, Liangzhou. Yet they are still so sentimental and wanted to give Chen Wenli a farewell party at Baihua Tower before he left the capital. In the end, they ended up getting themselves into trouble."

"Ahem, Brother Li, be careful what you say, be careful what you say..."

"My concubine is about to give birth, so I must take my leave now."

"The same goes for me. I suddenly remembered that I have important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

"..."

After a long silence, a murmur of discussion arose in the hall. Many civil and military officials who had just escaped the disaster and felt fortunate to have escaped were quick to take their leave, fearing that Chu Xiu would return with the Northern Garrison's elite guards and take them away as well.

In the blink of an eye.

The once bustling hall of Baihualou became empty and deserted.

After leaving the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Chu Xiu and the others rode their warhorses, escorting Chen Wenli and the others all the way back to the Northern Garrison Office.

The people of the capital who saw Chen Wenli and his entourage along the way were all dumbfounded.

Many people in the capital secretly wondered who Chen Wenli and his accomplices were, how they were arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and why they were taken away without even being allowed to put on their clothes.

And every time this happens, kind-hearted people who recognize Chen Wenli and the others will explain things to them.

This was as if the people of the capital had opened the door to a new world, and for the first time they realized that those noble and highly respected censors and officials were actually so unrestrained and dissolute in private, making them unbearable to look at.

The reputations of censors and officials who dared to speak out against injustice have been damaged!

At this moment, the spies from various forces, who had been secretly watching Chu Xiu and his group, eager to know why the Embroidered Uniform Guard had once again taken to the capital after so many years, quietly left and passed on this news.

Wenyuan Pavilion.

An official strode into the Wenyuan Pavilion, approached Chen Yu, the Junior Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Chen Yu's expression changed drastically, revealing an expression of disbelief.

The official nodded slightly to Chen Yu, as if to say that the matter was absolutely true.

Chen Yu took a deep breath and waved to the clerk.

The official bowed and then withdrew.

Chen Yu straightened his official robes and walked deeper into the Wenyuan Pavilion.

In a moment.

Chen Yu then entered a spacious and bright room deep within the Wenyuan Pavilion. He bowed to Yang Yan, the Grand Secretary, and others who were bent over their desks reading memorials, and said, "Gentlemen, Chen Yu has important matters to report."

Upon hearing Chen Yu's words, the Grand Secretary and Minister of Rites Yang Yan, Minister of Personnel Zhao Duo, Minister of War Cui Yu, Minister of Works Zheng Yun, Minister of Justice Dugu Tai, and Minister of Revenue Yuan Chongli all put down their memorials, raised their heads, and looked at him.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had a total of six cabinet ministers.

Each of them comes from a prominent and powerful family.

Yang Yan is the head of the Hongnong Yang clan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families; Zhao Duo is the head of the Liaodong Zhao clan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families; Zheng Yun is the head of the Hanzhong Zheng clan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families; and Dugu Tai is the head of the Wuwei Dugu clan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families!

Each of the four of them was a powerful figure in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Although Cui Yu and Yuan Chongli were not from the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, they were from powerful families that were second only to the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families!

It can be said that in the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was extremely difficult for anyone who was not from a powerful and influential family to become a cabinet minister!

"What's the matter."

Yang Yan looked at Chen Yu calmly and said.

"Reporting to the Grand Secretaries, Chu Xiu, along with a group of Northern Garrison Commanders, rode through the capital to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and arrested Chen Wenli and six others."

"They were all former censors and officials who spoke out against the emperor."

Chen Yu took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "When they were arrested, they were all in a private room, and they were completely naked."

He was paraded through the streets of the capital by the imperial guards of the Northern Garrison and escorted back to the Northern Garrison headquarters.

"Audacity!"

"This is absolutely outrageous!"

Yang Yan frowned, his face slightly angry, and said, "They ran to this brothel right after court and were caught red-handed by the Northern Garrison Command. They deserved what they got for it!"

"This Chu Xiu is no simple man either. He's vindictive and vengeful. He's trying to use Chen Wenli to tell all the officials that he, Chu Xiu, is not someone to be trifled with."

"Anyone who dares to provoke him is no pushover, his Northern Garrison Command is no pushover."

Zhao Duo said with a smile.

Dugu Tai looked thoughtfully at Chen Yu and said, "Chen Yu, besides this matter, is there any other news?"

All the cabinet ministers turned their attention to Chen Yu.

"Reporting to Grand Secretary Dugu, I have also received news that before Chu Xiu left the Northern Garrison Office to go to Baihua Tower to arrest Chen Wenli and others, he summoned all the commanders of the Northern Garrison Office."

"Of the fifteen commanders of the Northern Garrison, all those who were related to aristocratic families have died in the main hall of the Northern Garrison's office."

"The four Northern Garrison Commanders who defected to Chu Xiu led their loyal followers in a major purge of the entire Northern Garrison Command."

"At this moment, the Northern Garrison Command is truly under Chu Xiu's control."

Chen Yu's expression turned serious, and he spoke solemnly.

"What a fine Chu Xiu! What a fine garrison commander of the Northern Garrison..."

"He wants to revive the Northern Garrison Command, making it a sharp sword in His Majesty's hand, a sword that could fall at any moment over the heads of all civil and military officials!"

"However, he is still too young and too hasty."

Zheng Yun stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "This Northern Garrison Command has always been controlled by the Wang family of Taiyuan."

He purged all the members of the Taiyuan Wang clan from the Northern Garrison Command.

Lu Chengfeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, probably already wished he could tear Chu Xiu to pieces.

"Having angered Lu Chengfeng, Chu Xiu's life is probably numbered."

Yang Yan shook his head, picked up the memorial, and continued reading.

"It's not just about offending Lu Chengfeng; it's also about offending the censors and officials of our Great Zhou Dynasty."

Yuan Chongli, the Minister of Revenue who had remained silent until now, spoke meaningfully.

Dugu Tai and the others exchanged smiles and picked up the memorials to read.

Although some members of aristocratic families were also in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or rather, in the Northern Garrison Command.

However, their personnel were insignificant within the Northern Garrison Command; their absence meant their demise.

But the Wang family of Taiyuan was different.

The Wang family of Taiyuan had always treated the Northern Garrison Command, and even the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard, as their pet dogs.

How could the Wang family of Taiyuan possibly let the Northern Garrison escape their control now?

The fiercer Chu Xiu fought with the Wang family of Taiyuan, the happier they became.

Although everyone belongs to a prestigious family, conflicts still exist within those families.

They viewed the power struggle between Chu Xiu and Lu Chengfeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and even the Taiyuan Wang clan behind Lu Chengfeng, with a spectator's mentality.

This time, Chu Xiu not only offended them, but also the censors and officials in the imperial court.

After all, the loss of face by Chen Wenli and his six companions was not only a loss of face for the six of them, but also for all the censors and officials in the imperial court.

This is a huge grudge!