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

Chapter 301

"Your Majesty, these are the charges against Chen Wanyan."

Zhou Chu arrived at the Imperial Study and handed over the charges against Chen Wanyan, which he had signed and sealed, to Jiajing.

Jiajing opened the document and looked at it. He was not surprised. In fact, everything Chen Wanyan had said and done these past few days had not escaped the notice of Zhou Chu and Jiajing. Jiajing's performance in court was just for show.

Now that the door is closed, Jiajing and Zhou Chu will naturally stop putting on an act for each other.

"These are the documents for confiscating our property."

Zhou Chu then handed over the documents for confiscating the property.

When Jiajing took a look, he found that the Chen family's property consisted mostly of gold and silver, with very few copper coins.

Because the Chen family's foundation is too shallow, those officials don't give copper coins as gifts. Everyone else gives gold and silver, but you give copper coins. Do you still want to be promoted?

In addition, the Chen family itself didn't have much business, and their copper coins were extremely scarce.

"The number of these silver scales was already stated; just report it truthfully. As for the antiques and paintings, just put them directly into the imperial treasury."

Emperor Jiajing pondered this.

In reality, the bulk of the gifts are in the antiques and calligraphy. The main focus of gift-giving is often not money, but these more valuable antiques and calligraphy.

Even though Chen Wanyan and his son didn't know the value of goods, not everyone had the guts to fool them; most of the gifts they received were genuine.

Of course, there are also genuine items whose value can be seen at a glance, such as cats made of pure gold or Buddha statues made of pure gold, which are classified as antiques and calligraphy.

There was no need to disclose the exact amount of this portion to outsiders; the decision of how much to keep was entirely up to Jiajing.

"Weighing instruments, what crime do you think is appropriate to charge the Chen father and son with?"

Emperor Jiajing was also unsure about the charges against Chen Wanyan; too lenient or too severe would be problematic, which is why he consulted Zhou Chu.

In his eyes, Zhou Chu's sense of proportion in many things was almost perfect.

"Your Majesty, I believe that banishing Chen Wanyan and his son from the capital and sending them back to their hometowns is sufficient. The Chen family's assets have already been confiscated, and the objective has been achieved."

Zhou Chu said after careful consideration.

Zhou Chu deliberately downplayed the severity of the situation, thus leaving room for Jiajing to maneuver. If Jiajing felt it was too lenient, he would naturally raise the price.

But Zhou Chu couldn't speak too harshly right away.

Upon hearing this, Jiajing did not immediately express his opinion, but instead looked at the charges against Chen Wanyan and his son.

"Chen Wanyan didn't do anything heinous, but Chen Shaozu forcibly abducted a woman, which must have aroused a lot of public resentment. Let's sentence him to ten years."

For Jiajing, Chen Shaozu was his brother-in-law, so a ten-year sentence was already quite severe.

He couldn't be truly selfless; in fact, very few people could do that. Moreover, as the emperor, his every word and action was being watched. Even if he were truly selfless, he would still be accused of being heartless by the royal family.

Emperor Jiajing did this not because he valued his relationship with Lady Chen, but because he didn't want to leave any ammunition for criticism.

Ten years would not only quell public grievances and establish Jiajing as a wise and powerful figure in the eyes of the people, but also silence the officials.

All the officials hoped to treat any official leniently, even if it was Chen Wanyan, whom they had previously hated.

When Chen Wanyan was in power, he was a thorn in their side, but once he lost power, they didn't want him to be severely punished.

As the saying goes, "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked." If the Empress's father, Chen Wanyan, is executed, then all the officials will be in danger. If the Emperor treats his own father-in-law this way, how can he show them any mercy?

Therefore, it is difficult to strike the right balance.

"Your Majesty is right."

Zhou Chu subtly flattered her.

Upon hearing this, Jiajing couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"When did you, Zhou Hengqi, learn to flatter and fawn?"

"Your Majesty, what are you saying? These words come from the bottom of my heart. Your Majesty has great foresight and overall planning. If it weren't for Your Majesty's strategy, I'm afraid I would still be being flattered to death by Yang Yiqing and his ilk."