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

Chapter 587

As early as yesterday, Zhang Cong had specially arranged for his steward to deliver a letter to the Zhou residence early this morning.

After Zhang Cong returned home from the morning court session, the steward hurriedly brought him a reply from the Zhou family.

"Master, the Zhou family has replied."

Zhang Cong, who was initially a bit drowsy from the morning court session, perked up immediately upon hearing this and hurriedly took the reply from the Zhou residence, reading it over and over again.

"Prepare a sedan chair... no... prepare a horse, I want to ride a horse to see Lord Zhou."

Zhang Cong couldn't help but recall the time when they were in Suzhou Prefecture, when Lord Zhou led him and Yan Song on horseback to the embankment and personally participated in its construction.

Although there's no need to build a dam now, we still need to maintain a proper demeanor. After all, it's not quite appropriate to go to the Zhou residence in a sedan chair.

Soon, Zhang Cong took the horse's reins from the steward, mounted the horse, and practiced horsemanship diligently during his two years in Southern Zhili, since riding and archery were among the six arts of a gentleman.

Although scholars these days don't pay much attention to the Six Arts of a Gentleman in order to pass the imperial examinations, Zhang Cong no longer needs to take the exams. In order to pursue the ancient sages and to prevent Zhou Chu from taking them to other places on horseback next time, in short, to be prepared, Zhang Cong's horsemanship is now far superior to what it used to be.

Zhang Cong rode his horse all the way to the gate of the Zhou residence, dismounted, and handed the gatekeeper a reply from the Zhou family.

"Lord Zhang, please come in."

The gatekeeper led Zhang Cong's horse to the Zhou family's stable, where several eunuchs from the Imperial Horse Administration fed it fine fodder.

Zhang Cong followed Chunlan all the way to Zhou Chu's study.

"This humble official greets Lord Zhou."

Upon entering the study, Zhang Cong saw Zhou Chu practicing calligraphy at his desk, not looking up at him, and hurriedly bowed.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu glanced at Zhang Cong and put down his pen.

"Lord Zhang, you flatter me. I am merely a third-rank official, while Lord Zhang is the Minister of Revenue. How can we be considered superiors and subordinates?"

Zhou Chu looked at Zhang Cong and said expressionlessly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cong thought to himself, "You are the Left Pillar of State, a first-rank noble, holding the highest position among officials. Among all the living first-rank nobles in the entire Ming Dynasty, you are probably the only one left."

Not to mention he also held the honorary official title of Guanglu Dafu, a first-rank official.

However, Zhang Cong only thought about these words and would not say them aloud.

"What are you saying, sir? I was promoted by you. No matter what my status is, I am still a subordinate in front of you."

Zhang Cong said respectfully.

“Lord Zhang, you can’t say such things carelessly. I recommended you to His Majesty because I thought you were a sincere and hardworking person. I never expected that now that you have a high position, you would forget your original intentions.”

Zhou Chu stared coldly at Zhang Cong, ignoring his words.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cong smiled bitterly to himself, realizing that what was bound to happen had finally arrived.

"My lord, please forgive me. This matter was indeed my fault. I failed to manage my subordinates properly, and I accept the punishment."

Zhang Cong did not rush to shirk responsibility. He knew very well that in officialdom, when faced with questioning from superiors, the most taboo thing to do is to shirk responsibility at the first opportunity.

In that case, Shangguan will most likely look down on you.

Does Shangguan really not know the truth? He actually knows better than anyone else. What he wants to do is use this incident to warn you and show his authority. If you try to evade the question at this time, you will most likely lose Shangguan's favor and trust.

Sure enough, Zhou Chu's expression softened considerably upon hearing this, and he sat down.

"Lord Zhang, it's not easy for you to be new to the Ministry of Revenue. Everyone under you has their own ideas. However, as the Minister of Revenue, you should reorganize the Ministry of Revenue as soon as possible and take control of the entire ministry."

Zhou Chu gestured to the maidservant beside him to pour tea, and said this while drinking the tea.

"Your Excellency is right. I am indeed not capable in this regard. However, after this incident, I used Your Excellency's authority to give them a good talking-to a couple of days ago, and the effect was quite good. I think these people in the Ministry of Revenue will not cause trouble in the future."