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

Chapter 376

Inside the academy, Tang Bohu was no longer the carefree man he once was. He seemed completely out of his mind, had no interest in teaching, and even sent all his students out to search for Zhou Chu's whereabouts.

He waited at the academy for news from Zhou Chu.

"Ziwei, you don't need to worry too much. Hengqi is a lucky man and heaven will always protect him."

Yunniang held a bowl of freshly cooked porridge, looking at Tang Bohu with a worried expression.

Tang Bohu changed his courtesy name to Ziwei a few years ago, but most people don't know this courtesy name and just call him Bohu.

As someone close to him, Yunniang naturally knew this.

"How can I not worry? Chunfu isn't even their main target, yet he's already injured so badly. Hengqi will only get hurt even worse. And his horse... who knows where it'll end up? If it runs off into the middle of nowhere, oh dear!"

The more Tang Bohu talked, the more hopeless he felt. He was extremely worried. He glanced at the porridge in his hand, suddenly lost his appetite, and put it directly on the table.

"Fortunately, Yun Jin attracted a lot of attention for him; otherwise, even if he had survived by chance, many people would have wanted to find him."

Tang Bohu said.

Yunniang picked up the bowl that Tang Bohu had put down, scooped up some porridge with a spoon, and brought it to Tang Bohu's lips.

"open mouth."

Yunniang said irritably.

Seeing that Yunniang seemed a little angry, Tang Bohu reluctantly opened his mouth and ate the porridge in the spoon. He had been with Yunniang for so many years and rarely saw her angry about anything. Tang Bohu knew too well how Yunniang treated him, so when Yunniang got angry, he naturally didn't dare to say anything and could only obediently drink the porridge.

In fact, it wasn't just Tang Bohu's students; people like Hai Rui also spontaneously went out to search for Zhou Chu's whereabouts. Hai Rui, in particular, traveled everywhere, wanting to find his teacher as soon as possible to ensure Zhou Chu's safety.

"Hu Zongxian, tell me, what exactly did Lord Zhou do to make someone so heartless as to send so many people to assassinate him?"

Zhao Zhenji and Hu Zongxian had also agreed to search for Zhou Chu's whereabouts together. As Zhao Zhenji searched, he looked at Hu Zongxian with a puzzled expression.

"When Lord Zhou was nine years old, he was sold to the Lu family and became the page of the second young master of the Lu family. You know the Lu family, right? They are the big shots who are currently by His Majesty's side, Lu Bing, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Lu Wenfu is the eldest young master of the Lu family."

When Zhou Chu's deeds are mentioned, Hu Zongxian's face lights up with enthusiasm, as if he were recounting the things his idol had done.

During his many days at the academy, Hu Zongxian's main task was to collect information about Zhou Chu's past experiences. He knew all of Zhou Chu's past deeds by heart.

"I've heard that this Lord Lu has been with His Majesty since he was very young, and the matriarch of the Lu family was His Majesty's wet nurse. With such a relationship, it's no wonder that he's a favorite of His Majesty."

Zhao Zhenji nodded.

"Lord Zhou may have displayed his talents before His Majesty before His Majesty ascended the throne. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he immediately appointed Lord Zhou as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Lord Lu is one rank lower than Lord Zhou, namely the Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

When Hu Zongxian said this, he looked very proud.

"Why? What talents has Lord Zhou actually demonstrated before His Majesty?"

When Zhao Zhenji heard this, he was shocked. He couldn't understand why, given Lu Bing's relationship with the emperor, Zhu Houcong would appoint Zhou Chu as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard after ascending the throne.

"At the time, many people had the same thought as you, probably wondering what made Lord Zhou so special. But they soon found out."

Hu Zongxian, like a storyteller, began to keep everyone in suspense.

"Oh, stop keeping me in suspense, what exactly did Lord Zhou do?"

Zhao Zhenji said anxiously.

"As soon as Lord Zhou took office, he arrested more than a dozen officials, including Liao Feng, the Vice Minister of Rites. They were all imprisoned in the Northern Garrison. At that time, His Majesty had just ascended the throne and had no power base in the capital. More than a hundred officials, led by the Grand Secretary Shi Zhai, surrounded the Northern Garrison and demanded that Lord Zhou release the prisoners."

As Hu Zongxian spoke, his eyes grew increasingly fervent.

"If you were in this situation, what would you do? His Majesty has no power base, and the officials could bring you to your doom at any moment."

Hu Zongxian looked at Zhao Zhenji and asked.

Zhao Zhenji put himself in their shoes and thought about it. Just thinking about facing hundreds of officials, with the Grand Secretary in charge, made him subconsciously swallow.

"Hand them over? No, we can't hand them over. If we do, everything will be over."

As Zhao Zhenji spoke, his eyes grew increasingly resolute.

Upon hearing this, Hu Zongxian gave Zhao Zhenji a look of approval.

"And then, what are you going to do?"

Zhao Zhenji thought and thought, but he couldn't come up with a way to break the deadlock.

"That's what makes Lord Zhou so remarkable. Lord Zhou had evidence of these people's past corruption and crimes. He dragged Liao Feng out and killed him in front of all the officials! It's said that his blood even sprayed onto Mr. Shizhai's face."

Hu Zongxian said excitedly, as if he were the one who killed Liao Feng back then.

"How can this be?"

Zhao Zhenji was stunned when he heard this. He had thought of countless possibilities, but he had never thought of this one. This was too audacious!

"Don't you think Lord Zhou was incredibly audacious back then?"

Hu Zongxian looked at Zhao Zhenji and said.

Zhao Zhenji nodded.

"That's the Vice Minister of Rites, a high-ranking official of the third rank. How can he be killed so easily? Even if the Northern Garrison Command has the authority to execute first and report later, it would be difficult to explain this away, wouldn't it?"

As Zhao Zhenji said this, he couldn't help but feel a little disbelieving, but his eyes were also full of excitement.

He felt that Lord Zhou's way of handling things was exactly to his liking.

"Confess? Lord Zhou simply said that Liao Feng slandered Mr. Shizhai and Minister of Rites Xia for conspiring to kill the late Emperor. Lord Zhou thought he was talking nonsense, so he killed him. Do you think Mr. Shizhai and Minister Xia will still pursue the matter? Do they dare to pursue it?"

Hu Zongxian looked at Zhao Zhenji and said.

Zhao Zhenji broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. He looked around and, finding that no one had heard their conversation, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Keep your voice down. Is this the kind of thing you should say in public?"

Zhao Zhenji said with lingering fear.

"That's true, after all, Lord Xia is still serving as an official in the court."

Hu Zongxian was also terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He had been too excited and had lost his composure.

"Lord Zhou brought all these officials to justice, which opened up a new situation for His Majesty. In the subsequent controversy over etiquette, whoever dared to oppose His Majesty was investigated and punished by Lord Zhou. The key is that few of these officials were clean. Lord Zhou is incredibly resourceful and I don't know how he obtained evidence against these people, so his investigation was carried out without any obstacles."

Hu Zongxian continued.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhenji suddenly realized that he had seriously underestimated Lord Zhou.

“I underestimated Lord Zhou before; I am not as good as him.”

Zhao Zhenji said somewhat embarrassedly.

"You're not as good as him? How dare you say that? You're not even worthy to be compared to Lord Zhou! What I just told you was just an appetizer. What Lord Zhou does next is nothing short of earth-shattering!"

Hu Zongxian glanced at Zhao Zhenji with a disdainful look.