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

Chapter 128

If a normal person spends half their life trying to pass the imperial examinations and suddenly enters officialdom, they will probably desperately seize the opportunity to climb the ranks, and may even grovel before the high-ranking officials who recommend them.

But Wen Zhengming was different; he always followed only his own heart, nothing else.

Upon hearing this, Yang Shen naturally understood that with Wen Zhengming's talent and status in the literary world, not to mention bowing his head, many people would be willing to recommend him simply by speaking up.

But he never spoke.

On this point alone, Yang Shen felt inferior.

“Brother Wenxian, life is short. For us, it’s good enough to grasp just one thing. If we want everything, it often means we get nothing.”

Wen Zhengming, who was standing nearby, offered some advice.

"If you ask me, you don't deserve the title of the so-called number one talent of the Ming Dynasty."

Tang Bohu said this while drinking.

Both he and Yang Shen had very conflicted and divided personalities, but he had now reconciled with himself and stopped pursuing an official career, thus finding liberation, while Yang Shen had not.

"Either you stick to your principles and work for a future for the Ming Dynasty and the people, or you stand firmly on Grand Secretary Yang's side. In that case, I'll know how to deal with you. Being two-faced is the worst thing you can do."

Zhou Chu sneered.

"If my father falls from power in the future, will you spare his life?"

Yang Shen looked at Zhou Chu and asked.

"Grand Secretary Yang is very concerned about his reputation. If His Majesty wins this controversy over posthumously honoring the late emperor, he probably will not continue to serve as an official."

Zhou Chu did not answer directly, but the meaning behind his words was clear: your father will retire and return to his hometown on his own.

"What I want to ask is, if my father and my family were to get in your way in the future, would you spare their lives?"

Yang Shen was not satisfied with Zhou Chu's answer. He knew very well that this young man was only fifteen years old and would surely have great ambitions in the future. When that time came, the Yang family, Xia Yan, Yang Yiqing, and others would all become obstacles for him.

After all, even though his father had retired to his hometown, the Yang family was still a behemoth in Jiangxi, and Yang Shen also roughly knew that the Yang family still had great power in Jiangnan.

"Whether it's me or Your Majesty, we're all working for the Ming Dynasty. All we want is money and a clean and honest court."

Zhou Chu still didn't answer directly, but the meaning behind his words was clear: if it really came to that, out of respect for Yang Shen, he could only take the Yang family's assets.

Yang Shen breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"I know what to do."

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Zhou Chu immediately smiled.

In the palace, Empress Dowager Zhang has felt increasingly uneasy these past two days.

Zhang Yong came to see her and told her that the emperor had ordered him to screen all the palace maids. He originally just wanted to go through the motions and get by, but he didn't expect that the Imperial Guards would not listen to his orders at all and would screen them very carefully.

Even if Zhang Yong hadn't said anything, Zhang Shi would have found out sooner or later. How could Lu Bing's screening of the palace maids have escaped her notice? Her spies were everywhere in the entire palace.

Combining Zhang Yong's words with the fact that palace maids had been mysteriously disappearing these past few days, which was not a large number and not enough to attract Zhang's attention.

But combining the actions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard over the past few days with the information Zhang Yong gave her, she instantly realized the problem: the Embroidered Uniform Guard was dealing with problematic palace maids.

This made Zhang feel extremely uneasy. If all the palace maids were dealt with, and even the maids around her were dealt with, then she would only have the title of Empress Dowager, but would become deaf and blind in the palace, or even be imprisoned there.

This is something she absolutely cannot accept.

Having finally gotten rid of Zhu Houzhao and seized enormous resources for her family, Zhang Shi now held considerable power. How could she tolerate such power slipping away?

"Go and summon that Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhou Chu, right? I want to ask him what he's up to."