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

Chapter 568

“This capital city isn’t a place where Zhou Hengqi can control everything. We all have powerful backers. How can we let him, the Northern Garrison Commander, do whatever he wants?”

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Shao Xi then spoke.

He didn't dare to speak at all, fearing that everyone would take their anger out on him because of his son.

"That's right, Lord Li, you're the Grand Secretary's prized student. With just a word from the Grand Secretary, what can the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard do? He still has to obediently release the person."

Another official looked at Li Zan with a face full of flattery.

Li Zan forced a smile upon hearing this.

If Li Zan hadn't heard those rumors about Zhou Chu, he probably would have thought the same way. But what about Yang Tinghe, the previous Grand Secretary? Wasn't he forced to retire by this man?

Although his teacher Yang Yiqing was the Grand Secretary, in terms of power, he was far less powerful than Yang Tinghe had been.

At that time, Yang Tinghe was practically all-powerful in the capital, but so what?

Therefore, Li Zan was not as optimistic as the others.

Yang Yiqing was drinking tea and listening to his concubine sing for him in his mansion when the steward came in.

"My lord, the wife of Minister Li, the Vice Minister of Works, requests an audience."

The steward said respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Yang Yiqing waved his hand at his concubine.

"Master, I'll be going now."

After saying this, the concubine wisely left.

"Let her in."

Although Yang Yiqing didn't know why a woman like her would suddenly come to her door, she also knew that if it weren't for an urgent matter, a woman like her wouldn't be so disregarding etiquette.

Soon, Li Zan's wife arrived in front of Yang Yiqing.

"Greetings, Prime Minister."

Li Zan's wife bowed.

"No need for formalities. Has something happened to the clan's artifact?"

Looking at the worried expression on the woman's face, Yang Yiqing asked.

Zongqi was the courtesy name of Li Zan.

"Your Excellency is incredibly resourceful. Just now, the people from the Northern Garrison suddenly broke into our house and took away our ancestral artifacts."

Li Zan's wife dared not conceal the truth and answered truthfully.

Yang Yiqing was taken aback when he heard this, but then regained his composure.

Yang Yiqing was not surprised by this. As Yang Yiqing's student, Li Zan was recommended by Yang Yiqing to fill the position after the previous Vice Minister of Works was investigated and punished. Li Zan had been very low-key before, so he was not affected when Chen Wanyan acted recklessly.

However, ever since Zhou Chu left the capital two years ago, this Vice Minister of Works has been unable to control his hands and has started to make a fortune with a group of colleagues. After all, the Ministry of Works' expenditures have always been considerable, and anything that passes through their hands can easily become greasy, not to mention that they have the intention to make money.

This has led to the Ministry of Works' expenditures increasing over the past two years, but very little of it has actually been spent effectively.

Yang Yiqing saw this clearly and had the Minister of Works give his student a few words of advice.

However, Li Zan was blinded by greed for money, and Zhou Chu had been away from the capital for a long time. As a result, not only Li Zan, but also many other officials did not take this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard seriously.

Others might not know, but Yang Yiqing and the others knew Zhou Chu's temperament better than anyone else. Yang Yiqing knew even better that the emperor was aware of the actions of the Ministry of Works, but with war breaking out in the Northeast and Tibet, the emperor's first priority was to ensure the stability of the rear.

Yang Yiqing had always known that if Li Zan continued to amass wealth in this way, it was only a matter of time before he was purged.

The current situation is completely different from that during the Zhengde era. During the Zhengde era, everyone's salary was very low, making it difficult to support their families. Moreover, the emperor's control over local governments and officials was relatively weak, so everyone was making money and no one cared.

However, since the performance evaluation system was implemented in Jiangnan and the capital, it has now been gradually extended to the entire Ming Dynasty. The salaries of all officials have been greatly increased. Because of the performance evaluation system and commercial taxes, many officials can even receive substantial bonuses.

In such a situation, everyone is quite wealthy, so the bottom line is raised considerably. Those who could be greedy but not greedy will think twice before acting.

It's not that no one is corrupt anymore, but overall, there's much less corruption than before. Everyone has to consider that if they get caught, they'll lose everything.

In this situation, these officials from the Ministry of Works stood out from the crowd, like lice on a bald head, conspicuously so.

Yang Yiqing knew very well that once Zhou Chu returned to the capital, he would probably settle scores with them immediately.

Things went pretty much as Yang Yiqing had expected. As for why Zhou Chu hadn't informed him beforehand, Yang Yiqing didn't even think much about it. Yang Yiqing knew very well that Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, only needed to be responsible to the emperor. If he got involved with him, the emperor would lose sleep.

When that time comes, it's unclear whether Zhou Chu will be finished, but Yang Yiqing is very clear that, given his current situation, he will definitely be investigated by the emperor.

"I understand. I will go to the palace right away and plead with His Majesty. As for whether His Majesty will show leniency, that's up to fate. Don't have too high hopes."

Yang Yiqing sighed.

“I told Zongqi a long time ago that even with such a high salary now, he still can’t control himself.”

Yang Yiqing said with a hint of disappointment.

"Zong Qi had no choice; we have such a large family to support..."

Li Zan's wife cried and sobbed.

"Which official in the capital doesn't have a large family to support? What? Is your family special? The Ministry of Works' salary is not the highest among the six ministries, but it is still among the top. Moreover, it's normal for money passing through the Ministry of Works to pass through one hand. Once it passes through one hand, it becomes greasy. Why do you have to reach out and embezzle money again?"

Yang Yiqing said impatiently.

Seeing that Yang Yiqing was angry, Li Zan's wife dared not cry anymore and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

"What you say is true, sir. It's all Zongqi's fault for being too greedy."

"Alright, you can go back now. I'm going to the palace."

Yang Yiqing waved his hand impatiently.

He couldn't go to Zhou Chu about this matter yet; the more he went to Zhou Chu, the faster Li Zan would die. He could only plead with the emperor. If the emperor was willing to show leniency, then Li Zongqi would still have a chance to live.

Thinking of this, Yang Yiqing looked at the butler beside him.

"Prepare the sedan chair; we're going to the palace."