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

Chapter 132

That night, a group of assassins broke into the palace and killed anyone they saw. The palace maids were treated like dirt and were all killed by the assassins.

Even the palace maids and eunuchs in the Empress Dowager's palace died to save her, which shows their loyalty. Fortunately, the Emperor was concerned about the Empress Dowager's safety and sent his Imperial Guards to Ning Shou Palace to rescue her. After the Imperial Guards fought a bloody battle, they finally repelled the assassins.

The next morning, there was no morning court session. When the officials learned that so many assassins had entered the palace and so many people had died, they were all furious. Jiajing was especially enraged. For safety, he first summoned several hundred Imperial Guards to the palace to protect himself and the Empress Dowager. Then he ordered Zhou Chu, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to thoroughly investigate the matter.

The court and the public were shocked. No one expected that such an outrageous thing would happen in the palace.

Fortunately, the Emperor and Empress Dowager were unharmed, which was a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

The following morning at court, numerous civil officials submitted memorials impeaching Zhou Chu for dereliction of duty as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Your Majesty, if it weren't for Lord Zhou's dereliction of duty, which left the palace undefended, this horrifying incident would not have occurred. I urge Your Majesty to dismiss Lord Zhou and investigate him."

An official from the Ministry of Personnel spoke with great conviction.

Zhou Chu was also present at this court assembly. After all, such a major incident had occurred, so Zhou Chu naturally had to make a symbolic appearance to report on the progress of the investigation.

"Your Majesty, I hope that Lord Zhou will be dismissed from his post and investigated."

In an instant, countless officials stepped forward to impeach Zhou Chu, and even many officials on Yang Yiqing's side seized the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

This is normal. Yang Yiqing and his ilk were never allies of Zhou Chu; they simply chose to temporarily side with the emperor.

But standing on the emperor's side does not mean standing on Zhou Chu's side.

They would love to kill Zhou Chu if they could seize the opportunity, so that they could seize power after Yang Tinghe retired.

Moreover, anyone with eyes could see who did what happened in the palace, but they just couldn't say it.

Firstly, there was no evidence, and secondly, they were afraid that Zhou Chu would really overturn the table.

They realized that Zhou Hengqi was a complete madman, but fortunately, he played by the rules, as evidenced by the fact that the Empress Dowager was still alive.

As long as Zhou Chu continues to play by the rules, they have to follow those rules.

They really didn't dare to flip the table; they were all incredibly cowardly.

"Weighing instrument, do you have anything to say?"

Despite the impeachments from the crowd, Jiajing ignored them and instead looked at Zhou Chu.

"Your Majesty, such a major event has occurred in the palace. It is naturally due to my dereliction of duty. I deserve to die. There is nothing more to say."

Zhou Chu said with an expression that said, "I have a bitter pill to swallow."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, this matter is not the Commander’s fault. It was the Empress Dowager who insisted that the Commander withdraw the Embroidered Uniform Guard from the palace. The Commander had no choice but to comply. How can you wrong the Commander for this?”

The two brothers took turns singing, one playing the bad cop and the other the good cop.

“Wenfu, you don’t need to say anything more. As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I cannot shirk my responsibility. If something happens in the palace, I have no choice but to take responsibility.”

Zhou Chu started acting out a tragic scene, his expression conveying the utmost grievance.

Yang Ting, Yang Yiqing, and the others watched as the two brothers acted so well that they wanted to spit on them.

The civil officials who had originally impeached Zhou Chu felt as if they had swallowed flies, seeing the two brothers acting this way.

It was as if they were persecuting a loyal subject.

"Hengqi, how can this be your fault? I don't know what the Empress Dowager was thinking, actually letting you withdraw the Embroidered Uniform Guard from the palace. Doesn't she know that it's very dangerous for the palace to be undefended?"

Jiajing subtly made a sarcastic remark about Zhang.